New iMacs - no optical drive

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Handsomedan

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#725335 30-Nov-2012 21:59

stevenz: There will be 2 primary reasons. 1) Aesthetics and 2) Profit. By making it harder to rip your own DVDs\CDs, you're more likely to buy more media from Apple.

agree completely.

It's not right, but its probably accurate.

My concern is that they're slowly turning the iMac into a big iPad.

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richms

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#725549 1-Dec-2012 16:57

Last 3 PC builds of mine have not had one in other than the balancing of a drive ontop for the OS install, which is only because I was too lazy to prepare a USB stick for it on another computer.

All my SFF machines have had the optical removed and a 3.5" HDD swappable bay put in place of it for the ability to quickly pull the data drive out if I want to put it into a sata dock somewhere else etc.

In almost every case I have tried to use the optical I was forced to get on the last 2 laptops, they have not worked. A nice 2.5" sata hard drive now has replaced it one one of mine, and the other is a hole in the side since I bought the wrong thickness HDD holder for it and never bothered to get the right one.

Optical disks are dead to me, so no that would not stop me getting the new imac. The fact that it is an imac would however.

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Chrisbexsta

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#725673 2-Dec-2012 09:31

I think the biggest concern is the fact that on the new 21.5" iMacs you can't upgrade the ram without voiding your warranty. Ram upgrades can be done but detaching the screen from the chassis is difficult as they have glued it and you have to remove the whole logic board then stick the screen back in. Where as the 27" model has a access port above the power connection on the back.

gzt

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#725719 2-Dec-2012 12:10

Can an approved service agent do the job within warranty or is it no upgrade ever?

Chrisbexsta

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#725773 2-Dec-2012 15:23

gzt: Can an approved service agent do the job within warranty or is it no upgrade ever?

I'd assume they could as the ram is slot based and the do currently do hdd upgrades replacements in current machines it will be more of a case to check with them once the iMacs are more freely available at retail stores. The biggest barier for them will be the fact the screen is glued.

nix

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#725776 2-Dec-2012 15:33

I'd add a little note of caution here. I asked a local retailer about adding some extra ram and swapping out the HDD for an SSD in an MBP. They were really happy to do this but added that I wouldn't have the Apple Care warranty after I did this.

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gehenna

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#725782 2-Dec-2012 15:40

nix: I'd add a little note of caution here. I asked a local retailer about adding some extra ram and swapping out the HDD for an SSD in an MBP. They were really happy to do this but added that I wouldn't have the Apple Care warranty after I did this.

That's dodgy. If they're an Authorised Apple Service Centre then they should be able to do any upgrade of the RAM or storage without voiding the AppleCare. If they're not authorised then you might run into AppleCare problems, yes.

These days if you're not after a stock standard out of the box experience it's always best to Build to Order directly from Apple's online store (or an Apple Store if your country/city has one).

But yeah it sounds like your retailer is only an Authorised Reseller rather than a service centre - in which case they really shouldn't be offering upgrades of the components at all!

Chrisbexsta

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#725816 2-Dec-2012 17:19

gehenna:
nix: I'd add a little note of caution here. I asked a local retailer about adding some extra ram and swapping out the HDD for an SSD in an MBP. They were really happy to do this but added that I wouldn't have the Apple Care warranty after I did this.

That's dodgy. If they're an Authorised Apple Service Centre then they should be able to do any upgrade of the RAM or storage without voiding the AppleCare. If they're not authorised then you might run into AppleCare problems, yes.

These days if you're not after a stock standard out of the box experience it's always best to Build to Order directly from Apple's online store (or an Apple Store if your country/city has one).

But yeah it sounds like your retailer is only an Authorised Reseller rather than a service centre - in which case they really shouldn't be offering upgrades of the components at all!

Jb Hifi are able to order built to order macs directly from apple in store I'm not sure about other retailers though.

gehenna

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#725835 2-Dec-2012 18:23

Chrisbexsta:
Jb Hifi are able to order built to order macs directly from apple in store I'm not sure about other retailers though.

Yeah but if you're gonna do that you may as well order it yourself right?

Chrisbexsta

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#725838 2-Dec-2012 18:29

gehenna:
Chrisbexsta:
Jb Hifi are able to order built to order macs directly from apple in store I'm not sure about other retailers though.

Yeah but if you're gonna do that you may as well order it yourself right?

You can do but Jb Hifi can do better prices if you looking at gettin other stuff with the iMac as apple don't budge on pricing also you can get finance options as well.

gehenna

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#725846 2-Dec-2012 19:07

Chrisbexsta:
You can do but Jb Hifi can do better prices if you looking at gettin other stuff with the iMac as apple don't budge on pricing also you can get finance options as well.

That's true, but I think what the previous post was referring to was a retailer upgrading the component themselves, rather than doing a BTO on behalf of the customer.

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Chrisbexsta

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#725852 2-Dec-2012 19:29

gehenna:
Chrisbexsta:
You can do but Jb Hifi can do better prices if you looking at gettin other stuff with the iMac as apple don't budge on pricing also you can get finance options as well.

That's true, but I think what the previous post was referring to was a retailer upgrading the component themselves, rather than doing a BTO on behalf of the customer.

Yeah if that the case that is dodgy ram upgrades can be done by anyone on older iMacs or the new 27" as they are classed as user upgradeable but anytime the machine has to be fully opened it should be done by a authorised repairer unless you have no warranty and are confident in your abilities

Handsomedan

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#726245 3-Dec-2012 15:28

Yet another indication that the 21.5" iMac is slowly morphing into a non-touch screen iPad.

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