Einleitung
It's mid-October and great weather for Apple picking! We've been eager to sink our teeth into a new Mac, so we've brought home a fresh, locally-sourced refresh of the 21.5" iMac: the iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2889. What's inside this juicy new device? Let's find out. It's teardown time!
Looking for this iMac's pixel-packed twin? Check out our teardown of the iMac Intel 21.5" Retina 4K Display.
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for more tech news.
-
-
The 2015 edition of the 21.5" iMac has some newfangled specs:
-
1.6 GHz dual‑core or 2.8GHz quad‑core Intel Core i5
-
8 GB (4x2 GB) of 1867 MHz LPDDR3 RAM (Configurable to 16GB)
-
Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
-
1 TB (5400-rpm) hard drive, configurable up to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB of flash storage.
-
802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0
-
-
-
As tempted as we are to play with the new Magic things, we briefly turn our attention to the
port siderear of this refreshed iMac. -
The ports on the rear: headphone jack, SD card slot, four USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt 2, and gigabit ethernet.
-
This iteration iMac keeps the standard 21.5" model number, A1418 but adopts a new EMC number: 2889.
-
-
-
Thanks to our specially designed iMac service wedge, opening is a breeze. The wedge keeps the hinge solid while you work—no flop, no slop.
-
Nope, there's no pizza here folks. We're just using our handy iMac opening tool to cut the display adhesive. We're on a roll!
-
Just as with the previous generation, the display cables on the new iMac keep the opening procedure from being totally painless.
-
-
-
The multi-talented iMac opening tool helps us slice away the last of the adhesive.
-
We have separation—and the display's away!
-
Time to see what this machine is really packing...
-
-
-
Like previous iterations, this iMac display gets its own full set of control hardware:
-
Texas Instruments BUF16821 Programmable Gamma-Voltage Generator
-
Richtek RT8250 Synchronous Step-Down Converter
-
ST Microelectronics 404RP K516
-
Winbond W25X20CL 2 Mb Serial NOR Flash Memory
-
Parade DP627HDE DisplayPort LCD timing controller
-
Texas Instruments TPS54231 Step-Down Converter
-
Texas Instruments TPS65161 Bias Power Supply for TFT LCD Panels
-
-
-
Are we lost in time or are does this look exactly the same as last year's 21.5" iMac?
-
We've yet to see something new or interesting here—if you're really itching to see how the speakers, hard drive, and fan come out, check our previous gen guides for details!
-
-
-
Our breakneck advance on the logic board is stymied by a bit of novelty!
-
The antenna cables are now fastened to the AirPort card with new screw-secured cable clamps.
-
AirPort card released, the logic board is free to be wriggled out of the rear case.
-
-
-
Next up—the logic board:
-
Intel SR26C Core i5-5250U 1.6 GHz Processor (3M Cache, TurboBoost up to 2.70 GHz) with Intel HD Graphics 6000
-
Samsung K4E6E304EE-EGCF 2 Gb LPDDR3 1867 MHz SDRAM (4 chips for a total of 8 GB)
-
Broadcom BCM5776 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
-
Texas Instruments LM4FS1EH SMC Controller
-
Adesto AT45DB021E 2 Mb SPI Serial Flash Memory
-
National Semiconductor 545AR6SU
-
Delta 8904C-F Filter
-
-
-
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller
-
Cirrus Logic 4208-CRZ Audio Controller
-
Macronix MX25L6473E 64 Mb Serial Multi I/O Flash Memory
-
Vimicro VC0359 Camera Processor
-
Intersil ISL62383CHRTZ Power Supply Controller
-
Intersil ISL95826
-
-
-
We also take the time to remove the AirPort card, but it's more of the same ol', same ol'.
-
See the 2013 teardown for details on this bad boy if you really gotta know.
-
-
-
iMac 21.5" EMC 2889 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
-
Cutting the tape to open the iMac isn't too difficult with the right tools, but it must then be replaced to complete any repair.
-
The RAM is still soldered to the logic board—you're stuck with what you bought.
-
The Fusion Drive connector is again missing from the logic board, killing all hope of storage hacking.
-
The CPU is soldered to the logic board, and cannot be replaced or upgraded.
-
The glass and LCD are fused together, increasing the cost of replacement.
-
13 Kommentare
Seems like the assembly and disassembly was pretty straight forward. The repairability score should be somewhat higher. The upgradeability score should be "1".
Is it not a 1.6 ghz i5 but a 3.1 ghz intel i5
The 1.6 ghz is a non-retina mac. The only 21.5 2015 retina model has a 3.1 ghz i5 with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
:D
This is a basic, entry level computer for people who want an iMac but can't afford one. Don't be harsh with entry level product that nobody would consider upgrading.