Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

Unfort. those are Safari specific and should be independent of the flicker/display issue listed here.

For what it is worth, my graphics info is identical on my apparently good i7.

Here's my info....my computer has the issue, but its more info never-the-less...

ATI Radeon HD 4850:

Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 4850
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x944a
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-B9110C-394
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.367
Displays:
iMac:
Resolution: 2560 x 1440
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Connection Type: DisplayPort
LED Cinema Display:
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Connection Type: DisplayPort

That was my assumption. If apple were actually 'fixing' the problem on 'bad' graphics card, there should be a revision bump in there. In this case, Apple is just swapping the machines out for new ones coming off the factory line. Some people are 'fixed', others are not.

I still bet on a software issue and fix. Perhaps its a conflict with something else, but that's where I'd guess the issue is.

Given the reboot remedy and the wake from sleep remedy, it seems like it may just a software update to address either the power management to the display or maybe even some snazzy hdcp copy right issues. If the connection to/from the display is glitching on the hdcp, it could just be the kick in on the hand shake between the display and graphics card. Happens on my home theatre (with same symptoms - flickering, blackouts, weird artifacts) sometimes, esp. when I route hdmi via my receiver.

Message was edited by: thxdude

I have had my 27" iMac (QuadCore, Ati Radeon HD 4850) for over three weeks and had no problems until I installed Pixelmator a week ago. After installing Pixelmator and opening it, I got the flickering screen, the short blackouts, and the occasional shifting of the entire screen.

After rebooting the computer the problems were gone and have not returned since. Running Pixelmator now causes no problems. Its seems Pixelmator somehow triggered this behavior, but only once. It remains a mystery.

Apple?

So I'm gearing up to send in my Week 49 iMac with lots of regret and disappointment. Since I have to work through the holiday season, I was really looking forward to working with this beast, but the flickering just doesn't go down very well with me as I work in the field of Graphics and Animation.

Anyways, hope that the graphic/display problem has been solved with the next batch of machines that come off the line and shipped out. (I can't believe that I have to say that in connection with this product )

I do have great trust in Apple and their customer service as they've helped me through this on every step of the way with a lot of patience and friendliness.

To all those who have a perfectly running iMac bottoms up, to those who face the same problems as I and all the flickering-brethren did, hang in there. Happy Holidays everyone!

signing off and shutting down machine,
s0l

The initial excitement I had this week while waiting to receive my new 27" i5 iMac has quickly turned into discomfort and uncertainty. I can't imagine myself fully enjoying what the new iMac has to offer if I have to constantly live with the thought that it could spontaneously self-destruct any day. If that's the case, I'll be demanding a full refund and buy a new machine when Apple has fixed this - even if it takes until March before they even admit there is a huge problem here.

I've had my new 27" imac (i7, 8GB, 2TB) since late November/early december. I'm at work right now so I can't post the details of it, but i will do so tonight when I get home. I think I've seen this flicker problem once, when i think i just saw it out of the corner of my eye. I use this machine for XCode development - specifically I'm learning OpenGL and think I saw it just as I was quitting the application I was working on and asssumed it to be an issue with my code - maybe a timing issue (my code isn't very pretty since I don't know OpenGL and I'm new to cocoa). Haven't experienced any other issues so far. I'll fire up the box over the weekend and leave it running for an extended time and let you know if the issue appears.

No problems with my week 49 i7 iMac, but then again, I've only been using it for a few days.

Mine seems just fine, but it didn't chime on first power up, which worried me a bit. The only problem I had was using Migration Assistant to transfer my files and it seemed to hang when it had nearly completed and while it was transferring the system time zone settings. It took me a while to figure out that I needed to go into Preferences to turn on the show mounted drives option so I could see the drive mounted.

Aperture 2 is very fast now – I don't think that I’ve seen a spinning beach ball yet!! But the first time that I tried to look at a photo in full screen mode the screen went black and it beeped at me when I tried to change views. And once I quit Aperture 2, the screen came back and everything worked fine on the next attempt.

After reading about so many issues here and elsewhere, I have to wonder how many machines don't have problems.

I sent my imac back on the morning of the 14th and in the evening got an email from apple saying that they cancelled my return. I called them and they said to keep an eye on my order status. Today I logged in and I saw that it says that the computer must be received by the 7th. Does this mean that I will not get a replacement? Or will they be okay with it coming after the "return date?"

Adding my tale of woe - bought 27# iMac in November - serial # begins with W8946... I have flickering screen and intermittent, non-reproducible screen blackouts - called Apple Canada Tech Support who recommended reset PRAM, and to take machine to my hardware service center if problem recurred. It did, and I have. Very disappointing for this longtime Mac use and Apple customer.

Has anyone played around on this site?

http://imac.squeaked.com/results.php

Just a thought!

Maybe Apple will give us some info regarding the Flickering, Yellowtingle, Blackouts etc... During the MacWorld Expo 2010?

If the problems isn't fixed sooner of course! One can hope so anyway !-)

J~G

Well it's up and running. After meandering across the globe my iMac 27" i7 was delivered to my office this morning. I took it home and inspected the box. One of the corners was slightly crushed but no damage to the inside. I unpacked the i7 and set it on the table to warm up to room temperature (It's -7 outside). After a about 3 hours I took the plunge and plugged it, turned it on and went through a painless easy set up. Everything worked as it should. I tweaked the preferences a little and set the screen saver to start after 5 minutes, and surfed over to here.

I've decided not to migrate anything from my iMac 24" but I will simply copy my "Documents" folder to the i7. I've also decided to do a fresh install of the apps that I use starting with MS Office.

It's a Week 50 build and I'm going to simply let it run as is for now.

Steph - an iMac Girl

Chalk me up with a brand new 27" with flickering screen. I should have learned already because the old iMac first rev also had a similar problem. For that one it was the power supply causing the problem. Replaced it once on applecare and it broke again and Apple made me pay because they said it was no longer under warranty. Warranty is just calculated by purchase date of the computer not on the dates the new parts were put in. I also bought a first rev of the macbook pro with intel chip. 1 Logic board, fan, screen, keyboard, and hard drive later I'm limping around with a barely useable laptop (logic board is busted again and overheats) and a brand new barely usable desktop. Frustrating day.