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

ok, so ill watch an encoded programme then? see if mine flickers??

From the time i opened the box on the 10 Dec, I have been getting the Flickering / Black Screen etc.
I just got my iMac yesterday afternoon at the Apple Store in Ottawa.
As far as I can tell its working very well now.
On the Genius Bar Work ticket all they had to do for my iMac was to replace the following:
Item Part Number: 922-99161, Cable, V-Sync, LCD

Hope this will help all of you guys & gals.
Happy New Years,

TheNew Guy, Ottawa Ca.

Sorry Guys error on my last, part number is:

992-9161 Cable, V-Synch, LCD

Really hope this is the solution because that is the part, together with a new LCD panel that AppleCare have authorised to be changed on my Core2. The only worry is that way back in this thread Sonics99 replaced these parts only for the problem to return. Fingers crossed it works for you - be good to hear any positive or negative feedback after a few days.

good news....but any yellowing?

sparkie1984 wrote:
ok, so ill watch an encoded programme then? see if mine flickers??

I haven't tried playing movies other than "Stranger than Fiction" yet... it might just be that one that triggers it. I will try other movies shortly and report back.

That's good news -- do you know if the initial cable was loose or just defective in some way. The reason I ask is that when I called Apple the second time about my flashing/blackout screen, the tech guy told me some of these have been the result of "a loose cable." However, I brought mine in to the Apple authorized repair center in my area (there is no Apple Store close by) and first of all, they couldn't replicate the flashing after 3 days (no surprise there)but did not find any "loose cables" or anything else wrong on their diagnostics. I called Apple again, and they suggested sending my machine in and they will replace it. The Senior Supervisor I spoke with told me that they did a "survey" and found fewer of the screen flickering problems from week 47 on (my machine is a week 47 machine). I have not had the problem recur yet after now 4 days, so I'm not sure if the firmware update fixed the problem (although it did recur shortly after I installed the update, but not since then). I'm in a quandry as to whether to risk sending it back, or just waiting for something more definitive from Apple, since I see that even machines made after week 47 have also had the problem. Anyone have any advice for me?

This is ridiculous. I was about to buy my first Mac and found out about this problem. Apple needs to acknowledge the problem and publish a timeline for a fix. Until then I think it wouldn't be prudent for any potential iMac buyer to buy these units. After all the talk about how Macs are better than PCs and less problem prone, I think this is pretty big problem for Apple. If I'm shelling out that much money for their highest end iMac, I'd expect there to be NO problems with the hardware - otherwise why not just buy a PC with Windows 7? The screen is one of the best things that the iMacs have going for them, and now all these people are having problems with it?? ugh....

well ive had a film on, whilst encoding and playing c&c 3

my cpu is running maxed out! gpu is at 76c cpu at 64c using all 4 cores and mine hasnt missed a single beat!!!

well let's see here, when I first got my imac, I had no screen problems for a solid 2 weeks. After those first weeks, I started experiencing screen blackouts and flickers sporadically. Reason I'm commenting now is the flickers had stopped for the last two weeks, I hadn't once seen anything wrong. Just today, It started right back up again, completely randomly. HD movies have no affect or trigger the problem for me. I just watched a movie in HD last night with 0 flickers. Today, I start up, cpu was @ about 86 F, and it starts flickering, with barely anything running at all. I really think that any success anybody's had with a trigger to the flickering is unique to the machine. Has anyone else had luck with the "Stranger Than Fiction method" ?

It's been my theory, based entirely on my total lack of knowledge of electrical engineering, that the problem results from the lack of QC at the end of the iMac assembly line, and a failure to burn in each machine with a suite of stress test programs.

Loose connections on a number of machines would fit the category of poor or no QC.

I couldn't agree more. Apple has gotten too big and fat and greedy. Poor quality control. What did you expect from China. I have yet to see a high end product come from China. There seems to always be a catch whether dog food, organic foods, roofing slate or computers. It's all seemingly suspect imho, and if we were really smart we would stop buying all products including Macs from China. Too bad there is no collective conscientiousness anymore. If we boycotted China as daunting as that would be, we would all benefit after a long and difficult endeavor. Make no mistake about that.

Lets keep all the politics out of this thread.... PLEASE

China is here to stay commercially (and deservedly) ..... regardless of anyones bias or personal preferences.
enuf said?

See my post near the bottom of page 125. You will not be encouraged. I still say we need to all start calling Apple Tech Support (even those like me who haven't bought yet, and politely discuss this (for me, in terms of my unwillingness to buy an iMac.) MAybe Apple will quit answering the phone with What Problem? Haven't heard of one!

I blame apple for the problems, not the Chinese assemblers. Apple is not providing the QC and supervision it should be providing.