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

I have had many computers over the years and I can, without a doubt, tell you Ive never had a computer with any noticeable yellow tinge . I had noticed the yellowing on my Imac as soon as I set it up, before I stumbled across this forum. Tried the yellow tinge test on my Macbook and not even a trace of discoloration.

Over the Years No. This model iMac, YES!

I believe is Cuenlain stated "regardless of make or model" It was more in response to that.

Oh Ok, Sorry!

Hi,
I have been following this thread for a few months now and haven't felt the need to post yet.
I ordered a 27 iMac i7 which was to be shipped yesterday. After seeing no changes to my order status I called apple and asked what was going on.
The guy on the phone said that I should have received an email (which I didn't & have still yet to receive) explaining that there was going to be an additional 2 weeks wait. I have already waited 3 weeks. The rep said the machine hasn't been built yet and this was due to a lack of parts. Thanks to advice on this forum I freely voiced my annoyance and was offered a $150 rebate. I don't doubt that if I had not asked, apple would have not offered.
Hopefully the extra 2 weeks will ensure that I get a 'perfect' machine.
Its has just been so disappointing that instead of being excited about what should be a wonderful computer all I have been feeling is utter trepidation and fear that I will receive an iLemon.
Anyway, thought after lurking for so long I should come out with what I have experienced of the iMac thus far - which is really not alot:)

RickC309 wrote:
I think a great upgrade to the magic mouse would be to have a docking station to charge the mouse magnetically when not in use, somewhat like the power pads advertised can do with the ipod and iphone. A majic mouse house...

Excellent point, Rick. I have been thinking the very same thing . . . but that is all that I will say about it here, lest some legalist get on our case for being a bit off-topic.

BTW, I did just make a new post in the other thread regarding the Magic Mouse/battery consumption issue, which you can find here:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10983838#10983838

kevin7apple wrote:
And this is exactly why I think the issue is a lot more widespread than anyone thinks it might be. Most people actually WILL deal and that's precisely why Apple can get away with it. It's really a shame.

Hello Kevin. I can only speak for myself, but while I can agree with your point regarding Apple, at the same time, sometimes we need to temper our perspective with a little bit of pragmatism. As Dino and I have both stated, in our case, the yellow tinge is very minimal. It is at a level which we both view as being tolerable. In fact, as I noted earlier, the ONLY time when I am aware of it is when I am on a page with a lot of white background, which is primarily here on the Apple forum site. Otherwise, I am totally oblivious to it. The main problem now is that since I have become aware of it, it has stolen my peace of mind, and I keep looking at the bottom right corner of my screen when I am on this site, and it bothers me.

But, please note that I do have my limits. Between the screen and the iSight camera, I have a total of ten stuck or dead pixels. The slight tinge has now been added to the list of defects, as well as the excessive battery consumption of the Magic Mouse. If the flickering and/or screen blackouts were to start, I guarantee you that I won't hesitate to ask for an exchange or repair, because that will be the last straw. That will be my limit.

Bakes99 wrote:
I have had many computers over the years and I can, without a doubt, tell you Ive never had a computer with any noticeable yellow tinge . I had noticed the yellowing on my Imac as soon as I set it up, before I stumbled across this forum. Tried the yellow tinge test on my Macbook and not even a trace of discoloration.

Hello Baker,

I hadn't mentioned this before, but for some time now, since this thread began, I have had this personal suspicion that the yellow tinge issue may have a long history, particularly when it comes to the ATI cards.

This is not just a baseless statement on my part. There is some anecdotal evidence to support my view. Allow me to explain.

Back in October of 2,000 we purchased two G4 mini-towers; one a 500 MHz DP unit, and the other a 400 MHz unit. I believe they are the Sawtooth models. These machines came with identical 17" Apple Studio Displays. These are the CRT monitors with the clear plastic tops which connect directly to the CPU for their power supply.

Upon purchase, these two G4's were placed in two separate rooms. For years, they were never turned on side-by-side . . . that is, until a number of months ago. Through a series of events, both of these machines ended up side-by-side in the same room. It was then, and only then, that I made the discovery that one of the displays continues to have a clear, bright screen, while the other has a clearly yellow tinge over the entire screen.

Had I not placed these two machines side-by-side, I would have never made this discovery. So the question is: Why are the screens so different? They are the same exact monitor of the same exact age, connected to two CPU which are almost identical. They both have ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics cards, By today's standards, these cards are real dinosaurs, having only 16 MB of video RAM.

Well, we have talked a lot in this thread about heat possibly being a culprit which has contributed to some of the problems which folks here have experienced.

Well, guess what?

Some time ago, the G4 with the yellow tinge problem had some serious overheating problems. It was so serious that the machine would shut itself down after about half an hour of use, and I wouldn't be able to turn it back on again for half an hour, hours, or sometimes even days.

Eventually, I discovered that the fan was absolutely filthy. Since removing it, and giving it a thorough cleaning, the overheating and shutdown problem has not returned.

I am wondering now if the heat messed up the ATI card.

While these are CRT's and not LG Tech LCD's, there are some common elements with the information we have been given in this thread; namely ATI cards, excessive heat and yellow tinge.

Maybe it is just a coincidence; maybe not.

I will say that when you look at these two CRT's sitting side-by-side, you can't help but notice the yellow tinge. It is very apparent. On the other hand, the yellow tinge on my new i7 iMac is so slight that it took me a whole week to even notice that it was there; and that is why I am not complaining to Apple about it . . . unless, of course, I get the flickering or blackouts as well.

All monitors (LCD and, more so, CRT) show colour shift over time. That's why professional photographers recalibrate them at least once a month. It's no surprise that two seemingly identical monitors would appear quite different after an extended period of use, especially if that period can be measured in years.

The problem I had with my 27" iMac was a patch of yellow on an otherwise white screen. No amount of calibration could resolve that. If the entire screen appears too yellow, it should be possible to calibrate it out with a tweak of the white point.

Haven't people with nVidia cards reported problems too?

I'm ready to take the leap for a i7 after an earley December cancel. I have a couple of quick questions. (1) how do i decipher the serial # to determind the date (2) should i wait another month or so ?

Kurukuru wrote:
All monitors (LCD and, more so, CRT) show colour shift over time. That's why professional photographers recalibrate them at least once a month. It's no surprise that two seemingly identical monitors would appear quite different after an extended period of use, especially if that period can be measured in years.

The problem I had with my 27" iMac was a patch of yellow on an otherwise white screen. No amount of calibration could resolve that. If the entire screen appears too yellow, it should be possible to calibrate it out with a tweak of the white point.

Haven't people with nVidia cards reported problems too?

Hello Kurukuru,

Thanks for your response.

Actually, right before making my post, I in fact recalibrated both machines. Doing so did absolutely nothing to remove the yellow tinge from the second machine. It is still there as plain as day. Of course, if we consider that both of these machines are going on ten years old, and that the machine in question had the serious overheating issue, it may very well be that nothing can now fix the tinge. I only use it to run my BBS and web site, so it is not a major issue for me.

And, yes, as Dino has made very clear, some of the iMacs with the NVIDIA cards are also experiencing the yellow tinge.

Riverjoke wrote:
I'm ready to take the leap for a i7 after an earley December cancel. I have a couple of quick questions. (1) how do i decipher the serial # to determind the date (2) should i wait another month or so ?

Hello there,

If you do an "About This Mac" and click on the OS version string twice, it will bring up your serial number. The 4th and 5th characters in the string will be your week build. At this late date, you may possibly see a 01, 02, or 03, meaning the first, second or third week of January 2010.

If, on the other hand, you see 49 through 53, you have a December 2009 build.

Personally, I advise you to wait a bit longer on your purchase, until the dust has cleared, and there is more convincing evidence that Apple has a handle on the situation. There are still too many conflicting opinions coming from Apple employees, so the information isn't to be fully trusted in my view.

Both of my 21.5" had NVidia Cards & also had Yellow tinge. Other people with NVidia have Yellow tinge as well. It's not the Video Card. It's the Screen itself.

I think it's been a few days since we got an update from those who had there screen and cables replaced a few weeks back.

If any of you are watching, please post a quick update to let us know that all is still OK. I hope!

Thanks.

I've been following this post since December. From everything I read, the screen & cable replacement seems to be the most likely fix for Flicker & yellow tinge.