iMac 27 inch 2020 - Screen Glitch (Random Lines Appear on Screen)

Here's what I captured on video, even before I had a chance to setup my " New" iMac. This line glitch continues to happen. This is my second unit that replaced my first one with the same issue.

https://youtu.be/x83_QzLlv9Y

I get this too. White horizontal lines... a few times an hour. iMac 2020, i7, 8GB (so far, come on Crucial) and 5700 XT 16GB.

On the whole it's annoying, but not a disaster. Hopefully Apple will have something useful to say. Come on, Apple!

I cancelled my iMac 2020 5700XT (3.8GHz 8-core i7) order as soon as I read about this graphic glitch issue, which I've noticed has since been reported on many tech websites! It's so frustrating! Yes, it may be a minor issue (to some), but it eradicated my excitement and total enthusiasm of getting an iMac for the very first time. I won't be re-ordering until there's some acknowledgement from Apple and some traction over what is being done to resolve it.

I could order the 5700 graphics instead, but then I'm giving Apple my money for a less powerful machine, especially as I want to play games in bootcamp (Windows), and also feel like it's letting Apple off the hook over a QC issue.

I'm also annoyed to read many new iMac 2020 owners saying they are hearing the fan even when idle, as apposed to the iMac 2019 which was dead silent during idle. I'm used to my quiet MacBook Pro 13" Early 2015 which is silent 99% of the time! Someone mentioned the fan sounds like someone breathing with their mouth open, even during idle. Can anyone confirm if that seems correct?

I had a late 2015 that is still working great but I wanted to upgrade and so I ordered a top spec. I am disappointed by the constant fan noise. I don’t always hear it but when the room is quiet I do and it feels like a step back and not worth the $$$$$. I am going to return it tomorrow which is a huge disappointment and hassle. I may order another lower spec iMac if people report that they are silent.

Also the anti glare was not worth it for me and it does degrade the image. Only get it if your lighting conditions call for it.

Indeed, that is currently what I have. Even if it's a soldered card, and you're definitely right with that some damage still might have occurred during shipping unfortunately. Although, it seems a lot of people are having issues... Kind of makes me think there might be something wrong with the soldering process itself, but I'm just speculating.

I am having the same issue now with TWO identical computers. The first one I ordered had this issue in its initial setup. Apple advised I return it since I was within the two week window. I am still waiting for a "senior advisor" to call me because they accidentally created it as a replacement instead of a refund. I had to shell out more money to get a new one because I was up against a project deadline -- now this new one is having the same exact issue! I am on the phone waiting to speak to someone as we speak. Absolutely unacceptable.

Just got my new iMac this morning. Here's my setup:

8-core

5700XT 16GB

Corsair 128GB RAM

1TB SSD

I've had it on for about 8 hours or so, haven't noticed any glitching or tearing during run-of-the-mill operation. Just a thought bubble: could it be the combination of the 10 core and the 5700XT? I'll post back if the glitching starts happening.. my sympathy for everybody having this issue.

Has anyone heard, seen or know of any news/updates from Apple in regards to this issue? I see they are still selling the 2020 iMac with the 5700xt 16gb option, but wondering if they are still riddled with all the issues.. I personally have not heard anything back from apple on my case (but then again i sent the replacement unit back for refund).

Was just curious if there were any mentions of a possible root cause or ETA when it will be fixed...

Thanks in advance

I can confirm that the 8gb 5700 model, 8core intel (the one I am on now) runs like a dream, no issues with screen glitches etc. it is also super quiet. I decided to go for this and not have the headache of the glitching. And you know what, I have no regrets, it is a capable machine. I hope that helps.

Thanks for sharing. It was my first iMac ever so to be honest the loud fans did not bother me much as I was also running Windows in Parallels, but I do care about the rumors I've read that such iMac design with that massive hardware is bound to fry the circuits within a few years. I have no clue if there is any truth to that, but I would like my maxed-out iMac to last about 10 years.

"My Mac used to be special, and now it's just the same as all the rest."

Ahh... Do you mean that your special Mac was special because almost everyone else had the same special problem with their 2020 iMac? Sometimes, "special" is not special at all. At least, I can go ahead with MY purchase without belonging to a special group having consistent, irritating problems. Such "special" I neither wanted ~ needed.

What? You mean they prioritized the solution for the more obvious and annoying issue?

Disclaimer: Based on the reports of a solution to the line glitch, I ordered an i9/5700XT from Apple. We'll see if the corner glitch annoys me enough to return it, though I doubt it will, since I use dark mode 24 x 7.

A complete crash when playing Civilization VI through Steam for 10-15 minutes is exactly what I am experiencing. It just freezes and then starts visually falling apart. Can't force quit because mouse, image, and everything is non-functional. Have just done my second hard reboot, just to get the machine working again at all.

I've had my machine 10 days now, and, after upgrading the machine 10.15.7 right after first boot, this has been my experience, too: no line glitches, no window corner issues (using dark mode, with the Half Dome Night Sky as the desktop background image). Don't know if that would apply for normal mode and a brighter or darker background image.

I've had exactly one game-related glitch in ten days. I don't play Civ <anything>, but playing the WoW Shadowlands beta last week, the game hung up when I was trying to switch characters (that is, in the character section screen, not something I would have thought of as graphics-intensive). Locked hard, non-responsive to command-option-escape or anything else I tried, and did a variety of odd graphics things. Could have been the card, could have been the driver, could have been the net s/w. Nothing like that since, and certainly haven't tried tuning the long list of graphics settings; will wait for the "retail" (release) version for that.

So the Mac is still being shipped without the latest version of Catalina? No one reads any of the 17 pages of this thread?

The M1 solved my dilemma: Going to give up on the idea of iMac and go with Mac Mini. Never did like it when Apple dropped the matching monitor for iMac.

(Finished cleaning up my Outlook mail yesterday. Gave up on counting the number of emails I had received AFTER the resolution.)