iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2889 Teardown
By Sam Goldheart • Difficulty: Moderate
Introduction

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.

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Step 1
  • 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
  • More on those accessories later...
Step 2
  • As tempted as we are to play with the new Magic things, we briefly turn our attention to the port side rear 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.
Step 3
  • 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.
Step 4
  • 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...
Step 5
  • Once again, this high resolution display is brought to you by LG.
  • A few turns of the old screwdriver shows us the first glimpse of the good stuff.
Step 6
  • 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
Step 7
  • Are we lost in time or are does this look exactly the same as last year's 21.5" iMac?
  • Answer: Time travel has not been invented yet.
  • Despite the similar appearance, the Fusion Drive in this model has a significantly smaller flash partition than the previous generation.
  • 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!
Step 8
  • 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.
Step 9
  • 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
Step 10
  • 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
Step 11
  • 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.
Step 12
  • 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.