I have an early 2006 20" iMac with a CoreDuo processor and 2GB of RAM. Since this prevented me from upgrading to Lion, I set out to find a newer C2D iMac in the Marketplace.
While doing so, someone pointed out to me that in fact the processor on my particular model of iMac was socketed, and that it could be upgraded to a Core2Duo processor. So here is what I did:
1.) Purchased a T7600 (2.3GHz C2D) processor off of eBay. Suffice to say there are tons of people selling working pulls that are guaranteed, and I was able to find one for $105 including shipping. The median price seemed to be around $110/$120 from reputable sellers.
2.) Using the iFixit guide, I disassembled my iMac and replaced the processor. Not a job for the uninitiated, but not bad if you've been under the hood of a laptop with a bunch of Torx drivers. Just take your time and be careful, that's all.
3.) Since my iMac was nearly six years old, I took the opportunity to replace the CMOS battery while I was under the hood. An easy thing to do, and readily available at any WalMart or Radio Shack for a few bucks.
4.) I also replaced the stock 250GB hard drive with a 750GB Seagate Barracuda, which was a mistake on my part due to the heat it generated. It died within a week due to overheating. My fault, as I should have run the SMC fan control utility and bumped the fan speeds up a bit to deal with the added heat load. Please learn from my mistake if you do this.
5.) After everything was reassembled, I installed a patched copy of Lion so the OS would install. The instructions on how to do this are in this thread.
Now for the fun part.
Since EFI limitations prevented the system from exceeding the 2GB RAM limit, I poked around on the Web and found a guy who has written an EFI update for this particular machine/motherboard that removes the limit. You can find the instructions and installer here. Do note that to access the download you have to join the forum.
6.) I ran the EFI upgrade utility and voila! Now the machine is recognized as the C2D model, AND it recognizes more than 2GB of RAM.
I only had one 2GB SODIMM, so the question of the 3GB limit was still in place.
I got another 2GB SODIMM from OWC today, and guess what? I now have 4GB of RAM in the machine, and the OS and hardware recognize it!
For the grand total of about $165 and some time, I now have a 2.3GHz C2D iMac with 4GB of RAM happily running OS 10.7.2. Granted, the next update could potentially break this, but that is something I can control.
If anyone has any questions, please ask.
MacDann
While doing so, someone pointed out to me that in fact the processor on my particular model of iMac was socketed, and that it could be upgraded to a Core2Duo processor. So here is what I did:
1.) Purchased a T7600 (2.3GHz C2D) processor off of eBay. Suffice to say there are tons of people selling working pulls that are guaranteed, and I was able to find one for $105 including shipping. The median price seemed to be around $110/$120 from reputable sellers.
2.) Using the iFixit guide, I disassembled my iMac and replaced the processor. Not a job for the uninitiated, but not bad if you've been under the hood of a laptop with a bunch of Torx drivers. Just take your time and be careful, that's all.
3.) Since my iMac was nearly six years old, I took the opportunity to replace the CMOS battery while I was under the hood. An easy thing to do, and readily available at any WalMart or Radio Shack for a few bucks.
4.) I also replaced the stock 250GB hard drive with a 750GB Seagate Barracuda, which was a mistake on my part due to the heat it generated. It died within a week due to overheating. My fault, as I should have run the SMC fan control utility and bumped the fan speeds up a bit to deal with the added heat load. Please learn from my mistake if you do this.
5.) After everything was reassembled, I installed a patched copy of Lion so the OS would install. The instructions on how to do this are in this thread.
Now for the fun part.
Since EFI limitations prevented the system from exceeding the 2GB RAM limit, I poked around on the Web and found a guy who has written an EFI update for this particular machine/motherboard that removes the limit. You can find the instructions and installer here. Do note that to access the download you have to join the forum.
6.) I ran the EFI upgrade utility and voila! Now the machine is recognized as the C2D model, AND it recognizes more than 2GB of RAM.
I only had one 2GB SODIMM, so the question of the 3GB limit was still in place.
I got another 2GB SODIMM from OWC today, and guess what? I now have 4GB of RAM in the machine, and the OS and hardware recognize it!
For the grand total of about $165 and some time, I now have a 2.3GHz C2D iMac with 4GB of RAM happily running OS 10.7.2. Granted, the next update could potentially break this, but that is something I can control.
If anyone has any questions, please ask.
MacDann
