Tips to extend the life of your new iMac

yUnoNinja · Feb 19, 2013

First post here. I was trying to find some tips on how to extend the life of an iMac. I just recently purchased a new iMac and would like to take care of it as much as I can. I was looking for a few tips on..............

1. Should I always turn off my iMac when I'm not using it OR leave it on and put a sleep timer on it?

2. Is there some kind of diagnostic check program I should use monthly?

3. And what kind of tips do you have that keeps your iMac in tip top performance?

Thanks.

leman · Feb 19, 2013

The best way to extend the life of your iMac is: a) keep the room climatised (not too high temperatures, moderate moisture, don't let direct sunlight onto the computer) and b) make sure that your power is not 'dirty' (stable voltage, no sudden jumps and fluctuations). Dirty power is the main reason for premature computer death.

The rest is just luck.

P.S. As to your questions - it does not matter. Im my experience, OS X does not degrade performance with time.

stockcerts · Feb 19, 2013

I just replaced my first generation aluminum iMac with a new 27" model. My old model served me well. I left it on all the time and just used it. It got moved around a few times as I relocated several times during those years.

I don't think there's much to do to get longevity, but it's always advisable to have a current back-up (big fan of Time Machine).

DerekS · Feb 19, 2013

Don't worry about things like this. Really.

By the time it dies you'll want a new one.

Just enjoy it.

Fishrrman · Feb 19, 2013

"3. And what kind of tips do you have that keeps your iMac in tip top performance?"

- Repair permissions (using Disk Utility)

- Verify condition of drives (again using DU). If any problems noted, boot from another source, run DU again, and click the "repair" option.

- Do the "cron jobs" and clean caches and logs. There are freeware utility apps that can do this. Two that come to mind are "OynX" and "Maintenance", available here:
http://www.titanium.free.fr

- Consider defragmenting the drive occasionally. You are going to see replies to the effect that "OS X doesn't need defragmenting, it defrags itself", etc. This is MISinformation. The OS can re-concactenate _some_ files of certain sizes, but not all, and this does nothing to reduce the fragmentation (scattering) of files on the drive vis-a-vis open space. Two apps that can defrag/optimize a drive are "iDefrag" and "Drive Genius".

If you read these boards for a while, you will see postings from users who report that their Macs ran great when new, but seem to be "slowing down" with use. Do some routine maintenance, and this won't be a problem

crgraham32 · Feb 19, 2013

leman said:
The best way to extend the life of your iMac is: b) make sure that your power is not 'dirty' (stable voltage, no sudden jumps and fluctuations). Dirty power is the main reason for premature computer death.

leman, or others, what is the best bang for the buck for clean power?

HenryDJP · Feb 19, 2013

Fishrrman said:
"3. And what kind of tips do you have that keeps your iMac in tip top performance?"

- Repair permissions (using Disk Utility)

- Verify condition of drives (again using DU). If any problems noted, boot from another source, run DU again, and click the "repair" option.

- Do the "cron jobs" and clean caches and logs. There are freeware utility apps that can do this. Two that come to mind are "OynX" and "Maintenance", available here:
http://www.titanium.free.fr

- Consider defragmenting the drive occasionally. You are going to see replies to the effect that "OS X doesn't need defragmenting, it defrags itself", etc. This is MISinformation. The OS can re-concactenate _some_ files of certain sizes, but not all, and this does nothing to reduce the fragmentation (scattering) of files on the drive vis-a-vis open space. Two apps that can defrag/optimize a drive are "iDefrag" and "Drive Genius".

If you read these boards for a while, you will see postings from users who report that their Macs ran great when new, but seem to be "slowing down" with use. Do some routine maintenance, and this won't be a problem…

No disrespect but none of this will extend the life of the Mac, nor is most of it really necessary in terms of maintenance.

@OP, the best way to extend the life of your iMac is to not use it at all. I'm being sarcastic but serious at the same time. Just use it normally. Apple designed the machine to Run, Cool itself properly and to do self maintenance outside of the software updates the user installs. It's really the luck of the draw. Some people will have Macs that last for several years. My Sunflower iMac lasted 9 years before the hard drive died. Replaced the hard drive and it's still running over 10 years running Tiger. I use it the same way and with the same care that I use my Macs of today, but my more recent Macs have had some issues. Again, it's the luck of the draw, no need to baby it.

yUnoNinja · Feb 19, 2013

Hey, thanks guys for the feed back! I have an old 2007ish imac and the screen has three vertical lines running through it. Don't know how it happened, maybe just old. It's been almost 6 yrs since I had it, just wanna make sure the new imac has a long life and wanted to heard some imac life tips. Thanks for the links too!

chuckiehina · Feb 19, 2013

I agree with avoiding dirty power. Highly recommend using an UPS.

leman said:
The best way to extend the life of your iMac is: a) keep the room climatised (not too high temperatures, moderate moisture, don't let direct sunlight onto the computer) and b) make sure that your power is not 'dirty' (stable voltage, no sudden jumps and fluctuations). Dirty power is the main reason for premature computer death.

crgraham32 · Feb 19, 2013

I keep seeing UPS recommended. Why should I use this instead of a good surge protector like:

Monster Power MDP800 Green Powercenter (8-Outlet, 3140 Joule Rating)

Advanced Dual Mode Plus surge protection with automatic disconnect and audible alarm
Monster GreenPower stops standby mode energy waste and saves money
Dual Mode Plus automatically disconnects and sounds an alarm to protect your equipment
Exclusive PC Clean Power Stage 1 filtering rejects noise and interference

I don't get many losses of power and I'm not really worried about losing data.

crgraham32 · Feb 20, 2013

Why should I get a UPS vs a good surge protector such as the Monster Power MDP800 Green Powercenter (3140 Joule Rating) with the following features?

Advanced Dual Mode Plus surge protection with automatic disconnect and audible alarm

Monster GreenPower stops standby mode energy waste and saves money

Dual Mode Plus automatically disconnects and sounds an alarm to protect your equipment

Exclusive PC Clean Power Stage 1 filtering rejects noise and interference

I don't have many power blackouts and I'm not too worried about losing data in a blackout. Would the UPS offer any other advantages?

chelch · Feb 20, 2013

crgraham32 said:
Why should I get a UPS vs a good surge protector such as the Monster Power MDP800 Green Powercenter (3140 Joule Rating) with the following features?

Advanced Dual Mode Plus surge protection with automatic disconnect and audible alarm

Monster GreenPower stops standby mode energy waste and saves money

Dual Mode Plus automatically disconnects and sounds an alarm to protect your equipment

Exclusive PC Clean Power Stage 1 filtering rejects noise and interference

I don't have many power blackouts and I'm not too worried about losing data in a blackout. Would the UPS offer any other advantages?

Anything from Monster is a huge rip-off. Sorry to those that own anything from them but you were hustled. They have an amazing marketing dept.

The AC to DC rectifier inside the iMac and all DC devices "cleans" any "dirty" power automatically. So don't worry about that. What can be a problem in some areas is fluctuating AC. If your lights flicker and brown outs are common then a UPS is a must. They're also great for peace-of-mind when you're working on something and the power goes out. They give you time to save your work and shut it down properly.

A quasi-sine wave UPS is best as they switch from AC to battery faster than "pure" sine wave, and...
http://www.kerchner.com/electrical/sinewave.htm

If you don't think a UPS is required, any cheap power bar with surge protection is fine, as long as it has an indicator showing if the surge protection is on. When the light goes out, get a new power bar.

crgraham32 · Feb 20, 2013

chelch said:
Anything from Monster is a huge rip-off. Sorry to those that own anything from them but you were hustled. They have an amazing marketing dept.

The AC to DC rectifier inside the iMac and all DC devices "cleans" any "dirty" power automatically. So don't worry about that. What can be a problem in some areas is fluctuating AC. If your lights flicker and brown outs are common then a UPS is a must. They're also great for peace-of-mind when you're working on something and the power goes out. They give you time to save your work and shut it down properly.

A quasi-sine wave UPS is best as they switch from AC to battery faster than "pure" sine wave, and...
http://www.kerchner.com/electrical/sinewave.htm

If you don't think a UPS is required, any cheap power bar with surge protection is fine, as long as it has an indicator showing if the surge protection is on. When the light goes out, get a new power bar.

I only paid $29.99 for it, so I wasn't hustled too much. Is it not a good product or do you just think they are over-priced?

What about the APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V? It's only $59.99 on Amazon.

FreemanW · Feb 20, 2013

crgraham32 said:
I only paid $29.99 for it, so I wasn't hustled too much. Is it not a good product or do you just think they are over-priced?

What about the APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V? It's only $59.99 on Amazon.

Without a UPS, if you're using a device when the grid goes down, you've effectively just pulled the power plug out of the wall receptacle. I view a UPS as a must-have item.

As for the size/capacity of the UPS, look at the amount of watts that you're using and size the appropriate UPS to your needs and desired runtime for saving, closing work, and shutting down the computer . . . or getting your stand-by power up and running.

I've placed a new CyberPower 1500 AVR online for my late 2012 iMac and it is showing a projected 66 minutes of runtime on the battery. My iMac (Core i7 27") pulls approximately 60 watts.

chelch · Feb 20, 2013

crgraham32 said:
I only paid $29.99 for it, so I wasn't hustled too much. Is it not a good product or do you just think they are over-priced?

What about the APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V? It's only $59.99 on Amazon.

I'm using that one for a Mac mini, USB HDD, router & modem. It's worked great so far. It's nice still having wifi when the power goes out!

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Tips to extend the life of your new iMac

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