2008 iMac Upgrades

[LumbermanSVO]

A 2008 iMac with these specs just fell into my possession, I don't really have a use for it at the moment as I have a MacMini in my rack doing server duty. But I'd still like to play with it a bit.

It looks like upgrading the RAM and HDD are pretty straightforward.

Can I upgrade the CPU? If so, what should I be looking for?

It looks like the optical drive is PATA so I can't us that bay for a SSD, correct?

Any other suggestions?

 

[Nospig]

Any other suggestions?

I have one just like it. I use it to stop the box it came in from blowing away. I wouldn't spend money on it if you don't have a use for it.

 

[Berlepsch]

put an SSD in and max out the RAM if you want to spend the money. Upgrading the CPU could be a bit tricky with the thermal budget in a 20" iMac, and will probably not speed up the system very much in everyday use.

Anyway, I suspect that you won't have much fun with the TFT display, especially if you are used to modern IPS screens.

 

[BrettApple]

SSD swap and 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 and you should be good. Not worth putting anything else into it but that'll make it perfectly usable on the web and with the latest OS.

I've got a base model 2007 similar to yours with an SSD and 4GB of RAM. Runs fine on El Capitan. Ran better on Mavericks and below, but it still works and is supported 9 years later so I'm not complaining.

If you don't need much space a 120 GB SSD can be had for $40 these days, 240 GB isn't much more either, seen them around $60. RAM is pretty cheap too at under $30 for a 4GB kit.

So, for $70 you get a fully functional iMac that can be used for most tasks. Office 2016 runs well on it, Safari, iTunes, etc all good. Even the Adobe Creative suite runs well on mine (still using CS5 though).

Oh, and an AdaptaDrive will make mounting the SSD a breeze. Or you can use double sided tape. I've used both.

 

[mmomega]

I put an old Samsung 830 128GB SSD and 6GB RAM and currently it's in one of our guest bedrooms for people to use that stay over.
It's a great machine and replaced my G4 17" 1GHz which now has a permanent place just sitting on the top shelf in my garage just being the best looking computer ever.