2011 iMac longevity

[synchronicityiii]

I have a 2011 21.5” iMac that still works great with the memory upgraded to 16 GB and an external SSD running the OS.

I’m thinking of mounting it to a wall so I can view market charts on it during the day and using it as a music/photo player at night.

I looked up a few videos and installing an internal SSD seems doable, plus it’ll give me a chance to swap out the failed SuperDrive and clear out dust that’s accumulated around the fan over the past 7 years.

While I’m in there, is there anything else that should be upgraded to help it run for another few years? I noticed one of those circular watch-type batteries inside in the video.

What are the other potential points of failure that’ll keep it from running into the future?

Also, since it’ll be running primarily off an SSD, would it be better to turn it off periodically or is it okay to leave it running for days on end, just putting the display to sleep at night?

 

[Icy1007]

Not really a hardware issue, but the 2011 iMac will not be able to upgrade macOS past High Sierra.

 

[Jerion]

De-dusting the interior/cleaning out the fan(s) will probably go a long way to keeping it running smoothly (especially if you have a cat/dog); the fans in my old 2011 MBP used to show an uncanny resemblance to a lint trap every six months. I don’t recall hearing about any ongoing hardware issues with the 2011-era iMacs, so honestly, if something really major (like a logic board failure) hasn’t gone wrong by now, you’re probably fine for the next few years. Just be careful when you’re poking around in there- nothing more sigh-inducing for a DIY project than accidentally making it worse.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

The GPU is prone to fail in that model, but it is not something you can really upgrade.

 

[BrianBaughn]

The GPU is prone to fail in that model, but it is not something you can really upgrade.

The GPU failure is just for 27" models, isn't it?

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Longevity?

It is already seven years old and being passed by with USB2, TB1, failing graphic cards etc. For mine the only time my iMacs ever get a shut down and/or restart is when Software Upgrades or Updates require this.

 

[Guy Clark]

I have a 2011 21.5” iMac that still works great with the memory upgraded to 16 GB and an external SSD running the OS.

I’m thinking of mounting it to a wall so I can view market charts on it during the day and using it as a music/photo player at night.

I looked up a few videos and installing an internal SSD seems doable, plus it’ll give me a chance to swap out the failed SuperDrive and clear out dust that’s accumulated around the fan over the past 7 years.

While I’m in there, is there anything else that should be upgraded to help it run for another few years? I noticed one of those circular watch-type batteries inside in the video.

What are the other potential points of failure that’ll keep it from running into the future?

Also, since it’ll be running primarily off an SSD, would it be better to turn it off periodically or is it okay to leave it running for days on end, just putting the display to sleep at night?

I have the same model and it doesn't get turned off for two weeks at times with screensaver enabled. Double up replace the Superdrive with an SSD and replace the HDD with a Western Digital Blue for storage which are very reliable and available in capacity up to 6TB
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2428+Dual+Drive+Kit/6434
https://www.wdc.com/products/internal-storage/wd-blue-pc-desktop-hard-drive.html#WD60EZRZ