2012 iMac 27" - should I repair or replace?

[jabbo1000]

I have a 2012 27" iMac that keeps crashing and is very slow. Is it worth repairing, or should I replace it with a new model? If the former I would be looking for more than just a "band aid" solution - a good further several years use without the frequent crashing and slow speed - is this possible?

 

[Juicy Box]

There could be all sorts of reasons for your iMac to crash, and not necessarily something that requires a HW repair.

That said, if you have a HDD or Fusion Drive, the HDD is probably starting to go.

Could you post your specs of you iMac and what OS you are using? If you are using Catalina, it just doesn't play nice with HDDs.

If it is the HDD/Fusion Drive that is starting to fail, an easy and cheap solution would be to use an external SSD over USB3 as your boot drive. The speeds of the drive would fast, most likely faster than your aging internal SSD (if you have one), and definitely faster than your internal HDD.

If it is just the HDD and you are other wise happy with you Late 2012 iMac, I would stick with that until you are ready to purchase something newer. I have a Late 2012 iMac and am very impressed with the performance of it even after all these years.


Let us know your specs and the OS you are using to properly help you.

 

[jabbo1000]

There could be all sorts of reasons for your iMac to crash, and not necessarily something that requires a HW repair.

That said, if you have a HDD or Fusion Drive, the HDD is probably starting to go.

Could you post your specs of you iMac and what OS you are using? If you are using Catalina, it just doesn't play nice with HDDs.

If it is the HDD/Fusion Drive that is starting to fail, an easy and cheap solution would be to use an external SSD over USB3 as your boot drive. The speeds of the drive would fast, most likely faster than your aging internal SSD (if you have one), and definitely faster than your internal HDD.

If it is just the HDD and you are other wise happy with you Late 2012 iMac, I would stick with that until you are ready to purchase something newer. I have a Late 2012 iMac and am very impressed with the performance of it even after all these years.


Let us know your specs and the OS you are using to properly help you.

I really appreciate the reply. The specs are as follows. No upgrades since purchased.

27'' iMac late 2012
2.9 GHz Intel Core iS
8 GB 1600 MHz DDD3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 512 MB
OS is High Sierra 10.13.4

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You still DID NOT TELL US what kind of DRIVE you have inside the iMac.
That could be very important...

 

[jabbo1000]

It has a 1TB SATA disk.

 

[davenet]

The only repair I would attempt is to replace the hard drive with an SSD. I did the same on a similar model and the results were fantastic. Expect to spend $200-250 or so for this repair unless you can do the work yourself. In that case it will be under $100.

 

[jabbo1000]

The only repair I would attempt is to replace the hard drive with an SSD. I did the same on a similar model and the results were fantastic. Expect to spend $200-250 or so for this repair unless you can do the work yourself. In that case it will be under $100.

Yes this seems like something I should definitely do. Think I will buy an external SSD drive and boot from there. Thanks for your advice.

 

[zerofour]

I've got a very similar age Mac with a dicky Fusion drive which left me seeing beachballs... Initially thought of an internal SSD replacement but in the end I've settled with a Samsung 1TB external. It's made a huge difference. I now boot from the external drive. I've kept the OS on the fusion drive but basically now everything is on the external SSD - now just waiting on the M2 or whatever iMacs!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Also check the temperature readings from various sensors inside the iMac.
If temperature readings are high but the fans are spinning like crazy, it's advisable that you clean-up the inside of your iMac.
A dusty iMac tends to crash because of overheating.

 

[Poultererb]

how do you clean the inside of the mac

 

[Poultererb]

my Imac is november 2011

 

[Poultererb]

it was working fine until the new release of OS in January and now I get the blank screen. I tried first aid and it failed I am trying to decide do I spend $ 200-300 to fix it or just wait until new Imac comes out in Oct.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

my Imac is november 2011

If you are not comfortable with working inside an iMac, you definitely should replace it, unless the repair shop in your neighborhood charge you a resonable price to fix it.
Just consider the cost of a new M1 Mac Mini is 700$.

On the other hand, just open the iMac and give it a thorough cleaning, to see if it fix your issue. 2011 model is easy to open out.

Other things you may consider, when you have opened it:
- Replace the HDD with SSD.
- Check the LCD back light board to see any blown-off components (a spare LCD backlight board cost cheap, and easy to replace)
- Last thing is the video card.

 

[mdgm]

The 2011 doesn't have USB3, but it does have Thunderbolt 1 which is better than USB3, though more expensive. For the 2012 it's probably not worth using Thunderbolt unless you really want the best performance. However TB1 vs FW800/USB2 is a much bigger difference.

I have a 2011 iMac booting off Thunderbolt. 2011 iMac -> TB(1/2) cable -> Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter -> TB3 dock -> TB3 NVMe drive. Not cheap, but it's faster than a single internal SATA III drive would be.

 

[Poultererb]

If you are not comfortable with working inside an iMac, you definitely should replace it, unless the repair shop in your neighborhood charge you a resonable price to fix it.
Just consider the cost of a new M1 Mac Mini is 700$.

On the other hand, just open the iMac and give it a thorough cleaning, to see if it fix your issue. 2011 model is easy to open out.

Other things you may consider, when you have opened it:
- Replace the HDD with SSD.
- Check the LCD back light board to see any blown-off components (a spare LCD backlight board cost cheap, and easy to replace)
- Last thing is the video card.

Nguyen Thanks for your suggestions. I can open it up and try to clean it. If I buy the mac mini M1 can I use the imac as the screen? I am concerned as I just get a white screen the logo and then this line trying to start itup that maybe it won't work with an external Mac Mini. I don't have the knowledge to replace a drive but a local shop said they could analyze it for $80 and a new hard drive would be $ 179. Thanks for replying much appreciated. Bruce

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Nguyen Thanks for your suggestions. I can open it up and try to clean it. If I buy the mac mini M1 can I use the imac as the screen? I am concerned as I just get a white screen the logo and then this line trying to start itup that maybe it won't work with an external Mac Mini. I don't have the knowledge to replace a drive but a local shop said they could analyze it for $80 and a new hard drive would be $ 179. Thanks for replying much appreciated. Bruce

To get the iMac work as the screen (Target Display Mode), you need to get to the log-in screen first, which doesn't work in your case. Your description is clearly a GPU failure signature, which is very common with iMac 2011 and 10 years of use.
You already got the white screen at power-up, then backlight board and the whole LCD panel is working fine. Only the GPU is failing.
You can ask the local shop to make a quotation for the following servces:

1. Cleaning inside
2. Replace the old HDD with new SSD and install/move your data over to the SSD.
3. Rebake the GPU. At home, DIYer use the oven (200 degree Celcius for 8 min), but a repair shop just need a hot air station and some patience to apply hot air only to the GPU main chip. Big repair shop may have the GPU reballing/reheating machine to apply heat on both sides of the GPU chip, but they will charge higher.
4. After successfully rebaking the GPU, your iMac will work, but to keep it last longer, you can under-clock the GPU.
- Copy the vBIOS of the GPU to PC (need Windows OS, GPU-Z application)
- Modify it (underclock) using AMD Application.
- Write it back to the GPU.

Check Techpowerup.com for guidance and necessary software/applications.

To use the iMac as the screen for mini M1, you will need
1. Apple Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter (mini M1 use Thunderbolt 3 port to output video signal)
2. Thunderbolt 2 cable. (video input port on the iMac 2011 use thunderbolt 1/2, which is the same as a miniDisplayport, but a simple miniDisplayPort cable may not work)

The above items may cost you well over 100$ to buy new.

A simpler option is to buy another PC monitor and use the HDMI port on the M1.

 

[Poultererb]

To get the iMac work as the screen (Target Display Mode), you need to get to the log-in screen first, which doesn't work in your case. Your description is clearly a GPU failure signature, which is very common with iMac 2011 and 10 years of use.
You already got the white screen at power-up, then backlight board and the whole LCD panel is working fine. Only the GPU is failing.
You can ask the local shop to make a quotation for the following servces:

1. Cleaning inside
2. Replace the old HDD with new SSD and install/move your data over to the SSD.
3. Rebake the GPU. At home, DIYer use the oven (200 degree Celcius for 8 min), but a repair shop just need a hot air station and some patience to apply hot air only to the GPU main chip. Big repair shop may have the GPU reballing/reheating machine to apply heat on both sides of the GPU chip, but they will charge higher.
4. After successfully rebaking the GPU, your iMac will work, but to keep it last longer, you can under-clock the GPU.
- Copy the vBIOS of the GPU to PC (need Windows OS, GPU-Z application)
- Modify it (underclock) using AMD Application.
- Write it back to the GPU.

Check Techpowerup.com for guidance and necessary software/applications.

To use the iMac as the screen for mini M1, you will need
1. Apple Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter (mini M1 use Thunderbolt 3 port to output video signal)
2. Thunderbolt 2 cable. (video input port on the iMac 2011 use thunderbolt 1/2, which is the same as a miniDisplayport, but a simple miniDisplayPort cable may not work)

The above items may cost you well over 100$ to buy new.

A simpler option is to buy another PC monitor and use the HDMI port on the M1.

wow you have been so helpful let me look at these options and discuss them with the shop I am talking to for next steps. Thanks so much Bruce