27" iMacs at thrift store (no OS)

[MDL]

Saw these today, don't know much about them. I've installed OSs on PC and Mac (MacBook) before, but didn't know if there was anything else to be aware of.

I was going to just bring in a disc and try to install the OS to see if it still operated fine, would this work?

Here are some photos I snagged. http://m.imgur.com/SCskGAY,Gy3lDoH,HYKETga,M9QZPl0,VuKhWHP

Would really like to turn one into an office computer, but no biggie if they're a red flag.

 

[maflynn]

I was going to just bring in a disc and try to install the OS to see if it still operated fine, would this work?

Probably not if its a recent iMac, as they do not have optical drives.

How much are they offering? It might be worth the gamble.

 

[MDL]

Probably not if its a recent iMac, as they do not have optical drives.

How much are they offering? It might be worth the gamble.

I believe it had a CD drive on the side, not sure.

The price was $450 each.

 

[maflynn]

I believe it had a CD drive on the side, not sure.

The price was $450 each.

So that means its a probably a 2011 model, as the late 2012 iMacs dropped the optical drive

Everymac has the estimated value to be around 900 - 1150
http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...inch-aluminum-mid-2011-thunderbolt-specs.html

I made some assumptions in that I took the base model, this one may be faster, but it gives you an idea of the worth (if it is in fact the 2011 model).

 

[Significant1]

You could bring a cabled keyboard/mouse and external harddrive with system on and select it as boot-disk on startup by pressing the alt/option-key during start up.

 

[MDL]

So that means its a probably a 2011 model, as the late 2012 iMacs dropped the optical drive

I made some assumptions in that I took the base model, this one may be faster, but it gives you an idea of the worth (if it is in fact the 2011 model).

Just to be clear, this is what I believe to be a CD drive, am I correct? http://m.imgur.com/HYKETga

I'm also a bit confused, I didn't measure it, but this display certainly seems larger than 21" and was labeled as 27".

Did they make a 27" in 2011 as well?

You could bring a cabled keyboard/mouse and external harddrive with system on and select it as boot-disk on startup by pressing the alt/option-key during start up.

Thank you this is a good suggestion. I will look into getting the OS on an external HDD.

Any idea which version I should attempt?



Thanks guys!

 

[definitive]

Yes, those are CD drive slots. Not sure what a 27" iMac is doing in a thrift shop, especially three of them...

 

[tubeexperience]

You can find out which model it is from the serial number.

 

[MDL]

You can find out which model it is from the serial number.

I looked over it for a bit but never saw the serial. I can go back and report, though.

Will search to see where to look for the serial.

 

[Significant1]

Thank you this is a good suggestion. I will look into getting the OS on an external HDD.

Any idea which version I should attempt?

Thanks guys!

They are 2009 or newer and support El Capitan, even Sierra will be supported. You could also just create a bootable usb-key installer:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

 

[iWombBanger]

Be careful if it is a 2011 model. Those AMD GPU's tend to go belly up!

Also, serial number is on the metallic stand on the bottom.

 

[Significant1]

Be careful if it is a 2011 model. Those AMD GPU's tend to go belly up!

Also, serial number is on the metallic stand on the bottom.

Yes, to be specific. It is is the Radeon 6970M who has known to fail. I also had to replace the Radeon 4850M in my 2009 27" iMac (switched to 5750M 1GB from 2010 model, which works wonderful and much cooler).

 

[HallStevenson]

Not sure what a 27" iMac is doing in a thrift shop, especially three of them...

Donated by someone who has no interest in what is often a hassle in selling used stuff is my guess. Being (3) of them, they probably came from a business.
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Be careful if it is a 2011 model. Those AMD GPU's tend to go belly up!

At first I thought maybe it died and the owner just bought something else and didn't want to deal with it. Then I remember there are (3) of them ! Pretty slim odds that the GPU failed on all (3). I'd buy all (3) of them in a heartbeat if I had the cash ! Could resell them and make a decent little profit.

 

[maflynn]

Donated by someone who has no interest in what is often a hassle in selling used stuff is my guess. Being (3) of them, they probably came from a business.

Possibly, so they can write off the donation, as they see little to know benefit in selling a fully depreciated asset, so donating was the choice.

As I said, I'd roll the dice and grab one of them.

Booting it up with the optical drive and doing a quick check won't hurt, but I think it may be a nice find

 

[iWombBanger]

Yes, to be specific. It is is the Radeon 6970M who has known to fail. I also had to replace the Radeon 4850M in my 2009 27" iMac (switched to 5750M 1GB from 2010 model, which works wonderful and much cooler).

I've also seen more 6770M and 6750M go belly up that are in these iMacs also. I'd personally wouldn't buy any 2011 model.

 

[Dopeyman]

I think they're the 2010-2011 models. Those have the SD card slots underneath the optical drives.

Also, the serial #'s are located on the bottom side of the stand. So you would have to lay the computer down to see it.