Astonished how well an early 2008 iMac still functions

[SocialKonstruct]

I got a solid bargain with an early 2008 iMac w/ 4 gb of RAM and a 1 Tb HDD and I repaired the OS with El Capitain. Now it works flawlessly. For a machine which is 12 years old, it can run Netflix and not crash with Affinity Photo or iTunes

Anyone else using old iMacs for household purposes?

 

[Agile55]

Agreed as mine’s a 24“ 2007 model that I bought in early 2008 as a refurb. from APPL.

I did have 4gbs of RAM added to it yrs. ago & clearly maxed out w/ El Capitain but it‘s still motoring along.

 

[ATC]

Typing this on an early 2009 24" iMac 9,1 running Mojave, and it's fantastic. I've upgraded the RAM to 8gb, still running original hardware otherwise. I'm not brave enough to tear it open and upgrade the HD to SSD but that's one thing I might do in the future to extend its life even further.

 

[UbuntuFu]

Typing this on an early 2009 24" iMac 9,1 running Mojave, and it's fantastic. I've upgraded the RAM to 8gb, still running original hardware otherwise. I'm not brave enough to tear it open and upgrade the HD to SSD but that's one thing I might do in the future to extend its life even further.

It's pretty easy actually to upgrade to SSD. I gave my 2009 24 inch iMac to my parents when I bought my 2013 27 inch and they use it daily. That one is on Sierra though. I also still have my 2013 imac and use it daily (upgraded it with an external SSD since I didn't want to open this one up). Replying to you right now on this iMac. Although I'd like a new 5k iMac I will keep waiting for a redesign or when SSD's become standard.

 

[grwren]

I inherited my wife's 2009 27" imac, 1tb 8g, when she got a new one and I too am impressed with how well it seems to be working. It's in great shape and after some much needed clean up & maintenance ( like clearing out about 750gb form the Trash bin!) it does seem to respond a bit more quickly. Other being a little on the slow side at boot up, I's say probably similar to my nearly 4 year old W10 HP laptop, I'm pretty happy with it.

Ultimately my goal is to try and dual boot it with Linux something. I've confirmed it will live boot Linux Cinnamon and also run Linux Cinnamon installed on an external usb drive with seemingly little or no problem.

Well, enjoy & good luck!

 

[mj_]

Of course it will work. Of course it will run Affinity or iTunes - why wouldn't it? Of course it will still be usable to a certain extent to run modern software, browse the web, etc. Of course it won't crash while doing so, because macOS is a modern operating system with application memory isolation, enhanced memory management capabilities, and preemptive multitasking built-in.

It'll just be abysmally slow when you start stressing it, that is all.

 

[Fishrrman]

I kept a 2006 white Intel iMac going for 12 years before I finally retired it.
Was still booting and running well enough when I put it back into its original box...

 

[ATC]

It's pretty easy actually to upgrade to SSD. I gave my 2009 24 inch iMac to my parents when I bought my 2013 27 inch and they use it daily. That one is on Sierra though. I also still have my 2013 imac and use it daily (upgraded it with an external SSD since I didn't want to open this one up). Replying to you right now on this iMac. Although I'd like a new 5k iMac I will keep waiting for a redesign or when SSD's become standard.

Yeah I've had numerous members here tell me it's easy and looking at the OWC tutorial (link) I think I can do it. OWC even sells a DIY SSD upgrade kit for my iMac which I'm thinking of ordering - here.

 

[eRondeau]

Congratulations on preserving your "vintage" iMac! Definitely +1 for the SSD upgrade; it really is straightforward and opening up your iMac will give you a new appreciation for its industrial design from the inside out. It will also give you an opportunity to clear-out a decade's worth of dust accumulation which will let it run cooler & quieter. (Replacing the thermal paste on the CPU seems to be all the rage these days too although I've never yet done that.) My guess is you'll really enjoy doing the "minor surgery" and end-up with a much faster vintage iMac.

 

[cooperd]

I've replaced the PSU board that went pop in my early 2008 quite a few years ago and up until a few weeks ago it's been well used in the bedroom for the likes of Netflix et al.

Then watching Netflix three/four weeks ago the screen froze (audio continued) and it was dead...would not reboot any more except into safe mode.

I have now fixed it without spending any money on it ? (see my post on what I tried).

So now watching Netflix again on this early 2008 with 4Gb RAM running El Capitan. I suspect we can keep these going as bedroom entertainment systems just as long as Chrome/Firefox support El Capitan as an OS. Then they will have to be retired. Shame the WiFi drivers are not in High Sierra (seeing that all that is stopping the upgrade via @dosdude1 fix). If I could cat5 to my router I would, but it's in another room and don't want to route cables all over the place ?

Enjoy them whilst we still can!! ???

 

[Spudlicious]

I've replaced the PSU board that went pop in my early 2008 quite a few years ago and up until a few weeks ago it's been well used in the bedroom for the likes of Netflix et al.

Then watching Netflix three/four weeks ago the screen froze (audio continued) and it was dead...would not reboot any more except into safe mode.

I have now fixed it without spending any money on it ? (see my post on what I tried).

So now watching Netflix again on this early 2008 with 4Gb RAM running El Capitan. I suspect we can keep these going as bedroom entertainment systems just as long as Chrome/Firefox support El Capitan as an OS. Then they will have to be retired. Shame the WiFi drivers are not in High Sierra (seeing that all that is stopping the upgrade via @dosdude1 fix). If I could cat5 to my router I would, but it's in another room and don't want to route cables all over the place ?

Enjoy them whilst we still can!! ???

Your Cat 5 comment caught my eye. There is just one Cat 5 connection to my router, it feeds a Powerline adaptor. My iMac and my NAS drives are networked via Powerline, I’ve worked that way for six years and it’s been 100% reliable, totally recommend it.