Got an iMac 2011 21.5" I want to upgrade the Wifi, BT, and graphics...

[Kal-037]

So I bought an iMac Mid 2011 (has i5 Processor, 500GB SSD, and 16-32GB RAM capacity) Is replacing a wifi/bt card and graphics card very difficult to do? I wish I had the cash to get an iMac 5K, but for $150 for a great Mac with a good screen and good specs, I can't complain. I'll upgrade in a few years as I get more money.
Anyways, again, does anyone know what level of difficulty this might be. I have searched google and haven't found too much on something for the 21.5" mid 2011 iMac.


Kallum.

 

[MagicWok]

It'll be easy to upgrade the memory, with 16GB a nice medium. I don't recall if the i5 supported 32GB, I'm sure the i7s did.

You can upgrade both the graphics card and hard drives. Both come with some degree of difficulty depending on your appetite for risk and ability to tinker with computer hardware.

As with both, it's a pretty easy search still. Good luck.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Hard+Drive+Replacement/7555

 

[Kal-037]

It'll be easy to upgrade the memory, with 16GB a nice medium. I don't recall if the i5 supported 32GB, I'm sure the i7s did.

You can upgrade both the graphics card and hard drives. Both come with some degree of difficulty depending on your appetite for risk and ability to tinker with computer hardware.

As with both, it's a pretty easy search still. Good luck.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Hard+Drive+Replacement/7555

Thanks for the links and confidence boost, I’m good with taking stuff apart, been doing it for other PCs for years, but not so much with Macs, but now that I know what they look like under the hood (I got this.)
Also I DID already install the SSD with no issues except the loud fan did to the lack of thermal sensor.
I will throw RAM in there soon, but the Wifi is my biggest concern, can one instal WiFi AC card in iMacs to replace WiFi A/B/G/N? And get BT 4.0 or higher as the one I have now is BT 2.0 I think.


Again, thanks for any additional help folks.

 

[arkieboy72472]

having taken apart a few iMacs a few times here is my 2 cents:

Have 2 spots with two towels set aside ahead of time, one for the front glass and one for the LCD screen.

The ifixit kit with all of the bits has the tools you need but if you don't have it you need a new torxs screwdrivers and some suction cups. You can get by without the suction cups. On that note, some glass fronts tilt open and come off while some come off straight up. Know the one you have. I broke off a metal peg not doing this.

have a magnet pad for screws or something suitable. remember the order of the screws. some are longer or shorter.

do a module or part at a time. if you can remove something like the speaker or optical drive or power supply first to make your job easier, do it.

take this time to clean the machine well with spray air.

be careful with the wifi wires. they are delicate. I screwed some up and they are a pain to redo. put them back on very carefully.

if you can take off ram covers and take out ram, do that just to get stuff out of the way for bigger repairs. don't strip the screws for that cover. don't ask me how I know they can be stripped.

take your time with the 3-4 connectors for the LCD screen. There is a best order for them to come off and be put back in.

have plenty of light.

the motherboard has a bunch of connectors. most only fit that one spot. if you can please use a little scotch tape and tape them to something out of the way. this way when putting the board back in, you will not trap and or forget a cable behind the board which will make you have to take it back out to find and fix....like the turn on button. don't ask me how I learned this. if you do it once and see what I mean it will blow your mind. you can even do it a cable at a time. most spots on the board are labeled anyways.

 

[CMCook]

I will throw RAM in there soon, but the Wifi is my biggest concern, can one instal WiFi AC card in iMacs to replace WiFi A/B/G/N? And get BT 4.0 or higher as the one I have now is BT 2.0 I think.

This is a thread for just that. Requires an adapter card and a WiFi/Bluetooth combo card.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/imac-mid-2011-bluetooth-4-0-internal-upgrade.1780242/
Thread isn’t too long. Read all the posts. Towards the end it gets into stuff about handoff/continuity. I used the 3602CDP card and it works well.