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Help me justify — upgrade from 2011 27” iMac

Meredithfp

Meredithfp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2017
9
2
Hey folks. I’ve got a 2010 27” iMac that I just love, even though it’s sooo slooow. I’m trying to justify upgrading.

I use my computer for everyday stuff — email, word processing, as well as work with Photoshop and other Adobe products. This is when I really notice my current computer’s limitations and I’ve started looking for work-arounds to avoid waiting around for it to work and then rebooting when my computer crashes. (Photo editing on my ipad instead?)

I realize it’s probably like comparing apples and oranges, but what would be the thing I’d notice and appreciate most if I were to upgrade? What are the biggest improvements?

Edited to add: Is it worth upgrading to a SSD? Or adding the 4 more RAM I’ve got space for?
 
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tn-xyz said:
definitely go from HDD to SSD.
the difference is night and day.

regarding your RAM, you didn't specify how much you currently use.
Click to expand...

Yup I didn't want to take my iMac 2011 to pieces so plugged in a Lacie 250GB Thunderbolt SSD and also upgraded the RAM to 16GB. Absolutely transformed the machine runs incredibly well now.

I'll consider changing to a new iMac when it actually physically dies
 
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It’s relatively easy to upgrade storage on those older iMacs and your Mac will take either 16GB or 32GB RAM. It’ll run better, but being already 7 years old, you’re just delaying the inevitable. It’s also getting increasingly likely that it’ll fail. Considering the cost of the bits, plus the HDD thermal kit you may need, I’d reckon that you put the money to a new one. If you’re on a budget, there is also the 4K 21.5”. 7 years is not a bad innings, let her go and enjoy a new one! :)
 
Thanks for all of the responses. I've been doing some work on my machine this morning trying to see what I can do to improve things. Everything looks like it should be running fine. I've got 12GB of RAM and Activity Monitor says I'm using 8. There's plenty of room on my hard disk. The only thing that seems off in Activity Monitor is the reads in vs. writes out. I found something saying the ratio should be no more than 10% and I've got more writes out than that. I have no idea what this means.

Considering getting a Lacie external drive to see if that helps things, like the poster above describes, but I feel like I'm still learning and am not sure if that will solve my problem.

And thanks for giving the justification, Conutz. I'm thinking that I don't mind investing a little bit to see if I can stick it out a little longer. Then I can donate the computer to my school and it'll still be useful.
 
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The slowest thing on my computer is when I launch apps. Mail takes a long time to launch. Photoshop takes about 10 minutes. So frustrating and essentially unworkable.
[doublepost=1510514103][/doublepost]My ex-husband came and took a look and he’s not convinced that any one thing will fix it. He suggested reinstalling everything, also, but that seems like a huge amount of trouble without being sure it will make a difference. Almost ready to pull the trigger.
 
The slowest thing on that model is the 7200rpm hard drive. Like molasses nowadays.

Even if you put an SSD in it, nowhere near as fast as a modern iMac, as the speed is hobbled to SATA II, or 5Gbps, whereas the new 2017 iMacs are 8Gbps for Flash and 6Gbps for SATA III. Plus faster graphics, memory etc etc etc.
 
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Meredithfp said:
The slowest thing on my computer is when I launch apps. Mail takes a long time to launch. Photoshop takes about 10 minutes. So frustrating and essentially unworkable.
[doublepost=1510514103][/doublepost]My ex-husband came and took a look and he’s not convinced that any one thing will fix it. He suggested reinstalling everything, also, but that seems like a huge amount of trouble without being sure it will make a difference. Almost ready to pull the trigger.
Click to expand...
It does seem very slow, which may indicate some deeper problem, hard to tell. Always a difficult call as to whether to stick out a bit more, but eventually it’s inevitable.

On the plus side, the new one will feel like a huge jump and “pay” for itself quickly in terms of reduced frustration!
 
tallandy said:
Yup I didn't want to take my iMac 2011 to pieces so plugged in a Lacie 250GB Thunderbolt SSD and also upgraded the RAM to 16GB. Absolutely transformed the machine runs incredibly well now.

I'll consider changing to a new iMac when it actually physically dies
Click to expand...

This is excellent advice. Thunderbolt external SSD as the boot drive will make a huge difference.
 
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dcmaccam said:
Hi, What Version of OSX do you use, what Lacie Thunderbolt Drive do you use and do you now boot your system from the Lacie drive all the time with no problems, Thanks.
Click to expand...

This is the drive I use: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lacie-Ru...90-/162733541357?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

I've used it for about 18 months and boot off it as the main hard drive, i've used El Capitan, Sierra and now High Sierra with no problems.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8u2llcgkdpwk9ya/Screenshot 2017-11-12 20.41.48.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8s9w1z9xohw2it/Screenshot 2017-11-12 20.42.15.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dw6ftt380mlexjd/Screenshot 2017-11-12 20.42.21.png?dl=0
 
2011 model is fortunate enough to have the Thunderbolt port. I had the late 2009 model and the fastest port was FireWire 800, which is a joke compared to Thunderbolt. My 2009 iMac still works, but I finally gave up this year and replaced it with a 2017 model running the PCI Express internal SSD.

With Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3 in the 2017 model, I believe this machine could last me 20 years if the motherboard, screen, and so forth keeps working. Just keep upgrading the external SSD drive if I need to. Those external SSD’s will keep getting faster and cheaper as they figure out a way to implement drives with full speed 10 gigabit USB or 40 gigabit Thunderbolt.
 
Meredithfp said:
Thanks for all of the responses. I've been doing some work on my machine this morning trying to see what I can do to improve things. Everything looks like it should be running fine. I've got 12GB of RAM and Activity Monitor says I'm using 8. There's plenty of room on my hard disk. The only thing that seems off in Activity Monitor is the reads in vs. writes out. I found something saying the ratio should be no more than 10% and I've got more writes out than that. I have no idea what this means.

Considering getting a Lacie external drive to see if that helps things, like the poster above describes, but I feel like I'm still learning and am not sure if that will solve my problem.

And thanks for giving the justification, Conutz. I'm thinking that I don't mind investing a little bit to see if I can stick it out a little longer. Then I can donate the computer to my school and it'll still be useful.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't rely on the total memory the system is using as an indication of how much memory you have free - you won't actually be using a total of 8 GB memory as reported, because some of that utilisation is memory cache that can be freed by the operating system when other apps need it. Go to View > Columns > Real Private Memory in Activity Monitor so you can see how much physical memory each process is really using. When you select this option, a new column will be presented in the process list.

On the Memory tab, you'll see a bar chart that indicates the current memory pressure: this is a representative indication of how much real memory you have free for the apps you have running. Even if you are seemingly at 70% memory utilisation and memory pressure is still green, it means some of that memory is just cache to improve performance, which can be freed by the operating system if required. It is only when memory pressure turns orange or red that the system is running out of memory.
 
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Some very positive responses here. In particular the SSD external to run the OS.
Depending on available of funds, etc. maybe try that first, and within a return period for the drive, decide if you want to simply upgrade.

The benefits of upgrading is the long term future use of the unit...
 
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Meredithfp said:
My ex-husband came and took a look and he’s not convinced that any one thing will fix it. He suggested reinstalling everything, also, but that seems like a huge amount of trouble without being sure it will make a difference. Almost ready to pull the trigger.
Click to expand...

i beg to differ. the SSD will breathe new life into your mid-2011.
your mechanical HDD is 6 years old and probably very fragmented, perhaps at the end of its lifetime, thus slowing down.
 
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While a SSD will give you a speed improvement, it is still prolonging the inevitable. Your power supply could go at any minute (God forbid), or any other components in there. I would say, look for some good deals around black Friday, and if you find something good, GET IT! If nothing peaks your wallets interest, get a SSD.
 
Meredithfp said:
Hey folks. I’ve got a 2010 27” iMac that I just love, even though it’s sooo slooow. I’m trying to justify upgrading.

I use my computer for everyday stuff — email, word processing, as well as work with Photoshop and other Adobe products. This is when I really notice my current computer’s limitations and I’ve started looking for work-arounds to avoid waiting around for it to work and then rebooting when my computer crashes. (Photo editing on my ipad instead?)

I realize it’s probably like comparing apples and oranges, but what would be the thing I’d notice and appreciate most if I were to upgrade? What are the biggest improvements?

Edited to add: Is it worth upgrading to a SSD? Or adding the 4 more RAM I’ve got space for?
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1510528238][/doublepost]Macs didn't gain Thunderbolt ports until 2011, and USB 3.0 until 2012, correct? The OP has a 2010 - which has neither of these faster I/O standards that would allow huge benefit from an external SSD (would it help at all using USB 2.0?). I suspect she has a Firewire 800 port, but good luck finding an adapter in 2017. I've upgraded a number of older machines with SSDs and the benefit keep them usable - even fast - but a 2010 iMac may not be a good candidate.
 
donklaus said:
[doublepost=1510528238][/doublepost]Macs didn't gain Thunderbolt ports until 2011, and USB 3.0 until 2012, correct? The OP has a 2010 - which has neither of these faster I/O standards that would allow huge benefit from an external SSD (would it help at all using USB 2.0?). I suspect she has a Firewire 800 port, but good luck finding an adapter in 2017. I've upgraded a number of older machines with SSDs and the benefit keep them usable - even fast - but a 2010 iMac may not be a good candidate.
Click to expand...

Thread title says 2011, but the post says 2010. I agree it makes a huge difference.
 
ScorchedEarth said:
While a SSD will give you a speed improvement, it is still prolonging the inevitable. Your power supply could go at any minute (God forbid), or any other components in there. I would say, look for some good deals around black Friday, and if you find something good, GET IT! If nothing peaks your wallets interest, get a SSD.
Click to expand...

let's not exaggerate here...
 
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tn-xyz said:
i beg to differ. the SSD will breathe new life into your mid-2011.
your mechanical HDD is 6 years old and probably very fragmented, perhaps at the end of its lifetime, thus slowing down.
Click to expand...

I agree with tn-xyz - an SSD (like an EVO 850) will be many, many times faster and the boot time and Photoshop will load 10 to 15 times faster - a big difference.

You should post which processor you have i3, i5, i7 ( if you have an i5 or i7 it is very upgradable)- sounds like you have plenty of memory (12gb) that should be ok.

ALso you will have to be careful about the OS upgrade some software like photoshop and office may need to be upgraded if you upgrade to High Sierra - another cost.
 
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