Help with imac purchase?

[jodmcf]

Hi, I've currently got a 21.5inch, mid 2011, 2.5GHz intel core i5 4GB DDR3 iMac and am struggling with managing basic Microsoft Office apps for my work, everything is very slow or freezes when I try to open, save etc. I don't want to spend a lot as I really only use the computer for work, internet browsing and downloading movies. What would you recommend?
Many thanks

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Upgrade your HDD to an SSD, or just install a secondary SSD and use that as a boot drive, and the problems will likely disappear.

 

[jodmcf]

Upgrade your HDD to an SSD, or just install a secondary SSD and use that as a boot drive, and the problems will likely disappear.

Is it really that simple? Thank you will give it a try

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Is it really that simple? Thank you will give it a try

Yes it sounds like your hard drive is dying, back it up now. As above an ssd will not only fix your computer but make it better than new 15 seconds to boot and apps opening instantly.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Agreed with upgrading to an SSD, however I wouldn't use an external SSD on that model because it will be very slow due to the USB 2.0 interface. Any of the 2012 onward models are far quicker with external boot drive as they have USB 3.0.

 

[Krayzkat]

i have a 2010 27" iMac 8Gb RAM, and it was starting to get slow. I was going to just upgrade the RAM, but on research i discovered a better way to make it faster was to remove/disable/bipass the HDD (a hard-drive that spins round and is slow and makes noise and heat) with a SSD (like 'flash' memory you get on phones/ipads etc and has no spinning noisy discs that make it hot etc).

I used Crucial.com to find a suitable SSD for my system (i actually bought a Crucial branded SSD on Amazon as it was cheaper), and then i used another website OWC/Macsales.com to buy a easy DIY kit and followed their instructions.

Following those instructions and using their kit, you open up your iMac (it's quite easy) and stick the new SSD onto the back case. You leave the existing HDD in place and connect a new cable to it from both drives. It took me about an hour as i was being very careful and was also using air dusters to clean out the inside from 7 years of dust (the dust causes the insides to get hotter than they should).

After the installation was done, you clone (make a copy) of the HDD drive and transfer that to the SSD and then make the SSD the main/boot drive. I still have the HDD inside my iMac but it is not used, therefore never spinning making noises or making heat.

My iMac definitely starts up and runs a lot faster.

In all it cost me:
£24.95 for the OWC internal SSD DIY kit (Amazon)
£121.00 for the Crucial 480Gb SSD (Amazon)

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Is it really that simple? Thank you will give it a try

Yes it is. If you are used to open computers, it should be quite an easy task, as long as you take it slow, as the 2011 iMac has quite a number a wires connected. Just watch a few youtube videos and picture guides.

Yes it sounds like your hard drive is dying, back it up now. As above an ssd will not only fix your computer but make it better than new 15 seconds to boot and apps opening instantly.

Just because open/saves are slow, does not mean a drive is dying. It just sounds like a regular HDD.

Agreed with upgrading to an SSD, however I wouldn't use an external SSD on that model because it will be very slow due to the USB 2.0 interface. Any of the 2012 onward models are far quicker with external boot drive as they have USB 3.0.

The 2011 iMac has both Firewire800 and Thunderbolt that he can use, the latter which is twice as fast as USB3.0.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yes it is. If you are used to open computers, it should be quite an easy task, as long as you take it slow, as the 2011 iMac has quite a number a wires connected. Just watch a few youtube videos and picture guides.


Just because open/saves are slow, does not mean a drive is dying. It just sounds like a regular HDD.


The 2011 iMac has both Firewire800 and Thunderbolt that he can use, the latter which is twice as fast as USB3.0.

Actually it usually does mean your drive is dying, this machine is coming up 7 years old it’s in the right time frame and if this behaviour is new it is a fair indication of a dying hard drive.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Actually it usually does mean your drive is dying, this machine is coming up 7 years old it’s in the right time frame and if this behaviour is new it is a fair indication of a dying hard drive.

"The right time frame" and "It is slow" - Maybe you should stop pulling things out of your behind, just to win an online argument. HDD's *are* slow, they've always been so, and HDDs can often run for decades without failing.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Where is the fisho?

Your iMac is hamstrung by a slow old platter drive and you are limited to USB2. When I had this model I used a Silicon Power 24OGB Thunderbolt drive externally, no caddy needed, and cloned the operating system over to it, selected it as the Boot Drive from System Preferences > Startup Disk and it ran beautifully.

The only hiccup was OS updates would insist in writing to the internal direct, which I used as the backup drive, and then the external.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

"The right time frame" and "It is slow" - Maybe you should stop pulling things out of your behind, just to win an online argument. HDD's *are* slow, they've always been so, and HDDs can often run for decades without failing.

I don't need to pull things out of my behind, as I have taken the time to read the failure rates for HDDs, after 4 years only 80% of consumer drives are still working then you have a failure rate of 12% per years so by 7 years old, the age of the OP's drive, only 54.5% of drives are still working, that makes the chances of this being an HDD dying 45.5%.

I'll take those odds and claim that the drive is dying if you don't mind, new slowdowns and freezes are a pretty sure indication of this, coupled with the drive failure rates at that age its a pretty fair bet.

Of course these are figures across the industry but some drives (*cough* Seagate I am looking at you) are much worse. Here are the statistics for you so you can educate yourself as well.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

What version of the OS are you using?
If it's very recent -- that's what could be slowing you down.

An older iMac with a platter-based hard drive inside isn't going to be able to handle the newer releases of the Mac OS without running "on the slow side".
The more recent versions of the OS seem to require at least a fusion drive for modestly good performance. But what they really need is an SSD.

You could put an SSD -inside- the iMac, but that involves opening it up, which can be risky business for many folks. You could pay to have it done, but it may not be worth the cost unless you plan on keeping it a while longer.

You could buy a thunderbolt 2 -external- SSD, and boot and run from that.
It will make it run MUCH faster.
The downside is that thunderbolt 2 SSD's are more expensive than USB3 (you have only USB2 on a 2011).
At the very least, a 256gb Tbolt drive would do.
512gb would be better, but only if you really want to spend more.

One other thing that I think could help (others will say no, but I say, "yes"):
Buy a USB3 external SSD, and set that up to be your external boot drive.
The boot speeds won't increase because of the USB2 connection (which is no faster than the internal drive), BUT... once running, I predict the SSD will make things "snappier", probably quite noticeable.

I'd say your "order of priorities" ought to be:
1. Connect a thunderbolt 2 SSD and boot from it.
2. Connect a USB3 SSD and boot from it.
3. Start shopping for something new or Apple-Refurbished...

 

[FredT2]

I don't need to pull things out of my behind, as I have taken the time to read the failure rates for HDDs, after 4 years only 80% of consumer drives are still working then you have a failure rate of 12% per years so by 7 years old, the age of the OP's drive, only 54.5% of drives are still working, that makes the chances of this being an HDD dying 45.5%.

Uh, I'd say those failure rate figures are a bit exaggerated. I take care of a school computer lab with two dozen 2007 era iMacs. They stay on 24-7 except during the summer. Not one of them has had a hard drive fail.

 

[SMXBob]

Hi, I've currently got a 21.5inch, mid 2011, 2.5GHz intel core i5 4GB DDR3 iMac and am struggling with managing basic Microsoft Office apps for my work, everything is very slow or freezes when I try to open, save etc. I don't want to spend a lot as I really only use the computer for work, internet browsing and downloading movies. What would you recommend?
Many thanks

I would upgrade to a newer model. Look at the new iMacs. If they are more than you care to spend look for a late 2012 Mac Mini on EBay with i7 professor, 8 gb of RAM, and SSD. You will need a monitor of course and keyboard and mouse. But they are fast and you can upgrade the hard drive and RAM if you need to.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Uh, I'd say those failure rate figures are a bit exaggerated. I take care of a school computer lab with two dozen 2007 era iMacs. They stay on 24-7 except during the summer. Not one of them has had a hard drive fail.

Uh, I'd say those failure rate figures are a bit exaggerated. I take care of a school computer lab with two dozen 2007 era iMacs. They stay on 24-7 except during the summer. Not one of them has had a hard drive fail.

No that's the statistics for a company that keeps 25000 hdds spinning at a time, I linked the research and find no reason to disbelieve them.