iMac 2008 upgrade options - memory and ssd

[jtstp17]

My girlfriend has an early 2008 iMac and she wants to upgrade it a bit.
What would be some good options?
- ram/memory?
- ssd/hard drive?
- graphics card?

Here are the details of the iMac:

OS X Yosemite version 10.10.5
iMac 20 inch early 2008
Processer 2.4 GHZ Intel core 2 duo
Memory 4 GB 800 MHZ DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT
128 MB

She uses it a lot for video & photo editing as well as normal day to day stuff.
She would like to get the software Final Cut but was told it would not preform well on the computer without upgrades.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

To be honest if it's for more adavanced software then you need a new GPU and CPU at which point it's probably far more cost efficient to buy a new computer as changing either of these things is difficult at best (and any CPU that will fit in the same socket certainly won't be worth the effort), very expensive for someone to do it for you at worst.

RAM and SSD will make little difference to you I'm afraid.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Double post

 

[jtstp17]

To be honest if it's for more adavanced software then you need a new GPU and CPU at which point it's probably far more cost efficient to buy a new computer as changing either of these things is difficult at best (and any CPU that will fit in the same socket certainly won't be worth the effort), very expensive for someone to do it for you at worst.

RAM and SSD will make little difference to you I'm afraid.

thank you for your response. I will let her to know start saving for a newer model

 

[garirry]

My girlfriend has an early 2008 iMac and she wants to upgrade it a bit.
What would be some good options?
- ram/memory?
- ssd/hard drive?
- graphics card?

Here are the details of the iMac:

OS X Yosemite version 10.10.5
iMac 20 inch early 2008
Processer 2.4 GHZ Intel core 2 duo
Memory 4 GB 800 MHZ DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT
128 MB

She uses it a lot for video & photo editing as well as normal day to day stuff.
She would like to get the software Final Cut but was told it would not preform well on the computer without upgrades.

Thanks for any suggestions.

The memory is barely upgradable, you can only add up to 6GB on this model, so that is kinda a pointless upgrade. The hard drive is not easily upgradable. You could put an SSD in there for better loading speeds, but considering you will need to get an enclosure to support 2.5" drives and considering how difficult it is to open the computer, I don't recommend. As for the graphics card, don't even bother. It's much more difficult than the hard drive upgrade, and I wouldn't do it unless the graphics card died.

So, yeah, it's pretty much maxed out as much as possible. You're not getting much from upgrading it, so I think the best choice is to save up for a new computer.

 

[widescreenparis]

You could make it much more responsive for day to day tasks with 6GB of RAM and an SSD, but for video editing, you need a fast CPU.
She needs (at least) a Core i5 iMac with 8GB of RAM and an SSD. Consider an i7 and 16GB if productivity is important.

 

[captainparanoid]

Can anyone tell me if this Ram
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMS...&qid=1459769207&sr=8-10&keywords=4gb+ram+imac
is compatible with a 2008 Imac 8.1 20 inch ? Thanks
(apologies for posting this twice, this seemed a better place to post it?)

 

[garirry]

Can anyone tell me if this Ram
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMS...&qid=1459769207&sr=8-10&keywords=4gb+ram+imac
is compatible with a 2008 Imac 8.1 20 inch ? Thanks
(apologies for posting this twice, this seemed a better place to post it?)

This is DDR3 1333MHz RAM, absolutely not compatible with the iMac you're looking for. The only proper RAM type that will work is DDR2 800MHz. Also, save money by not searching for memory modules specifically marketed for Macs.

 

[captainparanoid]

Thanks garirry, the cheapest I have found so far on ebay is around £80 so will anything marked DDR2 800MHz work ok?

 

[garirry]

Indeed. Just be careful not to erroneously pick the wrong frequency of RAM, and make sure that there is no RAM inside the computer already which happens to be of a different type. Of course, you want to get the small sticks (SO-DIMM). Finally, make sure the RAM total does not exceed 6GB.