iMac 27" 2012 CPU Upgrade?

[MuggeGHQ]

Hi everyone.

Listen i'm sure i could find some similar answers in here but i want to be 110% sure before i go any further with this.
I bought the new iMac 27" 2012 i5 3.2Ghz stock version.
Now i want to upgrade the HD to a SSD, ram to 32GB and the CPU from i5 to a i7 (3770 ?)
But the CPU. Some say 3770S, and others say the 3770 will be alright.
Please, can someone give me a straight answer ? Do i need the 3770, 3770S or 3770T LGA1155 socket ?
I want to do everything in one step so i don't have to reopen the iMac again. One time is enough especially when i'm
using original double tape to close it again.
I found the real original version on ebay

That would be must helpful.

Thanks a lot.

 

[iSayuSay]

You need the i7 3770. But seriously, how much money you can save by doing all the upgrades yourself?

You need to buy the i7 for full retail price, which is about $300 and for some return you may sell the old bare bone i5 but you'd never be able to claim your warranty, Apple knows your machine's original spec in case you need repairs.

Same thing for the HDD.

 

[flavr]

dude, are you joking...who buys a brand new iMac and swaps out every component inside lol?!

the i7 offers very little benefit over the i5 for 95% of people...what do you need the i7 for, chances are you are not fully using the i5. Add external SSD via USB 3 or thunderbolt, same speed as internal. And add RAM yourself...

 

[Raima]

You might be better off with a 80525 and linking through the vtec channel to a flux capacitor.

Much cleaner upgrade, and much more powerful.

 

[jpmorais]

Hi everyone.

Listen i'm sure i could find some similar answers in here but i want to be 110% sure before i go any further with this.
I bought the new iMac 27" 2012 i5 3.2Ghz stock version.
Now i want to upgrade the HD to a SSD, ram to 32GB and the CPU from i5 to a i7 (3770 ?)
But the CPU. Some say 3770S, and others say the 3770 will be alright.
Please, can someone give me a straight answer ? Do i need the 3770, 3770S or 3770T LGA1155 socket ?
I want to do everything in one step so i don't have to reopen the iMac again. One time is enough especially when i'm
using original double tape to close it again.
I found the real original version on ebay

That would be must helpful.

Thanks a lot.

I went to help out a friend that bought the 3770 for me to do the upgrade, no matter what i did it didn't work.
He had it exchanged and it didn't boot again so i put the i5 back it booted right up.

So he return it and got the 3770s and it worked like a charm. So i can confirm the 3770s will work, but 3770 didn't, maybe he got 2 faulty ones (possible?) or apple has a special 3770 being made for then.

Just be safe and get the 3770S They can both boost to 3.9GHZ see this

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-3770S-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3770

You wont notice the difference between them anyway. good luck

 

[Fried Chicken]

I went to help out a friend that bought the 3770 for me to do the upgrade, no matter what i did it didn't work.
He had it exchanged and it didn't boot again so i put the i5 back it booted right up.

So he return it and got the 3770s and it worked like a charm. So i can confirm the 3770s will work, but 3770 didn't, maybe he got 2 faulty ones (kind impossible) or apple has a special 3770 being made for then.

Just be safe and get the 3770S They can both boost to 3.9GHZ see this

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-3770S-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3770

You wont notice the difference between them anyway. good luck

Finally a good answer.
The SSD upgrade should work no problem. In the past people have had trouble with temperature sensors not being compatible and causing the fan to spin. Unfortunately there's no easy way to test this other than to go out and do it.


I plan on doing some upgrades to the iMac in about a year's time when a 1TB SSD should be affordable, and the i7 processor comes down in price. I upgraded my early 2006 iMac from a core duo processor to a core 2 duo processor and that worked like a charm, except I couldn't get 64-bit Snow Leopard, just 64-bit windows. Apps would run in 64-bit though.

 

[jpmorais]

Only the i7-3770S works, The reason for this is because the TDP of the S version of the 3770S matches the i5 you have. If you install any other version of the 3770 that is clocked at 3.4GHz your computer will not turn on. spoke to intel my self and thats what they got back to me.

Finally a good answer.
The SSD upgrade should work no problem. In the past people have had trouble with temperature sensors not being compatible and causing the fan to spin. Unfortunately there's no easy way to test this other than to go out and do it.
.

YEP My friend also bought the a 512GB samsung 840 pro, and no fan problems!

So just get your ssd and the 3770S and Your good to go

 

[RoastingPig]

this is just crazy i wouldn't do any of this

 

[All Taken]

this is just crazy i wouldn't do any of this

Apple loves you for that.

 

[R.OG]

Only the i7-3770S works, The reason for this is because the TDP of the S version of the 3770S matches the i5 you have. If you install any other version of the 3770 that is clocked at 3.4GHz your computer will not turn on. spoke to intel my self and thats what they got back to me.

The 3770 definitely works in the 27", see my post in this thread. Post you boot and smc version.

 

[jpmorais]

The 3770 definitely works in the 27", see my post in this thread. Post you boot and smc version.

Trust me i red your hole thread, and im a big fan of you. I thought maybe you got a apple legit 3770 one. where did you buy your 3770?
I wonder how come my friends 3770 didn't work then, maybe he got 2 faulty ones possible right?. Did you do anything special in order to work?

But what 27' did you get? 1799 or 1999?

 

[MuggeGHQ]

Hi everyone.

Thank's so much for all your replays. But it all makes me more in dough.
To many different meanings here.
Some say 3770s others 3770 will be good man what to believe ?
Maybe both the 3770S and the 3770 works in it.
Remember. Mine is the standard iMac 27" i5 3.2Ghz with the ivy 3470 CPU.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-i5-3.2-27-inch-aluminum-late-2012-specs.html

So please. Someone who did this personally.

btw, see this:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-i7-3.4-27-inch-aluminum-late-2012-specs.html

Thats the same iMac just directly from Apple. I would think they use the same motherboard in both computers and the higher iMac 27" i7 uses in fact the 3770 CPU !

 

[MuggeGHQ]

Still no one who wants to comment on my post #12 ?
Its important i get final before i buy anything..

 

[karpich1]

Apple loves you for that.

I've replaced and upgraded many CPUs in the past.

But I probably would never bother with one in a laptop, all-in-one (iMac), or super-small-box (Mac Mini)

Too much tear-down and voided warranty.

If I want something upgrade-able, I wouldn't get an iMac. Which is why I DIDN'T get one.

 

[All Taken]

I've replaced and upgraded many CPUs in the past.

But I probably would never bother with one in a laptop, all-in-one (iMac), or super-small-box (Mac Mini)

Too much tear-down and voided warranty.

If I want something upgrade-able, I wouldn't get an iMac. Which is why I DIDN'T get one.

Apple just loves you.

 

[iSayuSay]

Apple just loves you.

Apple loves you more so because it doesn't need to honor the product warranty/AppleCare with people like you.

Thank you for making us life easier and pay for your repairs, thank you so much.

 

[All Taken]

Apple loves you more so because it doesn't need to honor the product warranty/AppleCare with people like you.

Thank you for making us life easier and pay for your repairs, thank you so much.

Apple warrants all of my repairs, all my machines have valid warranty as they have been accessed and modified by Authorised Repair Centres. Ignorant beyond belief.

 

[zuri]

Hello

I have replaced CPU in mine. i7-3770 (not S nor T nor K) and it works.
I also had problem with exchange and no GPU symptoms. It is described in "rip those macs open" topic how I fixed it.

i7-3770 is i7 in 27 inch iMacs
i7-3770S is i7 in 21 inch iMacs

I can upload pictures and video if you want proof

 

[R.OG]

Trust me i red your hole thread, and im a big fan of you. I thought maybe you got a apple legit 3770 one. where did you buy your 3770?
I wonder how come my friends 3770 didn't work then, maybe he got 2 faulty ones possible right?. Did you do anything special in order to work?

But what 27' did you get? 1799 or 1999?

I purchased the cpu from microcenter, the upgrade was performed on the base $1799 model with the following firmware.

Boot ROM Version: IM131.010A.B04
SMC Version (system): 2.11f14

Post your friend Boot/SMC version if possible.

 

[MuggeGHQ]

I purchased the cpu from microcenter, the upgrade was performed on the base $1799 model with the following firmware.

Boot ROM Version: IM131.010A.B04
SMC Version (system): 2.11f14

Post your friend Boot/SMC version if possible.

Hi you.

Thanks a lot both of u.

Boot ROM-version: IM131.010A.B05
SMC-version (system): 2.11f14

I just changed the SSD last night. Samsung Pro. Works great
I bought 2 extra "iMac 27-inch, Late 2012, Genuine Apple Tape Kit" from tristanbanner ebay.
Works nicely. So now i have 2 spare kits for next upgrade, CPU if it works ?
I'm afraid to buy the damn 3770 if it doesn't work for me. The 3770 is a 3.4Ghz i7 right ?

From what i can read, both you and zuri did the 3770 3.4Ghz upgrade with no problem, yes.
Do i just replace the CPU and thats that. Or do i need to do anything else when replacing a CPU.
I mean, some kind of resetting etc.

 

[zuri]

Hi you.

Thanks a lot both of u.

Boot ROM-version: IM131.010A.B05
SMC-version (system): 2.11f14

I just changed the SSD last night. Samsung Pro. Works great
I bought 2 extra "iMac 27-inch, Late 2012, Genuine Apple Tape Kit" from tristanbanner ebay.
Works nicely. So now i have 2 spare kits for next upgrade, CPU if it works ?
I'm afraid to buy the damn 3770 if it doesn't work for me. The 3770 is a 3.4Ghz i7 right ?

From what i can read, both you and zuri did the 3770 3.4Ghz upgrade with no problem, yes.
Do i just replace the CPU and thats that. Or do i need to do anything else when replacing a CPU.
I mean, some kind of resetting etc.

I had some problems with upgrade in first place and I thought I have bad CPU as you describing earlier in this topic, but everything is fixed and working right now.
i7-3770 is 3,4GHz base and 3,9GHz turbo
You can reffer to my video in rip those macs open topic and see how it goes.
You have to reset SMC when you are upgrading.

 

[Willis]

This is just another whole level of crazy! Kudos... But crazy

 

[Tanax]

Take some pictures when you do upgrade the CPU, will 'ya?

 

[MuggeGHQ]

Take some pictures when you do upgrade the CPU, will 'ya?

Sure, will do

 

[zuri]

Take some pictures when you do upgrade the CPU, will 'ya?

I can show you a little of mine


System profiler:

Passing included apple hardware test:

Geekbench:

Novabench:

Blackmagic:

This is just another whole level of crazy! Kudos... But crazy

Crazy in moving pictures

https://vimeo.com/63435766

This is how it looks after reassembly:
dont know why it is so curved on picture... in real its perfectly flat

http://imgur.com/a/ftOw8