Why upgrade the CPU on that Mac when the GPU is totally sub par for a 27inch screen? You would be better of getting the $1999 machine...the .3 i5 increase along with 675mx would make more sense...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac 27" 2012 CPU Upgrade?
- Thread starter MuggeGHQ
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Why upgrade the CPU on that Mac when the GPU is totally sub par for a 27inch screen? You would be better of getting the $1999 machine...the .3 i5 increase along with 675mx would make more sense...
Lancer
macrumors 68020
Why would anyone do this?
Just get the i7 upgrade, it will cost about the same in the end, same goes for SSD. Just get Fusion, best of both worlds. The only after market thing I'd change is the RAM on the 27" which is easy to do.
Ungluing the LCD screen is just not worth it with the 2012 unless its to fix a fault.
Just get the i7 upgrade, it will cost about the same in the end, same goes for SSD. Just get Fusion, best of both worlds. The only after market thing I'd change is the RAM on the 27" which is easy to do.
Ungluing the LCD screen is just not worth it with the 2012 unless its to fix a fault.
In first place...I have got i5 3,2GHz GTX 675 with a very cool price same for CPU and 512GB SSD 🙂
In second place... Waiting for BTO is too long.
And third.. passion 🙂
I laughed that you took the time to explain yourself to these posters. Congrats on the upgrade!
Lancer
macrumors 68020
I can see people wanting SSD at a better price and while I'd do it once the warranty is over I'd never consider taking apart a brand new iMac, especially the 2012 with the screen glued on.
And this is from someone who used to own a G4 tower which I upgraded to the max, RAM, HDDs, DVD, CPU, USB2 card and even fixed a faulty power supply fan. At the time this was my one and only Mac and my main day to day computer. Apple has made it a lot harder to upgrade now, I have a G5 tower sitting idle since I just got a new iMac but I can't do much with the G5 to upgrade it compared to the G4 tower.
I say good luck to you but I just don't see any financial or performance gain in doing this compared to buying a i7 from Apple. Like I said more SSD options would be nice but for most the Fusion option works and is the best of both worlds.
And this is from someone who used to own a G4 tower which I upgraded to the max, RAM, HDDs, DVD, CPU, USB2 card and even fixed a faulty power supply fan. At the time this was my one and only Mac and my main day to day computer. Apple has made it a lot harder to upgrade now, I have a G5 tower sitting idle since I just got a new iMac but I can't do much with the G5 to upgrade it compared to the G4 tower.
I say good luck to you but I just don't see any financial or performance gain in doing this compared to buying a i7 from Apple. Like I said more SSD options would be nice but for most the Fusion option works and is the best of both worlds.
Boot ROM Version: IM131.010A.B05
SMC Version (system): 2.11f14
We return the I7-3770S and got one I7-3770 from microcenter and worked like a charm thank you i think he just got 2 broken ones before.
3.5 - 4.0ghz
hi all is it possible to upgrade the cpu from the i7 4770k to the i7 4790k in a 2013 27 i7 3.5ghz board?
Apple 661-8124-CPU 27" 3.5GHz Core i7 iMac 4GB GDDR Logic Board NO CPU 820-3481-A Late 2013
is it at all logically possible? if so will i be the first to try this?
hi all is it possible to upgrade the cpu from the i7 4770k to the i7 4790k in a 2013 27 i7 3.5ghz board?
Apple 661-8124-CPU 27" 3.5GHz Core i7 iMac 4GB GDDR Logic Board NO CPU 820-3481-A Late 2013
is it at all logically possible? if so will i be the first to try this?
jji7skyline
macrumors 6502
1. In the PC world, Haswell boards need a BIOS update before being compatible with Haswell-refresh CPUs.
2. The new Retina iMac uses a 4790K, however it has different internals to your computer.
3. Compared to the nearly $400 to buy a 4790K, there's isn't a big performance difference.
Ok well can i update the BIOS and get these two things to comunicate properly? The board itself is not in the computer yet i have a 3.2 i5 in there i think, the 3.5ghz board is seperate tho the machine. Im well aware the new imac has a 4790k if anyone can point me in the right direction to finding even the model number for that logic board or one for sale that would be great!. I have searched..... nothing its too new. So im back to my 3.5ghz board and a 4.0ghz cpu can anyone supply me information or things i should be aware of this is my first imac upgrade
jji7skyline
macrumors 6502
Macs run on EFI not BIOS, so you cannot upgrade. It *may* work but it's unlikely. I personally think spending nearly $400 for an EXTREMELY marginal performance upgrade is very stupid. Much better to throw in an SSD if you don't already have on, or upgrade the RAM or something. Or even give it to your wife to spend or something.
The quick explanation is that all Core i7 CPUs use Hyper-Threading, so a six-core CPU can handle 12 streams, a four-core can handle eight streams, and a dual-core can handle four streams. Core i5 uses Hyper-Threading to make a dual-core CPU act like a four-core one, but if you have a Core i5 processor with four true cores, it won't have Hyper-Threading. For the time being, Core i5 tops out at handling four streams, using four real cores or two cores with Hyper-Threading. Not to mention bigger cache sizes for and an additional 800Mhz of processing power, im pritty sure it will make alot of difference when i am producing music. i have a pcie ssd i have lots and lots of ram and personally i dont care what you think is a valuable investment from the wages YOU make and the money thats in YOUR bank, not to mention basicly calling me an idiot yeah cheers mate. So after some heavy digging i have found the following
Processor Upgrade: LGA 1150 (Socket H3)* FPU: Integrated
Details: *Officially, Apple provides no information about whether or not the processor in this model can be upgraded and the company does not intend for one to upgrade the processor either. However, the processor is mounted on a LGA 1150 socket and can be physically upgraded with another compatible processor with a maximum TDP of 84 W or less.
Also see: Is it possible to upgrade the processor in the "Tapered Edge" Aluminum iMac models?
System Bus Speed: OPI* Cache Bus Speed: 3.5 GHz (Built-in)
Details: *This system does not have a traditional system bus or a "Direct Media Interface" (DMI) to connect between the processor and chipset. Instead, it uses a directly attached "On Package Interface" (OPI).
Last edited:
vonstro
macrumors newbie
Actually yes, you can upgrade the processor, and you don't have to pay retail for it either. They're available online at eBay, which is where I bought one for $145. I was fortunate because they're usually $30 or $40 more than that, but the upgrade was worth it as far as I was concerned. Obviously memory is also a good upgrade and it's not that expensive. I think you're going about this the right way too, because you're going to learn a lot about that machine as you go. Treat it as a learning experience... don't ever stop learning!