iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) Upgrade

[JamesFisk]

Now, I know this will have been covered many times before, so please excuse me for asking.

I have an old iMac 27 inch Late 2013 that has been a good workhorse for years.

However, it appears to be very slow compared to how it was when new and compared with newer models. No surprise there!

How can I cost effectively upgrade its performance?

I understand that the HDD can be changed for a SSD and also upgrade the memory.

I am fairly Tech savvy when it comes to taking things apart and putting back together, so that bit doesn't phase me.

All I think I need is a 'shopping list' of components and tools for getting the screen off etc.

Is there a link on the forum that has this for my particular model. Screenshots below of what I currently have.

Any help, very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

James

 

[chscag]

Instructions for removing the screen and swapping out the HDD for a SSD can be found at www.ifixit.com. Ifixit sells the entire kit for removing the screen and double sided tape to re-attach the screen. You will also need a temp sensor adapter to keep the fans from going full speed when replacing the HDD with a SSD.

 

[Adarna]

Now, I know this will have been covered many times before, so please excuse me for asking.

I have an old iMac 27 inch Late 2013 that has been a good workhorse for years.

However, it appears to be very slow compared to how it was when new and compared with newer models. No surprise there!

How can I cost effectively upgrade its performance?

I understand that the HDD can be changed for a SSD and also upgrade the memory.

I am fairly Tech savvy when it comes to taking things apart and putting back together, so that bit doesn't phase me.

All I think I need is a 'shopping list' of components and tools for getting the screen off etc.

Is there a link on the forum that has this for my particular model. Screenshots below of what I currently have.

Any help, very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

James

You may not want to read this but your iMac is inching towards 10 years old and without patchers cannot be upgraded further than 2019 macOS Catalina 10.15.x when 2020 macOS Monterey 12.2.x is now the norm.

 

[velocityg4]

How much do you realistically want to spend? It can’t run the latest macOS. I’d say let it live out a second life as a media server and put that money towards a new model.

Since it lasted so long. You certainly don’t need to buy a high end model. A Mac Mini paired with a decent 4K monitor would run circles around it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Just do a SSD. This alone would be a night and day difference. It will feel like a totally different computer. You can use the activity monitor app to see if you would benefit from more RAM, but I think the SSD would probably be enough based off of what you posted.

You could skip opening up the Mac and just buy an external SSD. You could do a SATA SSD, and USB enclosure or USB/SATA adapter cable. Not as fast as swapping the HDD for a SSD, but still a night and day performance difference on Catalina.

You can get a 1TB SATA SSD, and an enclosure or adapter cable for less than $100.

Best part about this is that if you decide you like it, you can always install it internally later on.

You will also need a temp sensor adapter to keep the fans from going full speed when replacing the HDD with a SSD.

If $ is an issue, the OP could opt for free fan solutions such as Mac Fan control app or shorting the temp sensor.

Personally, I would just rather buy the SATA temp sensor, and sometimes you can find them for discounted prices.

A Mac Mini paired with a decent 4K monitor would run circles around it.

It would be faster, but "run circles around it" might be a stretch depending on what the OP is doing with it.

When I first got my M1 Mac Mini to replace my Late 2012 iMac with the 3rd gen i7, I posted on a few threads here about my disappointment in the SW encoding speeds with the M1. It was faster than the Late 2012's i7, but only about 50% faster for long encodes. The GPU performance increase in the M1 vs the 680MX in the Late 2012 iMac was also not as dramatic as I was expecting.

Based on the hype of the M1s and the fact that I was comparing the M1 with a computer that was 8 years older, I just expected more from it.

My point is it is nice to keep the expectations in check.

 

[Hombre53]

Your 27” late 2013 iMac will run Big Sur using Open Core Legacy Patcher. Mine does, very well. Be sure to pull that HDD and install an SSD, prices for 1Tb are reasonable. Personal preference is Samsung or Crucial. Installing the SSD on the main bus is faster than using an external USB3 enclosure. If you are comfortable opening the 27”, go that route. Just read up on the procedure and take your time. One last suggestion, if you are running less than 16gb of RAM, upgrade. I’m running 24gb. You don’t want to bottleneck the system with minimum memory.

 

[JamesFisk]

Ok, so I’ve decided that I want to go down the external bootable ssd.

Any suggestions as to what type to buy and what usb enclosure.

Also, where can I find how to and should I delete the internal Just F&^*ing do it!?

Many thanks

 

[velocityg4]

Ok, so I’ve decided that I want to go down the external bootable ssd.

Any suggestions as to what type to buy and what usb enclosure.

Also, where can I find how to and should I delete the internal Just F&^*ing do it!?

Many thanks

Samsung 870 Evo with a nice USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 2.5" SATA enclosure. Sabrent is a decent enough brand for an enclosure.

You could also just get a Samsung T5.

 

[Lioness~]

I wouldn't spend a cent more on my iMac 2013 27" dinosaur. I am glad that I boosted it with 32GB RAM from start.
Never regret that. With only 8GB I think you will still have problems even with a different/new disk.
Now it looks to me its asking for permission to die a lot of these days ?

Just waiting to replace it with the new boosted Mac Mini Pro/Max that arrives shortly hopefully. I will happily trade it in to Apple at that time. I gave it some extra time running the OS from an external SSD, that is a Samsung T5.
Until that disk got failure. Maybe I'll give it another shot again and see if I can fix it, until new Silicon Macs come to my desk. Was a more tight situation last summer.
Last halfyear iMac runs a very limited OS on the built in HDD. Next is Death or whatever Apple want to do with it when it got send in ??

 

[Juicy Box]

Also, where can I find how to and should I delete the internal Just F&^*ing do it!?

If you end up removing the internal HDD, you might as well just up a SATA SSD in it.

That is one good thing about just using a SATA SSD and a USB enclosure. It is cheap, faster than your HDD, and gives you the option to one day swap it with the HDD.

I wouldn't do something like the T5 unless you already had one sitting around. Overpriced when you can get a SATA SSD and enclosure for much cheaper, and have the flexibility to use that SATA SSD internally if you wanted.

The biggest downside of using USB versus internal SATA besides the slightly lower speed is that there is no TRIM support for USB drives on MacOS. This could lead to slower speeds later on and shorter lifespan for the SSD. Not a big deal if this was just to get your by for a few years til your next Mac or until you got around to installing it internally.

There are other external options for your iMac that are faster, but probably not worth the investment. Any TB drive will have TRIM support. A TB3 SSD would be much faster than the USB SSD, but a lot more expensive. Although, you could alway use it on your next Mac.

I wouldn' spend a cent more on my iMac 2013 27" dinosaur.

I get it, but I think it depends on the user and what they do with it.


If someone has an older Mac that has a slow HDD, but they are otherwise happy with it and the performance it provides, why spend $$$$ for a new Mac when a $50 investment could improve things dramatically, letting them get a few more years out of it.

 

[Lioness~]

I get it, but I think it depends on the user and what they do with it.


If someone has an older Mac that has a slow HDD, but they are otherwise happy with it and the performance it provides, why spend $$$$ for a new Mac when a $50 investment could improve things dramatically, letting them get a few more years out of it.

I understand, I bought the Samsung disk last summer ? when it was not a very clear road how the silicon Macs were coming along. Now we know a little more at least. Soon a lot more I hope.
I wouldn't waste more money on my old iMac today. It is worth something because of the big screen, but I don't use it to any creative things anymore. As always, each to their own ?
You seem to LOVE old Macs, nothing wrong with that at all ?
My first was a 7200, I loved it totally, then, too ?

 

[mwidjaya]

You can get a 1TB SATA SSD, and an enclosure or adapter cable for less than $100.

Best part about this is that if you decide you like it, you can always install it internally later on.

Solid advice. OP should go this route.

and should I delete the internal

Internal 1TB spinning disk can be redeployed; a good candidate for Time machine disk.

Plus, I would consider:
- retain a small partition on internal disk (50GB), running Catalina (fresh install, bare bones) for firmware updates that is sometimes bundled with Catalina security updates
- use OCLP to patch and run Big Sur on external SSD

GitHub - dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher: Experience macOS just like before

Experience macOS just like before. Contribute to dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

This thread will be used to discuss advancements in getting macOS 11.0 Big Sur running on unsupported Macs. --- Compatibility List: --- FAQ: Q: What does unsupported mean for my old Mac? A: Three problems: Apple locks you out from running the stock installer of Big Sur and as...

forums.macrumors.com

Good luck.

 

[lasloduncan]

there is lots of info on this board by smarter folks than me that have, various looks like, mostly unresolvable problems on ssd swapouts etc--I wanted to do that...--but opted for booting from ssd externally ....works ok boots ok much faster etc...tho the internal spinner hd is only three years old I got the pple wizards to put in a new one for my imac -- it is a 2013 ..the more I look into it --the less likely I am too do an internal ssd.....not sure how much I would gain.and taking a chance on lots of potential operator problems---so carbon cloner copied to ssd through thunderbolt.....all is well.....changed my boot drive to it...