iMac 5K - Upgrading the CPU/SSD/RAM (with Pictures)

[npgatech]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my experience with upgrading the CPU on the newest iMac 5K. I also upgraded the "Fusion Drive" to a standard 256GB SSD. I unfused it and I left the 128GB Fusion Drive SSD on the board.

Stock CPU: i5-4690
Upgraded CPU: i7-4790K

Stock HD: 1TB Seagate + 128GB PCI-E SSD
Upgraded: 256GB Samsung EVO Pro + Stock 128 GB PCI-E SSD

RAM: 8GB Stock
Upgraded: 8GB Stock + 16GB Crucial RAM = 24GB Total.

I've also attached the performance figures using GeekBench. If you're up for a challenge and not afraid of damaging your iMac, go for the upgrade. It is surprisingly easy once you know how to take the LCD off of the main frame. That is a pain because Apple uses adhesive strips. More details on the iFixit guide which is what I used to upgrade.

Overall, it is not too difficult. Be careful and don't bend the LGA1150 socket pins but even that could be fixed (with a lot of pain).

Cheers lads and happy holidays!

 

[powerslave65]

That's pretty a pretty nice upgrade.

I am sure it was fun having hot rodded several iMacs myself.
Were you able to beat the price of the same CPU installed by Apple doing it yourself?

 

[npgatech]

That's pretty a pretty nice upgrade.

I am sure it was fun having hot rodded several iMacs myself.
Were you able to beat the price of the same CPU installed by Apple doing it yourself?

Thanks . Apple does not provide a service to upgrade the CPU. As far as the price is concerned, I can't officially comment which company I work for but let's just say I can get the CPU for 50% of the price Total cost was $140 RAM and $170 CPU. I already had a SSD lying around. I sold the stock CPU on fleabay for $180.

 

[andy9l]

Were you able to beat the price of the same CPU installed by Apple doing it yourself?

Looks like the answer you were looking for was yes, by $80

PS. This is impressive/brave stuff!

 

[WilliamG]

Very nice. Can you comment on CPU/GPU temps after re-thermal paste-ing?

 

[powerslave65]

Thanks for the pricing break down and again nicely done. I may attempt that a year or so from now with my late model 2013 iMac.

 

[npgatech]

Very nice. Can you comment on CPU/GPU temps after re-thermal paste-ing?

Sure. Max temp on the core was around 85C I believe. Here is a screenshot of TGPro temp monitor (amazing app, highly recommend it. $7.50 for temp monitor + fan controller).

Thermal paste used was no-nonsense TIM called "Arctic Silver 5". You cant go wrong with that stuff.

Temps during stress test:

Idle Temps:

 

[WilliamG]

Thank you for that info. I see you have the 290. Maybe someone in this thread can compare those temps to an untouched 290 of theirs.

 

[Cape Dave]

Sir, you are a mad man! I did not think this could be done! Awesome! And it proves my theory that a hundred BILLION dollar company has NO IDEA WHATSOEVER on how to cope with a $7 dollar tube of CPU paste

I hope and trust that you were more sparing with it

Thanks for the photos!

Now where did I put that hammer and chisel? I'll get that monitor off!

Rock on.

 

[ikariwths]

2 questions ,first i wonder if it is possible to upgrade the cpu of late 2013 imac 27.and also i remember from the past that it was better to upgrade the ram with the same size rams from the same manufacturer ,because it was possible not to work as dual channel ddr ,but as single channel.what about your configuration?

 

[npgatech]

Sir, you are a mad man! I did not think this could be done! Awesome! And it proves my theory that a hundred BILLION dollar company has NO IDEA WHATSOEVER on how to cope with a $7 dollar tube of CPU paste

I hope and trust that you were more sparing with it

Thanks for the photos!

Now where did I put that hammer and chisel? I'll get that monitor off!

Rock on.

Haha, thanks man. In most big companies like this, every single cent is questioned in the bill of materials. LGA1150 socket is probably cheaper and Apple probably negotiated a good price on the Lan Grid Array (LGA) CPU - the combination of both would have a better return on investment than using a BGA part and reflowing. Ball Grid Array (BGA) CPU would make it harder to replace. Typically, BGAs are used when there is a need to make it slimmer (Macbooks use BGA CPUs). In an iMac, there is no need for a slimmer CPU as other parts are the bottleneck of the overall thickness of the iMac.

2 questions ,first i wonder if it is possible to upgrade the cpu of late 2013 imac 27.and also i remember from the past that it was better to upgrade the ram with the same size rams from the same manufacturer ,because it was possible not to work as dual channel ddr ,but as single channel.what about your configuration?

CPU should be upgradeable. I would check iFixit guides and see if they have a guide for your particular model.

I am not sure about the RAM. I do have 2 different brands in there but it all works normally. You are probably right in that it needs to be a matched pair.

 

[tillsbury]

You, sir, are properly brave!

 

[johnnyturbouk]

i remember with my mbps 17, and old iMac i had no issues to make such mods - but with the new 'glued' iMac, i would have fierce hesitance to open these badboys up.

 

[odedia]

It's great to know the CPU is upgradable. I got the max i7 but I guess it opens options in the future .

 

[ctbaz]

Thanks . Apple does not provide a service to upgrade the CPU. As far as the price is concerned, I can't officially comment which company I work for but let's just say I can get the CPU for 50% of the price Total cost was $140 RAM and $170 CPU. I already had a SSD lying around. I sold the stock CPU on fleabay for $180.

intel

 

[moussar]

Would the upcoming Broadwell cpu be supported? That would be worth the effort for me.

 

[npgatech]

Would the upcoming Broadwell cpu be supported? That would be worth the effort for me.

3 things are a minimum requirement for being able to use Broadwell CPU:

- Socket LGA 1150
- Same Chipset
- Equal or less TDP Power

Broadwell, I believe will have all 3 features common with Haswell. So, you should be able to upgrade when Broadwell CPUs come out next year.

 

[Cape Dave]

3 things are a minimum requirement for being able to use Broadwell CPU:

- Socket LGA 1150
- Same Chipset
- Equal or less TDP Power

Broadwell, I believe will have all 3 features common with Haswell. So, you should be able to upgrade when Broadwell CPUs come out next year.

Hmmm, I think I sense a pretty good business opportunity if the Broadwell actually is compatible Especially for folks like me with the i5 currently.

 

[UniDoubleU]

Did you create a Fusion drive out of the Blade SSD 128GB + 2.5 SSD 256GB combo? I really want to know about the speed and day-to-day operations as I'm planning to do that when 2TB 2.5 SSDs are out.

 

[brand]

Did you create a Fusion drive out of the Blade SSD 128GB + 2.5 SSD 256GB combo?

Just wanted to share my experience with upgrading the CPU on the newest iMac 5K. I also upgraded the "Fusion Drive" to a standard 256GB SSD. I unfused it and I left the 128GB Fusion Drive SSD on the board.

Might want to read the third sentence of the original post.

 

[UniDoubleU]

Might want to read the third sentence of the original post.

He unfused the original Fusion partition. Switched the 3.5 HDD to a 2.5 SSD. And he didn't upgrade the Blade SSD. Still unclear to me about his current setup. Like is he using separate drives or other setups.

 

[WinstonRumfoord]

He unfused the original Fusion partition. Switched the 3.5 HDD to a 2.5 SSD. And he didn't upgrade the Blade SSD. Still unclear to me about his current setup. Like is he using separate drives or other setups.

Legit question. I was wondering the same thing.

Op, bravo on the upgrade!!

 

[AppleDroid]

Congrats on the successful surgery! Also no wonder the upgraded retina iMacs are burning up that original thermal paste application looks horrible.

 

[Cape Dave]

Congrats on the successful surgery! Also no wonder the upgraded retina iMacs are burning up that original thermal paste application looks horrible.

I believe that this simple thing is responsible for an absurd amount of Apple's heat issues in general.

If I were rich I would pay the OP to take my RiMac apart and fix the thermal paste

Super high quality paste properly applied is the only way to go. And throw a Broadwell in while he has it apart anyways

 

[brand]

He unfused the original Fusion partition. Switched the 3.5 HDD to a 2.5 SSD. And he didn't upgrade the Blade SSD. Still unclear to me about his current setup. Like is he using separate drives or other setups.

I read it as:

He removed the 3.5" HDD and replaced it with a 2.5" SSD.

Then he then "unfused" it removing the logical volume group in diskutil.

After unfusing the factory drives he left the factory 128GB SSD installed.

Because he has the new 2.5" SSD and the factory 128GB SSD installed and he did not say that he created a fusion drive out of the two new SSD drives it will show up as two separate drives.​

Aside from having a single drive it would be pointless and cause unneeded wear on both SSDs by creating a fusion drive out of them. I have never even seen someone create a Fusion drive using two or more SSDs so I don't know if that is even possible. Certainly it is not recommended.