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iMac lifespan

Sciuriware said:
The lifespan of today's computers is mostly affected by the temperature gradient: delta degrees per time.
So, some frost or some heat wave is not a problem ... till you put resp. an electric heater or an airco
besides it and switches it to full power.
Interesting that 40 years ago a disk had to 'accomodate' 24 hours after delivery.
;JOOP!
P.S.: nowadays heavy frost or heat waves are very rare where you live ....
Click to expand...

Perhaps the high relative humidity can be an issue for electronic equipment here where I (you) live, with the ongoing rain and low temps that we we have had over the last weeks :)
 
Well I spent 3k in late 2014 for an iMac 27" 5k and bought Apple care that just ran out 2 months ago. My first Mac coming from pc’s all my life. I thought I was buying a quality product! Last Tuesday I got the prohibitory symbol. I ran disk utility and first aid and it said everything was fine. Took it to Apple store. That evening they called and told me my 3TB fusion drive was bad. $300 to fix. So my AppleCare was for nothing. I’ve had pc’s last much longer than this. Sooooo
 
DotCom2 said:
Well I spent 3k in late 2014 for an iMac 27" 5k and bought Apple care that just ran out 2 months ago. My first Mac coming from pc’s all my life. I thought I was buying a quality product! Last Tuesday I got the prohibitory symbol. I ran disk utility and first aid and it said everything was fine. Took it to Apple store. That evening they called and told me my 3TB fusion drive was bad. $300 to fix. So my AppleCare was for nothing. I’ve had pc’s last much longer than this. Sooooo
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All of my Macs (many Macs since 1987) have lasted longer than that. That drive that failed in your iMac was a part that Apple purchased from another manufacturer. It could have been in any kind of computer with the same result.
 
My 2013 3.5GHz i7 has been running 24/7 since I bought it. Acts has home iTunes media server to all our iOS/AppleTV devices, our Time Machine backup server and a few other duties, plus it does duty as my go-to Handbrake Machine when I need to rip & compress DVD & BD.

Runs High Sierra like a champ. Shows no signs of slowing down.
 
FredT2 said:
All of my Macs (many Macs since 1987) have lasted longer than that. That drive that failed in your iMac was a part that Apple purchased from another manufacturer. It could have been in any kind of computer with the same result.
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We all make decisions based on our experiences. So far, mine is not a good one. :(
 
I have a 2008 24" iMac that has been on pretty much 24/7 and only shut down when I travel. It still works fine, no hardware issues, but it is kind of slow compared to a new system.
 
my 2007 imac still works fine. going on year 11. I put El capitan on it which is the highest OS it can support. with just 4GB memory it's not super fast but still works fine for email, web surfing, etc.
 
macgig said:
my 2007 imac still works fine. going on year 11. I put El capitan on it which is the highest OS it can support. with just 4GB memory it's not super fast but still works fine for email, web surfing, etc.
Click to expand...

depending on which one you have, my 2007 20" has 6GB ram and it will be running sierra or high sierra soon once I upgrade the CPU.

Still great day to day machines!
 
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Hi,
My iMac 5K i7 4790k, x295m with 32GB Crucial and 512GB SSD still works great, but need surgery every year to clean accumulated dust.
It rocks with GTA 5 ;)
 
Last edited:
elf69 said:
depending on which one you have, my 2007 20" has 6GB ram and it will be running sierra or high sierra soon once I upgrade the CPU.

Still great day to day machines!
Click to expand...
Just my opinion as a former systemsprogrammer:
iMac's need memory, not faster CPU's as you already got 4 of them.
My iMac is flashing with a modest CPU and 32Gb memory.
My next iMac (when?) will have maximum memory again.
If you are in doubt, just see for yourself what the current usage is in Activity Monitor.
Happy 2018 as well.
;JOOP!
 
I have a 2.0GHz CPU and cannot run sierra with it as it does not support sierra.

the 2.8GHz CPU i have to go in it does support sierra, and along with my 6GB ram and planned SSD upgrade it should keep going for couple years while I budget for new imac.

I love this 2007 mac, it's old but keeps on ticking!
all my windows running stuff never lasts this long.
2-3 year then they start to fail!

this thing over ten years old and still going!
 
oh and @Sciuriware app memory is 3.61GB in normal use.

4 tabs in safari (ebay, facebook, youtube with 3 hour music sets playing, this forum)
skype, imessage and facebook messenger app for mac.
 
elf69 said:
oh and @Sciuriware app memory is 3.61GB in normal use.

4 tabs in safari (ebay, facebook, youtube with 3 hour music sets playing, this forum)
skype, imessage and facebook messenger app for mac.
Click to expand...
When the system falls short in memory it starts to swap parts of applications to disk;
but when those applications proceed, those 'want' their memory back.
The swapping in and out to disk is called trashing.
You'll understand that a fast CPU will not prevent this behaviour.
So you'll need more memory (or an ultra fast disk; SSD is NOT ultra fast).
;JOOP!
 
My early 2008 24’ iMac still works. But it only has fraction of the speed of my iPhone. Even booting up to the latest Mac OS it supports is so slow to a point that I just want to throw it away.
 
haruhiko said:
My early 2008 24’ iMac still works. But it only has fraction of the speed of my iPhone. Even booting up to the latest Mac OS it supports is so slow to a point that I just want to throw it away.
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Give it a SSD. If you don't want to open the machine, USB external SSD is fine, not need to worry about it's just USB 2.0. Although the SSD will be held back, but still make your machine feel 10x faster. I tried that on my own Mac. USB 2.0 does boot a bit slower than USB 3.0 or native SATA, but just by a few seconds. Still way way faster than the internal HDD.
 
Just finished installing an SSD in my Mid-2010 27” and with a fresh install of HS this thing is like a new machine! So damn fast to boot and Photos and iTunes launch almost instantly, great upgrade. I’ve got 32GB of RAM to install also so this should hopefully last me a few more years.
 
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MjWoNeR said:
I have the same late 2012 model, and my 3TB fusion failed too early on and was changed under warranty. My screen developed black smudges after 2 years and was changed for free under the EU Consumer Law. I love this law, and it’s the reason I don’t get Apple Care.


That’s the 21.5” model right? I remember reading the ram wasn’t user upgradable. I got the 27” model where you could change the ram. I got max spec at the time with just basic 8gb ram and upgraded to 32GB Corsair low voltage ram.
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That's correct. The RAM is not upgradeable. I wish I had 32GB now. I'll just have to replace my Mac when 8GB isn't enough to handle my "stuff".
 
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