Models to avoid?

[DoNoHarm]

I'm considering buying a 27 inch imac to replace my laptop and being new to the iMac side of Apple, I figured I'd ask you guys for advice. Is there a certain year you'd recommend I avoid? (kind of like the 2011 macbook pro's due to the graphics card, etc.) I'm considering the late 2009-current gen models. Thanks!

 

[antman2x2]

I'm considering buying a 27 inch imac to replace my laptop and being new to the iMac side of Apple, I figured I'd ask you guys for advice. Is there a certain year you'd recommend I avoid? (kind of like the 2011 macbook pro's due to the graphics card, etc.) I'm considering the late 2009-current gen models. Thanks!

The Mid-2011 27 inch iMac was pretty bad in terms of recalls. Hard Drives, GPU.

 

[Willo34]

I must say, i had a 2009 model, and I only have good things to say about it. Not very scientific, but anecdotal evidence

 

[cerberusss]

Well, the 2014 model with the top GPU, the M295X, had throttling issues:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...lock-throttling-heat-and-performance.1815601/

It would get to 105˚C within a couple of minutes of full use.

 

[r6mile]

Avoid the post-2012 'tapered edge' models because they cannot easily have the hard drive upgraded (and in the case of the 21.5 inch, even the RAM), unless they already come with SSD/Fusion drive and enough RAM.
[doublepost=1454665470][/doublepost]Basically, I would avoid both the C2D, and the non-upgradeable later models. This leaves you with a 2009-2011 model in case of the 27 inch, and a 2010-2011 model if a 21.5-inch.

I personally have a 2010 21.5 i3-3.06 that I have upgraded with an SSD and 8GB RAM and am very pleased.

 

[Serban]

buy a 27" model from 2012 to present, they made a big step in dGPU with the 680MX/780M/M295x/M395x

 

[macryan1]

The Mid-2011 27 inch iMac was pretty bad in terms of recalls. Hard Drives, GPU.

That being said Apple has been great about replacing the drives and the GPU...at least for my mid 2011...both have been done under warrantee. However it's starting to show its age...and I'm itching to get with a newer 27.

 

[DoNoHarm]

Avoid the post-2012 'tapered edge' models because they cannot easily have the hard drive upgraded (and in the case of the 21.5 inch, even the RAM), unless they already come with SSD/Fusion drive and enough RAM.
[doublepost=1454665470][/doublepost]Basically, I would avoid both the C2D, and the non-upgradeable later models. This leaves you with a 2009-2011 model in case of the 27 inch, and a 2010-2011 model if a 21.5-inch.

I personally have a 2010 21.5 i3-3.06 that I have upgraded with an SSD and 8GB RAM and am very pleased.

Thank you this is actually really helpful information. To add to your options, if I went with a 2012 and later model with a fusion drive, is the HDD easily replaceable?

 

[ivoruest]

Get the latest and greatest. This is the one model to get. This will keep you from wondering what if?....

 

[r6mile]

Sorry I think I was unclear. I meant to say that because the post-2012 models are non-upgradeable, I would only personally only consider them if it already had a Fusion drive and a satisfactory amount of RAM. Are you looking at a 21.5 or 27 inch?

Thank you this is actually really helpful information. To add to your options, if I went with a 2012 and later model with a fusion drive, is the HDD easily replaceable?

 

[nightcap965]

"Such models of friendship are precious and rare,
Though the friendship of models is not."

(Flanders & Swann, "Friendly Duet")

 

[DoNoHarm]

Sorry I think I was unclear. I meant to say that because the post-2012 models are non-upgradeable, I would only personally only consider them if it already had a Fusion drive and a satisfactory amount of RAM. Are you looking at a 21.5 or 27 inch?

Gotcha. I'm going for a 27". I was thinking there was something special about the fusion drive models themselves that made it easier to upgrade the HD. I think having limitless and SSD storage space matters most for me, so 2011 it is.

 

[r6mile]

Excellent choice. The 2011 models come with quad-core processors too, as well as SATA 6Gb/s.

Gotcha. I'm going for a 27". I was thinking there was something special about the fusion drive models themselves that made it easier to upgrade the HD. I think having limitless and SSD storage space matters most for me, so 2011 it is.

 

[roberthallin]

If you can get your hands on a 3.4ghz i7 from 2011 you'll have a processor that performs on par with the fastest current iMac i5's, which is nice!

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[Lankyman]

You're making an enquiry on an Internet forum - such forums are where people tend to go to complain about any/every fault under the sun concerning just about any product.

As such you are unlikely to end up with a balanced view of any product. How many people do you know who go online to tell the world they haven't had any issues with their products as opposed to those who go online to complain?

In the main I think you would be unlucky to end up with a faulty machine providing that (a) if it's second hand, it has been well cared for or (b) buying new shouldn't give you any issues plus you will have the piece of mind in that you have a warranty.

 

[briloronmacrumo]

I'd go with a late 2015 27inch iMac because Apple has done more work to avoid throttling issues ( see this video regarding improvements and heat comparisons )

 

[DoNoHarm]

I just pulled the trigger on a 27" 2.97" 2010 top of the line model. Yes, the processing power is about half the new ones, but I'm hoping the ability to upgrade the SSD and graphics card stability makes up for that. It cost $700 for a like new model shipped including tax, whereas the 2011 3.4Ghz would have cost $1100.

 

[Sill]

Avoid the post-2012 'tapered edge' models because they cannot easily have the hard drive upgraded (and in the case of the 21.5 inch, even the RAM), unless they already come with SSD/Fusion drive and enough RAM.

I have the late 2012 model, which I've heard is sort of unique compared to everything before and after as far as installing an SSD or Fusion drive goes. Something about there already being a dedicated spot and interface for an SSD that wasn't there in the early 2012 machines and was removed for the post-2012 machines. Is this correct?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I have the late 2012 model, which I've heard is sort of unique compared to everything before and after as far as installing an SSD or Fusion drive goes. Something about there already being a dedicated spot and interface for an SSD that wasn't there in the early 2012 machines and was removed for the post-2012 machines. Is this correct?

Not really it only uses SATA interfaces so you can replace your HDD yourself with any SATA 3 disk but if you only have one drive you'll need an upgrade kit to add more drives.

Post 2012 uses a proprietary PCIeinterface for the SSD but with an HDD it has a normal SATA 3 interface and the fusion drive has both allowing an easy upgrade of the HDD to an SSD.

 

[DoNoHarm]

Thanks for your tips on the temperature sensors. I've tried to see this shown in video tutorials on how to switch the HD, but I'm having difficulty finding a good video that describes what you're talking about. Specifically, for the 2010 27" iMac, if I were to replace the stock hard drive with an SSD, could I just use some random 2.5" to 3.5" adapter on amazon, swap the drive, and re-install the OS like I would in a Macbook?

Some considerations. The 2009-2010 iMacs weren't known for major reliability issues, although should a hard drive replacement be required, be aware these models had integrated temperature sensors in the hard drive. Thankfully it was accessed via a separate cable, so you could replace the internal drive with one of the same brand without much difficulty.

The 2011 models used integrated temperature sensors in the hard drive that did not use a separate cable, so installing a non-Apple drive (including SSDs) will require an OWC Hard Drive sensor kit.

If you do purchase a 2011 27" iMac, I would also recommend you avoid the top-of-the-line models with AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics. These chips while powerful also had a thermal output to match that the iMac cooling system couldn't handle. Apple had a repair extension program for these GPUs for four years from the date of purchase, but most of these machines are outside of that time frame by now.

Post-2012 models use VHB to secure the screen, meaning in order to upgrade the hard drive, some cutting of adhesive is required to remove the screen. Of course this adhesive then needs to be replaced otherwise, quite simply, the screen will fall out (and often tear connectors off the board in the process).

 

[r6mile]

I don't know of the 27" is different, but for my 2010 21.5" I used the OWC kit which includes a sensor cable, as well as a Newwertech ADAPTADRIVE as a 2.5-3.5 adapter. I think this is the kit for the 27" http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIM27SSD10/

There may be cheaper ways of doing this but you really don't want to skimp on these components. The iMac is not the easiest computer to take apart.

 

[DoNoHarm]

Thanks for your reply. So do I just replace the stock HD or add a second SSD and somehow get the computer to boot from the second SSD?

I don't know of the 27" is different, but for my 2010 21.5" I used the OWC kit which includes a sensor cable, as well as a Newwertech ADAPTADRIVE as a 2.5-3.5 adapter. I think this is the kit for the 27" http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIM27SSD10/

There may be cheaper ways of doing this but you really don't want to skimp on these components. The iMac is not the easiest computer to take apart.

 

[r6mile]

This is how I've done it in 2 21.5" iMacs, a straight HDD-SSD replacement. Some steps may be different if you are looking to get rid of the optical drive and put the hard drive in its place.

1. Clone the contents of the existing hard drive into the SSD, using a 2.5 external hard drive enclosure (can be had for cheap on Amazon - I personally use an Orico).
2. To check that it works, boot from the SSD while it's external (by holding Option on start-up and selecting it)
3. Put the SSD inside the 2.5-3.5 enclosure
4. Open-up the iMac, take out the existing hard drive, and replace it with the SSD, using the OWC sensor cable etc. The OWC video has quite detailed instructions, though it simplifies many of the steps. In particular, BE CAREFUL WITH THE DISPLAY CABLE - this has quite a few pins that can easily be damaged. I damaged the cable when I did this once, though thankfully you can buy a replacement for about £15 on eBay. Also, the screws that hold the screen in place can be a total nightmare to put back in because the iMac is full of magnets (normally used to hold the glass screen in place) that will draw the screws. Make sure you buy the OWC kit including the tools, as it will have the suction cups to remove the screen, as well as all the screwdrivers you'll ever need for Mac repairs.

5. Your computer should boot from the SSD now. Make sure once you are in OSX, you click on 'start up disk' and click on the new Macintosh partition. Otherwise, your start-up will be slower as your computer will always first look for the original HDD, before moving to your new hard drive.
6. You're done!

P.S: You may also want to get a 3.5 enclosure, so that you can recycle your iMac's previous HDD as an external.

Thanks for your reply. So do I just replace the stock HD or add a second SSD and somehow get the computer to boot from the second SSD?

 

[DSTOFEL]

I just pulled the trigger on a 27" 2.97" 2010 top of the line model. Yes, the processing power is about half the new ones, but I'm hoping the ability to upgrade the SSD and graphics card stability makes up for that. It cost $700 for a like new model shipped including tax, whereas the 2011 3.4Ghz would have cost $1100.

Congratulations! I had this exact model for the last 4 years. Other than the Seagate HHD recall ( i.e. Affected some units....Apple replaced the HHD under this recall), the iMac had no issues. I just recently sold it (for $900) after removing the additional SSD and replaced with a late 2015 27 inch version. So, you got a good deal!

I see some of your other posts below regarding adding SSD. Here is what I did. I left the HHD in its place, but installed an additional SSD via the instructions in this video from OWC ( i.e. And using a kit purchased from OWC that included everything needed....around $35 at the time). You then have lots of options on how you want to use the HHD/SSD combo. You can create your own fusion drive, install OSX and apps on the SSD and "manually" manage what data you keep on the SSD versus what data you keep on the SSD, etc..... There are plenty of smart people on this forum that can help you with the steps involved (and pros/cons) of the various options on how to best us the HHD/SSD combo. So, my recommendation is to keep the HHD installed and just install an additional SSD (i.e. Then you have both to work with).

The whole process was fairly simple if you follow the instructions in the video carefully. You have to be careful (i.e. Lots of fragile things to disconnect/reconnect), but very simple really.

Video:
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_mid27_2010_ssddiy/