Opening my Late 2013 21.5”

[jgelin]

Hello all,

I was wondering if there was anyone who has had any experience in opening up the post-2012 iMac with the adhesive instead of magnets..
I have a memory kit to upgrade my installed 8GB to 16GB but I did not order the adhesive strips to go onto the display.
My question is: do I actually need to scrape off the old adhesives and attach a new one in a kit like this or is it possible to just reattach with the residual adhesive from factory?

Any help is most appreciated. As well as any pointers for easier install while inside if you've done it before!

 

[MadDane]

In my experience the adhesive is practically not reusable since you basically cut it in half when opening the machine. You could try, but personally I would not want to take the chance of the adhesive being strong enough to keep the screen in place.

 

[maflynn]

Check out iFixit They'll have a repair guide to show you what it takes to open up the iMac.

 

[jgelin]

Yep that is the guide that I will be using. I ordered the foam strips and the iMac opener tool. It will arrive on Monday. I guess I'm going to pick up a SSD and install that too while I have it open instead of my initial plan of only upgrading the ram.

 

[DesertSurfer]

Yep that is the guide that I will be using. I ordered the foam strips and the iMac opener tool. It will arrive on Monday. I guess I'm going to pick up a SSD and install that too while I have it open instead of my initial plan of only upgrading the ram.

Good idea! As long as you have gone to the trouble of oening it up, you may as well add the SSD - it will make much more of a noticeable difference than the memory upgrade.

 

[jgelin]

Good idea! As long as you have gone to the trouble of oening it up, you may as well add the SSD - it will make much more of a noticeable difference than the memory upgrade.

I had a feeling that would be the case since I think that my MacBook Air w/ same amount of memory and lesser processor runs significantly faster than my iMac at current.
I was actually quite disappointed when I got it home and realized the mistakes I had made with the hardware configurations being a Mac newbie at the time.

 

[DesertSurfer]

I had a feeling that would be the case since I think that my MacBook Air w/ same amount of memory and lesser processor runs significantly faster than my iMac at current.
I was actually quite disappointed when I got it home and realized the mistakes I had made with the hardware configurations being a Mac newbie at the time.

I added memory and an SSD to my 2011 MacBook Pro recently (a much easier job than the one your are taking on), and it made an amazing difference. You may start to love you iMac when the job is done. Let us know how it goes.

 

[jgelin]

I finally finished putting it back together yesterday. It went well, had to deconstruct to get to the RAM 3 times: I installed new PNY ram and got Beep, checked if seated correctly, then still got beep. Went to local store in the morning and got the right type of RAM... I was using 1.5V and needed the 1.35. I do not know why they would say that it is Mac compatible, even with a photograph if it is not.
Otherwise, the process was fairly simple and straightforward, with minimal issue.

Now I am running on 2x 8GB G.Skill RipJaws RAM and a SanDisk Ultra II 480GB SSD.
It is AMAZING how much faster everything is, and my machine boots in under 12 seconds. Never have I ever had such astonishing performance out of a machine!
10/10 would recommend this if someone's iMac is out of warranty and they want a rewarding tech project.

 

[lplatellas]

Bump

Just finished re-assembling my imac after installing a Kingston SSD!!! Process far easier than i thought! No need for suction cups for lifting the screen, nor iFixit's kit, 3M's double-sided foam tape can well do the job!!!

Have no hesitation going on with it, iMac is like new!