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iM 4,1-14,4 Recommended upgrade for iMac 9,1 24" (8GB + SSD) with El Capitan

m0rtadelo

m0rtadelo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2025
5
0
Hi All,

I have been using this iMac since I bought it in 2009. When I upgraded it to El Capitan (from Snow Leopard) I had to install an SSD and RAM because it was too slow.

Right now I only use it for Internet surfing and little more. The thing is that I am struggling to just do that because all browsers no longer support this version of MacOSX. I also keep photos in it (backed up using TimeMachine on a NAS).

I would like to upgrade to a newer version of MacOS using OLCP. I would like to leverage Xmas holidays to do it.

I have no big expectations but I would like to it run as smooth as possible without (if possible) any artifacts just for surfing.

With current status of OLCP, what is the recommended OS version for this configuration without upgrading hardware?

I have taken a look about upgrading the GPU but seems kind of hassle to me. Are there any re-flashed GPUs that are ready to install on an iMac (from Aliexpress or wherever), so it is a little bit less trickier?

What are your experiences and recommendations?

Thx
 
m0rtadelo said:
I have been using this iMac since I bought it in 2009. When I upgraded it to El Capitan (from Snow Leopard) I had to install an SSD and RAM because it was too slow.
Click to expand...
2-core or 4-core iMac? The 2-core from 2009 will be a dog.. target Big Sur or Ventura... the 4-core might be able to get away with Sonoma. Would not consider any later macOS versions but you can always experiment. Chrome or FireFox is the way.
 
Bigwaff said:
2-core or 4-core iMac? The 2-core from 2009 will be a dog.. target Big Sur or Ventura... the 4-core might be able to get away with Sonoma. Would not consider any later macOS versions but you can always experiment. Chrome or FireFox is the way.
Click to expand...
2-core
 
Thanks you both for this. I have been looking for a simple browser without luck for a long time. In any case I am afraid I will still need to upgrade as other software (such as Calibre or MS Office) just dropped support a long time ago.
 
Monterey 12.7.x via latest OCLP is your best bet since Ventura and newer require AVX2.0 CPU support your Core 2 Duo lacks.
 
Monterey seems to be the consensus for this machine. And as you indicate I do not know how long we can stay there. I was hoping that OCLP had improved enough to go a little bit further, but the feedback received so far is discouraging. It would be great to know about the experience of others with similar hw with latest versions.
 
My recommendation is to run a light distro of Linux like MX on aging machines like this. I have MX running on a number of early Intel core2 duo era Macs with zero issues. 100% free and supported os & apps (browser, office tools etc.) within the linux ecosystem & light os making for a snappy environment.

Ebook manager Calibre exists & is 100% supported on Linux and although MS office is’t, Apache Open-Office absolutely is and is an excellent, 100% supported, free forever full featured office clone.

Purely out of curiosity, what MS office functionality is missing from your current MS office that is available with newer supported builds?
 
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Snowlover said:
If your only issue is with browsing the web on this machine, take a look at
Firefox Dynasty browser. Just using it will be way simpler than messing with OCLP.


github.com

Releases · i3roly/firefox-dynasty

haters puttin' a wrap on us, callin' it a legacy, we keep showin' what the fuss, call it a dynasty - i3roly/firefox-dynasty
github.com github.com
Click to expand...
Note: Firefox v145 is the last version with Extensions and Themes under the Tools menu, so be sure to save a copy.
 
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