Should I sell my White 24"iMac (Intel Cor2Duo 2.16GHz)?

[CyAnMan]

Over the years I've upgraded my iMac, by installing 4Gb of Ram, removing the OEM HD and installing a WD 2TB Hd and even buying a FW800 Dock to run extra drives from.

Currently I have a late 2012 mac mini and run it on a 42" LCD TV and it runs fine for my purposes.
I also have an Nvida white 13" macbook (2GHz, 4GB ram)

Both my macbook and the iMac are running snow Leopard.
The Mac mini is running Mavericks.

I love LOVE snow leopard and am undecided…. Should I sell my iMac or upgrade it further with an SSD?

I don't use the iMac that much anymore (because the HD seems slow compared to the fusion drive on the mac mini) but am wondering if I install SSD if it would bring my iMac back to life. I guess I'm worried that if I give up the iMac, I'll really miss it.

My main uses on the iMac is Rapidweaver 4 with hundreds of webpages… so it slows down the computer alot whenever I am working on it…would using an SSD help speed things up? Especially when saving?

I can't make up my mind!


TIA! (Thanks in Advance)

 

[leman]

Why don't you use the Mini for web development? I mean, it is much faster than the iMac. I feel that upgrading the iMac right now is throwing a lot of money at an obsolete machine...

 

[excommie]

I wanted to upgrade my 2008 iMac 24 (core2duo) a while ago.
Before I did, I installed SSD - this machine feels faster than a new iMac with a Hard Drive. I realize that the CPU is old and I use iMovie a lot - but this SSD injected a new life into it - I'm not even looking to upgrade it anymore. I run a 256GB SSD inside the iMac, a 2 TB FW800 drive a 1 TB FW800 drive and a 3TB FW800 TimeMachine drive. Works great for me...

 

[TheyCallMeBT]

I agree with leman. That model is from about 2007 or 2008, right? There's only so much that upgrading one component can do. I think I'd rather put that money toward a new purchase.

Edit: well after reading excommie's post, maybe it will. I know I was considering upgrading the processor and gfx in my 2010 iMac. Now that's a lot more involved than a hard drive. But I'm not sure if it's just as hard to get inside of that model as it is this one. Ultimately, I decided against it and just ordered a new iMac yesterday. BUT then again, I don't have machines to fall back on that can run the tasks I need it to. I love my MBA, but I wouldn't want to edit a 15 minute marketing video on an 11" screen. lol.

 

[CyAnMan]

I cannot use the mini exclusively for web development as one of my big project file runs under RW4 under Snow Leopard. Transitioning the project to run on RW5 under Lion or later is a nightmare... Something the developer did to Rapidweaver 5 in the way assets are handled.

I guess I just don't want to let the 24" iMac go. It has been a great machine, though I'm just finding it slow now. I'm unsure if installing an SSD will really benefit me? (No issues with doing this, I have replaced the HD on my iMac..which is not easy!)

I've no experience using an SSD, except for the fusion drive on the mini. So I'm not sure if an SSD beyond loading and saving files will offer any performance increase?

 

[excommie]

I think you should go with SSD. SSDs are getting cheap. Even if you install it and you don't like the performance of your iMac - it will be a lot easier to sell with an SSD than without. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how fast it boots and how fast apps open. I have a 2013 MBA 13 - in average usage I don't see any differences and I prefer to use the iMac when at home.

I know some of you don't like to spend money on an older machine, but spending $150-ish for a 256GB SSD and using this computer for a couple of extra years is well worth it in my book.

 

[CyAnMan]

Woohoo!

Been nearly two weeks now... Well, I changed my mind and bit the bullet and bought a 120GB samsung SSD. Installed it in my imac, did a clean install of Snow Leopard (IMHO The cleanest, fastest version of OS X) ,then installed Trim Enabler and everything rocks!

I'm quite satisfied with the results and am glad I had seconds thoughts about getting rid of the computer.

I should also note that the GPU diode used to run hot sometimes ('cause of a 2TB 7200rpm drive nearby) and I'd get graphical glitches. They've all disappeared since the SSD was installed and during idle periods the temps are now 10 to 12 degrees cooler then before and I used to have to run the fan on medium (Fan control = iStat4) now I run it on low.

Sweeet!!