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Upgrading the processor on a mid-2010 iMac

Y

youds

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 4, 2010
26
1
Hi

I've just installed an SSD in my new iMac 27", see here.
I'm fast learning though (thanks to diglloydTools and other commentators) that once the application has loaded the SSD isn't involved very much from there on, so there are the same old performance problems. I'm finding in Firefox/Firebug where there is a large DOM (nothing exceptional) performance is still woeful.
So, baring in mind the Core i7 processor is under £200 and it would appear to have been possible to upgrade the iMac's processors in the past, does anybody have any advice for me?
What parts will I need, have you done it and what was your experience, any common problems with doing this, are the parts themselves upgradeable (the quoted link only suggests they are) etc.

I'm a brave soldier and plan to do the upgrade so any information you have will be a bonus. Shall do it as a how-to as well so please, the more info or read throughs you can give the better.

Thanks
 
youds said:
does anybody have any advice for me?
Click to expand...
Sell the machine and buy what fits your needs. Replacing the CPU completely voids the machine warranty as noted by that cute "warranty void if removed" sticker.

imac-aluminum-processor.jpg
 
300D said:
Sell the machine and buy what fits your needs. Replacing the CPU completely voids the machine warranty as noted by that cute "warranty void if removed" sticker.

imac-aluminum-processor.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like it will peel back to me.
 
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An SSD can be removed with placing original HDD back in if he ever wants to take it to apple.

As for upgrading the cpu, it's more than just a swap process like the SSD. I would not recommend it. Shoulda just went with i7/mobility 5850 version from the start.
 
In theory you should be able to as the 27" iMac uses a socket LGA 1156, not sure if the 21.5" uses 1156 or is using a laptop CPU socket. However, the question is what CPU models does the firmware support? I can not find any mention yet of someone braving the waters and trying out upgraded CPU's.
 
velocityg4 said:
In theory you should be able to as the 27" iMac uses a socket LGA 1156, not sure if the 21.5" uses 1156 or is using a laptop CPU socket. However, the question is what CPU models does the firmware support? I can not find any mention yet of someone braving the waters and trying out upgraded CPU's.
Click to expand...

21.5" uses LGA 1156 as well. i7-880 is the fastest CPU you can put in iMac
 
TMRaven said:
An SSD can be removed with placing original HDD back in if he ever wants to take it to apple.
Click to expand...

Yes I know that HOWEVER it's up to Apple to make that decision and I'm would guess they're not totally naive noticing when unspecified modifications have been done. At the very least anyone that does these type of mods is gambling with their warranty. And it's true there are folks that don't mind voiding their warranty and if that is the case then my point is moot.
 
One thing is for certain.... I WILL be upgrading my i5 to an i7 once my warranty is up. By that time it will be an even more affordable upgrade.

I'd like to take that little warranty sticker, put it in the middle of a blank sheet of paper & mail it to the Apple Care offices.
 
rkaufmann87 said:
His warranty is probably already voided because he installed the SSD on his own.
Click to expand...

No.

Yes I know that HOWEVER it's up to Apple to make that decision
Click to expand...
No its not. The law states aftermarket modifications cannot void a warranty unless something was damaged in the process, the aftermarket component contributes to a problem or, as in the case of the CPU, alteration is specifically prohibited.

Tamper evident... not tamper proof... there's a difference
Click to expand...
Wrong. If there was even one thing a person could do to remove or peel back the sticker and remove that screw, the entire point of the sticker has been defeated. That isn't some bumper sticker or soda bottle label, a large amount of money has been invested into its R&D because it can save far more in preventing fraudulent claims.
 
300D said:
Wrong. If there was even one thing a person could do to remove or peel back the sticker and remove that screw, the entire point of the sticker has been defeated. That isn't some bumper sticker or soda bottle label, a large amount of money has been invested into its R&D because it can save far more in preventing fraudulent claims.
Click to expand...

I'm not really going to argue with you about it since it's a moot point given the thread topic.... however... just carefully think about the important difference between preventing something (tamper proof) and finding evidence of something (tamper evident)... a hint being that its easier to find evidence of a particular action than to prevent something from happening.
 
Right so peeling back the warranty sticker is out of the question. I'm tempted to start a new thread as this has turned into a warranty debate. Besides invalidating a perfectly good warranty, what else should I be worried about.

Someone mentioned it's not as simple as replacing a drive or optical bay, what makes it more problematic?

Thanks for all the replies!
 
I've since found this and I'm becoming less and less attached to my warranty.
Is this the processor I want to do this?
Again, this is a mid-2010 iMac (11,3) with a Core i3 at present.
 
Vylen said:
The logic board is face-down. So to get to the CPU, you'd have to take it out... which means you have to unplug everything that's attached to it... and possibly gut out half the machine to easily take it out...

This is the teardown of the 2009 27" iMac : http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Teardown/1236/2
Step 16 is the logic board removal.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for the reply. In the original post I show you a link to http://ssd.youds.com which is a how-to of how to remove the logic board which I wrote.
The only part what bugs me is the sockets. In this step of a how to it describes using a socket lock, I've found these hopefully they will provide some clues.
 
youds said:
I've since found this and I'm becoming less and less attached to my warranty.
Is this the processor I want to do this?
Again, this is a mid-2010 iMac (11,3) with a Core i3 at present.
Click to expand...

Those are bloomfields, they use an entirely different socket than lynnfield. If there would be any possible upgrade it'd have to be lynnfield.
 
nobias said:
When the 2009
27" came out I sold my 2009 24" for only a $200 loss on craigslist... Local buyer came and picked it up. The listing was only up for 2 days
Click to expand...

I sold a 27" i5 w/ 6gb ram a couple of months ago for $1600... took me three weeks. :(
 
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