I have a late 2006, 20" iMac that I bought a couple months back. It was in perfect working order, but that's changed ever since.
The late 2006 iMac (And MacBook Pro, I think) is known for issues with the graphics processor going kaput on the machine. Mine was an exception to this problem when I purchased it. Keep in mind that I paid $200 for this machine.
When I got it, it ran flawlessly and had no graphical artifacts, freezing or other strange anomalies related to the graphics processor. It would even run Final Cut Pro X (Which I spent another $200 on, $400 spent on it so far), albeit slowly due to the lack of powerful hardware and 'unsupported graphics'.
I even upgraded the RAM to 2GB (I would've gone to 4GB, but the store I went to had none in stock) and I spent another $40 (it was overpriced, I know) on that. So that's $440 in total, blown away.
Recently, in the past two weeks, the problems began to surface. The lines would show up here and there and it would freeze or shut down for no apparent reason. I have not allowed it to go any further. I simply turned it off and placed it in a corner. I have not started it ever since. That happened about two weeks ago.
I know the problems with the graphics processor are heat aggravated, so while using smcFanControl would help to alleviate the problem, I knew it wouldn't last forever, hence the reason it began to act up. The 24" iMac from this model, as I hear has a slotted GPU so it'd be easy to replace, however, the 20" (Like mine) and the 17" models do not have a slotted GPU so it would require a complete replacement of the logic board. More than what it's worth and more than what I paid.
Now, that this machine sits collecting dust, useless as ever, I don't know what to do with it. I could sell it, but it's not worth a lot in this state, in my opinion. It is still usable, as far as I know, but the problems will eventually get so bad that it will be unusable. I could use it for parts, but I don't need the parts. It takes laptop memory that none of my laptops could take or benefit from as they're all either incompatible or already have the same chips. The hard drive probably also has some kind of proprietary connector to it.
I don't want to recycle it, because it still has some use to it. All the parts inside, aside from the GPU are in good working order.
I wouldn't have much issue with getting rid of it for cheap if I still had my job, but I quit because management of the store sucked really bad. They can't keep employees there, and now that I've worked there, I wonder why. This is my problem; I know in good condition it'd go for ~$500, but even though it works, I don't want to rip someone off, but I do want that money or at least some of it back. That's my problem.
Does anyone have any ideas?
The late 2006 iMac (And MacBook Pro, I think) is known for issues with the graphics processor going kaput on the machine. Mine was an exception to this problem when I purchased it. Keep in mind that I paid $200 for this machine.
When I got it, it ran flawlessly and had no graphical artifacts, freezing or other strange anomalies related to the graphics processor. It would even run Final Cut Pro X (Which I spent another $200 on, $400 spent on it so far), albeit slowly due to the lack of powerful hardware and 'unsupported graphics'.
I even upgraded the RAM to 2GB (I would've gone to 4GB, but the store I went to had none in stock) and I spent another $40 (it was overpriced, I know) on that. So that's $440 in total, blown away.
Recently, in the past two weeks, the problems began to surface. The lines would show up here and there and it would freeze or shut down for no apparent reason. I have not allowed it to go any further. I simply turned it off and placed it in a corner. I have not started it ever since. That happened about two weeks ago.
I know the problems with the graphics processor are heat aggravated, so while using smcFanControl would help to alleviate the problem, I knew it wouldn't last forever, hence the reason it began to act up. The 24" iMac from this model, as I hear has a slotted GPU so it'd be easy to replace, however, the 20" (Like mine) and the 17" models do not have a slotted GPU so it would require a complete replacement of the logic board. More than what it's worth and more than what I paid.
Now, that this machine sits collecting dust, useless as ever, I don't know what to do with it. I could sell it, but it's not worth a lot in this state, in my opinion. It is still usable, as far as I know, but the problems will eventually get so bad that it will be unusable. I could use it for parts, but I don't need the parts. It takes laptop memory that none of my laptops could take or benefit from as they're all either incompatible or already have the same chips. The hard drive probably also has some kind of proprietary connector to it.
I don't want to recycle it, because it still has some use to it. All the parts inside, aside from the GPU are in good working order.
I wouldn't have much issue with getting rid of it for cheap if I still had my job, but I quit because management of the store sucked really bad. They can't keep employees there, and now that I've worked there, I wonder why. This is my problem; I know in good condition it'd go for ~$500, but even though it works, I don't want to rip someone off, but I do want that money or at least some of it back. That's my problem.
Does anyone have any ideas?
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