kennyap

Q: 2011 iMac CPU,GPU,Ram upgrade Plans

Hello all:

 

The following is to assist those who wish or plan to upgrade:

 

I'll be upgrading my iMac's CPU, Graphics Card & RAM this coming week.

 

current system:

2011 iMac 2.7ghz (27")

Radeon HD 6770M (512mb)

16gb RAM

240gb SSD (system)

1tb hdd (data)

 

upgrading to:

Core i7-2700k (3.5ghz)

Radeon HD 6970M (2gb)

32gb RAM

 

I ordered the graphics card from www.dvwarehouse.com, so should have necessary firmware:

1 x      Video Card AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB for iMac 27" Mid 2011 661-5969.

 

CPU & RAM upgrade: I'm fairly certain this should go smoothly and work fine afterward, that is if I take the precaution and time needed during the process.

 

I will report back later in the week on my results, I'll post my before & after system info screenshot also.  Wish me luck

 

Kenny

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.4), 2011 iMac 27" 2.7ghz

Posted on Jul 14, 2012 2:26 PM

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Q: 2011 iMac CPU,GPU,Ram upgrade Plans

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  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jul 16, 2012 7:02 AM in response to etresoft
    Level 8 (41,537 points)
    Jul 16, 2012 7:02 AM in response to etresoft

    etresoft wrote:

     

     

    The "Lounge Posse" has been known to goad people into that kind of an exchange in hopes of getting them to violate the forum Terms of Use so they can then report the thread to the moderators so it can be removed and the poster banned. Don't fall for that. If people aren't being helpful, just ignore them.

     

    I resent that post, etresoft. I certainly don't gallop into a discussion in order to "goad" anyone into anything.

     

    Most sweeping generalities are not necessarily true in all cases; this one certainly isn't.

     

    From what I can tell, most Level 6s (and up) here are attempting to talk someone out of inadvisable action upon a perfectly innocent iMac, and, more specifically, to plead that the poster not give out the advice to others (who may be far less knowledgeable) to attempt such things. That's why I came aboard, and, as I said, I resent your post attributing dark ulterior motives to our fellow Lounge members (and, especially, to me).

  • by Dah•veed,

    Dah•veed Dah•veed Jul 16, 2012 7:11 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 7 (34,736 points)
    Mac App Store
    Jul 16, 2012 7:11 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    I didn't even realize that there was a topic about this OP in the Lounge. As you can see in the forum sidebar, I am a usual user who posts here and I was the first who posted with a very general statement.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Jul 16, 2012 7:35 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 7 (29,178 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 16, 2012 7:35 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    My post was not directed to anyone other than kennyap. I saw things headed in that direction and I wanted to prevent it from happening. I have seen it happen too many times before. I think kennyap would be a valuable contributor to the Apple Support Community and I would prefer he stay here. Too many people in the lounge consider themselves to be self-appointed deputies. There is only one law around these parts and it carries a purple Apple badge.

  • by kennyap,

    kennyap kennyap Jul 16, 2012 7:36 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2012 7:36 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    Thanks for your all your responses.

     

    Cheers,

    Kenny

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jul 16, 2012 8:06 AM in response to kennyap
    Level 9 (53,921 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 16, 2012 8:06 AM in response to kennyap

    I realize this forum isn't the place to post topics on non-apple approved procedures.  I guess that sums it up.

     

    People posting here on Apple's home territory are expected to provide advice in accordance with the terms of use of the website and basically provide sound and legal advice.  We do not represent Apple but are pretty much at the fore of perceived online consumer support so they don't want us making a mess of it . With newer Apple hardware under warranty there is the inclination on these forums to play it safe and by the [Apple] book.  This extends to not posting anything that might encourage others to void their warranties, then come back here and say, "Look what you made me do and now Apple won't fix it!"  Not necessarily you but others.   While voiding a warranty isn't illegal, it is breaking any legal support responsibilities Apple has and so may be perceived as 'anti-legal' (so something we do not condone or support), especially as it is not in the interest of the majority of hardware owners to do it.

     

    Now if you were posting about doing this to a 10 year old Mac in the backwaters of the Power Mac forum then you'd see just about all the posts there are about doing things that would have voided the long-expired warranty.  Graphics card replacement is standard fare there. If you own a computer that old you pretty much have to be a do-it-yourself-er for anything.

  • by Lexiepex,

    Lexiepex Lexiepex Jul 16, 2012 8:50 AM in response to kennyap
    Level 6 (10,477 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 16, 2012 8:50 AM in response to kennyap

    I just read the whole thread. Horrible off the point of this forum.

    kennyapps own remark summarizes it all:

    "Thanks for your response.  I realize this forum isn't the place to post topics on non-apple approved procedures.  I guess that sums it up.".

    Indeed that sums it up.

    We all agree now that kennyapp is a very enthousiast engineer who is also a very good technician, and hobbyist.

    But he is on the wrong forum, as he said himself.

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jul 16, 2012 10:27 PM in response to kennyap
    Level 8 (41,537 points)
    Jul 16, 2012 10:27 PM in response to kennyap

    /___sbsstatic___/migration-images/189/18939289-1.png

  • by kennyap,

    kennyap kennyap Jul 17, 2012 11:33 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 17, 2012 11:33 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    Thanks very much everyone for letting me post here.  I'll probably spend more time on the unofficial forum due to the topics I like, but maybe I can contribute something here too.

    RE: My Upgrade:  I completed this, those who wish can read about it here:

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1404197

     

    Thanks-

     

    Cheers,

    Kenny

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jul 17, 2012 1:32 PM in response to kennyap
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Jul 17, 2012 1:32 PM in response to kennyap

    Great to hear that it worked for you and thank you for including the warning about voiding the warranty in your post.

     

    It looks like you spent somewhere around $1,200 on the parts plus shipping plus the original cost of the iMac - is that less expensive than simply buying the custom order iMac with the same specs (plus additional RAM from OWC) and including a warranty?

  • by kennyap,

    kennyap kennyap Jul 17, 2012 4:08 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 17, 2012 4:08 PM in response to babowa

    It was expensive. Since I live in the Cayman Islands I chose suppliers that ship internationally, it would have worked out cheaper to go with crucial.com for the ram.  Another guy on the forum paid $100 (installed) for a used Radeon 6970 2gb at an apple reseller.  I don't have that option.  I'm generally used to paying more for just about everything, living here.

  • by Cosmhart,

    Cosmhart Cosmhart Oct 9, 2012 8:31 AM in response to kennyap
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 9, 2012 8:31 AM in response to kennyap

    kennyap,

     

    Kudos to you for trying something this bold. I've grown up with Apple products all around me and the only frustration that I have with them is that they booby trap the hardware from being improved.

     

    I opened up my iMac last week and successfully changed the hard drive out. $80 to save a $2000 product. My other options was to sell it for half the price just to spend another 2k. I consider that a win.

     

    If I ever get a Ferrari I will never replace the entire car if the A/C goes out.

     

    Thank you so much for sharing your insight on how to keep our aging Apple products relevant.

  • by kennyap,

    kennyap kennyap Oct 9, 2012 9:54 AM in response to Cosmhart
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 9, 2012 9:54 AM in response to Cosmhart

    Thanks Cosmhart:

     

    My upgrade is working beautifully, but I've determine that I cannot upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.  Otherwise, I've had no problems whatsoever in any area - current programs, new installations, updates, etc.  And this iMac is the heart of everthing in my home network.  Just added a sweet Synology DS1512+ 15Gb NAS which is working with the iMac for iTunes Library and Popcorn Hour.

     

    RE: OS X ML hiccup: I've followed other users' 2011 iMac upgrades and have come to the conclusion that the only way to be sure the upgrade is 100% compatible is to install only the highest components in that line of apple product -- ex/ only upgrade to the highest specs that Apple offers in their 'Build to Order' machines that they offer for that year's product line.  Except for RAM which can be double the spec officially supported by Apple.

     

    Cheers,

    Kenny

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Oct 9, 2012 11:23 AM in response to kennyap
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Oct 9, 2012 11:23 AM in response to kennyap

    From what I've read, there is no way to fool MAS into allowing you to get ML because there is an identifier (I believe on your logic board, but could be somewhere else) that will "telltale" that your iMac cannot support ML no matter what parts you've upgraded to. Several people have tried to no avail (i.e. installed a Core 2 Duo processor - the machine was still identified as having only a Core Duo).

  • by baltwo,

    baltwo baltwo Oct 9, 2012 12:44 PM in response to kennyap
    Level 9 (62,256 points)
    Oct 9, 2012 12:44 PM in response to kennyap

    Appreciate that, but, even though I've built audio equipment, o'copes, and color TVs, getting into the innards of one of these beasts is not for the faint of heart. Especially tricky is ensuring that the all the heat and components connectors are disconnected w/o breaking them, that's after collecting the screws holding the display in place. Then, there's ensuring the replacement components are compatible and don't cause issues. Anyway, good luck with your endeavor.

  • by kennyap,

    kennyap kennyap Oct 9, 2012 1:50 PM in response to kennyap
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 9, 2012 1:50 PM in response to kennyap

    I entered a typo: my new Synology NAS is 15Tb (not 15Gb).

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