upgrade memory, drive of 2007 iMac or buy new?

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Level 2

205 points

upgrade memory, drive of 2007 iMac or buy new?

My hard drive is making lots of ominous noises — running often and roughly. I also seem to be taxing my 3 gb of RAM, as I'm gettting lots of spinning beach balls and delayed actions in programs. I have to repair permissions and restart daily.

Would it be worth it to replace the hard drive and upgrade to 6gb of RAM? That would run $200-$250, I gather from a quick search. Is it likely to give me another year or more on this machine, or should I start thinking about replacing it?

(I thought the disk was dying a year ago, but did a Diskwarrior repair, which seemed to help.)

Posted on Mar 9, 2012 4:30 PM

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Answer 1

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rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,418 points

Mar 9, 2012 5:03 PM in response to CTS

When you can buy a refurbished currrent model 21.5" iMac for $999 that comes with a 1 year warranty, new version of OS X and all new apps to me it makes no sense. You're thinking of investing $250 on a machine that is worth $600 at best, that's 41% of the value of the machine! Any way you look at it investing money in old technology is a losing proposition.

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 9

77,038 points

Mar 9, 2012 5:05 PM in response to CTS

That's tough to answer, we all have different wants, needs and budgets.

If you want or need a faster computer, then buy a new one.

If it still gets the job done and you really only use it occasionally for Surfing, E-Mail, Music and some lighter Applications, then fix it up and keep using it for a few more years.

If other members in your household (spouse, kids or grandkids) would also benefit from having a second computer around, then just slap a new HDD in the 2007 and buy yourself a new one. Example: I upgraded the HDD in my Early 2006 Core Duo 3 years ago and the wife, kids, grandkids are still using it everyday for Surfing, E-Mail and Games.

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Answer 3

CTS Author

Level 2

205 points

Mar 9, 2012 5:59 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks. The main problem is the hard drive, so that could be solved for $100-$125, but I see your point ... (I'd hoped some of the other hangups might get solved by the hard-drive fix).

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Answer 4

steve359

Level 6

17,169 points

Mar 9, 2012 6:01 PM in response to CTS

Some other problems may be. A hardisk that is losing sectors daily is like an Alzheimer's patient.

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Answer 5

CTS Author

Level 2

205 points

May 28, 2012 8:42 AM in response to steve359

Well, I made the replacement (I had an extra hard drive lying around), and paid $150 for someone to put it in. Performance is now reliable but on the slow side. I think it was a decent decision b/c now I can hang in to see what the new iMacs/Macbook Pros look like, this summer, and, if I want, sell this computer with a good conscience (I couldn't have sold it in the previous condition). I'm amazed at the prices those ole machines still fetch.

And maybe I'll pass it on to my son's school.

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