2011 iMac CPU,GPU,Ram upgrade Plans

The iMac's are built more like laptops than towers and Apple does not provide user upgrades for anything except RAM and a Hard Drive in a pinch.

You are more than welcome to do what ever you want to your iMac. But please do not encourage others to destroy there computer and do not ask for help when you have destroyed yours.

Disclaimer - For me the Apple Support Communities are an international user to user technical support forum. As a man from Mexico my first language is Spanish. I do not speak English, however I do write in English with the aid of the Mac OS X spelling and grammar checks. I also live in a culture very different from that found in most 1st world nations, such as that in the two dominant North American countries. Written language has no tone. When offering advice in the ASC, my comments are not meant to be anything more than helpful and certainly not to be taken as insults.

Apple has done everything right, this is just another part of their strategy and I think it's great.

Actually, that's a falsehood that you just started. Apple's strategy on most of its Macs models is that there is no user upgradable parts beyond the RAM.

I am not missing your point at all and if you want to upgrade your iMac and if it can be done, then more power to you. Just don't misrepresent Apple by making false statements regarding Apple's strategy about Macs when sharing what you want ot do to your Mac.

In your excitement with your project and evangelizing for it, you appear to not actually be reading my posted comments. Or you have a profound reading comprehension disability. I have not said anything close to what you have accused me of stating. So it is just as well that you don't intend to post anymore on the topic.

Ciao

I guess I could change the oil in my Ferrari, but I won't. I'll pay the $200 to the tech to change the oil. Same with the spark plugs... Why would I tear apart a perfectly good computer to upgrade it and won't run faster than one I can buy from Apple..

Good poiint, David...and I don't understand why people want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane 😝

kennyap, no one is attacking or disputing what you want/can do with your own computer. All of the points being made are simply guidance as to the stated policies of the Apple Support Communities, that is, the support offered here is within the guidlines of Apple stated licensing agreements on software and hardware, and approved/supported user activities. Changing the CPU and GPU in an iMac are not Apple supported activities. We are all simply pointing that out and making clear no help can or will be given on here for those activities.

You are most certainly free to do those things with your computer, no one disputes that. We just cannot offer you any help or support, or anyone else who choses to follow in what you are doing.

Good luck and hope all works out well for you.

Kennyap,

Perhaps an explanation is in order. Did you notice the icons underneath everyone's avatar? Do you find it strange to have attracted the attention of so many people level 6 and higher? This thread was mentioned in "The Lounge" - a forum reserved for people who have reached level 6. A Lounge member asked for help to talk some sense into you. Had it not been for that, you would not have gotten any replies except for maybe David M Brewer.

I don't want you to get a bad opinion of the forums. You have inadvertently attracted the attention of a "Lounge Posse". Normally people would not be so belligerent.

That being said, this forum is really not like the other ones that you listed. There is less of that kind of pure discussion forum activity. I think Apple does want to encourage more of that. They renamed the forums from Apple Discussions to Apple Support Communities. Still, the focus is more on technical support than hacking up hardware. You aren't the first to attempt to start such a discussion. Your predecessors have received similar, if not worse, responses.

I want to encourage you to avoid any and all personal attacks on people. 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.

While you aren't likely to find many other people here who are modifying their hardware, your experience might be able to help people in the future who are having trouble. Apple Support Communities has its own culture and can be a fun and interesting discussion forum. While hardware modifications really aren't my thing, I'm sure there are other people who are interested - perhaps not as many as you might see elsewhere, however. I want to encourage you to continue to participate in this forums. Don't let a few old timers chase you off the lawn - they don't own it. It is a Community.

You really take the cake. You come here making overly generalized statements and fabricated statements and then accuse me of the same thing. I did not tell you that it couldn't be done. I did not say that all Apple CPUs and GPUs are glued or soldered. I said that they are usually glued or soldered. That is true. If what you report about your Mac is true, then you have one of a few where that isn't the case.

You stated that your plan to hack your Mac was part of Apple's iMac strategy. I pointed out that you fabricated that statement. Apple has never released information on such a strategy about the iMac.

I have not in any of my comments told you that you could not achieve your goal, nor asked you not to pass your ideas on to others. I agreed that it was your right to do as you wished with your Mac. You appear to over generalize what everyone has said as coming from us all and that isn't the case.

I would suggest a forum to you that you haven't mentioned which sounds as if it would be a perfect fit for you:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

People there really like modifying things, and you will find the support there (that is generally lacking here) for what you are contemplating.

Good luck.