Just wondering if the cpu can be upgraded (once my warranty runs out) in my iMac 27" 5k Late 2015 computer. I currently have the Core i5 cpu and would like to upgrade it to the Core i7 (skylake) 6700k cpu.
Thanks in advance!!
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)
Yes.
The main concern is if the motherboard can support the CPU. Even though it is the same socket there are some CPUs that may not work if Apple didn't program in support for them on the motherboard. (In the PC world as new CPUs come out the motherboard companies will release software updates that enable the new CPUs to be used. Apple doesn't do that because they aren't built to be upgraded after the fact.)
You can see here that the three CPUs that can come installed in the iMac are the I5-6500, I5-6600, and I7-6700k. Those will work for sure. The first is likely what you already have, and the second isn't much of an upgrade, so that leaves the i7-6700k that you would like to install. It is possible, but mattwithcats does brings up a legitimate concern regarding the TDP. While officially supported the 6700k does put off more heat. I have seen youtube videos showing that the 6700k in the iMac does 'thermal throttle', meaning it doesn't run as fast as the box says because it gets too hot, so don't expect as much as a boost as you thought you would get. Still a worthwhile upgrade overall but maybe not as much as you hoped.
On that note, you should consider whether or not you should upgrade, and that depends on what you want it for. If you want better gaming performance then you may not get much, since the GPU will be the greater bottleneck there. If you want to do video editing or something else that can benefit from HT (HyperThreading) on the 6700k then that would be worth the upgrade. But in my opinion it isn't worth the trouble for just a few more hertz if you aren't going to use any programs that will actually get any boost from the HT.
It would be better to get an i5 that is cheaper than the i7, but better than the i5 you currently have. That would give you performance boosts in everything you already do with your current i5 and wouldn't thermal throttle either. However, by installing a CPU that isn't officially supported by Apple (one of the three listed above) it may not work, so it would be a gamble. I haven't found any indication that someone else has taken the gamble with any other CPU so if you do decide to try a different CPU there is no guarantee it will work (but there is no guarantee that it won't either!).
First, you need to look at how much power your CPU draws (TDP), what generation, and which socket.
I believe you have a i5-6500 processor, 65 watts, 6th generation (Skylake), and FCLGA1151 socket...
The 6700k has two problems, 91 watt power draw, and it's unclocked. Both are no go's...
Look at the i7-6700, a 65 watt processor, or my choice, the i7-6700T, a 35 watt processor...
The 6700T will run nice and cool...
As the 6700 with no K is also a 65watt unit. I would like to upgrade to the 6700 for the hyper threading for video editing.
The big question is this. Is the difference of the 6700 and 6700K of such nature that the iMac main bord would not recognize it. or will it work.
Anybody tried this yet?
Nope.
In may 2015 mind iMac 5K I have intel i5-4590. Can I upgrade it to an i7 cpu like -4790?
Thanx!
My first step would be to go here iFixit: The Free Repair Manual to check if the CPU is soldered into the pcb if it is then soldering it out and a new one in would likely be beyond most
CPU upgrade for iMac 27" 5k Late 2015
