Q: Old iMac vs New iMac
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Oct 21, 2016 7:27 PMby mattwithcats,The 27" iMac with i5 750 processor is a bit of an oddball, half late 2009 / half mid 2010
It shipped with 1066 memory, but can support 1333, and up to 32 gigabytes too.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_(Intel-based)#Unibody_iMac
Before I bought a new iMac, I would put at least two 8 gig 1333 chips in
(16 megs total, old memory must be removed, can't mix speeds),
upgrade to Sierra, and also consider a possible processor upgrade.
The processor supports 95 watts of power, but I would use an i7 870S, 82 watts...
http://ark.intel.com/products/48498/Intel-Core-i7-870S-Processor-8M-Cache-2_66-G Hz
An i7-870/870S/880 are the other options...
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Oct 21, 2016 8:18 PMby mattwithcats,Upgrade the memory to at least 16 gigs,
then upgrade the OS to Sierra (optional, but recommended),
then see how it runs.
Is it fast enough for your needs?
The next upgrade is an Solid State hard drive,
but that requires some technical knowledge, and disassembly.
A good computer shop can do that for you, but not cheaply...
Last resort would be the processor, at that point I would get a new iMac...
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Oct 21, 2016 9:12 PMby MichelPM,That iMac you have is similar to the model iMac I own.
That Mac can take, at least, 16 GBs of RAM.
I have the core duo model, and I am running multiple OS X versions with no real issues or noticeable slowdowns.
The late 2009 model iMacs can run the latest OS X version pretty easily with plenty of RAM installed.
Your current iMac is still a very capable iMac!
With the new OS versions,though, older Macs won't get some of the new and cool connectivity features because of the age of your iMac, but I found some other third party apps that have taken care of some of those older hardware shortcomings.
Good luck!
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Oct 22, 2016 6:49 AMby mattfromcanada42,Would I be able to do it directly through the Apple Store? I've looked up the processor, it's about $500 ish (https://www.amazon.ca/Intel-i7-870-Processor-Socket-LGA1156/dp/B002KQ5KEI). I have (4) slots for RAM (currently runny 1,1,2,2) so that's another $200 for 32gb RAM (https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/8566DDR3S32S/)
That puts me at $700, call it $800 b/c the RAM is probably in USD.
That leaves me $1,200 for additional upgrades and to pay someone to do the upgrades (not technical with hardware). Is the Processor truly necessary, or is my existing processor even more powerful than the new base model iMac? What are the advantages of the new iMac? Better screen? Cause I honestly could care less about that.
It seems based upon everyone's comments that upgrading is the right path to take…I just need to wrap my head around how/if this will push this iMac another 6 years of OS Updates, Program Updates etc.
