Hi, I am thinking of upgrading to High Sierra, but have read some threads about poor performance, especially with nVidia GPUs. I thought I would check to see if anyone using my model of iMac has had any issues.
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
Processor 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB
Thanks!
Ed
Hi Ed:
I have the exact iMac 2013 (21.5, 2.7 i5, with Irish Graphic). I am running 10.13.1 and did not have any issue. I did an "upgrade" from 10.12.6 to 10.13 then 10.13.1 -- it seemed to be quite smooth during the process. However, 21.5 inch (after 2012) iMacs (without Fusion drive or SSD) often suffer speed problem from the notorious 5400 rpm HDD.
Good Luck
Sam
Hi Ed:
I have the exact iMac 2013 (21.5, 2.7 i5, with Irish Graphic). I am running 10.13.1 and did not have any issue. I did an "upgrade" from 10.12.6 to 10.13 then 10.13.1 -- it seemed to be quite smooth during the process. However, 21.5 inch (after 2012) iMacs (without Fusion drive or SSD) often suffer speed problem from the notorious 5400 rpm HDD.
Good Luck
Sam
As rkaufmann 87 mentioned, USB 3 or Thunderbolt 2 external SSD -- as BOOT drive, could improve the disk read/write speed.
However, there are two more risky ways (internal 2.5 SSD, or PCI-e SSD). I did the 2.5 inch SSD upgrade -- DIY, and with my own risk of ruining the machine.
Although PCI-e SSDs are much faster, but for 2013 iMac, I feel 2.5 SATA SSD have been serving me very well.
Good luck
Sam
You can read bad news about any release of Mac OS, that doesn't mean it's true. The largest majority of users have zero problems, going to a forum to research is like going to a hospital to research the health of a community. This is of course a ludicrous idea. Generally speaking the users that have difficulty with a new release of Mac OS tend to have existing problems well before installing the new release of Mac OS.
Thanks for the reply. I understand that there will always be some issues with releases and they may be blown out of proportion. Most of the performance issues had to do with 2013 MacBook Pros. Before investing the time to upgrade, I was hoping to have confirmation from others with similar hardware that saw no problems.
Thanks again.
Thanks Sam, completed the upgrade and started testing now. Seems fine so far. I got your post after I started the upgrade and I do have the 5400 drive. I will see if that seems to be an issue with performance. Do you know if it's possible to upgrade the drives in these iMacs?
Thanks,
Ed
SantaCrnz wrote:
Thanks Sam, completed the upgrade and started testing now. Seems fine so far. I got your post after I started the upgrade and I do have the 5400 drive. I will see if that seems to be an issue with performance. Do you know if it's possible to upgrade the drives in these iMacs?
Thanks,
Ed
Your best bet for upgrading the drive is to connect an external SSD via USB 3 or preferably Thunderbolt. Doing an internal upgrade is cost prohibitive. I would receommend visiting OWC's site at www.macsales.com and they can provide a complete kit. OWC is a trusted vendor on these sites as they specialize in Macs and sell only high quality products for reasonable prices and maintain a high degree of customer service and support.
Hi Sam, I am interested in this upgrade also. I've done an internet search and have not found a confirmed upgrade path. Where did you get the SSD and was installation instructions included?
Thanks for your input.
Ed
Hi, I believe there are MANY tutorials on the web (including videos) about "how to" for this type of upgrade. OWC made some step-by-step instructions (for 2012 and 2013 21.5 inch iMac, the steps are almost identical for replacing HDD to 2.5 inch SSD).
There are many discussion about which SSD to choose -- I would suggest you to do some research. Again, the risk in on you.
I got my Apple OEM SSD (2.5 inch, 512 GB) from e-bay (my own risk as well), and no one provide installation guide from all SSD vendors per my knowledge. In addition to opening tools (small pizza cutter like), re-seal tapes, suction cups, and a pair of steady hands, you need to give yourself plenty of time to finish the tasks. Remember, back up is always the best principle when doing anything to a computer.
The end result -- was very rewarding, but the procedure is not for casual DIY-ers.
Do your homework and decide which way you prefer.
Good luck
Sam
Thanks Sam, I've been doing a lot of web research and it looks like a go for DIY replacement of the HDD with SDD. I am thinking about the memory too, but I see that is more involved than just the HDD replacement. I will see.
Thanks for your help.
Ed
2013 iMac compatibility with High Sierra
