2011 iMac 27 becoming more and more useless

[amd is the best]

Hello all.

I'm sure many of you are in the same situation as I am. I have a perfectly running i7 2600k iMac 27" which I've upgraded to SSD, huge second HDD, lots of memory, second cinema display, etc. and I love it. As time passes, more and more software is being dropped from support, rendering this great machine useless.

I primarily use is for 3D modeling/printing using Autodesk Fusion 360. Unfortunately, the latest installer will not run on High Sierra. I might as well use it as a boat anchor now

I have kind of followed some of the work-arounds. Dosdude1 patch, then getting a graphics card to try and make that all happy. Is it worth it?

Can anyone who has upgraded their GPU and used the DosDude1 patch chime in here and let me know that it's worth the effort and running flawlessly? I need some motivation.

I realize that decade old hardware can't be supported forever and I'm not upset about that, I just hate having this great machine that has treated me so well for such a long time be rendered useless while still having more than sufficient hardware for the tasks I throw at it.

Thank you!

 

[The_Croupier]

I don’t use Autodesk but rather Graphisoft Archicad and also sketch up.
Working perfectly latest versions in Catalina.

You shouldn’t have any problems once you upgrade your GPU and update your OS

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Or simply downgrade your parts (to save energy) and use it as a NAS and 27" display.
Don't need to follow the GPU upgrading path.

 

[Fozziebear40]

I took the stand off mine, lies in a cupboard with just a DisplayPort lead to en external monitor, works great when I need to run some old software.