Advice please on Early 2009 iMac

[JonathanCL]

Hi All, I hope you and your loved ones are all keeping safe and well at the moment? Greetings from Wales
I was looking for a bit of advice / recommendations.

At home I have a Early 2009 iMac (iMac 9,1). I have recently been working from home a lot with the pandemic ongoing and have noticed it is struggling with multitasking. For example if I have Outlook running and I am having a Teams video meeting with colleagues, the iMac becomes red hot and if I try to use Chrome as well, everything just grinds to a halt. It’s rocking a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 8GB RAM and a 1TB 7200rpm hard drive. For normal use (when I'm not working at home) I am usual word processing, internet browsing, music, (extremely) light gaming and excel. That's about it.

Also it is stuck on El Capitan, as a result I can’t run the latest version of Office. I have installed Norton as I was thinking security might be an issue being stuck on El Capitan?

So, the only thing I could upgrade on the system is installing a SSD. Do you think I would be better off doing this or should I bite the bullet and buy a new iMac (After WWDC in a few weeks)? I imagine the SSD swap will only help to a certain extent as my problems probably stem from the CPU not being able to cope? Is this right or would an SSD help more than I might think?

I'm just concerned about software no longer being updated too.

Diolch yn fawr! (Thank you very much)
Jonathan

 

[superiska123]

I believe that Norton is probably only slowing you down... If you have a decent adblocker installed for safari/chrome/firefox and don't go to sketchy websites, you don't really need an antivirus even on older Macs imo. In any case, by no means should you keep it on at all times.

An SSD would probably be a decent upgrade, but from what you wrote it sounds to me like you really need a faster processor. If you're OK with buying used, you could probably find a decent deal for a non-retina or even an older retina iMac...

Alternatively, you could try upgrading the SSD and then using software to unofficially update your mac to Catalina (http://dosdude1.com/catalina/) or Mojave (http://dosdude1.com/mojave/). I have only ever used these utilities on my 2011 13" MBP but they worked like a dream and with absolutely no issues (if you're installing the system on an SSD, that is).

 

[JonathanCL]

I believe that Norton is probably only slowing you down... If you have a decent adblocker installed for safari/chrome/firefox and don't go to sketchy websites, you don't really need an antivirus even on older Macs imo. In any case, by no means should you keep it on at all times.

An SSD would probably be a decent upgrade, but from what you wrote it sounds to me like you really need a faster processor. If you're OK with buying used, you could probably find a decent deal for a non-retina or even an older retina iMac...

Alternatively, you could try upgrading the SSD and then using software to unofficially update your mac to Catalina (http://dosdude1.com/catalina/) or Mojave (http://dosdude1.com/mojave/). I have only ever used these utilities on my 2011 13" MBP but they worked like a dream and with absolutely no issues (if you're installing the system on an SSD, that is).

That's really great advice thank you I wasn't too sure about Norton with no longer receiving updates but will make sure my browser is an adblocker.

Might look at the SSD route and patching to Catalina.

Thanks again

 

[superiska123]

That's really great advice thank you I wasn't too sure about Norton with no longer receiving updates but will make sure my browser is an adblocker.

Might look at the SSD route and patching to Catalina.

Thanks again

No problem! Perhaps you know already, but there's also the option of potentially saving some cash by replacing the DVD drive with a (small) SSD and keeping the hard drive for extra storage.

 

[JonathanCL]

No problem! Perhaps you know already, but there's also the option of potentially saving some cash by replacing the DVD drive with a (small) SSD and keeping the hard drive for extra storage.

yes that’s a pretty good shout too thank you. Just wondering do you think Mojave or Catalina will run okay on my intel core 2 duo?

 

[superiska123]

I don't think you'd see a significant difference in performance either way. I would perhaps recommend Catalina, because that is the OS that the developer of the unofficial install tool is most actively maintaining.
One thing I forgot to mention is that if you want to run the system in light mode, there will be some slight graphical bugs in both of the OS's. This can be remedied by turning on "reduce transparency" in System preferences. Such graphical bugs are not present when using the OS in dark mode.

I also want to stress that this *is* an unofficial patcher, so not all things may work perfectly. I have personally never encountered bugs, but some users have reported stuff like their built-in camera not working, etc...

 

[Fishrrman]

After 11 years, it's time for something new (or at least... Apple-refurbished...).

If you're concerned about Catalina (I don't like it and don't use it), you could get either a 2019 or 2017 iMac (both of which still run Mojave and all older 32-bit software).

Either of these are available here in the USA through "Apple refurbished". Not sure about the UK.

 

[superiska123]

After 11 years, it's time for something new (or at least... Apple-refurbished...).

If you're concerned about Catalina (I don't like it and don't use it), you could get either a 2019 or 2017 iMac (both of which still run Mojave and all older 32-bit software).

Either of these are available here in the USA through "Apple refurbished". Not sure about the UK.

Seconding this, and adding: If you're OK with buying used, 2013 and onward iMacs are a good buy.

 

[JonathanCL]

Seconding this, and adding: If you're OK with buying used, 2013 and onward iMacs are a good buy.

thank you both, lots to think about here. I may hold off until WWDC announcements and assess the situation then. Prices of older macs may come down etc.

thank you again

 

[superiska123]

thank you both, lots to think about here. I may hold off until WWDC announcements and assess the situation then. Prices of older macs may come down etc.

thank you again

You're welcome, and good luck deciding!

 

[kschendel]

We replaced an early 2009 last fall. I had upgraded it to 8GB memory and an SSD; the SSD made a very significant difference when I installed it a couple years ago, but CPU or GPU intensive work was still slow. An SSD is unlikely to help with your Teams and Chrome problems. I think I'd camp out on the Apple refurb store and wait for the right computer to show up.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

If by 'older Macs' you are referring to current models being sold through Apple Refurbished, don't hold your breath.