hello i have the late 2009 imac 21.5 inch. it has an intel core 2 duo processor. i was wondering if i could upgrade the processor to an i5 or i7. if i couldnt do that because the socket is different, could i at least upgrade it to a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor AT80569PJ073N - 2.83GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Yorkfield, Quad-Core, Socket 775, OEM?? would everything be okay because when i play my games on my computer it lags and applications take a while to load up. if i couldnt do that processor, what is the best processor i can upgrade too? Also (even if that intel core 2 quad does work) what is the best processor i could upgrade to?? thanks for any help!!
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Can i upgrade my imac processor???
- Thread starter appleiskool
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The switch from Core2Duo to iX eliminated the traditional Intel FSB -- so a bit more than a simple socket change.
So different sockets, architecture, etc. -- so NO WAY IN HELL.
Even Nvidia is locked out right now in going from Core2Duo to i3/i5/i7.
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Upgrading to a same socket CPU, for the Mac you will run into the problem of no support for some of the processors made after your machine.
And since Apple doesn't provide firmware updates to add new CPUs to old machines.
You are stuck with the EXACT CPUs that have been tested to work in your machine -- which means familiarity with CPU runs/versions/etc. within a class of CPU and what is tested to work with the motherboard.
Basically easier to sell the machine and buy a new one.
So different sockets, architecture, etc. -- so NO WAY IN HELL.
Even Nvidia is locked out right now in going from Core2Duo to i3/i5/i7.
---
Upgrading to a same socket CPU, for the Mac you will run into the problem of no support for some of the processors made after your machine.
And since Apple doesn't provide firmware updates to add new CPUs to old machines.
You are stuck with the EXACT CPUs that have been tested to work in your machine -- which means familiarity with CPU runs/versions/etc. within a class of CPU and what is tested to work with the motherboard.
Basically easier to sell the machine and buy a new one.
There are C2Qs that use either E0 or R0 steppings, just like E7600 and E8600. However, as it has been said, it has been tried and it didn't work with Q9400 (which actually came almost a year before E7600) though that is 95W chip compared to 65W chips used in 21.5" iMac (PSU may not be beefy enough?).
Basically, a 65W C2Q with right stepping might work but this is nothing more but speculation. Maybe there are some deeper differences between C2Ds and C2Qs. If someone is stupid enough to teardown his iMac and try range of C2Qs, then we might know
Seriously OP, you're better off selling it and buying a new one