iMac 27" mid 2011 or newer iMac for Mojave

[Bacci]

What in the world are you talking about?

Thank you for that.

no one is scrambling to upgrade the GPUs in these, however.

2012 and later models have integrated graphics.

Have you actually installed Mojave on a 2010 iMac? I have on my second SATA drive for my 2010 i7. I have to agree with Dosdude: Mojave is useless on these without graphics acceleration. In addition, it doesn't like to update. BTW, I find an i5 way too slow for my needs—and yes, I have one to compare.

Radeon 4xxx (not 5xxx and 6xxx however) have full hardware acceleration in Mojave with Dosdude's patch.
i5 -- Horses for courses.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Dave,

The way Apple supports OS's is that they support the current and previous two OS versions with security updates. If your 2011 iMac is on High Sierra, it still has two years of security update life in it.

Antivirus programs do help by basically storing hashes of known malicious files and executables. They do mitigate against some threats, but they are spotty and will not always protect you in the same way that regular updates do.

I would suggest keeping your machine on High Sierra for two more years, and then upgrade once your system is no longer supported by security updates.

Thanks for this. I was wondering how it all worked now that I have an 2011 iMac and 2010 Mac Mini not getting the Mohave update. Will probably replace both with a new Mac Mini and a 4k display down the road, but nice to know I don't need to rush. Also, I am hopping the 2011 iMac will work as a target mode display for a new Mac Mini and maybe I will keep it around a bit longer while I decide on a display (though I have a 32 inch 4k display I could just put in the spot now).

If selling the iMac doesn't make sense in 2 years, I will probably take all the critical stuff off it and put it in the kitchen or guest room for entertainment purposes (youtube, Netflix, Apple Music).

 

[petercw2]

I have a iMac12.2. Several years ago after the HD conked out I replaced with OWC's "make your own fusion drive" kit and other than the fact the computer runs hot quite a lot and the fans are loud, has been reliable. Seeing so many on here encourage people to keep and not upgrade, I'm wondering if there is a better path - other updates to my 12.1 I should be thinking about instead of replacing it. Which leads me to the question, does anyone know when Apple is going to update the existing iMac line? I was surprised it wasn't part of the event last week. thanks in advance.

 

[SecuritySteve]

Thanks for this. I was wondering how it all worked now that I have an 2011 iMac and 2010 Mac Mini not getting the Mohave update. Will probably replace both with a new Mac Mini and a 4k display down the road, but nice to know I don't need to rush. Also, I am hopping the 2011 iMac will work as a target mode display for a new Mac Mini and maybe I will keep it around a bit longer while I decide on a display (though I have a 32 inch 4k display I could just put in the spot now).

If selling the iMac doesn't make sense in 2 years, I will probably take all the critical stuff off it and put it in the kitchen or guest room for entertainment purposes (youtube, Netflix, Apple Music).

You're welcome.

I have a iMac12.2. Several years ago after the HD conked out I replaced with OWC's "make your own fusion drive" kit and other than the fact the computer runs hot quite a lot and the fans are loud, has been reliable. Seeing so many on here encourage people to keep and not upgrade, I'm wondering if there is a better path - other updates to my 12.1 I should be thinking about instead of replacing it. Which leads me to the question, does anyone know when Apple is going to update the existing iMac line? I was surprised it wasn't part of the event last week. thanks in advance.

I would expect the update to come in Spring of 2019 or later. The iMac was last updated in late 2017, and was not due for an update this year. This is entirely speculation, and no one knows for sure.

 

[mikehalloran]

I have a iMac12.2. Several years ago after the HD conked out I replaced with OWC's "make your own fusion drive" kit and other than the fact the computer runs hot quite a lot and the fans are loud, has been reliable. Seeing so many on here encourage people to keep and not upgrade, I'm wondering if there is a better path - other updates to my 12.1 I should be thinking about instead of replacing it. Which leads me to the question, does anyone know when Apple is going to update the existing iMac line? I was surprised it wasn't part of the event last week. thanks in advance.

An iMac that "runs hot a long time and loud" is not much longer for this world. Heat is the enemy of components and these have worse cooling than the 2011.

Depending on what you installed whenever, there are ways to cool it down but how and how much $ is not something I would know without more information. It will cost money but is it a worthwhile investment? It all depends on what have now, what you need and what you did last time.

27" right? The 2012 has 2 SATA III busses. Unless you need more than 2T onboard, there's no reason to do anything other than pull the HDD and replace it with a SSD. You can tie it and the blade together into a new fusion drive. Did you install the OWC temp sensor or decide to control the fans manually?

The 2013–14 has a PCI 2 plus a SATA III buss while the 2015–17 has a PCie 3 x4 plus a SATA III buss.

If you did the work on your 2012 yourself, you certainly have the skill set to upgrade any of the above.

 

[petercw2]

An iMac that "runs hot a long time and loud" is not much longer for this world. Heat is the enemy of components and these have worse cooling than the 2011.

It does get hot, and lives in a warmer room in my house. I run iStat on it so I can monitor temps and kick up the fans manually or automatically. I'm not a IT guy, but have been getting by. I'd say my CPU temp runs on avg about 115F.

Mine is a mid2011. I don't remember if I included the temp sensor, but I did replace the original HD (mine was pre-fusion) and replaced it with both a smaller SSD and a larger HD. I have 2TB total, but now that I have to remember how much was each, I don't lol. It's been 4-5 years since I did the work, at least. I've also updated memory as well. 3.4G i7/12GB DDR3 and the AMD Radeon HD 6070M GPU.

My other concerns are related to how much longer Apple will continue to support this model beyond the OSX version. Plus, and this has been an issue for a while, I believe it's age also is causing issues with iCloud syncing, AirDrop (not that it's all that great shakes) and I would like to have an actual 4K display.

I certainly can do any upgrades internally, as I would like to retain the optical drive, but that's secondary to these other issues. Appreciate everyone's input. The more I think about a Mini i5/i7 with a bigger 4k TV, the more I think it might be the better option for me. But if maybe waiting to see if an iMac update comes around Black Friday is worth it since it's right around the corner.

 

[mikehalloran]

My other concerns are related to how much longer Apple will continue to support this model beyond the OSX version

That's easy. AppleCare on the last one was up in 2015.

There is no support for this anymore. The end of life for new OS was a month ago. Security Updates will end for High Sierra in 3 years. Doesn't mean you can't keep it going a lot longer.

I don't remember if I included the temp sensor

Then you didn't and you should. $39 or so at OWC. Your 2011 will run the fans automatically once you do. It looks like this:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIDIMACHDD11/

It goes in between the SATA wiring and the drive and the tab sticks onto the surface.

Since you have to go back in there to install it, do yourself a favor and replace the HDD with an SSD.
[doublepost=1541650111][/doublepost]

I would like to retain the optical drive,

Doesn't disturb the optical drive.

You don't say what size your drives are.
[doublepost=1541650944][/doublepost]Do you really need this bracket? No but it improves cooling. You can use double-stick foam tape to attach an SSD to the foil lining the inside of the back. OWC sells a similar one for about $3 more.

https://www.amazon.com/Fenlink-Inte...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RPVYRFRV5QPHVW806TDF

 

[ezylstra]

Mojave on an old iMac works great. If you are a hobbyist, you can do some fun things and find yourself with a machine that won't need replacing for another handful of years.

My 24" Mid 2007 iMac7,1:
1. replaced the CPU with one that has the required Mojave support
2. Installed a 1TB Samsung Evo 840 SATA SSD in the hard drive bay
3. Waiting on adapter with replacement WiFi card in hand so I can have some flexibility with machine location
4. Maxed out the RAM at 6GB (4+2)
5. Installed using DosDudes1's (Colin Mistr) Mac OS Mojave Patcher tool.

Great fun and the machine is working really well. This is not for everyone.

 

[mikehalloran]

Mojave on a 2009–11 iMac requires a GPU that supports acceleration for DosDudes1's patch to be anything above terrible. The aTi 57xx series that these come with does not support this.

I have an eSATA external SSD and tried it on my 2010 and 2011. DosDudes1 is right — completely useless.

Before anyone wonders, eSATA on an iMac???? The 2010 & 2011 27" have 3 SATA busses. OWC offers a turnkey program to convert one to eSATA for $159 including return shipping. Pretty slick back in 2010 & '11 when I had mine done.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/iMac

I wouldn't do it now that SSDs are cheap and getting inside one of these is easy.

 

[petercw2]

Then you didn't and you should. $39 or so at OWC. Your 2011 will run the fans automatically once you do. It looks like this:

You don't say what size your drives are.

Ok, I do remember that and I did install it. My computer does automatically change fan speed.
This will seem silly, but I don't recall what sizes I put in the computer to make the hacked/fusion drive.
I know I have 2TB total, but what the split is I can't recall.

 

[Lxixboss]

Hi,
It was difficault, but durable.
I reccomend that you have some skills with macs.
Use apple service manual of ifixit manuals, is also recdomended.

I got my card from here :
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.nl/ulk/itm/162776542264

Price inclusing shipping was arround 110€ total.

[doublepost=1550660798][/doublepost]Did anything ever become of this? I installed a 765m from a Sager laptop in my 2011 Imac a couple of years ago and had the usual problems: no boot screen, no brightness control and no output on Thunderbolt port. Still running High Sierra. Was an EFI ROM ever finished? I would be most anxious to try it out (and maybe even be guinea pig of sorts)... Still way too cold up here in the Great White North.

 

[FlorisVN]

[doublepost=1550660798][/doublepost]Did anything ever become of this? I installed a 765m from a Sager laptop in my 2011 Imac a couple of years ago and had the usual problems: no boot screen, no brightness control and no output on Thunderbolt port. Still running High Sierra. Was an EFI ROM ever finished? I would be most anxious to try it out (and maybe even be guinea pig of sorts)... Still way too cold up here in the Great White North.

hi well,
as far as i know a EFI rom has not been released so far.
MacVidcards got a GTX780m EFI rom working so far, but still not finished and ready for production or sale.
so we are all waiting for macvidcards here, or somebody else who can figure this EFI out..
As far as I know there is still no rom available not in public at least, and not that I am aware of..


with the Dell/Alienware GTX765m i can get 1 display output working for an external monitor, bot not 2.
only 1 thunderbolt/displayport works with my GTX765m.