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iMac lifespan

Double-Slit said:
That's some good advise! I always switch my iMac in 'hibernate' when not using it. Is that what you meant by 'leave it on 24h/day'?
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As long as the power is on, it's OK. Hibernation of laptops stored away is not.
I have seen so much equipment die, from micro to mainframe, when the power came up ...........
Awful!

;JOOP!
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elf69 said:
I have a 2007 20" iMac with a 20" cinema screen attached.

Great machine and other than tad slow as it still using HDD it is ok.

started to hang randomly but very rarely.
considering it's age I don't blame it.

it is used every day after work and weekends can be on for up to 12 hours a day.
does not seem to get excessively hot either.
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The hangs of macs, Dells and HPs (and others) are no indication of age,
but race conditions in the OS.
MSWindows shows the hourglass even more often than macOS does show the beach ball.
It all has grown beyond the capacities of human engineers I fear .......
;JOOP!
 
when mine hangs only way get out of it it hold power button.

I do not see many beachballs.

When mine hangs mouse moves but cannot click anything and dock does not appear if move mouse to bottom of screen.

It happens rarely but annoying. I think it's possibly due to the old HDD inside.
time for an SSD and CPU upgrade.
 
Our local elementary school bought 20 20-inch iMacs for the computer lab 10 years ago. 19 are still going strong. No disk drive failures. They are used by 400 K-5 students every week. The only upgrade that they've gotten is to bring memory from 2 GB up to 4 GB.
 
elf69 said:
when mine hangs only way get out of it it hold power button.

I do not see many beachballs.

When mine hangs mouse moves but cannot click anything and dock does not appear if move mouse to bottom of screen.

It happens rarely but annoying. I think it's possibly due to the old HDD inside.
time for an SSD and CPU upgrade.
Click to expand...
That sounds bad; any certified repair shop around?
;JOOP!
 
Starfia said:
Also, this decade, raw processor speed hasn't increased a great deal – if you upgrade soon, it's probably not likely to be for sheer speed in number-crunching power unless there's some sort of breakthrough coming up.
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Coffee Lake could be described as a "breakthrough". Probably the biggest in 10 years.
 
When I look at an iMac, I budget $2500 for 5 years. ($500/year)

If I can push it to 6 to 8 years, I look at that as a bonus. The critical thing is that it had better eff'ing last 5 years.

I'm still on a late 2012 as well, and will likely replace late-2018 if the new model is interesting.
 
MatLane said:
I have had my iMac since late 2012. It was the first of the new thinner models launched. I have had the 3TB fusion fail on me twice but it was quickly replaced by Apple, one through a recall and the other on EU Consumer Law. Apart from that, it runs fine for me still on Logic Pro and other Pro Audio Apps. I've always said the sweet spot to upgrade on a iMac is around 4/5 years. Strike whilst the irons hot and it's still serviceable.

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I have the same late 2012 model, and my 3TB fusion failed too early on and was changed under warranty. My screen developed black smudges after 2 years and was changed for free under the EU Consumer Law. I love this law, and it’s the reason I don’t get Apple Care.

PopBodhi said:
I also have a late 2012 iMac. I wish it had more memory but it still gets the job done.
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That’s the 21.5” model right? I remember reading the ram wasn’t user upgradable. I got the 27” model where you could change the ram. I got max spec at the time with just basic 8gb ram and upgraded to 32GB Corsair low voltage ram.
 
nambuccaheadsau said:
Much like how long is a piece of string?

I change my iMac every second model and as a general rule when I sell them they last for a total of about ten years. Never had any Mac that turned its toes up completely and had to be dumped. Still use my '91 LC Original with OS 7.0.1 with my Apple Camera. Had one hard drive replaced and that's it.
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I do this too; however, once they start changing the design my wife is going to notice and then that's it for me!
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thefriendshipmachine said:
Yes thank god. It was great of Apple to fix it 3 times and then replace it with a 3 year newer machine too. So Apple Care is worth it for the iMac IMO. But the heat problems are ridiculous. Apple is very bad with thermals. The 2017 machine they gave me as a replacement has an i7 and the CPU will spike up to 90C-100C and the fans stay on low... Apple is so obsessed with thin quiet machines that it's becoming self destructive and shooting themselves in the foot.
[doublepost=1514391300][/doublepost]

I hope you have good fortune with your 2015 because my 2014 shot itself through the head :(
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I think Apple Care Plus on the iMacs are no brainers. I think it was like a $160.00 for my 5K. I believe it also covers accidental damage, like if it turned over and you cracked the screen.
 
Double-Slit said:
I have a iMac 5k 27" late 2015, - i5 3.3 Ghz - M395 - SSD. I was wondering if the type of use of an iMac affects it's wear/lifespan. I can imagine that the temperature of components can affect the lifespan. Is this correct?
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I have a late 2009 and late 2013 iMAC. Both are doing fine, although the screen on the older one is going bad. Your 2015 has many years left.
 
Sciuriware said:
For almost all electronic equipment the rules are:
- leave it on 24h/day,
- don't drop it,
- don't spill liquid over it,
- update all software regularly,
- don't let the environment heat up or cool down quickly.
I guess iMacs last longer than your taste. That's long.
;JOOP!
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And use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) with surge protection that is properly sized for your iMac and accessories like an external drive for Time Machine.
 
MacCurry said:
And use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) with surge protection that is properly sized for your iMac and accessories like an external drive for Time Machine.
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Yep, I forgot surge protection: a nearby lightning once destroyed my telephone unit.
;JOOP!
 
surge protected UPS then need on line type.

this type you always running off battery and mains just tops it up.
It only way to filter all surges properly.

these UPS cost more but best protection.

off line type your on mains then switches when mains drops out.
hybrid is half way between two but still does not filter surges.

I know this as helped a friend put one in a site office as his generator spiked twice taking out 2 printers and a PC.
 
MacCurry said:
And use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) with surge protection that is properly sized for your iMac and accessories like an external drive for Time Machine.
Click to expand...

Which UPS (make/type) is suitable for a iMac 27" ?
 
Double-Slit said:
Which UPS (make/type) is suitable for a iMac 27" ?
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In the US, the most popular brand is made by Schneider Electric which owns APC. The 2017 iMac 27" power consumption fully maxed out is around 271 Watts. If you add a time machine external drive and a few other devices, it will be around 400 Watts maximum. Ideally, you want to run your UPS at 50% load as the UPS battery capability will degrade over time and you will need to replace the battery in 3-5 years.

A UPS that can provided conditioned power rated at approximately 800 Watts would be best as it would be at 50% load when new. Cost would be between $130-$150 USD.
 
MacCurry said:
In the US, the most popular brand is made by Schneider Electric which owns APC. The 2017 iMac 27" power consumption fully maxed out is around 271 Watts. If you add a time machine external drive and a few other devices, it will be around 400 Watts maximum. Ideally, you want to run your UPS at 50% load as the UPS battery capability will degrade over time and you will need to replace the battery in 3-5 years.

A UPS that can provided conditioned power rated at approximately 800 Watts would be best as it would be at 50% load when new. Cost would be between $130-$150 USD.
Click to expand...

Thanks for de detailed information. Price for a 900W UPS APC Schneider Electric SMC1500I 1500VA is Euro 590,- (USD 700,-) where I live (The Netherlands). I will look into it. Other brands may have lower prices.
 
Still enjoying my 2010 27" iMac which is running like a champ. I upgraded memory (24 GB total) and added internal SSD in addition to 1 TB HDD.

The only two things I wished my iMac supported are the Auto Unlock with Apple Watch and AirDrop support between iOS and Mac, but to get both, I would need to upgrade to at least 2013 model and I am not ready to do so yet.
 
I am still using my late 2012 27” iMac with i7. Good as new. With the exception of the display hinge mechanism which failed twice. I just had it replaced a few weeks ago. The service tech told me they have changed the part. Anyone know if they have improved the part? Otherwise, a fantastic computer. I owned two prior generation iMacs (2006, 2009) and both were awesome as well.
 
Double-Slit said:
I have a iMac 5k 27" late 2015, - i5 3.3 Ghz - M395 - SSD. I was wondering if the type of use of an iMac affects it's wear/lifespan. I can imagine that the temperature of components can affect the lifespan. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

I have two previous iMacs in the homes of friends, one is the 24 inch 7600gt? from ages ago and they still have it and it works. Another is a 27 inch variety with spinning hard drive; I forget which one but it was three years before my current which is a 2013 model; and the only note I have about that is "when are you going to sell your current one?" as the kids use it more than the guy who bought it.

so in a clean environment I doubt they will fail except by random chance of a component going out
 
Double-Slit said:
I have a iMac 5k 27" late 2015, - i5 3.3 Ghz - M395 - SSD. I was wondering if the type of use of an iMac affects it's wear/lifespan. I can imagine that the temperature of components can affect the lifespan. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
The lifespan of today's computers is mostly affected by the temperature gradient: delta degrees per time.
So, some frost or some heat wave is not a problem ... till you put resp. an electric heater or an airco
besides it and switches it to full power.
Interesting that 40 years ago a disk had to 'accomodate' 24 hours after delivery.
;JOOP!
P.S.: nowadays heavy frost or heat waves are very rare where you live ....
 
Sciuriware said:
The lifespan of today's computers is mostly affected by the temperature gradient: delta degrees per time.
So, some frost or some heat wave is not a problem ... till you put resp. an electric heater or an airco
besides it and switches it to full power.
Interesting that 40 years ago a disk had to 'accomodate' 24 hours after delivery.
;JOOP!
..
Click to expand...

can you explain what you mean by "temperature gradient" - do you mean like sudden rises or drops in temperature induced by artificial means?
 
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