Long Winded 2010 iMac Upgrade Question

[mlbinperth]

I realise this topic has been covered quite a bit but mostly for 2011 27" models and I feel like I am a little over my head so I thought I would confirm my thinking before I order parts:

I have:
Mid 2010 iMac:
21.5”
iMac11,2
A1311(EMC 2389)
i5 3.6 GHz
16 GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB

I am hoping:
SSD
More Ram?
i7 860s
K2100M (MXM-A)

I am confident in swapping out the hardware as I have already swapped in a GPU when the original died on me, I am a little less confident in flashing the bios in the graphics card but there is a lot of info on the internet if I take my time it should be manageable

 

[Fishrrman]

Before you spend the money to do all that, why not consider something newer?
If not "brand-new", I'd be looking at a 2017 or 2019 iMac (possibly Apple-refurbished if they have them there)...

 

[pldelisle]

Wouldn't worth it. It's way too old.

 

[Juicy Box]

What do you plan on doing with it?

 

[USB3foriMac]

I realise this topic has been covered quite a bit but mostly for 2011 27" models and I feel like I am a little over my head so I thought I would confirm my thinking before I order parts:

I have:
Mid 2010 iMac:
21.5”
iMac11,2
A1311(EMC 2389)
i5 3.6 GHz
16 GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB

I am hoping:
SSD
More Ram?
i7 860s
K2100M (MXM-A)

I am confident in swapping out the hardware as I have already swapped in a GPU when the original died on me, I am a little less confident in flashing the bios in the graphics card but there is a lot of info on the internet if I take my time it should be manageable

For RAM upgrade, check activity monitor. If that shouls that your RAM is always in the green, no need to upgrade.
For CPU, can bring a little, but not much.
Most should be expected from changing to SSD.
Note that you need to watch out for your SATA speed. Not each model is suitable for 2010, do proper research.

GPU, check the long GPU thread. This applies to 2010 model as well. Would suggest a K610M or so, not worth to spend more money on a 2010 model due to too many limitations.
So SSD: $20, GPU: $40, no need RAM or CPU, you can upgrade to a much better system with $60. If you don't need MacOS (means you just do email, web browsing, and a bit of word processing), consider Linux. Needs less resources, good for lower spec machines.

 

[mlbinperth]

For RAM upgrade, check activity monitor. If that shouls that your RAM is always in the green, no need to upgrade.
For CPU, can bring a little, but not much.
Most should be expected from changing to SSD.
Note that you need to watch out for your SATA speed. Not each model is suitable for 2010, do proper research.

GPU, check the long GPU thread. This applies to 2010 model as well. Would suggest a K610M or so, not worth to spend more money on a 2010 model due to too many limitations.
So SSD: $20, GPU: $40, no need RAM or CPU, you can upgrade to a much better system with $60. If you don't need MacOS (means you just do email, web browsing, and a bit of word processing), consider Linux. Needs less resources, good for lower spec machines.

Thanks!