Honestly if you need the speed and updates, upgrade. If not, get the SSD and hold out until ARM. My 2012 iMac is doing great and I will be using it until it is no longer sufficient for my uses then upgrade to the newest iMac.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mid-2010 iMac - Worth Upgrading?
- Thread starter rambo47
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Almost. The vBios has to be flashed. But if you can tear down an iMac and put it back together, flashing the vBIOS is not that hard. There are a few ways to do it (Linux, Windows 7, or a CH314 programmer).
Seems pretty straight forward, especially with nvflash now supporting Windows 10. Where do I get the bios file for the card?
You can find everything you need to know here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/
Like @herrdude said, don’t reball the GPU, just replace it. Also, making the SSD your boot drive and the extra RAM is going to do wonders — and that’s before the CPU. For $200, you're basically replacing every single component, but you’ll be left with a much more usable machine and a very good QHD display that can be used in target display mode. Honestly, I’m mad I let my husband sell my late-2009 27” iMac for scraps like 5 years ago because I would still use it as a random display today.
I live in Ho Chi Minh City, my friend. Repair shops are plenty and service prices are cheap here.
The other day, I've asked for a quotation for my iMac:
- Thorough dusting.
- Reapplying thermal grease for CPU & GPU
and they offered me 10$ for the service, so I guess for another 20$ they would help me swap the GPU, flashing it as well.
Their website is in the link below, all in Vietnamese. But the shop is just 20min from my house.
Bán linh kiện Điện thoại Laptop iphone ipad PC cứu dữ liệu
Trungtambaohanh Lấy liền nhanh mới trả tiền, cam kết có hoàn tiền 100%, bảo hành dài 12 tháng lấy liền tại chỗ ghét chờ đợi. Điện thoại Laptop pc Đồng hồ camera gopro cái gì cũng có quá rẻ
Coincidentally, I just got the chance to try a GPU bake this week.
This was for a Mac Pro though and I already had another better video card, but I did the bake on a nearly-dead Quadro FX 4500 anyway just for fun. Before the bake I would get the 2D boot screen but it would never load the OS and then would cause a kernel panic. The 2D boot screen was clear though.
After the bake, I could consistently boot into El Capitan, but both the 2D boot screen and El Capitan had snowy artifacts. (Screengrabs were perfect, but output on screen was snowy.) So, the bake stabilized the GPU, but appears to have damaged the memory (or something else after the GPU). At first I thought its was because I didn't have proper thermal pads on the memory, so I invested in some thermal pads but that didn't solve the problem.
So, it was ultimately a failure, but it was a low cost one, something like US$8 for the thermal pads with tons left over. However, even as a failure, it could be considered a success for an emergency. Say I had something critical and not yet backed up on there, it was usable enough to navigate around the OS and access the drive, etc. in case I wanted to pull some data off.
Hello guys
I need your help 🙌... I have an APPLE iMAC desktop computer, here are technical specifications: MacOS version High Sierra 21,5- inch, Mid 2010 Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 Memory 6 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4670 256 MB.
A few hours ago I proceeded to a deletion of my data in the hard disk (in order to sell it), when starting I get the folder image with question mark as described in the link below If your Mac starts with a question mark.
I followed the instructions of the link, but once the recovery of macOS is done via the Internet, after about twenty minutes, my Laptop remains stuck on the screen with the apple, even after 2 hours, nothing happens. I need your help.
What do I have to do to reinstall the macOS again?
Thanks in advance for your quick feedback.
I need your help 🙌... I have an APPLE iMAC desktop computer, here are technical specifications: MacOS version High Sierra 21,5- inch, Mid 2010 Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 Memory 6 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4670 256 MB.
A few hours ago I proceeded to a deletion of my data in the hard disk (in order to sell it), when starting I get the folder image with question mark as described in the link below If your Mac starts with a question mark.
I followed the instructions of the link, but once the recovery of macOS is done via the Internet, after about twenty minutes, my Laptop remains stuck on the screen with the apple, even after 2 hours, nothing happens. I need your help.
What do I have to do to reinstall the macOS again?
Thanks in advance for your quick feedback.
If recovery fails, you can always reinstall MacOS using the USB installer method. You will have to create the USB installer from another Mac, though.
I would just turn off the machine and try the recovery method for a several time before switching to another method.
Hello @Nguyen Duc Hieu
Now everything is back to normal. I have used my ethernet cable in order to complete my reinstallation.
Hi Everyone!
I recently pulled out of the dust a 27" iMac mid 2010 2.8 ghz intel core i5 1tb, 4gb ram.
And i was wondering if you consider it worth the extra $400 to upgrade it to larger ram and SSD, or if i should just sell it for that same amount.
I recently pulled out of the dust a 27" iMac mid 2010 2.8 ghz intel core i5 1tb, 4gb ram.
And i was wondering if you consider it worth the extra $400 to upgrade it to larger ram and SSD, or if i should just sell it for that same amount.
Hi Andrea!
Performance wise, that will be more than adequate for most users with another 8 GB RAM (or total 12 GB), plus SSD. However, the problem with this particular model is that I believe it has the Radeon 5750 video card, which prevents it from being updated past 10.13 High Sierra. 10.13 is quite decent, but sooner rather than later it will lose browser updates.
If you do decide to update it, one issue is you also have to be careful who you get to install the SSD. There are a number of ways to do it.
1. Install an SSD with dedicated heat sensor adapter. This works well but costs the most.
2. Install an SSD with an optical drive sensor. Supposedly this also works well and is much less expensive.
3. Install an SSD with no sensor at all. A lot of small shops do this but this is definitely not recommended. If you install it without a sensor, the default for the Mac is to run the fan at maximum, which is quite loud and irritating. You have to install fan control software to keep the fan speeds down, but it's a poor workaround IMO.
I have a 2010 i7 model and had also contemplated the upgrade, but I ended up using it as a monitor instead. I have a dual iMac setup, with a 2017 27" Core i5 Retina as the primary machine, and the 2010 27" Core i7 non-Retina used in Target Display Mode as a monitor.
Many options to consider, but I would recommend some simple and non-expensive upgrades, suppose the display is still good (bright and clear, no smoke, no dead pixel, no yellowish stain, etc....)
1. Use it at a monitor => cost zero
2. Add some RAMs => 2x4GB second hand SODIMM cost around 20$. If you can get 2x2GB for free (removed from some old/dead laptop, etc.), that would be enough too.
3. With 8GB RAM, even the HDD can keep the machine run smooth for light jobs (Word processing, small worksheet, online education & meeting, entertainment)
=> If you can purchase (and want to have) a 27" 2K monitor for around 400$, why don't you just keep the iMac?
Maxed out upgrade calculation:
Core i7-870 => 40$ (double number of cores and threads comparing with the core i5)
32GB Ram => 120$
GPU => 240$ (WX7100)
SSD => 40$~200$ depending on capacity. Don't need to replace the 1tb, just add the SSD. Use the 1tb for 2nd OS disk and file storage.
But anyway, upgrading should be limited to "experimental projects"
For a serious working instrument, I'd just sell the iMac and buy a new one + Apple care.
I have to agree with the others. I have a late 2009 i7 2.8ghz with 2tb and the RAM is upgraded to 12 GB. It is on High Sierra and can't go further without using a patch. I expect security updates will likely stop when Big Sur is released soon. The machine is slow, but other than taking a while to get the HDD moving from sleep and a slow reboot it works reasonably well for web and mail. I even have Parallels on it to run Windows 10 for one program. It works, but is painfully slow at times.
I know upgrading to an SSD would speed things up a good bit, but I decided it was time to replace the machine. I might try an upgrade at some point just as a project, but more than likely I am either just going to use it as a monitor or perhaps erase all of the data and use it to stream content when exercising, maybe using a Linux distro rather than Mac OS.
It's an inexpensive enough upgrade to do it yourself if you want a project, but for $400 it sounds like you would be paying someone else to do it and I don't think I would personally do it at that point. But YMMV.
The problem with the 2010 with Radeon 5750 is that it can’t go past High Sierra even with the patch. It’s unusable with later patched OS versions.
The 2009 can go past High Sierra with the patch. I’m using the patch to run Catalina on a 2008 MacBook and a 2009 MacBook Pro. There are a few minor glitches here and there but overall the OS experience is very good. The main problem is those old laptops are slow. My 2010 iMac far, far faster, but unfortunately is stuck on High Sierra.
The sad irony of this is that my 2010 is actually a replacement for a defective 2009. At that time I thought that was a bonus, but now not so much.
If the GPU is the main obstacle, then maybe it's time to upgrade it.
I'm awaiting my order of a core i7-870 and a WX4150 to upgrade my iMac mid 2010.
If WX4150 fail, I'll order a K3100M to try.
Kind of wasting money, because the original GPU is serving my use well enough, but anyway, I really want to see my iMac running at its top specs.
Yes I ment the indicators in the test.
The SSD is a new 1TB Western Digital blue 560MB/s read 530MB/s write
Both. I feel it is a little slow. That's why I installed SSD. It's a 2.93 Core I7 32GB RAM.
I also did a high Sierra clean install.
Is there any other upgrades I can to to make it faster?
I also did a high Sierra clean install.
Is there any other upgrades I can to to make it faster?
You can upgrade the GPU, that likely won't improve normal day to day usability but certain apps and games will run better of course. Other than that, you're maxed out. I found my 2010 i7 iMac with similar specs to yours extremely usable, until it died.
WX7100, the equivalent of RX580 8GB in PC
Cost about 250$.
Another 50$~100$ to get the 3-pipe GP heatsink, if you don't have it already.
I assume you have already read this post: "2011 iMac Graphic card upgrade"