taking out the iMac's motherboard

[zoran]

So complicated to take out the 27" 2010 iMac's motherboard. There are a lot of cables to unplug and then when putting it back together, i will not remember where each cable is supposed to go!

Its a pity that there aren't any video tutorials to help!

 

[S.B.G]

Have you looked through here: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac

 

[PaulD-UK]

 

[DeltaMac]

You can also find Apple's service manual. Search for imac_27_mid10.pdf
Not a video tutorial, but quite detailed, and is Apple's official steps to do what you need.

 

[zoran]

Is it really mandatory to remove the right fan and the dvd drive first in order to remove the mboard?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, there's a long list that needs removal, just to get the logic board out.
Once you get the LCD panel out:
Power Supply
Backlight Pressure wall
Optical drive (that's your DVD drive)
Optical fan
IR board
Memory sticks

After that, 14 cables to disconnect, and 8 screws to remove. You will be able to (carefully) pull up the logic board then, and disconnect 2 or 3 connectors on the back side of the logic board. (An SSD-only model from Apple will have one less connector used on the back of the logic board, so it depends on how the iMac was originally configured by Apple) You can get this good info from Apple's service guide. That's why I recommended downloading your own. It comes in handy, sometimes.

 

[zoran]

#Delta are we talking about the 2010 27" iMac?

 

[DeltaMac]

#Delta are we talking about the 2010 27" iMac?

Exactly, the 2010 27" iMac. I took that info from Apple's Technician Guide for that iMac. (and, again, something that I recommend that you download. It is just another helper in your quest for help with an iMac teardown, with actual graphics showing how to take your iMac apart (and tips for things to watch out for...)

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

It's possible to remove only the logicboard (+CPU & GPU heatsink) and place it back.
But there is also a high risk that you forget something and it gets stuck somewhere, like when you forget to remove the infra-red sensor first....
I've done this on 2009, 2010, 2011 27" iMacs.

You can even replace the GPU without removing the logicboard (only applicable to 2009 & 2010 iMacs). It's just more difficult to do. Sometimes it took me nearly 5 minutes just to reconnect the GPU heatsink sensor to the logicboard.

In my first time, I used paper tape to number all the plug-in parts (sensors, power button, audio cable etc...)
From the second time onward, I got too lazy to do so. They are all different in sizes and can not be mistakenly plugged in another socket. The cable length also prevent wrong plugging.