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upgrading 17" imac intel core duo

B

bfd.josh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 4, 2008
2
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right, well ive had my imac for almost 2 years now, and the 512mb ram is not enough for many programs i need to be able to run for collage, not only this but my hdd space is running out with only 20gb to spare, my questions are how can i install RAM and hdd myself, is there a guide anywhere or will it have to be taken to a shop. also which RAM and hdd do i need (get) links would be nice guys, and im from the uk so uk sites would be better. thanks


http://support.apple.com/kb/SP28 also the one on the far left with 1.83 processor is my model any queries on which model i have

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Te...4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225842615&sr=1-4 would this work if i bought 2 for max 2gb RAM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/OEM-Seagate...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225842832&sr=8-24 and would this work for hdd maxed out?

thanks
 
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Same model of iMac that I have. I upgraded to 2G of RAM. After research, I purchased mine from Crucial (www.crucial.com). If you go to the website, and select Mac memory, it will guide you to what you need for your machine. RAM is super easy to install yourself. There were directions that came with your machine, and I think Crucial supplies it with the memory. Basically, you lay the computer face down on something padded (I used an ottoman), remove two screws on the bottom, remove the two old sticks, and snap in the new ones.

I don't think a new hard drive is easy to do yourself. Why don't you just get an external. I bought a 500G LaCie firewire external and that is where I keep all the bulky video and archive files.
 
thanks for the help man, will be getting ram soon as it dosent seem to cost to much, and will be getting a lacie 500gb external hdd this weekend due to them being on sale at makro. as then i can still use on a macbook when i purchase one. also one last question, can a superdrive be put into the imac or will i have to buy an external one of them aswell? thanks guys much appreciated
 
Crucial is a good choice. Also check out other world computing (www.macsales.com). I don't know if they can ship to the UK, but they have EXCELLENT resources on selecting memory, hard drives, etc. You just pick your model, and they tell you what works. Prices a reasonable too, if they do ship to the UK.

I just moved off an early 2006 17". I wouldn't have, except my dad is going to try my old Mac as a switcher, so a good excuse to get a new one.

If you install 2GB (or 3GB) in that machine, you will see a NOTICEABLE difference in performance.

Also, if you don't want to buy a new machine, I'd recommend some firewire drives. Get a nice 2.5" portable FW drive in an enclosure that doesn't need an external power supply. I've got a pair of them, and they are very fast. So, I have number of movies I put over on them, to free up my iMac's drive. I use a "poor man's RAID" and just manually copy the files to both drives. I've got the files backed up in two locations, and the movies read off the FW drives with no issues. Music and pictures would do the same. I tend to put only occasional-use items there, as I like to keep the drives off most of the time. Again, OWC can help you with looking at external drive options.

You can also save some space with a product called "XSlimmer" -- google for it. XSlimmer clears out language files you don't need, and old PowerPC code in the universal binaries.

Just some thoughts. Good luck.
 
In regards to the Superdrive question, I don't think anything is that easy to replace or upgrade within the computer itself other than the RAM. In addition to the LaCie external harddrive, I also bought a LaCie external DVD burner. Initially I had some buyers remorse about buying a Mac without a DVD burner. At the time I didn't know any better because I was coming from a PC running Windows 98 with only a floppy drive and a CD ROM, and thought "what would I want to burn DVDs for?". Well, I was wrong. But most people that play, rip, or burn a lot of DVDs have externals anyway, and by putting the use on the external, if it bites the dust, then it doesn't compromise your whole machine. If you get into it, you might want to consider looking for a region-free external, which was another thing I knew nothing about 'til about 1.5 years ago. Then you can check out Mac The Ripper, HandBrake, DVD2toOne, Toast, Visual Hub, buy an iPod and open up a whole new world of geekdome.
 
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