Worth upgrading early 2009 memory?

[ivanjay205]

Someone recently gave me a early 2009 imac. It works great, no hardware issues etc. but painfully slow. I realize it is a 10 yr old machine. So my expectations are not so high.
But with schools closed due to coronavirus having a computer my kids can go on youtube, check messages, and do their remote learning would free up my laptop for work which would be great.
I was thinking if I upgrade the memory from the factory
Provided 2 gb to a max of 8 gb that might breathe a lot of life into it. And only set me back 50 bucks. Buying a new machine is not in the cards right now.
Other option is grab the two surface pro spares in my office that would be faster but I prefer the true desktop for the kids. I dont trust them with a computer like that as if just seems way more delicate for kid use.
Thoughts??

 

[jerwin]

Well, I had a 20 inch early imac. I upgraded to 4GB early on, and after getting the downright silly idea that I could transcode atsc streams to the ipad's preferred avc format, I ran into constant swapping. Upgrading to 8 GB allowed me to transcode in the background-- a multi hour process. Before I maxed out the ram, I couldn't use both cores.

This was before quicksync, of course. My present imac is much faster, though I suppose that it'll be at the "why are you still using that thing" stage soon enough.

Anyway-- maxing the ram is useful in certain situations. It might well improve how something as prosaic as web browsing works out.

Do you know if your kids need to videochat with thier teacher? It might help with that, assuming that the Core2Duo is fast enough.
[automerge]1584752937[/automerge]
Note the 50 bucks for ram approaches the value of the imac on the used market...

 

[ivanjay205]

Well, I had a 20 inch early imac. I upgraded to 4GB early on, and after getting the downright silly idea that I could transcode atsc streams to the ipad's preferred avc format, I ran into constant swapping. Upgrading to 8 GB allowed me to transcode in the background-- a multi hour process. Before I maxed out the ram, I couldn't use both cores.

This was before quicksync, of course. My present imac is much faster, though I suppose that it'll be at the "why are you still using that thing" stage soon enough.

Anyway-- maxing the ram is useful in certain situations. It might well improve how something as prosaic as web browsing works out.

Do you know if your kids need to videochat with thier teacher? It might help with that, assuming that the Core2Duo is fast enough.
[automerge]1584752937[/automerge]
Note the 50 bucks for ram approaches the value of the imac on the used market...

I dont know what the technology would be for remote learning. I would assume zoom meeting or something like that. But I know email, excel, word, youtube, lots of web browsing related stuff. That type of work. Plus they like facetime for family.

it works now, just tons of patience and spinny circle as it hangs up a bit. I am thinking memory might give it some headroom to prevent that.
I know I cannot upgrade os anymore.

 

[jerwin]

check the memory consumption in activity monitor.

 

[ivanjay205]

check the memory consumption in activity monitor.

Pretty full. Using hdd for sure. Question is will I see enough perf gain to make it worthwhile to put money into a 10 yr old computer

 

[Fishrrman]

Probably not worth spending the money, even $50 for RAM...

 

[DeltaMac]

If there is only 2GB of RAM, then more RAM is worthwhile. Even 4GB will be some improvement (and less cost), with the MOST improvement with swapping the old hard drive (which is probably not working "good as new") to a nice SSD.
Is it worth doing on a 10 year old Mac? Maybe not, but then less cost than a new (or just newer) Mac, and you already have this iMac -- might as well try to use it for something.

 

[FrankCataldi14]

Someone recently gave me a early 2009 imac. It works great, no hardware issues etc. but painfully slow. I realize it is a 10 yr old machine. So my expectations are not so high.
But with schools closed due to coronavirus having a computer my kids can go on youtube, check messages, and do their remote learning would free up my laptop for work which would be great.
I was thinking if I upgrade the memory from the factory
Provided 2 gb to a max of 8 gb that might breathe a lot of life into it. And only set me back 50 bucks. Buying a new machine is not in the cards right now.
Other option is grab the two surface pro spares in my office that would be faster but I prefer the true desktop for the kids. I dont trust them with a computer like that as if just seems way more delicate for kid use.
Thoughts??

I think the plan of action with the iMac sounds great. I forget which OS you are limited to, but with the extra RAM, that machine should be fine (and safe!) for the uses you describe.

And if they trash it? You're out what, $50? No brainer--buy the RAM.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Someone recently gave me a early 2009 imac. It works great, no hardware issues etc. but painfully slow. I realize it is a 10 yr old machine. So my expectations are not so high.
But with schools closed due to coronavirus having a computer my kids can go on youtube, check messages, and do their remote learning would free up my laptop for work which would be great.
I was thinking if I upgrade the memory from the factory
Provided 2 gb to a max of 8 gb that might breathe a lot of life into it. And only set me back 50 bucks. Buying a new machine is not in the cards right now.
Other option is grab the two surface pro spares in my office that would be faster but I prefer the true desktop for the kids. I dont trust them with a computer like that as if just seems way more delicate for kid use.
Thoughts??

Don't forget, you can install newer MacOS versions with the inofficial DosDude Firmware install. All you would need is this Ram and maybe later on a SSD and you can use this for the next 3 years.

 

[ivanjay205]

Don't forget, you can install newer MacOS versions with the inofficial DosDude Firmware install. All you would need is this Ram and maybe later on a SSD and you can use this for the next 3 years.

Is the dosdude installer safe? I would think apple doesnt want to support it for a reason?
I never owned a mac before, any particular ssd requirements or anyone would work? I dont have a software cd so how would I install os on it?

maybe i will get the ram. For 50 bucks how much could it hurt

 

[AlexMaximus]

Is the dosdude installer safe? I would think apple doesnt want to support it for a reason?
I never owned a mac before, any particular ssd requirements or anyone would work? I dont have a software cd so how would I install os on it?

maybe i will get the ram. For 50 bucks how much could it hurt

At least for me, the Dosdude Installer worked out great on a Macbook Pro 17 from 2010. It works 100% flawlessly on Mojave.
The only restriction is, that you can not use the usual OSX Update feature. This means if you upgrade to the next newer OSX, use the last version possible, for example, 10.14.6.
Note: You need to read the dedicated blog "Unsupported Macs" for more details on it. There are many machines that don't make any problems, but there are some models that do have issues, depending on the hardware changes (gpu). Get informed.
However, 2009 seems to be a solid year with good standards. If you don't have a special model with some rare GPU, you should be fine.
You need a Metal capable GPU, this is one of the topics you need to check out. Many step by step instructions can be find here for SSD upgrades on the iMac. Make sure you use the original sealing once the HDD has been changed. Here is an example, you need to select the right model.

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits for 27-Inch iMac 2009

Get everything you need to upgrade your 2009 27-inch iMac SSD for a total system performance and capacity boost. All SSDs backed by a lifetime warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

Install a Second Drive with OWC Data Doubler

OWC's step-by-step videos of how to install upgrades in the Apple iMac 27-inch (Late 2009).

eshop.macsales.com

iMac 2009 — Search - iFixit

Repair your electronics yourself. iFixit is the repair manual you can edit. We sell tools, parts and upgrades for Apple Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook as well as game consoles.

www.ifixit.com

 

[ivanjay205]

At least for me, the Dosdude Installer worked out great on a Macbook Pro 17 from 2010. It works 100% flawlessly on Mojave.
The only restriction is, that you can not use the usual OSX Update feature. This means if you upgrade to the next newer OSX, use the last version possible, for example, 10.14.6.
Note: You need to read the dedicated blog "Unsupported Macs" for more details on it. There are many machines that don't make any problems, but there are some models that do have issues, depending on the hardware changes (gpu). Get informed.
However, 2009 seems to be a solid year with good standards. If you don't have a special model with some rare GPU, you should be fine.
You need a Metal capable GPU, this is one of the topics you need to check out. Many step by step instructions can be find here for SSD upgrades on the iMac. Make sure you use the original sealing once the HDD has been changed. Here is an example, you need to select the right model.

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits for 27-Inch iMac 2009

Get everything you need to upgrade your 2009 27-inch iMac SSD for a total system performance and capacity boost. All SSDs backed by a lifetime warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

Install a Second Drive with OWC Data Doubler

OWC's step-by-step videos of how to install upgrades in the Apple iMac 27-inch (Late 2009).

eshop.macsales.com

iMac 2009 — Search - iFixit

Repair your electronics yourself. iFixit is the repair manual you can edit. We sell tools, parts and upgrades for Apple Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook as well as game consoles.

www.ifixit.com

And if it is compatible on that site the performance is verified to be okay? I would hate to push it too hard and all of a sudden it cannot perform. My main issue right now is I cannot install office or anything because of the age of the OS. It says not compatible.

 

[AlexMaximus]

And if it is compatible on that site the performance is verified to be okay? I would hate to push it too hard and all of a sudden it cannot perform. My main issue right now is I cannot install office or anything because of the age of the OS. It says not compatible.

What apps do you run on this machine, what is the expectation?

 

[ivanjay205]

What apps do you run on this machine, what is the expectation?

As of right now I am using:

• Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint primarily)
• Microsoft Teams
• Web Browsing
  • In addition to general browsing my company has a few software platforms that are web based (i.e. quick base etc.) They would be running for me on a daily basis
• OneNote
• Messages
• Skype/Zoom/Webex/Gotomeeting for any other video conferencing needs not on teams as clients use them
• Box Drive
• Google Drive
• That is really it right now.... Not sure if I will need anything else for work but I don't need to do anything heavy on this machine as I have my laptop for that.

I have not really scoured all of the new features since El Capitan but the biggest thing I could see is sidecar with my iPad. I have a last version iPad Pro (not the one coming out now, just before that) and I have to review and sign contracts frequently along with markup PDF's etc. Being able to use my iPad with the mac would be great.

I also use my airpots extensively for calls and it says they are not compatible with this machine.

My fear is if I push this thing too hard and it is not usable... And I am relatively new to mac but pretty tech savvy with windows... So my other fear is if this doesn't work knowing how to get it back to where the last version did work. I don't have any original CD's or anything that came with the machine.

 

[AlexMaximus]

You should be fine with those apps. No major deal, no Final Cut or other resource hungry apps. Just read the non supported macs blog here, and will know exactly what to do. There is also a good youtube out there how to apply the dosdude install. You should be fine for the next two years maybe.

 

[ivanjay205]

You should be fine with those apps. No major deal, no Final Cut or other resource hungry apps. Just read the non supported macs blog here, and will know exactly what to do. There is also a good youtube out there how to apply the dosdude install. You should be fine for the next two years maybe.

Do you know if sidecar will work with this mac? I have seen some reports that it will only work on the newer hardware? Even if you run Catalina on it....

 

[Twixt]

Not exactly the same config but I upgraded my late 2009 4GB, adding 8GB on top maybe one year after purchase. I never regretted the investment as I often use up to 10 of them...

 

[ivanjay205]

The memory upgrade was so worth it. It takes a long to get going but once it does totally usable. The next debate was the ssd kit as the startup is painfully slow. But again more money into a 11 year old machine