How to upgrade iMac?

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So at the moment I have an iMac (info at end of post). It has Leopard 10.5.8, haven't bothered to upgrade to Snow Leopard as I'll wait for Lion (eee, can't wait!)

I mostly use my mac for CAD work (using ArchiCAD and Sketchup) which all works fine but I've noticed that my imac is getting slower and slower especially when I'm working on 3D graphics. What does this mean? Do I need to upgrade my RAM or graphics card, etc? I hardly have much stored on my imac so it's definitely not the memory.
Bearing in mind that it'll cost me more to upgrade this stuff, would it actually be more worthwhile to just sell this while it's still popular and get a newer iMac (or Macbook Pro I'm thinking...hmm). Don't want to leave it too late and not end up getting much at all for this.

Advice, please?

iMac info:
Model iMac7,1
2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Bus speed 800MHz

Let me know if you require more info ;)
 
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Your Mac's Specs
20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.
How full is your hard drive? This could be a factor.
Personally I would run disk utility form my install disc, verify and repair permissions, and verify the HD as well, and then rebbot and see how things are.
You could also try something like Onyx to give the system a good "clean"
No need to upgrade things if it all worked well previously, just do some routine maintenance.
 
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...I've noticed that my imac is getting slower and slower especially when I'm working on 3D graphics. What does this mean? Do I need to upgrade my RAM or graphics card, etc?...

Because this come up all the time, I've created a Web site specifically to help folks such as yourself deal with this. All that you need to do is do some routine maintenance to restore your Mac to the performance level that it was at when new.

OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting

Most everything that you need to do you can accomplish with free utilities. However, since you do 3D graphics, unlike most Mac users, who probably never need to defragment their hard drive, you might see a noticeable benefit from purchasing iDefrag and using it's most sophisticated optimizing/defragmenting routines.

Have a look through the Web site, run everything that is recommended, and please let us know how well they work.
 

pigoo3

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
So at the moment I have an iMac (info at end of post). It has Leopard 10.5.8, haven't bothered to upgrade to Snow Leopard as I'll wait for Lion (eee, can't wait!)

Upgrade to Snow Leopard would only cost you $29 bucks...boy you're cheap!;)

Upgrade to 10.7 Lion...if Apple charges what they "normally" charge for an OS upgrade...will most likely be $129 or more.

- Nick
 
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Thanks for the tips, will give all those a go.

pigoo3 - Snow Leopard didn't impress me enough ;) too late to upgrade now anyway so might as well wait a few more months, eh?
 

CrimsonRequiem


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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB
Upgrading your RAM from 2GB to 4 or even 6GB would help when you are working in CAD.
 

pigoo3

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Thanks for the tips, will give all those a go.

pigoo3 - Snow Leopard didn't impress me enough ;) too late to upgrade now anyway so might as well wait a few more months, eh?

It's always nice to have the OS install disk just in case...and very very rare to be able to get it for just $29 bucks.

Sometimes it's not about being "impressed"...sometimes you simply cannot install the latest software apps....or hardware such as keyboards, mice, printers, etc.

At $29 bucks...you're probably not going to see this price again for an OS install disk. When Lion comes out (based on previous OS upgrade prices...other than 10.6)...expect to pay $129 or more.

- Nick
 
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Your Mac's Specs
15" MB Pro, 2.66 i7 ; 11” MBA 1.8GZ i7; 13"MBA 2GZ i7 8 GB mem 512GB SSD, 2 iPad3s, 1 iPad Mini
Looks like you are pretty underpowered for your tasks

I do no cadd at all but manage a hundred thousand images and find the below adequate but not asstoundingly quick


PROCESSOR 065-9134 2.66GHz Intel Core i7

MEMORY 065-9136 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRM - 2x4GB

HARD DRIVE 065-9140 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200

OPTICAL DRIVE 065-9145 SuperDrive 8X DL
 

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