Updating an i5 to an i7 or i9 CPU

[flyboyy]

I was considering installing a larger SSD and since that requires surgery, maybe it would worthwhile to swap out the i5 for an i7 ? or i9 ?

Any thoughts on this idea?

 

[lclev]

Wow! That would be very difficult. If you have not done a teardown on an iMac before all I can say is it will be a huge challenge. I have upgraded PC's before and it is a walk in the park compared to an iMac.
Here is a link to the teardown of your model:

iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display Logic Board Replacement

Lisa

 

[flyboyy]

Thanks Iclev,
I did dissasemble an older iMac once however I know this will be a tough one, but I have seen a number of vids. That is why I am asking if it's worth the trouble/cost, or if it's better to just get aMac Mini and use the 27" as a monitor. Curious to know what difference the i7 or i9 would make.

 

[lclev]

So you already have an SSD in it and unless it is really full or old, you should have seen something of a snappy system. As far as upgrading the CPU - you are still dealing with logicboard speed too. I believe you would see some improvement but if the other choice is Mac mini - specially one of the new M series ones - that is the way I would go. The Apple store has refurbs that come with a year of applecare.

Refurbished Mac - Mac mini

I guess it depends on how adventurous you want to get. Also how much money do you want to put into an 8 year old mac?

Lisa

 

[pigoo3]

I was considering installing a larger SSD and since that requires surgery, maybe it would worthwhile to swap out the i5 for an i7 ? or i9 ?

Any thoughts on this idea?

If we're talking your 2015 27" iMac...there was an i7 version...you could see what the benchmarks were for it at Everymac.

Apple didn't put an i9 CPU into an iMac until 2019 (i9 CPU's weren't released until 2017). You would need to research if there's an i9 CPU with the correct form factor (PIN configuration & footprint) that would fit in a 2015 27" iMac.

If there is an i9 that fits a 2015 27" iMac...then the problem may be that Apple never coded the 2015 iMac's firmware to be able to use it (since there's 4 years difference between a 2015 & 2019 27" iMac).

Finally if an i9 CPU does exist...and it would work with a 2015 27" iMac...then you'd need to see what the cost of that i9 CPU is...then see if the project is worth it.

Bottom line. You can probably find an i7 CPU to upgrade to...but my gut feeling is not an i9.

If you went with the i7 upgrade (same as what was available from Apple)...it's about a 40% increase in CPU benchmarks.

HTH,

Nick

 

[flyboyy]

Thanks Iclev and pigoo3 !
Will my screen work with the mac mini?

 

[lclev]

if you are asking if you could use your iMac as a screen for the mac mini - Sorta but not really. This article will explain it better:

5 Best Ways To Use An iMac As A Monitor in 2023 (inc. M1 & M2 Macs, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini & Mac Studio)

Lisa

 

[flyboyy]

Thanks Iclev !
I checked out the Minimac and I think I'll simply swap out the 256 GB SSD put in a 1.5 or 2 TB SSD. Would that be a simple case of removing the 256 SSD and putting in a replacement? I am guessing there would simply be nothing where the HD is in the Fusion model ?

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Curious to know what difference the i7 or i9 would make.

Unless you can find a company that sells a kit to do this, with a warranty and assurances that the swap will work, I think that you have been led down a garden path to believe that such a procedure is "a thing".

Most Macs (possibly just about all Macs) have specifically NOT been designed to allow for a processor upgrade. Their processors aren't easily removable from sockets designed to allow you to do so. They are soldered-in. You would have to be an expert with a soldering iron to remove the old processor and replace it with the new processor without destroying your motherboard.

In addition, the various sub-programs that allow the hardware in a personal computer to talk to the rest of the system aren't available separately as they are for a Windows computer. They are all rolled into the Mac OS, and the individual sub-programs aren't upgradeable or modifiable. So, even if you manage to successfully swap in new hardware, like a CPU, there is no guaranty that it will work with any given model of Macintosh, especially if you use a processor that was never delivered OEM by Apple for your Mac model (meaning that there is no software support for that hardware built-in).

There used to be a couple of Web sites dedicated to Macintosh modding of this type. I see that they are gone now. Virtually no one swaps processors on Macs anymore. (Not that it was ever a particularly popular practice.) The Macintosh isn't a collection of parts from disparate manufacturers like a Windows PC. It is an integrated whole. The advantage is that all the parts work perfectly with each other...always. The disadvantage is that hobbyists who want to fiddle with the hardware need to be looking at a different computer than a Macintosh.

 

[lclev]

Here is a guide on how to swap out the SSD:

How to Add An SSD To The 27" iMac (Late 2015)

I was nervous buying the the late 2015 iMac 27" because there was such little information about it. I could only find a few videos specific to the...

www.ifixit.com

Lisa

 

[MacInWin]

Thanks Iclev !
I checked out the Minimac and I think I'll simply swap out the 256 GB SSD put in a 1.5 or 2 TB SSD. Would that be a simple case of removing the 256 SSD and putting in a replacement? I am guessing there would simply be nothing where the HD is in the Fusion model ?

If you are thinking of an Mx Mini, be aware that there is no SSD in it. What serves as a drive is Unified Storge, firmly soldered to the board and basically inseparable from the CPU. I saw one video where a professional technician managed to remove the storage chips from an M1 Mini, but destroyed the computer in the process. So, "swapping" out is not an option for Mx Minis.

 

[pm-r]

Unless you can find a company that sells a kit to do this, with a warranty and assurances that the swap will work, I think that you have been led down a garden path to believe that such a procedure is "a thing".

That is an excellent good accurate summary Randy for those considering upgrading/hacking nearly any recent Mac model, at least as far as modding any hardware.

And even if it was possible with a bootable result, I would be surprised if it was even worth trying to do. There are so many other variables involved other than just upgrading a chip or two, especially to end up with a possibly faster and reliable Mac.




- Patrick
=======

 

[flyboyy]

Thanks Iclev, Randy, MacInWin and pm-r , I appreciate your suggestions and the processor is definitely off the table. I found a vid that showed how to do it but it was more than I wish to try.

What do think about leaving the 250 GB SSD I have in there and installing a SSD where a Fusion Drive would normally be ?

 

[pm-r]

What do think about leaving the 250 GB SSD I have in there and installing a SSD where a Fusion Drive would normally be ?

Here is some reading for you:

replace fusion drive with ssd - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

and lots more here:

replace Fusion Drive in late 2015 27"Retina 5K iMac - Google Search

www.google.com

You need to have some fairly decent fix-it capabilities for working with those iMac machines, and you don't mention what yours are. If yours are lacking I would forget it, and look into alternatives.




- Patrick
=======

 

[zacster]

I spent the day yesterday looking into options for somehow upgrading my late 2015 iMac and the conclusion I came to is just get an M2 Mini and to give Luna Display a try so that the iMac 27" screen is still used. You will spend at least that much money trying to upgrade the existing computer without getting the benefit of the blazing fast Apple silicon. And if I use my 27" iMac as a screen I can also use the internal drive as a storage point for archived files. If you connect the two computers via Thunderbolt it should be pretty **** fast at 20gb.

There are downsides to this as basically you now have two computers running at all times, and you may detect some lag on the display. The alternative I found is to turn the 27" screen into a stand-alone monitor by gutting it and putting in a display driver board that works over USB/TB, but that requires destroying your iMac, which I'm loath to do even if it is 8 years old already. That thing cost a lot of money at the time.

Oh, and the second alternative is to just buy a monitor and use your existing keyboard/mouse.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...the second alternative is to just buy a monitor

Considering how nice a 27-inch monitor your can buy now, for so reasonable a price, it seems silly to put together a kludge to use an 8 year old iMac monitor. e.g.:

YEYIAN ODRAZ 27” IPS Panel HDR 4K UHD Slim Bezel PC Gaming Monitor 3840x2160, 1 Billion Colors, Low Blue, 300cd/m2, 1000:1, 60Hz, 5ms, 16:9, 178°, G-Sync, FreeSync, DP/HDMI/USB, Speakers, VESA, Tilt
$220
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HN6XSYS/

 

[zacster]

Considering how nice a 27-inch monitor your can buy now, for so reasonable a price, it seems silly to put together a kludge to use an 8 year old iMac monitor. e.g.:

YEYIAN ODRAZ 27” IPS Panel HDR 4K UHD Slim Bezel PC Gaming Monitor 3840x2160, 1 Billion Colors, Low Blue, 300cd/m2, 1000:1, 60Hz, 5ms, 16:9, 178°, G-Sync, FreeSync, DP/HDMI/USB, Speakers, VESA, Tilt
$220
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HN6XSYS/?tag=macforums0e4-20

I've used a lot of monitors at my job and none of them ever came close to my 27" iMac. They all looked fuzzy by comparison. I used to bring work home with me and remote desktop into my Lenovo so I could work on the iMac. It was so much more productive even though the Lenovo was still doing all the work. On top of that I'd use my corporate MacbookPro at work, one of only a handful at a major corporation, to do demos and presentations and everybody was always impressed even when using the conference room big display.

I went to Micro Center to buy a monitor a few months ago for my daughter and they just were not as good as any Apple display and I just couldn't buy one. There's just something about graphics on a Mac that just isn't matched in the PC world.

In any case, I decided to wait to do an upgrade. I'm retired now and my needs are pretty modest. My only real concern with my iMac is that they've stopped releasing OSX upgrades.

In the meantime I've switched over to my 2016 MBP from the couch and it is acting as a music server while I use it to reply here.

 

[pm-r]

In any case, I decided to wait to do an upgrade. I'm retired now and my needs are pretty modest. My only real concern with my iMac is that they've stopped releasing OSX upgrades.

As long as it's all doing what you want and need it to do, you'll probably be good for another few years at least.

I am also retired and an 82-year-old senior, and my old mid-2011 27-in iMac suits me just fine and I'm currently using OS X 10.11: El Capitan only because an application I rely on a great deal didn't work that well when using OS X 10.9 Mavericks, which I preferred and also had some extra features that I enjoyed using but unfortunately removed by Apple in a update with their more recent "new and improved" macOS versions.

I will certainly agree that Apple produced some great quality display monitors with their iMac machines.



- Patrick
=======

 

[flyboyy]

I feel the same about my Mac. When I was working they gave me a laptop which was handy for travelling but I used my 24" imac with the less expensive screen because I could do everything more easily and not put up with the screens. My 27" retina is basically amazing. I looked at other screens and I appreciate your suggestion Randy but I find every other screen I see gets compared in my mind with mine. I too deeply miss one program that was KOed by 64.

 

[ferrarr]

I looked at other screens and I appreciate your suggestion Randy but I find every other screen I see gets compared in my mind with mine.

Did you look at something with a 4k IPS screen for a display/monitor? You shouldn't compare a second or third tier monitor, to your iMac. They're completely different.