Great video, and I think there's something else you should also mention. When I went from a 2011 iMac to a 2017 iMac years ago, my 2011 iMac (and your 2009 iMac) are 32 bit computers, machines, so when I switched over to a 2017 iMac, I had to repurchase a lot of my software because my new macOS only runs 64 bit apps. I had to repurchase at least 8 64-bit apps that I was using on my old computer, so upgrading is not only the cost of the new computer, but the cost of purchasing new 64 bit apps as well.
Thanks! Unfortunately you would have to buy new software either way, because Monterey only supports 64-bit apps. The old Macs do actually have 64-bit processors and even older offcial Mac OS versions run both 32/64-bit code, but the EFI that boots the system is only 32-bit. When OpenCore is used on a 2009 iMac, it is essentially a helper "loader" which boots 32-bit and then passes it off to the newer 64-bit-only Mac OS systems. I do find it frustrating though, because as you mentioned sometimes you do need to run older software - sometimes for cost reasons, and sometimes for functionality or obsolescent reasons.
Watching this from my 2007 iMac on the latest version of Ventura. It runs good enough for normal tasks, even in late 2023! Just needs a CPU, RAM and SSD upgrade.
i bought a 2017 not long ago and it works perfectly. I have no intention to spend big money on daily use computer that I only use it for word processing, excel and youtube videos.
I owned a late 2009 21.5-inch iMac, which I upgraded in 2019 with a new CPU, SSD, and RAM. Last month, the iMac failed, so I decided to retire it and recycle it through Apple's program. For now, I haven't purchased a new Mac, as my late 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro continues to perform exceptionally well. However, I am considering the Mac mini M2 as a future purchase.
The Mac Minis are a pretty good value - the cheapest way to get a current model Mac. I've thought about it too, but I'm waiting until a day when I can't upgrade what I have any longer :)
@@rebootretro Yes, exactly! I’ve already got the Apple Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and a 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display from late 2011 hooked up to my 16-inch MacBook Pro from late 2019. But I totally agree, it would be even better with a Mac mini! The Mac mini is perfect for a home server, and I can use my MacBook Pro to access it for Time Machine backups and other server needs. I really wish I could get my hands on a 2020 or earlier iMac because I’m just not a fan of the new design!
I think it's a good idea to keep a HS partition around. For example, you can't run iMovie on Monterey since the older versions won't load and newer ones require Metal. But you could always boot into HS to run a legacy version if you were in a pinch.
@@rebootretro Sadly, my High Sierra partition broke. I think windows somehow corrupts it, it just keeps booting and then shuts down the computer. Apparently it starts repairing disks, then shuts down. My Monterey partition is now slow, and it fails to mount the EFI w/ OCLP and MountEFI. So, I'm stuck with bootcamp ;(
Your 2017 iMac is slow because apple shipped them new with a spinning hard drive which is embarrassing. I would recommend upgrading it to an SSD and it will be blazing fast.
I upgraded from a 2010 iMac 21" to the 2020 i7 27" iMac in that year, and I have to say I'm happy I didn't wait, as today in 2023 there still isn't a 27" iMac with M2 processor. Contrary to the opinion you gave, I do think it was good value as a separate 5k screen is hard to get and still very expensive. I certainly will keep this computer for a couple of years more, as it performs just fine for me.
I only replaced my Mac mini 2012 i7 quad core when the 2018 came out and using them side by side, the new one was snappier…. But really I realised the 2012 was still fine for everyday use. In fact having a new display - or dual displays - was a better real world upgrade than the ‘cpu’ itself. That said , I bought a used 2020 iMac i9 and it and it’s display is glorious and I think I may have it for a very, Very long time. Using Mac fan control and a turbo boost control to stop it boosting and running hot and loud, I find it fantastic. Especially the display.
It's true, the display is definitely MUCH nicer on the 2020. Color is more accurate, higher pixel density, crisper image. Although, without them standing side by side, the 2009 doesn't look bad at all considering how old it is. Glad you're using Macs Fan Control - it really is a FANtastic piece of software. I don't personally like Apple's factory fan curves either - sure they're quiet, but the machines run unnecessarily hot which we know isn't great for lifespan. Hopefully you'll be able to keep your 2020 in service another 10+ years! :)
I have a 2008 Imac that still works and 2 - 21 inch & 27 inch 2010 Imacs that need repair. The 2008 can still get on the internet and I also have a Silcion M1 Mac mini that works fine. I also have a 2006 Mac Mini that works which I play games on but my 17 inch Cinema Display died last Saturday & I need to buy a newer one.
Interesting video. Like a couple of commenters below, I'm running a 2009 Core 2 Duo with Catalina thru a patch. It still has the mechanical hard drive. It still runs plenty fast enough for my basic tasks including browsing, photos, word processing and emailing. Video editing is pretty much out of the question so I'll upgrade to a Mac Mini M1 shortly. Frankly tho, if I didn't have to edit videos...I would keep using this machine.
Thanks! It's amazing how long these machines can be kept running. I actually just posted a new video where I install Monterey on an Early 2008 iMac. (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_a2utQaO_Gs.html) I find an SSD really helps keep it relatively responsive. That's amazing you've also kept yours in service for so long! :)
If you can get a 27" 2009 iMac for $50 or free, then yeah it's definitely an amazing value, given SSD and RAM upgrades are made. If you know how to open and re-tape slim iMacs, the best bargain in the used market are the 2013 iMacs with i7s, if you can find one at a very cheap price. That's my daily driver, along with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD upgrade. The 2013s come with WiFi-AC, which dramatically improves speeds if you have fast ethernet (200+mbps) Opencore Legacy and Monterey runs like a charm :) If you have slower internet speeds at home, settle for the 2012 model instead.
I didn't like how Apple moved to the "tape" sealant. I feel this move was partially to discourage DIY repairs. I've worked on these too, but definitely not as nice to open. Ya, the 27" I had was free. On this one, its used exclusively with wired Ethernet, so internet speed isn't an issue in my case. But the WiFi card is removable; it makes me wonder if an OS 12 compatible AC WiFi card exists for it? My biggest complaint is the graphics glitches on wakeup, and sometimes it goes into a sleep coma and won't wake up... I suppose the 2013 likely doesn't have these problems :)
I have a 2009 iMac which was the family workhorse and I ran my home business off it for years. Mainly standard office functions of course, plus a media cenytre for the family so nothing too strenuous. Eventually the HDD gave out so I bought a replacement and brought it back to life. Its still going strong although I suspect the temperature control is an issue on the replacement HDD as it now boots slowly and the fan is on way too much. So its been boxed the last three years but having seen how much a new equivalent costs, I'm going for a RAM max out, and a replacement SSD. For basic home use and nothing masively CPU intensive, a 2009 model is just fine, and has been very reliable even with many relocations overseas.
The 2020 iMac isnt a waste of money when you get the most powerful options. But yeah, getting a Late 2015 iMac is the best option for people who want to do simple tasks and still have decent ports
I recently bought a 2013 27" iMac for around 300€, with already pretty good specs (3.4GHz i5, GTX 775M, 32GB of RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD+1TB HDD), I have installed Ventura with OCLP and it run like a charm. You really don't need to spend a lot on computers if you don't do anything intensive on it. My usage is mostly web browsing, word processing and productivity (Mail/Office) and some occasional video editing on Final Cut Pro or photo editing on Photoshop, and for what I do, I don't even feel like my computer is 10 years old at that point. But, I think that the fact that this iMac already has a Metal supported GPU really helps with newer OS, as OCLP patch can be a bit sketchy on 2011 and older Mac with non Metal GPUs.
Yes, I also did the Metal upgrade in a later video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n9koG8p9Ch0.html). The GPU upgrade makes ALL the difference!! It goes from "this works but it feels like a hack" to "I almost can't tell the difference from a new one". I haven't tried video editing on it, but I have no doubt it would handle light editing without issue. So long as you're not pushing super high res or complex animations, I bet the render times aren't terrible either.
Id say my personal favourite would be the 2010 iMacs, as they have newer cpus. But with a gpu upgrade on a 2011, the 2011 would then be my overall favourite as is has even better cpus, and a faster data bus running at the now normal 6GBps instead of the older iMac's 3GBps, the only issue with the 2011 is that the graphics tend to fail, that's why I'd say to upgrade the graphics in this iMacs
@@themrhtc8757 MXM is a slot that was used like 10 years ago in high end laptops with discrete graphics cards. iMacs used the same slot with their graphics cards and as such you can replace broken iMac graphics cards with compatible gpus taken from donor windows laptops.
I bought 27" iMac 2015 i5 3.3GHz/8GB RAM/Radeon R9 M395 2 GB/Fusion Drive (120 SSD + 500GB HDD) for less than $400 with the Apple keyboard and mouse. I upgraded the RAM to 32 GB and bought all the tools to upgrade the CPU and disk space. Once I buy the i7 CPU and 1 TB SSD, I will upgrade it to the top configuration. I do not like MacOS and work on Windows only, however, the iMac has a great display and it is perfect for my wife.
For general home us the 2009 to 2011 machines are the way to go. Upgradability is another factor, aftermarket parts are available for the older machines.
I still have my Original bondi blue Rev B iMac in the closet. I even braved to ram upgrade instillation way back then. I also have a translucent grey Mac Pro tower and external apple drive a musician friend gave me, and I have yet to boot up.
LOL. I own a 2009 so it's been awhile. And yes, that "distinct smell" hit me right up when I unboxed an M1 MacBook: Mildew. Would it have killed Apple to put a silica pack in side the box?
Great video. Humans have an insatiable appetite for the latest and the greatest. For the average user, these older macs would last until it (or the owner) dies.
This is very true! I suppose if you were running it all day, you might need to calculate the cost difference! It was quite a while ago, but IF I remember correctly the 09 clocked around 100W idle with the screen on. I could be way off, but that's the figure that comes to mind. Not exactly sipping power, lol.
Neat Been wanting to see this since our little comment session last time Would've liked to see more temp differences but this works I see your point better now For people who just want to do light web browsing, word processing etc, the 2009's processor does the job more than adequately But if you use the machine for work, say graphic design, video editing, or even programming (I know my 2017 MBP already struggles and heats up even when transpiling TS code), that's where that $1800 comes into play
Ya, there's no way this '09 would keep up for any sort of serious video editing. In fact, because it doesn't have Metal, iMovie just crashes when you launch it, lol. But that's fine for what it's being used for. I never thought to show temps, mostly because I'm running non-stock fan profiles on the '09. Its a really good idea though. I'll have to add that on my list of tests for next time. I was actually shocked (and pleasantly surprised) how close the difference was between them; I expected the '09 to perform well for home office tasks, but it performed MUCH better by comparison than expected. However, it didn't perform as well in the Photoshop tests than I thought it would; totally acceptable for occasional use though. Thanks for your support! Comments sometimes provide great ideas for videos :)
I have a Mid 2009 iMac (the square looking one), it runs windows 10 and while I wouldn’t call it fast by any means, if you aren’t doing too much at once, it’s quick enough. Better than those Celeron computers imo.
As cool as True Tone colour sounds it is quite aggravating when the sun is shining into your room. macOS constantly will adjust the colour creating a flicking effect that is quite jarring. Tip: Disable it for a smoother experience and colour correct your monitors instead.
That's interesting; my testing was done in a relatively dark room with artificial lighting so I didn't experience this. Is the flickering at least gradual and smooth, or does it flash back and forth? I'm surprised Apple wouldn't implement an algorithm to analyze and adjust over a period of time to make it less noticeable. Seems almost like an oversight...
A cloud going by slowly causes the OS to constantly reevaluate the colour temp it detects and will gleefully change the screen colour temp for you. Perhaps it is an edge case but it can get distracting.
I think they also (unnecessarily) moved the GPU screws to the back, forcing a complete disassembly to change a GPU, lol. They’re aiming for a lower repair-ability score on iFixIt :)
I just upgraded my $100 27" 2011 imac which runs natively on mac OS Sierra. After I just used OCLP's software to upgrade to Monterey, I now justified that it's just irrelevant to upgrade as it runs faster! Just note that I tried installing mac OS Ventura but ends up having wifi disabled so reverted to Monterey with minimal feature just subtract the stage manager. Just sharing!
That's interesting about Ventura; I was thinking about upgrading the 2009 to Ventura. It's nice to know that WiFi may not work properly, so I might hold off upgrading for a while. Thanks for commenting!
@@rebootretro yes Justin might wait for a bit until a new OCLP post patch for wifi is out. You will rare see a difference in performance between ventura and monterey so as they said in macOS, if its still working, leave it! By the way only LAN connection may address the wifi for ventura for now. I then stick to monterey as its working well wireless with wifi. Believe me, took me sleepless nights to perform these installs.
Hey guys, can I jump in on this discussion a bit? So I just picked up a late 2009, 27 inch imac on marketplace this evening. Still a gorgeous looking machine. It is currently running Mountain Lion, 3.06 Ghz intel core 2 duo. Pretty outdated but I would like to update it to the Monterey OS as well. Seems to be running nicely per ur conversation. What is the best way to get my machine upgraded to the Monterey software. Also I would like to get 32 gigs of ram in it as well. Not sure on where to pick these up. It only has 4gb of ram at the moment. I just want to max it out if I can.
@@kdbyers Can you double check the Model Identifier in the System Profiler? I'm suspicious yours might not be a late 2009... Late 2009 I believe (I could be wrong?) were all Core i3/i5/i7 only. Core 2 Duo used an older chipset which I don't think Apple was producing by late 2009. Either way, you can totally still upgrade it but the process changes a little bit and the max RAM will be determined by the chipset. Also, post back which GPU you have. I also upgraded Monterey on an older 2008 with a Core 2 Duo, and it worked decent as well (see other videos). If you post back your exact machine specs, will try to help get you in the right direction :)
I’ve recently acquired a base model iMac that has a giant crack on the glass, I got some parts box for a iMac 21.5 inch and got a lot of motherboards, ram, and glass. I replaced the glass. Then I had a i7 2600s laying so I chucked it on replaced the heat sinks and fans. CD drive was busted so replaced that. Replaced the failing 500gb hdd with a 1TB SSD and put 16GB of ram in it. Then got a gtx 670m working perfectly. Now ran the big sur patcher and configured it perfectly, installed boot camp with windows 10, and now I have a awesome monster iMac that can game decently and edit 4K videos decently. I love it more then my new 24 inch m1 imac ;). Also I love how there’s alot of IO on the 2011 iMac
These really were fantastic machines. The 2011 is significantly better than the 2009 in my opinion, due to 2nd gen Intel CPUs. Yours looks like a very well spec'd out machine! Nothing wrong with an M1, but the value proposition of well upgraded 2011 is hard to beat!
I see you found the other video "Apple thinks this is worthless"... That's about as close to tutorial as I got. It's really not too difficult, WAY easier than the hackintoshes other RU-vidrs are building... The key parts are: 1. Build a standard USB installer for Monterey (Apple even has official docs on this) 2. Patch the stick's bootloader with OpenCore Legacy Patcher 3. Reboot, hold OPT key and choose the OpenCore EFI drive as the boot drive. 4. Now OpenCore will bring up another boot chooser, where you choose the Monterey installer. 5. Install like normal. Since you booted the OpenCore loader first, OpenCore tells the installer it's fine to run on this Mac - even though Apple says no. 6. After installed, you still may need to hold OPT key on startup to choose the OpenCore EFI drive, but from the OpenCore chooser that pops up next you choose your main hard drive. 7. After booting into Mac OS, things may be sluggish - WiFi, graphics, sound may not work, etc... Just install Post-installation patches which will bring back all this stuff. 8. Unless you want to leave your boot USB key installed, now you can also install OpenCore directly to the main hard drive. After first reboot you may need to hold OPT and choose the OpenCore EFI drive, but subsequent reboots should boot automatically.
Great video! Thank you so much for taking the time in order to perform this comparison. Just a question: Is there any chance that you can perform the same comparison but now with audio software? I am currently using a 27" iMac late 2009 with High Sierra and I'm considering to upgrade to Monterey with OCLP but I would like to know if this worth it and even more, to know how the software would run because I work mostly with Logic Pro X. I would really appreciate if you can consider it for another video. Thank you so much!
Glad you liked the video! Unfortunately I don't have the 2020 iMac anymore. I believe you need Metal-supported graphics to run the latest Logic Pro X; if that's the case you would need to upgrade your GPU as well. But with an upgraded GPU, I don't see any reason that Logic wouldn't run adequately. With a Metal GPU upgrade, the 2009 functions almost identically to the 2020 iMac. The only difference being the 2020 is a little faster. For audio projects though, I suspect the performance would be adequate. Another viewer said they upgraded the CPU as well on their 2011 iMac, and can even edit 4k video on it, which is amazing. If you're interested in upgrading the GPU, I've done a video here on it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n9koG8p9Ch0.html. The process changes slightly depending on the particular GPU used, but the overall process is very similar. Hopefully this helps, and thank you for the comment! If you have any other questions on it, I'll try to answer!
Very true, this was by far the biggest problem with this model! Although less common, they also had some notable issues with power supplies and LCD inverters dying too. Surprisingly, their main logic boards seemed to be extremely reliable by comparison. Hopefully your 2020 serves you many years to come!
I've done a video here about how to install on the 2009 iMac, which is similar to your 2011: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WsjyPFolmhw.html It shows how I did it, but is not a full tutorial. People have asked many questions about it, so maybe I will do a full tutorial in future.
@@techtipsuk lol, very true. Quite surprised Apple hasn’t released a 27 inch model yet. Although for pro work, the Studio paired with a good monitor is surely a better option IMO. Always feels like a waste when you have a massive 27 inch paperweight because Apple dropped support.
The 2009 i7 iMac is perfectly fine for most families use case, but I know people who always upgrade to the latest and use it for browsing the internet 😄
You can speed up the 2009's boot process by eliminating the delay at boot caused by the boot selection menu. Edit the config.plist file located at EFI/EFI/OC/config.plist. Under "Misc", ShowPicker Hotkeys will still function as intended after this edit.
AirPlay/AirDrop is still available, but some newer versions (particularly if you're installing unsupported via OpenCore) of Mac OS require newer wireless cards in order for it to work. I'll be doing a future video about the AirDrop/AirPlay upgrade on a 2009.
@@rebootretro so hard ware is require 🤔 My iMac is 2011 mid,running macOS High Sierra now. I saw that AirPlay and AirDrop needs iMac 2014 or later. So if we want to use these function, no matter which macOS is, hardware is still require, too right?
@@hey_siri._. Sorry, it looks like I was wrong - According to Apple you need at least a 2012 model for AirDrop officially (without upgrades/patches). It is possible on a 2011, but you need either a WiFi/Bluetooth upgrade, Mac OS upgrade/ patch, or both.
Before watching this, I expected the 2009 model to use socket 775 core 2 duo, I’m surprised that this model is a 1156 core i7 which is 3x faster than core 2 duo
Ya, Apple has a bad habit of poorly identifying hardware by model year, then changing the specs mid-year, lol. It creates a lot of confusion for certain model years.
If you want a 27 inch silicon iMac, you're out of luck. Apple isn't making any more 27 inch models. Better to get a cheap M1 or M2 Mini and a used Thunderbolt Display. I did this. It looks almost identical to my late 2009 iMac and runs everything with the latest updates. I am saving my old iMac in case I work up the courage to try the mods in this video. :o)
I have a late 2009 iMac with Xeon 2.8ghz quad core and 8 threads. I install a New gpu, a NVidia 3100M with 4gb. My iMac have a 480gb Ssd and a 2tb for data storage. Running Monterey. But I have a issue, My computer allways reduce Speed professor after a feew minutes of use, i think The problem is The gpu temps.
That's a really sweet kitted out iMac! If the GPU gets too hot, it should only down-clock GPU frequency. CPU should not be affected. However, that iMac is not originally designed for Xeon, so it might be CPU making extra heat and throttling? Apple runs the stock chips pretty close to thermal limits from my experiences. I would suggest to find a 3rd party app that can measure temps (like Macs Fan Control - it works great!). You should be able to see GPU and CPU temperatures, and you can also try temporarily to set all fans to 100% speed to see if anything changes. If the issue is heat, setting fan speeds to 100% should help you identify if it is GPU or CPU which is overheating and throttling. It could even be an issue with uneven heatsink mounting pressure or thermal paste on GPU or CPU. Either way, you got a pretty nice setup!! Hope you can get the processor speed issue fixed!
@@rebootretro Thanks for reply. The video card has never gone above 70ºC, but the temperature sensor has failed, eventually it jumps to 120ºC, but when touching the chassis, it is clear that the card has not overheated. After a few seconds, came back to 40ºC. I never see the processar pass above 70ºC.
@@janquieldapper The Mac will perform throttling based on the sensors and die temperatures. If a sensor is bad, it will throttle because it thinks it is overheating. Also, if there is a mounting issue (incorrect or uneven mounting pressure), your cooler will not get hot but the die will actually overheat. So it's important to check which sensor is failed. If the sensor is the heatsink one, then the sensor could be bad. If it's the GPU die sensor, this is internal on the card and rarely fails - usually this indicates a cooler mounting issue. ALSO important, some aftermarket GPUs need heatsink mods on the stock iMac heatsink, or they don't fit and don't cool properly. I upgraded to a FirePro M5100 on this iMac, and it requires a copper shim since the die height is lower than factory card. Without the shim, the heatsink will be cool but the die will overheat due to inadequate mounting pressure. Maybe you've check that all already, but if not, hopefully it will help!
@@rebootretro Hello again! I made it! The problem for CPU Trottling is really the faulty GPU temp sensor. I take the DVD drive temp sensor, cut the wires, and conecte to GPU temp sensor, now, after a few days, my iMac still with CPU_Speed_Limit in 100!
so the next question is a 2009 iMac using high Sierra as a Target monitor for an iMac mini? currently £800 ish half the cost of new machine but still having the 27" monitor, which as I'm getting older an require glasses 5k isn't even a thing. ps merry Christmas
My only real problem with Target Display is the iMac needs to be fully booted and consumes significantly more power than a standalone monitor. Also you need a second keyboard to activate Target Mode I think. I really wish they implemented it directly at a hardware level without requiring the full system booted. Have you seen Luke Miani’s video where he gutted the iMac and fully converted it to a standalone monitor? I think that would be a pretty slick solution, although it requires quite a bit of modding. Merry Christmas as well!!
What's the point of comparing one obsolete mac with another one? This video could make more sense if the older one would have been compared to the modern M2 one since no one would buy brand new $1800 Intel iMac when you can get the M2 one.
At the time this video was made, the only 27" iMac you could buy was an Intel one. The only Apple Silicon iMac available was 24", so if you wanted/needed a 27" then your options were to keep your old one or buy a new Intel one - which is what I did. The video looked at, buying specifically a 27" iMac, whether there was any benefits of an old Intel vs new Intel model. The implied conclusion was not to upgrade to an Intel model at all, as it didn't perform substantially better in basic tasks and it was suspected (at the time) that Apple would eventually offer an Apple Silicon 27" iMac - but instead Apple has discontinued the 27" iMacs entirely. To your point though, part of the video was actually to poke fun at Apple for offering a brand new insanely expensive computer that was only marginally better for basic home/office tasks than one that was 9 years older.
Open Core Legacy Patcher provides a hacked driver which brings back legacy acceleration used in previous OSes, but no Metal support unless you upgrade the GPU like you said. Upgrading the GPU is obviously the better route, but if you don't need Metal support, the patcher is the free option to get you hardware accerlation for the UI and video playback. I made a video on how I upgraded it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WsjyPFolmhw.html
@@lukasnunezr There are 2 versions of the 21 inch late 2009 iMac, one with dedicated graphics which is upgradable and one with integrated graphics which is not upgradable. If your graphics is the GeForce 9400M, then you cannot upgrade the GPU. If you have the Radeon HD 4670, then you should be able to upgrade to a GPU with MXM 3.0B interface. Note that you will need to buy a modded card (or mod it yourself), or else you will loose ability to see the Apple boot screen on startup and may have other glitches, like non-working brightness controls, etc. Although all MXM 3.0B cards should physically fit, you will want to verify that the screw holes for the cooler mounting do line up. The safest thing to do is eBay a card which is advertised as compatible or modded to support your Mac.
Its definitely not an Apple SSD. I don't recall exactly, but I think it's an OEM Samsung SSD out of a dead Dell laptop. Used 32GB of RAM (because I had it already - 8GB is plenty and 16GB is more than enough). Good luck! :)
I just upgraded an old 2009 imac with a 1TB Crucial SSD, as this was the brand that was recommended by apple support many moons ago. The exact model I used is: CT1000MX500SSD1, but make sure you use a thermal sensor SATA cable in between the SSD and the system's SATA connector, otherwise it won't recognise the driver at all.
@@drbass9677 It doesn't stop the fan from running at full speed. It stops it from running at fuill speed ALL THE TIME. Which is the whole point of having a thermal sensor. The constant noise would be horrendously annoying.
@@ConorFenlon if you install a fan control software there is no constant noise it’s silent. Definitely not worth spending over $100 on a little sensor when it’s quiet without it. That’s why most RU-vidrs who upgrade these don’t bother buying a sensor they just use fan control software.
Hi, I recently got interested in upgrading and updating my slim iMac. Was wondering if MAC OS update through OpenCore is safe enough as to use it when it was new, given that the Apple ID usually has saved some personal info you wouldn't like to fall in the wrong hands. If the iMac is for just doing editing work, I know it's OK, however, would you consider ti safe enough as to use it not only as a work horse, but also as your personal computer with your personal info on it?
The OpenCore team claims many patched Macs are just as secure as a non-patched Mac. The project is on GitHub and is open source, so I would trust the team to not intentionally inject any malware as there are many independent coders working on and reviewing the code. Functionally the Apple ID should work fine also, I have the 2009 set up with iMessage and FaceTime working seamlessly with an iPhone.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WsjyPFolmhw.html Here is a video I made upgrading a 2009 iMac to Monterey. You need to use OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Even though a 2011 iMac will "mostly" run newer operating systems (like Monterey), the installer detects the iMac is unsupported and refuses to install. OpenCore boots the Monterey installer in such a way where the installer believes it is installing on a supported Mac. Depending on the Mac model, OpenCore will also bridge some gaps between the EFI and Mac OS - such as 64-bit OS support. OpenCore is like magic :) It's not a full step by step tutorial, but if you watch the video I linked, it should give you a good idea of the process. After watching the overall process, you should be more comfortable following a guide showing more specific steps.
Yes you differently are saving money with the 2009 iMac vs the 2020 model but how long before the 2009 iMac starts to have issues? I agree the iMac with the M1 chip is a good investment for future computing.The older I become the more I see: " Everybody knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing". Great video, thank you.
The 2009 iMacs were overall pretty reliable, outside of the GPUs. I figure parts are cheap and easy to find these days, and there are lots of better GPUs that can replace a failing stock one. GPUs were really their biggest issue. The PSUs and LCD power boards occasionally had issues, but from my experience and knowledge the motherboards were pretty solid. But all things fail eventually. Enjoy cheap computing while we can :)
@@jansix4287My mid 09 iMac (first bought in July 2010) has bleeding corners noticeable when the screen is black, but other than that she’s been pretty reliable, although I only use it for short periods.
Is it even running at 3 gigabit? Did you check system info? I remember I had to do some terminal patch when I installed my ssd in my 2009 13 pro to get TRIM support and to get the negotiated speed up from 1.5 gigabit to 3 gigabit, this was back with an ocz vertex 3 but I was getting around to 250-330 MB/S with the older link speed.
I just checked, and the controller claims it is connected at 3 gigabit. Older versions of Mac OS you did need to force enable TRIM on non-Apple SSDs; I could be wrong, but I think Apple now allows TRIM on non-Apple SSDs without needing to enter commands at terminal. I believe I had TRIM enabled without needing to explicitly force it. You did have me scared there for second, thinking I was leaving performance on the table with a 1.5 gigabit link.
It depends; some 2009 had upgradable socketed (MXM) graphics cards, while some had integrated permanently soldered ones. You can check which model you have in "About This Mac" -> "System Report". I believe if you have the GeForce 9400M then yours is soldered and NOT upgradable. If you have any other GPU, then it should be upgradable. I don't know offhand ever model/config Apple sold, so make sure to confirm and double check before ordering an upgrade card.
The biggest issue with many tabs is memory usage. Although CPU does also play a role and may ultimately decide which one is faster, with the 2009 at 32GB I'm sure it wouldn't struggle. Just my thoughts though :)
The biggest issue with the older models is the GPU and GPU memory. The System ram can be maxed, you can add an SSD, you can max the CPU for that gen, which is plenty for most thing --- but you can't get around the small GPU ram...
You're right, it's not really up for more demanding tasks. On certain models (like this one), the GPU is upgradable though (which I did in another video). The upgrade options are limited of course due to compatibility, but you can easily get a card with 4GB VRAM working. I never really looked into the highest card, since my goal was just to get Metal support and I didn't care too much about GPU performance. But you're definitely right, these older machines do have upper limits to upgradability. Power users will probably get much more value out of the 2020 model.
I haven't made a full tutorial, but this video I made shows an overview process of me upgrading it. It is relatively simple. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WsjyPFolmhw.html
It actually performed better than I was expecting. To be completely fair, under heavy loads the 2009 gets destroyed by the 2020. But for basic home/home office use loads, it performs shockingly well and almost as good as the 2020! We actually have the 2009 in daily service still, and sent the 2020 back to Apple.
It really depends on your needs, budget, tech skills, and the Mac price. Ultimately, you can get a much better spec PC for similar money that will run Windows or Linux very well. Although these 10-13 Macs can still run really well with upgrades, it does take additional cost for upgrade parts and a lot of time, effort, and some skill to upgrade it. If you can do the upgrades yourself and if you can buy it cheap, it’s not bad value these days as the stock configuration is pretty cheap. But if you’re not looking for a project, just need something that works and can fit your budget, I’d probably get something newer - at least 2015 as you’ll get native Monterey support, you’ll get official Metal-graphics support and can go even further with OpenCore OS upgrades.
Looking at Intel ARK, the 2009 has a 95W TDP CPU vs the 2015 has a 65W. The 2009 turbos to 3.46GHz vs the 2015 at 3.3GHz. The 2009's Core i7-860 is also hyper-threaded and is a full desktop chip. The 2009 sucks tones of power though. I best your 2015 beats it hands down in performance per watt, lol. I also have a 2015. Great machines! :)
@@haybail7618 I always felt like they were cheating when they said "at it's thinest point", lol. I understand why they did it, but I agree - I don't think the tapered edges looked as good either (iMac, MacBook Air, etc).
After installing on my 27 inches 2015 the latest os it become super slow, it takes ages to start and seems my 32gb of ram are pretty useless….. wander if I can go back in os
Your HDD is likely failing. If it's the "hybrid" nonsense; It's definitely failing. Get a good 256GB+ SSD, Put a Clean Install of whatever MacOS you prefer (High Sierra & Up), Use your Current hard Drive with Time Machine while it lasts & you'll be flying again.
When you say "super slow", do you mean more like "laggy"? Like everything is super delayed, including mouse movements? If so, it's possible that your graphics card drivers aren't properly patched. A 2015 with an SSD and 32GB RAM should be extremely snappy. Feel free to post back if you need some help.
@@rebootretro thanks for your comment. The startup is super slow. The Apple logo stays there forever. I noticed that also when using photoshop and premiere it takes longer to turn on than before. Mouse wise is ok no issue with that speed
Do you have any fast external storage you can try installing on just to test? It does sound like a storage performance issue, maybe some sort of bug with the patcher? A USB external obviously won't be ideal for performance, but I've booted from USB with Monterey and its slow but doesn't crawl. The Apple logo doesn't hang forever like you describe, even over USB 2.0. If you're able to boot faster with an external USB drive, it would give clues to where the issue might be. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any specific cause for this issue. Troubleshooting and trial/error I think will be the way to solve.
I'm sure you could figure it out, it isn't rocket science ;). There are many guides out there, and compared to many other unsupported upgrades/hacks, this one is relatively easy. If it's not something you're very familiar with, you'll just want to lot some extra time as you'll probably need to consult Google for help along the way. I probably wouldn't recommend doing it if it's your only computer, but if it's sitting around as a spare, you don't have a whole lot to loose :)
Its not even worth buying a 27 inch iMac in 2022. It is intel there and we're a months away from an apple silicon version which means it will be outperformed and outdated right away.
For the latest Final Cut you probably need a Metal supported GPU. Are you using the original GPU with patcher, or did you upgrade to an officially Metal supported GPU?
@@mishamukesh47 Metal is a hardware-acceleration API which apps use to draw and render things using your graphics card. Before Metal existed, graphics cards used OpenGL/OpenCL/Quartz Extreme to offload processing to the graphics card. The Metal API replaces all of that into one simple to use interface for programmers to make apps (like Final cut). The problem is that to use Metal powered applications, you need a graphics card AND driver that both support Metal. The GPUs shipped with older Macs (like the 2009) don't support either. The OpenCore Legacy Patcher installs hacked drivers which brings back basic acceleration to offload things like video playback in Chrome or Safari. But any app which explicit uses Metal will not work properly since that interface/API cannot pass off to your older GPU/drivers. Your only option to get Metal support is to upgrade your GPU (if your Mac supports it) to one new enough to support Metal graphics. If you are going to upgrade, make sure to do extensive research so that you get a card which is properly supported.
@@mishamukesh47 There is no software-only patch/fix that will make Final Cut Pro work. The computer and OpenCore will support it ONLY if you also upgrade the graphics card. The only other way would be if an old version of Final Cut Pro exists that does not require Metal, but also supports Monterey. You can research to confirm, but I doubt it exists. The latest version of Final Cut Pro will not run on any Mac which does not have a Metal-compatible GPU, regardless of Mac OS version or patches.
Yes, unofficially but only with patching. Officially, the 2009 iMac does not support anything past High Sierra. I believe there are other methods, but the one used on this particular Mac was OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
@@sarahbanchero Macs aren't ideal for gaming, because many games only exist for PC. Also, GPU is the most important part for gaming and most Macbooks have either integrated graphics, or lower end discrete graphics. If you NEED a Mac for other purposes as well (and can't or don't want to go PC), you could install Windows in Boot Camp on this Mac. Many (not all) games should be playable if you turn the graphics quality way down. Bottom line though, Macs come at a premium cost. If your goal is gaming, you can find a cheap PC laptop that will game much better than this Mac for less money. Here is another video I made, about gaming on a cheap laptop: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9Q1mU4u92lk.html
The 2009 uses a desktop CPU, and the 2021 likely has a mobile or ultrabook CPU. HOWEVER, your laptop probably does circles around the Mac when it comes to power efficiency. The iMac sucks back quite a bit of power just running idle.
You have to compare them not by opening an app. You compare them by using the app on heavy loads. Try opening and editing a heavy formulated excel file and edit in photoshop. That is the real test. Duh
For non power users who wrote basic documents, fill out basic spreadsheets, watch RU-vid videos and who need to crop or resize the occasional photo, there is virtually no benefit in performance. I'm not aware of any home use/non power user who is building these complex spreadsheets and working with complex photoshop files you speak of. Basic home users generally make short budget lists in Excel, write a several page letter in Word, watch RU-vid, resize or crop the occasional photo. For professional and power user tasks, you are correct, the old 2009 won't keep up - as clearly indicated during comparison.
