2011 27" iMac needs repair...

Nelsondog

New Member
May 4, 2018
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I have a beautiful iMac in need of a 'new' GPU chip. Is my request an impossible venture?

Thank you for your time
 

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
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You probably don't want to hear this, but throw it out and get a new one. The computer is seven years old.

The necessary upgrades when changing the processor may need a new logic board, updated ram among other components that will necessitate much more than the machine is worth.
 

Nelsondog

New Member
May 4, 2018
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Thanks for the reply!
I've done substantial upgrades already hence the feeling of loss & the desire to repair rather than trash the unit.
 

Sablon Audio

Industry Expert, VIP Donor
May 22, 2015
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I hear where you are coming from as I have an imac of similar age with dual drive and ram upgrades. This work was originally done by OWC computers and they may be able to help you. GaryProtein does have a point about their age though as we are fast approaching the cliff edge when the next OS update will stop supporting our generation of machine.
 

audioguy

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Near Atlanta, GA but not too near!
I have a beautiful iMac in need of a 'new' GPU chip. Is my request an impossible venture?

Thank you for your time

I was where you were very recently but did what Gary suggested ... bought a new one. A 6 or 7 years old computer, with the incredibly rapid increase in chip technology, etc can almost be classified as a "boat anchor". I don't do any particularly heavy computing on my system (some photo kinds of things would be the most "stressful") but the differences in speed and ability in my old one vs the new one were quite remarkable.

Sell some old cables and power cords laying around and buy yourself a new one!!
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
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Eastern WA
"Logic board" an extraordinarily dated term that Apple tries to pass off like they are special because they call it that instead of motherboard.

Anyways, there are people that repair that stuff. And you can get motherboards for them still. It's probably a safe bet to just replace the board, than have someone try to solder a new one in. Getting a GPU chip any not be possible. But if the GPU is in the CPU, then that may be easy. I can't really officially diagnose it without being there in person.

My laptop is from 2012 and I see no reason to replace it until it dies. I don't run Windows or MacOS, so it's as fast as it was the day it was made or faster. For my general use it's probably faster than new computers using M$ & MacOS. It sure seems a lot faster than other ones I get on from time to time. These days the limitations come more from internet/wifi speed & OS/lazy programming. Computers are simply not that much faster today than 2011/2012 unless you're talking about for gaming, but they act like it...

That's the sad fact, that M$ and Apple will totally ****-up their OS/other-software until computers that are only slightly old act like they are decades old. So unless you switch to a better OS than the recommendation to upgrade isn't a terrible one, but not necessarily necessary.
 

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