Should I upgrade my iMac?

[bpifer15]

I own an iMac 27 inch, Late 2009 model. It has a 3.33 GHz intel core 2 Duo processor. It has 4GB of 1067 MHz DDR3 memory.

I don't really have the money for a new computer however I have wondered if it is worth upgrading features on this iMac.

Is it worth it to upgrade anything or just leave it as is? If so, what should I upgrade?

Thank guys!

 

[anon(9602380)]

Welcome to iMore.

About the only thing you can really upgrade is the hard drive and RAM. I believe you can up your RAM to 8GB and change your hard drive to an SSD. Is it worth doing that, not in my opinion. The money you would spend to do that would not be worth it. You would be better to save your money and get a new iMac. Even a bottom of the line new iMac will be faster than anything you can do to your current iMac. Thanks.

 

[bpifer15]

Ok, I appreciate the feedback.

 

[TripleOne]

It's best to save up for a new iMac. If your current setup still works fine then use it for now until you have enough for a new one

 

[Lee_Bo]

I own an iMac 27 inch, Late 2009 model. It has a 3.33 GHz intel core 2 Duo processor. It has 4GB of 1067 MHz DDR3 memory.

I don't really have the money for a new computer however I have wondered if it is worth upgrading features on this iMac.

Is it worth it to upgrade anything or just leave it as is? If so, what should I upgrade?

Thank guys!

I really think it depends on the hardware. In your case, I don't think it's worth it.

On the other side of the fence, I purchased a 2011 iMac 21.5 inch, 2.7 GHz Intel i5 with 4 gigs ram and a 1tb drive over the weekend. Turns out it will support 16 gigs ram and I just upgraded it to Sierra. The memory cost me $100. Is it a nuclear rocket ship? No. But I've been wanting to get a Mac computer for quite some time so now I have a Mac to play with ad it's pretty responsive.

 

[GibMcFragger]

I really think it depends on the hardware. In your case, I don't think it's worth it.

On the other side of the fence, I purchased a 2011 iMac 21.5 inch, 2.7 GHz Intel i5 with 4 gigs ram and a 1tb drive over the weekend. Turns out it will support 16 gigs ram and I just upgraded it to Sierra. The memory cost me $100. Is it a nuclear rocket ship? No. But I've been wanting to get a Mac computer for quite some time so now I have a Mac to play with ad it's pretty responsive.

I’m still using my mid 2011 iMac 27” (3.4GHz i7). I maxed out the ram back when I first bought it. It’s still working great, and runs faster than most of the 1 year old PCs running Winblows at my work.

I have had it longer than I have owned any computer (I used to upgrade my Windows PCs almost yearly), and I have no intention to replacing it until either it slows to a crawl, or dies completely.

 

[dcoke22]

A 2009 iMac is currently on the bottom of the supported hardware list for current macOS versions. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201475)

It is reasonable to guess that soon, in future versions of macOS, Apple will no longer support this hardware. From that perspective, moving up to newer hardware will ensure you can stay on current versions of macOS.

 

[facecard]

I, too, have an iMac late 2009 model running Sierra. I have 4gig but I will upgrade it to 8gig. It is the 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo model. As I said, I am running Sierra on it but I would like upgrade it to High Sierra. I am a little hestitate to upgrade it. I would like to use this iMac to install current and beta versions of MacOS but I am not sure hardware wise if it is the best decision. I know this iMac can support High Sierra but I don't know performance wise if the Mac is going to suffer. This Mac does very well on Sierra. I know this iMac is on the low end of the list. I don't know if it is a waste of time.

 

[bakron1]

I have always upgraded my iMacs every couple of years, one of the major reasons is Apple will eventually drop support for the machine after a period of time, not only software, but also hardware. I always end up selling my older machine and recovering some of my initial investment and move on to a newer product. But, I also use the machines in my business and have the financial resources to do so. Just the way I do things.

 

[TechnologyTwitt]

I have always upgraded my iMacs every couple of years, one of the major reasons is Apple will eventually drop support for the machine after a period of time, not only software, but also hardware. I always end up selling my older machine and recovering some of my initial investment and move on to a newer product. But, I also use the machines in my business and have the financial resources to do so. Just the way I do things.

I agree - granted everyone has their own situation, but if you can always buy mid/high end and keep it for 3-4 years, you can sell it to recoup some of your investment and apply it towards another new mid/high end machine.

 

[bakron1]

I agree - granted everyone has their own situation, but if you can always buy mid/high end and keep it for 3-4 years, you can sell it to recoup some of your investment and apply it towards another new mid/high end machine.

Yep and I just talked a friend into upgrading his late 2014 5K iMac to the latest model. He sold his older unit in one day, found a 2017 model on Craigslist for a couple of hundred less then retail with Apple Care on it and bought it.

Now he has thunderbolt 3 ports and a 4 gig video card and he is a happy camper. He called me and said thanks for talking him into it. I am just glad he is happy with his decision, mission accomplished.