“I have a somber announcement.,” Anthony Karcz reports for Forbes. ” After today, ‘This Old iMac’ will be no more.”
“Why? Because after I got my iMac back from OWC, the only way I can call my computer ‘Old’ is by hewing to the strictest of definitions,” Karcz reports. “With new solid state drives and new RAM, ‘She may not look like much. But she’s got it where it counts, kid.”
“After a lot of back and forth with the OWC technicians about how to configure my three SSDs (I went with a custom RAID setup, something that they don’t usually do; but is technically possible), my upgraded iMac, my original hard drive and RAM, and a new external hard drive enclosure and card reader headed back to Florida. My old hard drive is destined for the enclosure and will serve as a Time Machine drive once I’m satisfied I don’t need the data,” Karcz reports. “As for the RAM, if this had been a normal upgrade, I actually could have sold it to OWC (a note, OWC provided parts and labor for this upgrade so I could evaluate their service). But you’re not here to listen to me ramble on about the carved off pieces of my computer that they sent home like so many kidney stones in a glass jar, you want to hear about the iMac.”
Karcz reports, “In a couple of words? It screams.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote way back in April 2012:
On the rare occasion that we use a non-SSD Mac, the experience is jarring, as we’ve become used to the speed of the SSDs in our MacBook Airs and iMacs. It’s a huge difference. Once you go SSD, you won’t go back.
SEE ALSO:
AnandTech reviews SanDisk X400 1TB SSD – May 6, 2016
Speed up your older Mac by installing OS X on an external SSD – March 25, 2016
Review: OWC’s 2TB Mercury Electra MAX SSD – February 11, 2016
so true about SSD’s, the only way to fly!
I have installed SSD’s and maxed out the ram in several iMac’s ranging from 2008 to 2011. The DIFFERENCE IS HUGE!
Unfortunately, Apple nowadays is making it very difficult to upgrade your mac.
Even worse Apple is WAY OVERPRICED when it comes to SSD’s and RAM for their new Macs.
Unfortunately, it has to be hurting Mac sales.
You can buy a good laptop with an i7 processor, 16gb ram, 4k display for around $1,000. Next install an SSD from Amazon for $200. The end result is a computer that is $1,200 less than a comparable MacBook Pro.
Wake Up Apple!
Agreed.
I wish Apple would offer 1TB HD options on all their Macs, it’s the minimum I need and the reason I won’t buy a MacBook.
The only caveat in buying an SSD for an internal HD is that at least one of them will NOT support Boot Camp.
Check it out first.
That is true..but you are still left with running Windows and can’t fully take advantage of those hardware specs. Windows, for example, still can’t scale 4K and up displays with the flexibility that the Mac OS offers.
Can’t ever go back. My 2013 8GB MBP still impresses me with the speed.
I can play a DVD on Superdrive and do Internet stuff and process photos and check the mail. Attempting that with my 2009 MacBook would have chocked it.
Too bad you cant do that to most modern macs
Simply replacing an HD drive with a Fusion Drive (I also used OWC) can remarkably speed up a Mac.
My production Mac for my high-volume event photography business is a 2012 13″ 2.9GHz i7 MBP with 16GB RAM and a 500GB SSD in place of the optical drive. The OEM HD provides 24/7 clone & Time Machine, even when I take it on the road.
According to the Latest Macbook, you can’t even change anything. Everything is in one piece.
In the future perhaps there will be Macs that doesn’t even have screws outside. The battery might be soldered into the logic board. Why? for the glory of thin device of course. who knows? The future might not be about customizing and tweaking anymore.