I have a mid 2007 iMac as my main computer.

Its served me well over the years but the increasing obvious noise from the hard drive concerns me.

I take regular back ups should anything *touches wood* goes wrong but would like to prevent this.

I’ve been reading up about replacing the hard drive with a SSD. As I understand it I would need the hard drive, potentially a spacer kit and a temperature sensor …. maybe sub £200 worth of kit.

Local Apple people want closer to £500 which is nearly 50% towards the cost of a whole new iMac.

Tutorials online suggest its hardly open heart surgery.

So is it worth it in terms of seeking out the last little bits of performance/life?

I appreciate I could buy the kit and after 6 months something go wrong.

I also appreciate if I leave it alone there may never be a problem ( unlikely I know )

*Apple themselves class my mid 2007 machine as vintage not me 😉

I bet you could do it for less. You could make your own spacer kit for a start (have a look in the man drawer, you’ll find something).

I think you could easily get it to work

The main thing to consider would come from software compatibility. At some point you won’t be able to upgrade to the latest OS on that hardware. Then an application you really need won’t work on your older OS or there is a security issue and you can no longer get the updates to fix it.

(like if you have a 1st gen ipad)

If you just want to browse the web and email you may well be ok for a while longer

You could just buy a identical drive for less than a SSD one?

“Vintage” isn’t how I’d describe a 2007 iMac!! It’s just old. 😉

I’m thinking it will be a 32 bit processor at that age. TBH I’m not sure if bother as a lot of software is not going to run now.

Reality is an 11″ MacBook is not much more money than what you have been quoted to upgrade. Spend it on a laptop and I think that age iMac can be used as an external display.

Rachel

FIVE HUNDRED QUID????

Holy shit they really know how to rip folk off.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-upgrades/internal-data-storage/samsung-850-evo-2-5-internal-ssd-1-tb-10118051-pdt.html

£240 + the adaptor for another fiver. Not sure what the temperature sensor is for.

Cheaper options are available. Remember you can commute the kit to a new laptop/desktop.

Be careful about fitting the SSD in the carrier – this article shows the length of the connector can be an issue.
The article also indicates it was a worthwhile upgrade back in April 2014; if it wrings another year or so’s use, then why not.

I have the same model iMac. I’ve put an SSD drive in it and it’s given it a new lease of life. It’s never going to be lightening fast due to the aging processor but it’s just quick enough to run Adobe CC if you’re not working on big files.

My SSD is just gaffer taped the to inside of the Mac at the mo – I did buy a 3.5 inch carrier but it got delayed in the post… I installed the drive and always meant to install the carrier. Maybe one day.

We still use a mid 2007 iMac, I stuck a hybrid drive in it – cheap as chips (about £50 for 1TB) and the spinning ball is now something of a rarity. It’s physically the same size as the old drive so no faffing or bodging involved. You can even re-use the old temperature sensor.

Are you set on a SSID? I upgraded my 2008 MacBook with a £60 1TB hybrid drive and it’s great. Ok, it takes about 45seconds to boot up instead of a SSIDs maybe 10 seconds? Other than that once it’s booted the HDD is not the limiting factor in anything I do with it – basically an Internet browsing machine. It’s running the very latest El Capitan OS and has never run better.

I do live in fear of the screen or mother board packing up so still harbouring a desire to replace at some point, but so far it’s going stronger than ever.

Why not just give it s go?

A friend did an ssd upgrade to the same era imac a couple of months ago – said it’s really quick now.

Need to do ours now.