If you’re looking to upgrade your new iMac, this is for you.
YouTuber Quinn Nelson, also known as “SnazzyQ”, upgrades his $1,799 base-model Mid-2017 5K iMac into a machine that performs better in many respects than Apple’s most expensive iMac configuration, which comes to $5,299 before tax.
While this WILL void your warranty, there’s something to be said for it. Granted upgrading the CPU involves removing the display, removing the speakers, logic board, and more. Still, once the computer has been stripped down, CPU installation is literally just a matter of swapping out the old CPU with the new one.
Quinn states that his build took several weeks in all, but most of that time involved waiting on parts and planning out his video,. The actual work that he put in only amounted to an hour or so, but it obviously took a lot of research and planning beforehand.
Per Quinn:
The easiest part of his upgrade was the 64 GB of RAM. Thankfully, Apple threw users a bone by including a RAM door on the backside of the 5K iMac, allowing for easy RAM upgrades. Just a few weeks ago I upgraded my Mid 2017 5K iMac’s RAM from 8 GB to 40 GB, saving around $900 in the process.
Regardless of the difficulty, it’s pretty impressive that persevering users are able to turn a relatively pedestrian entry-level iMac into a machine that hangs with, and in some cases exceeds the top tier iMac. Of course, you’ll need to buy the new CPU, RAM, and drives, wherein Nelson spent $3,471 in all.
Via 9to5Mac