Mid 2007 iMac Upgrade. MAX Specs,SSD,And Catalina!

[@danhutchinsonbackup]

It's amazing how useable old macs can still be in the modern day

[@theartshow1476]

5:43 watching myself pull the cpu out like that always hurts me a little lol.

[@cliftonrhodes7115]

Man thanks my son wanted to get rid of this Mac I was like heck no. Now that I have watched your video I will go get the stuff and redo his old i Mac it has a 1 tb drive on it. Thanks so much for the video

[@theartshow1476]

Thanks for watching! They are still great computers I still use mine every day!

[@Djfmdotcom]

Super informative. I found one of these computers abandoned on the side of the road (true story) while I was walking the dogs, came back, snagged it, reformatted everything, replaced HD with 1TB SSD, 6GB of RAM. Processor upgrade is next and that's how I ended up here. Also, Reason was the SHHHHHH!T. I'm a Logic guy now.

[@stevenbattista1972]

I'm going to try it. I like the music, it's not in the way, just compliments the video.

[@theartshow1476]

Thanks man it was just a quick little track I made on reason. I made it on that iMac in the vid.

[@Pathos312]

Nervous? TF why? Teardown/reassemble done like a boss.

[@gilbertwaterfield6776]

Great I have the same one so I'm going to be upgrading the same when you did it hopefully works everything works out

[@larrycroft470]

Thank you so much for taking time to make this video. It was so helpful to me. I have the exact computer and I use it for my main iTunes library for my home network and web browsing/emails. Several years ago I updated it with a 480GB SSD and 6 GB of RAM. It runs quick for an old girl but I have been trying to understand IF I should try to upgrade to the T9500. El Capitan works great for me. I was only thinking about upgrading so that my OS would be protected a few more years AND I was wondering if Safari too was subject to not getting upgraded further since I was running El Capitan. If you could educate me on this I sure would appreciate it. Thank you again.

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you! I really appreciate that! As far as my thoughts on El Capitan go, it still runs great. In fact, many older Mac OSs still have supported web browsers so even if safari doesn’t get much love (not likely) id think it would be capable of web browsing, KZbin, and media streaming for a while. really the only reason to upgrade to the t9500 and Catalina is for any modern feature you would want to use in Mac OS, and a small performance boost.

[@theartshow1476]

Larry Croft another thing, It’s Also nice to have a modern Apple desktop that functions with my iPhone, watch, and air pods, and I didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars. I’ve always been a windows user and never could justify shelling out the amount of cash Apple charges for their computers considering the performance ratio. So I’ve never actually owned any other Apple computer than this one. This is a good alternative for anyone who wants the functionality of a modern Mac for everyday use with the entire apple ecosystem, without spending the insane amounts of money. It’s not a performance beast by any stretch.

[@davidtian6262]

@@theartshow1476 Thanks for your great video, very interesting! I have a 2008 iMac 20", running Ei Capitan for web browsing, simple photo view/edit with Preview, youtube, etc. However, currently there is no support of AirDrop, wonder if I do a upgrade to OS Catalina, will AirDrop between iPhones and the iMac be supported? Thanks

[@proluigi410]

I have the 20" variant of this iMac. I always wanted to upgrade it, even though i'm still an minor. I received my processor, but i dont have any thermal paste. Its gonna come soon

[@angelotelesforomalaquias2874]

I just did that today to my 24” iMac 2007! It was a little hard, but I managed. Mine also reports 700Mhz instead of 2.8GHz T9500. But geekbench confirms it’s faster. Tomorrow I’ll try the Catalina patcher.

[@theartshow1476]

Try kunbuntu if you aren’t dead set on Mac OS. I found out recently that these machines fly on Linux. They play retro games pretty great too. And it’s easy to install

[@andrewdupuis1151]

nice i have early 2008 imac

[@outtakontroll3334]

son of a duck, that is exactly the machine i'm watching you on!

[@82kevinl]

good job i have a desktop of that similar of age its restricted to capitan but it is a good OS but you can't use any apps on this system no more

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you! It’s a shame they don’t support these macs anymore when they are clearly capable

[@levonnahabedian5586]

Can we have the links for the stuff that has been used , thanks

[@theartshow1476]

I tried but the availability on amazon is always changing as well as the specific seller selling the parts. If you just type in mid 2007 iMac upgrades in amazon you are very likely to come across the same hardware I showed in my video

[@rafaeljuarezgoo]

I really like the music. Is there a link to it?

[@encinobalboa]

I like hot rodding old machines but $209 is steep for parts. I regularly find 2010 and 2011 i7's on my CL for about $200 and those machines will run rings around 2007. They usually need a little maintenance which is why the price is low.

[@theartshow1476]

Youre absolutely right. I got lucky on the t9500 cpu. A seller on amazon had a bunch of used ones pulled from old computers and I got one for about 25 bucks. They sold out fast. That’s really what prompted me to do this. And I already had an ssd in the machine so that upgrade wasn’t really even necessary. Taking on this project with a base model of this iMac can be very costly if you buy all parts new. Even used t9500 cpus are going for like 80-100 bucks. For the money there are many other options to consider. But I’m the kind of guy who is always on the prowl for cheap used parts.

[@theartshow1476]

encinobalboa I and I probably don’t even have to explain why shopping for used pc parts can be a gamble lol

[@encinobalboa]

@@theartshow1476 Understood. I am so far ahead buying unknown condition Mac's and PC's that it really is not a gamble anymore. My last deal was two dead Mid 2011 27's that I was hoping to Frankenstein into one. Ended up fixing both. I watched you disassemble and reassemble your machine so you have the skills. Just sayin'.

[@theartshow1476]

encinobalboa thanks man it really was a bitch to do and a learning process I won’t lie. I don’t even really like Macs all that much but a lot of people are picking up high spec MacBooks these days for dirt cheap, and it’s almost always a simple repair. I might have at some later models just for the sake of making more videos, but it really isn’t the easiest thing to do with these computers!

[@encinobalboa]

@@theartshow1476 Hat is off, making a vid is a real service to the community. Like anything worth doing in life, the first time is the hardest. It gets easier and easier. IME, anything up to 2011 is worth buying broken because the GPU is almost always the problem. Failed GPU will cause no power, boot hang, WSOD, and other symptoms. GPU bake is easy and for me has worked every time. 2012 and newer, GPU is soldered to the logic board which might force a not inexpensive tech visit. Plus the screen is glued to the frame which means more tools and a new sticky gasket. Thanks, Apple!

[@greebo7857]

Bloody sight easier getting into one of these than the later slimline ones....

[@theartshow1476]

It’s true and I find it funny because most people I’ve spoken with that repair macs seem to look at this one as one of the worst models to disassemble. I think the magnet panel is great, but the tech they had to cram into the thing was still a bit large at the time. The newer glued on panels are a nightmare to remove, especially with the power supply exposed the way they are, but once inside you’ll notice a lot of empty space, thanks to engineering advancements. If only they had kept the magnet glass…

[@stalcker]

Cool video, thank you bro!

[@titianobsidian6549]

Excellent just what I've looking for. I was using my 2007 imac 7.1 for streaming in the bedroom until browsers stopped supporting video playback. Hopefully if this works it can support a more up to date browser.

[@titianobsidian6549]

Unfortunately didn't work for my mac, it would recognise the ram. So have it running on Linux mint, which is OK but there are a few issues.

[@375GTB]

Be advised these extreme CPU upgrades CAN make the WiFi useless. Up grades to 2.4 gHz. T8300 and 2.8 gHz. X900 CPU's do not chance losing you the WiFi. $15 and $40 pd. on eBay.... A helluva lot of WORK! 2+ hours.... IF all goes well, J.C.

[@theartshow1476]

Yes it’s important to check what kind of Broadcom card is installed before performing this upgrade. I didn’t have any problems using WiFi after the upgrade, but I’ve heard from many people that they have.

[@375GTB]

TRUTH! J.C.

[@WhoEverEatsDies1]

@@theartshow1476 what Broadcom card needs go be installed for me not to lose wifi?

[@paulisthebest3uk]

Works great dont it? I love mine! I ramped up the fans a bit on mine just to try and preserve the heat a bit but yeah 2007 core2duo imac running catalina is pretty impressive

[@theartshow1476]

I’m honestly surprised at how much use Im getting out of this thing after upgrading.

[@dewayudha6149]

@@theartshow1476 how about the application support? is still can use for browsing?

[@TienNguyen-bv1un]

You are the hero.

[@CarlosMiranda-ju2xw]

Exactly

[@CarlosMiranda-ju2xw]

He is the hero.

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you

[@theartshow1476]

Carlos Miranda thanks man!

[@CarlosMiranda-ju2xw]

You’re welcome, this video made me bought an iMac 21,5 late 2009 and now i have a super computer!!! 16gb of ram, 120gb sdd + 3tb hdd with an Intel core 2 duo and it runs Catalina!! Thanks to you!

[@dustydigger6198]

Bro how the process install capitan from mountain lion and update to catalina?¿ Thank u

[@theartshow1476]

Apples website will provide you with the latest OS that your machine will support. They just don’t keep the link in a very easy to spot location on their website. But it is there. Find El Capitan on the website and upgrade to it. Then you can use the dosdude1 patcher tool to upgrade to Catalina. Search “dosdude1 tutorial” in KZbin. By the way, you can NOT upgrade to Catalina on a 2007 iMac without upgrading the stock processor like I did in this video

[@AsianFlex]

My iMacs hard drive is failing so I run Mavericks off of a 16gb sub and have a 64 gb and is planning to upgrade

[@juanesqueda732]

Can you post the links to the amazon items. I would like to upgrade my 2007 imac as well.

[@theartshow1476]

Juan Esqueda just type these items on amazon: intel core 2 duo T9500 cpu (bought mine used) owc ssd upgrade kit for 2007 imac and owc 6.0 GB kit (2 GB + 4 GB) Sorry I’d link it but sellers and availability change a lot on amazon for these items. At least in my experience anyway. Good luck!

[@jamesreed1857]

How much is it going to cost for all the parts?

[@mahanagarflex3324]

how to upgrade osx to this device my pc says update unavailable

[@gilbertwaterfield6776]

my processor is a 2.8 GHz intel core 2 duo I was wondering .2.8 does not make a difference I Like to go with the same processor

[@theartshow1476]

That is the clock speed of the processor and isn’t relevant. If you want to install Mac OS Sierra or later, all you have to make sure of is that the new cpu is penryn based. A google search of the processor you choose will tell you. The core 2 duo t9500 cpu I installed is the max performance cpu I could get for my model (mid 2007 iMac) but there are many other CPU’s that will work.

[@LS-ut7jn]

I have 20" iMac mid 2007, 2GHz Intel core 2 duo, 6GB 667MHz DDR2 SD RAM, OS x10.8.5 I was told that it is impossible to upgrade since Apple does not support it. It might need new video card since the image has some vertical stripe. It still fires up and works but it's OS is too old to upgrade to newer browser. Can you upgrade it?

[@rayonwilliamssportsandfun2106]

Just buy the adapter on Amazon 10 bucks and a different ssd 250gb 35 bucks. Cheaper than the kit for 64 bucks. U can find tools around the house to open it

[@theartshow1476]

Rayon Williams sports tv good tip

[@unoduetrequatro]

I want to upgrade mine too, knowing the basic swap (RAM + SSD) is ok with me but the cpu upgrade is terrifying me, it is too hard/complicated? Should pay someone to do this? Great video man!

[@theartshow1476]

It’s not too hard if you just take your time and get a magnet to hold all of the screws lol my video isn’t really a tutorial but I tried to give a good visual of how the machine comes apart with the time lapse. If you pair my video with some of the other, actual tutorial videos on KZbin, you could definitely pull it off yourself. I know you can, because this was the first time I’ve ever done anything like this, and it worked for me!!!

[@evilpanda809]

graphics is not upgradeable?

[@Sb-hj1om]

Thanks so much

[@MatthewBeckford]

Hi, I have the same iMac and I want to try and install an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU on my machine, is that possible or can I only install a Core 2 Duo? Thanks!

[@theartshow1476]

What year is your iMac? If it is 2007, only certain core 2 duos will work. The t9500 cpu like the one in this video is the best compatible cpu for the 2007

[@MatthewBeckford]

@@theartshow1476 it’s a 2008 model, thanks for the advice tho 👌🏾

[@AsianFlex]

@@theartshow1476 I'm planning to get a core 2 extreme x9000 as from what I've seen it should be compatible by the chipset as it has 800mhz bus and same socket and whichever cheaper prob 6gb is cheaper than 8gb but yea I just need single 4gb stick for 6gb

[@Bitcoinfibo]

I will buy an imac 2007 today👍

[@JurnalSports]

sure 6gb sdram works on imac 2008? please share sdram link to buy

[@UncletonyC]

Wait , I’m confused. How was Catalina installed after all that ? 🤔.

[@UncletonyC]

Nvm. I rewatched it Lol.

[@theartshow1476]

MTB Tony sorry I kind of just glossed over that part to keep the video from being annoyingly long. If you look up dosdude1 tutorial on KZbin you will find some great videos that will show you how I did that.

[@loganstarr5738]

This video was great! I was wondering what you bought for your upgrades. I’m looking to do something similar.

[@ClarkBeattie14]

Thanks a lot. Will it operate OS 10.14 Sonoma? I bought a mid 2007 imac 24" in 09.. added more RAM and an SSD drive 6 years ago and it was my "shop computer" for the last 6 years. It gets damp and the screen would get condensation. It still runs...these things are BEASTS. I recently brought it in and will be doing a re-upgrade with the CPU, up the RAM if possible. It also serves as a HAM radio receiver. Will it operate OS 10.14 Sonoma?

[@theartshow1476]

@@ClarkBeattie14 hrutkay mods I think was able to get Sanoma to run on one of these. Sanoma isn’t supported natively though so I’m sure it’s a bit of a process to do. Honestly, I’ve figured out that these older Mac’s absolutely kill it with linux installed. Especially if it’s just a shop computer. Also you can just skip the cpu swap if you decide to install Linux, because the cpu swap is only needed if you want to update to a more modern macOS, and doesn’t really give any noticeable performance gain. I don’t recommend patching newer macOS to older machines anymore because it really bogs them down performance wise. If you are willing to switch to other software for your needs, the best thing you can do for your iMac, is install an SSD, upgrade to max ram, and use a distro of Linux’s

[@dudleydiaz7432]

Hi, Tanks for the video, i have IMac 7,1 2007, is posible upgrade to Intel X7900, ande is better that T9500? Tanks

[@samuelshterenberg7809]

hey man do you have any idea if the owc mercury electra 3g is the same as the 6g? when i go on the owc website it says that the 3g is meant for mid 2007 imacs and when i look for the 6g it says for late 2009+ should i just stick with the 3g?

[@theartshow1476]

@@samuelshterenberg7809 6g is faster data transfer speeds. You can get the 6g owc ssd, in the 2007 iMac, but the 2007 won’t utilize the full 6g speeds. It would just run as if it’s a 3g ssd. So it would be a waste of money. Get a less expensive 3g ssd with more storage capacity. If your computer is 2009 or later, then get the 6g speed.

[@AsianFlex]

how did you get el crapitan to work last time I did that I had t completely reinstall macos x also can somebody pls try the core 2 extreme x9000 and 8gb ram?

[@theartshow1476]

Yup. That’s what you gotta do if you are on an older operating system. El Capitan is the latest os that this machine supports, so If your Mac is the same, you can get El Capitan right off of apples website I believe

[@RomanIDrozd]

Hi, thanks for video. Can You answer me (look on 9'30") why in window "About this mac" the processor is 700MHz Core 2 Duo? I have the same situation (I replaced my CPU to Intel T9500)... I don't understand why I don't see for example 2.6 GHz...?

[@theartshow1476]

It did this to me as well. It’s a glitch of some sort. After benchmarking, I found that the results showed that the processor was indeed running at its rated frequency, it just doesn’t show it in “about this Mac” I believe that 700 is the base frequency for each core. Something along those lines

[@bloodwashedsaint]

hey I have a iMac 2007 and wanna upgrade the hardware to ssd can you help me ?

[@enrikejs]

could you please specify the exact parts you used please?? no need for links

[@theartshow1476]

-Intel core 2 duo T 9500 cpu- -OWC SSD upgrade bundle for 2007 iMac- -OWC 6.0 GB ram kit (2 GB + 4 GB) for 2007 iMac-

[@theartshow1476]

Search those in amazon and look around. Prices change ALOT depending on availability.

[@enrikejs]

TheArtShow thanks

[@alainrouthier7264]

@@theartshow1476 ive bought one theres no card and no ssd

[@alainrouthier7264]

And theres wires that are kind of loose hope they can be fixed can i send you pictures of it I ve opened it

[@raman-ml5bz]

nice vid can you make more iMac 2007 vids ❤️

[@theartshow1476]

Ramanjeet Singh sure what would you like to see?

[@theartshow1476]

Imix Muan you got it

[@theartshow1476]

And thank you I appreciate that alot

[@alexren4252]

I have a 2008 Imac running OS captian, 4 gig ram and 250GB stroge with HDD, I really wants a upgrade like that but i doubt if i remove all that parts I could never putted it back agian...

[@theartshow1476]

Alex Ren don’t think like that! The trick is to have an adequate sized work space or desk to lay everything out in an organized fashion. Take pictures of each wire and where they go before you unplug it. Pay attention to where each screw goes, this is VERY important. Just take your time. This was the first time I’ve ever done anything like this by the way. I’m not an expert on this in any way. I just had to watch a TON of KZbin tutorials!!!

[@cinemediacombines1130]

Hi, sir good information in this video . How much experience for graphic card, ssd hard drive, my imac is 2010 24" 4 gm ram ddr3. I want to upgrade my imac.

[@Josiahp]

Nice video Bryan, and if your wondering how I know your name, It's Josiah.

[@theartshow1476]

Sperk 2244 thanks my man say hi to fam for me!!!!

[@Josiahp]

@@theartshow1476 everyone says hi.

[@stephanet7024]

Hello, I will try to upgrade my 2007 iMac using your video. I was thinking of putting an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000. Socket P and FSB 800. Do you think that's possible? bye

[@theartshow1476]

I’m honestly not sure, all I know is the t9500 I used in this video is the best one that’ll work with this specific model. You can find a list of compatible replacement CPU’s with a quick google search. Just search “2007 iMac compatible cpus”

[@Tecnowilmer]

Wow, this video is amazing, I have one question, is it necessary to upgrade my processor to use 6GB ram? Or just buy 3gb ram each and install them?

[@TheSteelCrown]

3gb ram sticks doesn't exist. You need 2gb and 4gb. For this machine I believe you have to get DDR2 and not DDR3.

[@theartshow1476]

This machine will utilize 6 gigs of ram in its stock configuration. TheSteelCrown is correct. You can order a 6 gig kit on amazon that comes with a 2 gig stick and 4 gig stick. Apple states that only 4 gigs will work, but that’s not true at all.

[@theartshow1476]

And thanks for the compliment!

[@mrrybicki]

This is epic. Need to cross this same bridge and may have some questions. Also I like your music track. Can a homie download it?

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you! I don’t have the track anymore! lol but feel free to screen record it if you want. I love answering questions

[@mrrybicki]

@@theartshow1476 SSD should be in today. Got the tools ready. Yeah man, I'll have questions. Also I'm building a 4 string bass to stay outta trouble. Any advice?

[@theartshow1476]

mrrybicki yes watch a bunch of stewmac videos on KZbin. Best Channel for guitar building and repairs hands down

[@mrrybicki]

Hey man, I need more music.

[@veronikanieves8699]

Do you have a list of parts I could have? I just got one of these for free. Also, I need a new screen. Where can I get one online for the best price?

[@dirarsaleh2849]

Dear sir. It's can work if i upgrade the CPU TO t 9500 and ssd hard and keep the ram 4gb only . Or i should upgrade the ram also . Thanks

[@theartshow1476]

Yes It’ll work without upgrading your ram.

[@rayonwilliamssportsandfun2106]

Don't have to mess around the heat sink if it was already working

[@theartshow1476]

I wanted to apply new thermal paste to the gpu while I was in there. Old paste gets hard and won’t transfer heat as well so I figured I’d do it while I had the machine apart. I’d recommend it to anyone who attempts this because these machines get hot.

[@Khmerlaptoprepair]

Good brother

[@davevillalta5269]

Hi, How you can access to recovery, I Have 2008 Imac but cant update because not see boot from USB, thank you.

[@theartshow1476]

Hold option key while the computer powers on and a list of the bootable drives connected to the Mac should appear

[@TheJokimazi]

Does it still work with the nevest update? I am thinking about flashing Linux on it but I am hesitant

[@theartshow1476]

Linux would probably turn this thing into a beast of an old computer.

[@PrincieSanchez]

What do you use for removing. Old thermal paste?

[@TheSolescope]

probably just a q-tip with some isopropyl

[@TienNguyen-bv1un]

I saw on other videos you can use q-tip and alcohol.

[@theartshow1476]

After a while, thermal paste will get a little hard. It’s actually easier to remove that way. New thermal paste is tacky, and may require isopropyl alcohol to clean properly. You can see in my video that a q tip made short work of the old hardened thermal paste, without using any type of solution to clean.

[@jerryibarra4737]

can you run high sierra on it?

[@theartshow1476]

Jerry Ibarra Sierra, high Sierra, and Catalina will all require the patcher tool to run on this machine.

[@JOHNDRLES]

I was using iMac 7.1 mostly with Window (Boot Camp). I found out now almost nothing works with Apple OS 10.5.8. Safari always hung. How to upgrade to El Capitan? Thanks

[@theartshow1476]

You should be able to visit apples website and upgrade for free to whichever is the latest OS your Mac will support. That’s how I upgraded to El Capitan.

[@ProactiveTechnical]

Is This Good For Video Editing in iMovie ? Should i Buy This Only For 1080P Video Editing in iMovie ?

[@theartshow1476]

Proactive Technical when it comes to video editing software honestly I’ve never once used I movie on a mac computer. Just my phone. I can tell you this, I have rendered up to 10 minute long videos with this machine on blender back when it had only 4 gigs ram and El Capitan. While it can take a few hours to render a video depending on its length, it will do it regardless. It’s been a joy to handle as far as actually editing in the softwares I use. I’d say it’s perfectly capable of Both music production and video editing, but don’t expect it to win any awards 😂

[@theartshow1476]

Also, if you buy one with the original HDD in it, it’s not going to be good for much of anything. You’ll have to put an ssd in it or it WILL be painfully slow. And imovie won’t run on El Capitan as it requires Os Sierra or later. You would have to upgrade the CPU like I did if your set on iMovie. So I can’t say I’d recommend buying one solely for that purpose unless you get a killer deal for it ( under 50 bucks would be a steal) and even then you still might have to open it up to replace the HDD. I’ve seen these on eBay not working for like 20 bucks and it’s usually just the HDD so if your down with opening it up then I’d look for something like that. El Capitan works great with 6 gigs of ram.

[@ProactiveTechnical]

TheArtShow is it Better Than Windows 10 i3 With 4GB Of RAM ?

[@theartshow1476]

@@ProactiveTechnical if you like using windows like I do yes. i3 is a newer processor so I would imagine it would perform better but 4 gigs of ram will hold you back almost indefinately if your trying to video edit on windows 10

[@theartshow1476]

Proactive Technical I’m sorry I read that wrong. Windows 10 doesn’t work very well on 4 gigs of ram in my experience. Mac OS seems to be optimized to run smoothly even with a low amount of ram. Hard to say which would be better without comparing directly side by side. 8 gigs ram with a core i3 on windows will get ya going for sure at a low price if you look around.

[@nikolaymarchenko8137]

Great ! Did you change Broadcom card as well ?or you have luck and your standard work on Catalina ?

[@theartshow1476]

Николай Марченко Mine worked just fine. I’ve heard of a problem where people can’t connect the WiFi after using the patcher tool to update to Catalina but I believe that has since been fixed

[@weatherman92k]

Couldn't tell if your iMac was glitching in the gameplay scene or if it was mine trying to keep up with KZbin :D What's your Wi-Fi chipset? I have a BCM43xx and am hoping I luck out as well. Thanks!

[@theartshow1476]

weatherman92k I have no idea xD I’ve heard of the WiFi issue and it wasn’t a problem for me. This was a pretty new experience for me so I didn’t read into it that much. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and sure as shit, my WiFi worked just fine after the modification. If there is a way to determine the WiFi chipset, lemme know and maybe I can shed some more info on it for ya

[@weatherman92k]

@@theartshow1476 Cool! Your video inspired me to finally go through with doing the upgrade, especially seeing Catalina run so well on it. Apple logo -> System Preferences -> System Report/Information Then under Network -> Wi-Fi it should provide details on the card BTW great music too! Reason is the place to be.

[@theartshow1476]

weatherman92k eeeey right on! Reason is awesome and I’m not even that good at it lol I’ll look that up for ya

[@weatherman92k]

@@theartshow1476 I performed the upgrade on my 2007 iMac, and I'm happy to report that Wi-Fi is working with my BCM 4321 chipset! Thanks for posting this video!

[@theartshow1476]

weatherman92k right on! Sorry I never got back to you on that lol but that’s kick ass! Was it a bitch to pull off for you like it was for me? 😂

[@Diesr]

I need some real good help im so confused my 2007 iMac won’t install El Capitan cuz it’s not avalible on AppStore anymore I can’t usb boot it doesn’t see my usb as bootable help

[@theartshow1476]

Can you still boot into the older OS? If not, try booting into recovery mode by holding command and the R key at the same time when you power up the computer. From there you can reinstall an OS . Once you can boot into Mac OS normally, you have to find the link for El Capitan on apples website via safari

[@Diesr]

The thing is it’s allready in recovery mode and I don’t know if the older os is still usable because El Capitan has to download from AppStore and that’s not avalible anymore I’ll see

[@theartshow1476]

@@Diesr like I said. You can still download El Capitan from apples website on safari. NOT the App Store. Good luck

[@christopherlaurama9197]

Any way you can drop the links of the places you brought the upgrades. I am looking to edit music videos and HD photos. I also have a 27in 1080p external monitor

[@theartshow1476]

I really can’t amazon always changes. Search owc iMac upgrades on amazon and you’ll find what you need. It’s actually pretty simple I promise.

[@leandrooliveiracruz]

Olá @TheArtShow tenho um modelo igual a esse A1224 Core 2 Duo, (4Ram 2solts de 2GB) É possível pra fazer esse upgrade de 6GB de RAM ? Obrigado!

[@angelotelesforomalaquias2874]

Sim. 4gb + 2gb. O meu ainda tá 2+2 mas vou ver se acho uma ram de 4gb.

[@leandrooliveiracruz]

@@angelotelesforomalaquias2874 obg pela dica, eu instalei 4Gb de RAM agora está funcionando normalmente com 2GB + 4GB Foi upgrade máximo pra essa máquina, infelizmente não aceitou 8GB de RAM

[@Sb-hj1om]

I just keep doing software updates is that good?

[@theartshow1476]

I remember having to wait through software updates for hours so yes lol

[@tonsofguns850]

Those 4 connectors from the board to the LED screen...are they universal or do they each have to go back into a specific plug?

[@theartshow1476]

I tried to label as many wires as I could so that they would all go right back where they belong. I’m honestly not sure. TAKE PICTURES!!! it helped me a lot

[@pillowpannts]

Deciding on using "Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900" vs "Intel Core 2 Duo t9500" CPU for 7.1 iMac upgrade. Any thoughts from anyone? X7900 has higher frequency 2.8 GHz vs t9500 2.6 Ghz, BUT t9500 has greater L2 cache of 6MB vs X7900 4MB. Overclocking is not intended. I can install either CPU so price not a hinderance. It is a hobbyist hackintosh running Windows 7 Pro so not too concerned about OSX or Linux flavor support. Happy modding to you all!

[@theartshow1476]

Not sure about the x7900, but the t9500 is penryn based which allowed me to utilize a newer operating system via the dosdude1 patch. But if you are running windows that probably isn’t even a problem for you. However, Performance wise I would say for windows the extra cache might do you good. Windows isn’t all that optimized very well for some of these older laptop cpus so the extra cache might benefit you. 2.8 ghz vs 2.6ghz just isn’t a very big difference.

[@pillowpannts]

@@theartshow1476 Thanks. I am thinking about an Intel Core 2 Duo t9550 unless the FSB on the iMac 7.1 is limited and has to be 800 MHz. The Intel t9550 is 1066 MHz not sure if that is supported or not. If it's not supported then I'll try the t9500. Presently system has an Intel Core 2 Duo t7700 inside, so either CPU is an upgrade if they are supported by the board

[@theartshow1476]

@@pillowpannts honestly as long as you swap the stock hard drive for an ssd, it’ll perform much better regardless of the cpu. Max out the ram and throw in a ssd and it’s still a very useable machine regardless of which OS you prefer.

[@WilliamJoseph2015]

@@pillowpannts I have the same cpu. On my mid 2007 iMac. The patcher won’t work for me. I will try a t9600 2.80 ghz. I think the t7 core duo is not compatible even tho it’s technically penryn too. Do you have any updates on your install?

[@pillowpannts]

@@WilliamJoseph2015 I actually decided to go with an Intel Core Duo t9300 CPU which was mentioned by others as significantly cheaper than the t9500 I had considered. I am on the iMac in question typing this out right now. I have 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM installed PC2-5300 speed. A 4GB module and a 2 GB module. My OS is Windows 7 Pro x64 and it is on a SATA SSD 1 TB size. It operates very well. I usually watch videos on it or I play 3.3.5 WoTLK on an Eastern Euro Server without graphical or processor bottle-necking. It can run X-com Enemy Unknown on medium settings and Fallout 3 / Fallout New Vegas GOTY also on medium settings very well. I also do a lot of emulation on it such as Redream, Dolphin, PCSX2, ePSXe, and PPSSPP without much issue beyond the software itself. I can say that this works completely. Now the early 2009 iMac model I just tried to work on after the 2007 project finished was much more of a headache. I tried installing an Intel QX9300 Quad core Penryn CPU on that 2009 iMac to replace its Duo Core Penryn CPU and although it fit into the slot perfectly the power supply unit was insufficient to use it. So that one is still running the 2.8 Ghz Duo Core CPU it came with and 8 GB of DDR3 RAM with Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on a 1 TB SATA SSD. I don't recommend Windows 8.1 or Windows 10/11 for either of these iMac models for anyone reading this, stay with Windows 7 x64 editions, considering the CPUs are Duo Core in both machines those newer mobile/touch focused OS run poorly on them. I am very happy with them and what they can do though especially with the emulator capacity they have. Good luck with your modding hope this helps you and others

[@krzysztofguranowski5850]

Hello. I Have This Model. If I Install T9500 How Install Catalina?

[@theartshow1476]

After installing the T9500, search for dosdude1 patcher tool tutorial on KZbin. There are many great tutorials on how to run the patcher tool. It’s honestly REALLY easy

[@adenwalter2209]

I’m receiving an iMac 2007 from my aunt and I’ve found all the parts for this that you used. I’m just not as knowledgeable as you to take apart and put all the parts in.

[@adenwalter2209]

I also want to use the computer for my graphics designing software, that’s why i think modernizing it would be good so it can run all my adobe things

[@theartshow1476]

Aden Walter honestly the cpu upgrade wasn’t that big of change. I only did that so I could install os Catalina. I would check to see if the programs you want to use will work on El Capitan, as the system seems to use less ram at idle with El Capitan and therefore programs like that will run much smoother. That way all you would have to do is install an ssd and upgrade to 6 gigs ram. The best thing you can do is change the hdd to an ssd and you won’t even believe how much faster that makes these 2007 iMacs!

[@adenwalter2209]

TheArtShow , so what your saying is all i would need to do is upgrade the ram, and ssd and i would be able to update it to the El Capitan OS and i can just download older versions of my software and it would work smoothly?

[@theartshow1476]

Aden Walter Yes! I still have an El Capitan boot drive on the ssd I pulled out. I can boot up from the internal Catalina drive to use modern features, or boot from my external Capitan drive to run the older softwares which seem to run smoother when it comes to video or audio editing softwares. Maybe they are more optimized because they are older? I’m honestly still learning myself.

[@theartshow1476]

Or it could be that El Capitan uses less ram to operate like I mentioned before, leaving more for programs to utilize.

[@bobbond8232]

Why did you clean up and reapply the thermal paste of the GPU if you did not change the GPU?

[@theartshow1476]

Because old thermal paste hardens over time and doesn’t transfer heat as well. I figured since I took the time to open this machine and remove the motherboard, I might as well apply some new thermal paste. Cuz trust me, this thing gets hot.

[@leighton7637]

Could you possibly go higher than a 250gb SSD if the option was available?

[@frankheyn6122]

Mine is running very well with a 500gb SSD. No problems.

[@juanaguado3451]

Hi!! I have an imac early 2008, and I have 2x2gb 667 of ram, if i put the same or more gb but with more MHz will it work or automatically limits to 667? If not, which is the best configuration that can accept? THX

[@theartshow1476]

Hello! I’m pretty sure the early 2008 can utilize pc2 6400 ddr2 ram up to 800 MHz speeds. And I believe you can get 4x2gb sticks for a total of 6 gigs of ram, just like I did in this video for my 2007 model, Even though Apple says it will only utilize 4 gigs of ram.

[@aldomarquez1552]

Great! Does it work on imac 2008 as well? I guess the socket of T9500 is 775 or did you have to modify something?

[@theartshow1476]

I don’t own a 2008 but I believe you can actually get even newer compatible cpus for that model. The T9500 is the latest cpu that my iMac will function with, but it isn’t the latest cpu for that socket type. if I’m not mistaken

[@ryanmozisek6464]

I’ve seen some people mention that they had to upgrade the wifi chip because wifi and bluetooth would not work. Did you have this issue?

[@theartshow1476]

Ryan Mozisek I did not have this issue.

[@locazho]

wy says 800mhz

[@karamiller5303]

Great video. Strange question: can I do the same type of upgrade for a mid-2006 iMac 4,1? My limited research shows that it'll only upgrade to a Core 2 Duo to run OS 10.7 Lion.

[@theartshow1476]

Kara Miller If I am not mistaken, your Mac has the see through outer shell? Which is the model before mine. If that is the case, you are absolutely correct, and the upgrade I did won’t be possible on your Mac.

[@eddiexavier2752]

your mac only suport "meron" 32bits cpu. Your bether choice is Windows 7

[@cako7139]

I also got a iMac from mid 2007 but how can i install El Capitan? Im a Noob when it comes to apple and the iMac is saying i got the newest Software already.

[@theartshow1476]

CAKO if you’re iMac is saying you have the latest os then you probably already have El Capitan. Just click on about this Mac under the Apple start button menu. It will display which operating system you are using

[@cako7139]

@@theartshow1476 thx but now its fine, i sold it.

[@oantalaroan]

Going forward, could you upgrade this iMac with newer MXM GPU?

[@theartshow1476]

I don’t believe you can but I may be wrong

[@kapzaicom]

for imac 2007 24" replace processot with 2.8 GHz Intel X7900 Core 2 Extreme, 44W draw. Better than T9500? can run on the catalina too?

[@theartshow1476]

T9500 is the best cpu that will work for 2007 iMacs. Anything after won’t work

[@kapzaicom]

@@theartshow1476 thank u very very much!

[@kapzaicom]

@@theartshow1476 Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 SLAQH SLAYX 2.6 GHz Dual-Core Dual-Thread CPU Processor 6M 35W Socket P. This is the only one available in my country, hope is the same.

[@theartshow1476]

@@kapzaicom as long as it’s the t9500 your good!

[@theartshow1476]

I bought my t9500 used and didn’t do much research so that should do it. But I’ve been wrong before 😂

[@gabrieleberti18]

Hello! Very nice video, I'm Gabriele from Italy and I've your same imac. I'm trying all you did in this video but can you tell me how you reinstalled the OS on the SSD? Because I want to swap from HDD to SSD but cloning with disk utility with "restore" option SSD got errors when I try to boot (no booting).. What have you done for making the new SSD bootable? Hope in your reply, thanks!

[@theartshow1476]

Gabriele Berti which version of OS you trying to run? I had to buy a physical copy of os lion or leapord or something. I forget which one specifically. Either way once I got the older os installed on the ssd I could go to apples website and upgrade to elcapitan for free. THEN, in order to upgrade to OS Catalina, I had to upgrade the cpu to a model that was penryn based, as demonstrated in this video. After that, you have to boot up in El Capitan again and go to dosdude1.com and download the patcher tool which will configure your Mac make it compatible with Sierra, high Sierra, and Catalina. You can find many tutorials on KZbin that will guide you through the patcher tool process. It’s not too hard, but can take hours of waiting. Which is why I didn’t include any footage. That and I was so tired after completing the project. The video doesn’t show it well, but the footage in this video was a small part of the 18 hours STRAIGHT it took me to complete.

[@gabrieleberti18]

@@theartshow1476 thanks for the fast reply! I've OSX 10.8, I've old grey CDs but I cannot install anything on the new SSD

[@gabrieleberti18]

The grey CD idk why the iMac doesn't reads them

[@theartshow1476]

Gabriele Berti does the original hard drive still work? If so, you may need to acquire an ssd to USB adapter so that you may use the disk partition to copy or move the os from the old drive to the ssd

[@gabrieleberti18]

@@theartshow1476 yes it's works and I've cloned the HDD on the SSD with disk utility, exactly with the option "restore"

[@cristianmorello131]

u are a boss

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you I try lol

[@bobbyaxe5028]

Could you just use external ssd drive? Or is there any way to do it without taking it apart?

[@theartshow1476]

You can. Data transfer speeds through usb are slow though.

[@bobbyaxe5028]

@theartshow1476 appreciate it , this is a whole situation over here ... the mac im working on is 10.6 snow lepord... no start up boot partions.... so gona try dvd with Linux or something of the sort....

[@smidon]

Great video, thank you so much. I have an early 2008 iMac, running 4Gb of 800 MHz RAM. Why buy a kit of a 2 and a 4 (making 6). Why not just buy the 4 and swap it for one of the existing 2s? And if that works, does it matter which one?

[@theartshow1476]

Thank you! Yes you could totally just swap out one 2gb for a 4gb stick instead of buying the kit. But I was surprised at how difficult it was to find just a single 4gb stick for sale. The kit was available on Amazon and came fast so I just bit the bullet for the sake of the video.

[@smidon]

@@theartshow1476 ah got it. Thank you. Cheers

[@375GTB]

The 4GB DIMM's are bloody EXPENSIVE! 2020 - Today! 2021 $45 < J.C.

[@7wojox7]

My base system 10.5.8. Very big problem install catalina. Mac 7.1 Penryn CPU T9300. All software not working on 10.5.8 I tried install first older system 10.6 or 10.7

[@theartshow1476]

Did you use the dosdude1 patcher tool? Or did you try the download it from apples website? You won’t be able to just upgrade to Catalina the normal way after upgrading the cpu. You have to use the patcher tool from dosdude1 website.

[@7wojox7]

@@theartshow1476 The utility from dosdude1 runs on 10.6 or higher. At 10.5.8, the icon is crossed out. For anything to work from dosdude1 there has to be a system, at least a snow leopard. And I can't install it in any way, neither the disc image nor the flash drive.

[@theartshow1476]

@@7wojox7 I see. What kind of hard drive do you have?

[@theartshow1476]

@@7wojox7 can you start up into the built in system recovery?

[@7wojox7]

@@theartshow1476 i have recovery disc. Only 10.5.8

[@alexiszurita4380]

hi, where do i buy T9500 core 2 duo? Thank you

[@theartshow1476]

I wish I had a good answer for you but right now, they seem to be extremely scarce and expensive. I bought mine from a third party seller on Amazon that pulled a bunch of them out of some old windows laptops, and was selling them used for 25 bucks a chip. With No guarantee that it would even work.

[@JJ-ns2ug]

The hard drive in my 2007 (7,1) iMac crashed. Should I just replace the hard drive (OWC 3G 1TB SSD)? Or, do you recommend that I upgrade to the T9500 core 2 duo with 6GB of DDR2 RAM?

[@theartshow1476]

Start with the hard drive and ram.

[@theartshow1476]

The cpu upgrade is only needed if you want to upgrade to any operating system past El Capitan. Replace the hard drive and max out ram and I’m sure you will be happy

[@marcelohiarmesgonzalez7136]

Can I put RAM DDR4 an iMac from Mid 2007??

[@theartshow1476]

Nope

[@gidiyongidi17]

Ram price???

[@theartshow1476]

Gidiyon Gidi I got the 6 gig kit for like 40 bucks on amazon but availability is always changing the price. I don’t think they even have the 6 gig kit in stock anymore but if you look around you can find the same stuff used for dirt cheap.

[@gidiyongidi17]

@@theartshow1476 one slot is 2gb & another slot have 4gb right?

[@theartshow1476]

Gidiyon Gidi yes exactly! Sorry for the late reply

[@TheShadyShanty]

I don't know if you'll get my comment but I have a chance to buy one of these for under 50 bucks about how much would it cost to have someone do the things you did because there's no way I'm gonna try. Lol. Thanks Taco Morocco

[@theartshow1476]

Even if you find a technician willing and able to do this, I don’t think the price would be worth it.

[@boldizsarhevizi8558]

Hey, I've also done this yesterday, and everything was working fine, except the mic (it's fine on el capitan), and the most frustating thing is none of my headset's mic would function on the mac. I've tried every solution, but none of them had worked for me. Did you have similar issues?

[@theartshow1476]

Do your speakers work?

[@theartshow1476]

You may want to go back in and make sure all wires are connected to their proper terminals. When I did this, I plugged the camera into the speaker terminal and vice versa, this resulted in all kinds of crazy audio issues. I had to open my Mac back up and fix that.

[@boldizsarhevizi8558]

Yeah, as I said really everything else works, the camera, speakers, leds, wifi, Bluetooth, but not the mic. Strange, bc today I reinstalled El Capitan, and it wouldn't work neither. The mic cable is plugged in, but I will just dissassemble it again. :c

[@keshawnvasu3160]

What did you upgrade your Video card to?

[@theartshow1476]

Nothing I was just replacing the old thermal paste

[@MultiErvel]

hello I would like to know if you can help me ... I have an Imac from 2007 - 7.1 my question is can the ram be expanded to 6 gb? I currently have 3gb of ram at 667mhz I understand that I can only expand up to 4gb at that speed. And the processor is a core 2 duo at 2 ghz, can it be changed? Greetings from Argentina.

[@theartshow1476]

Hello! Apple states that the 2007 iMacs like ours will only support 4 gigs of ram. This is NOT true. You can order a kit on amazon that comes with a stick of 2 gig ram and a stick of 4 gig ram. The system will recognize and utilize 6 gigs.

[@theartshow1476]

And the cpu can be changed as I demonstrated in this video. Only with certain other core 2 duo CPU’s. Not all core 2 duo CPU’s are built the same. The t 9500 core 2 duo is the best cpu that the 2007 iMac will support. That is what I installed on the imac in this video.

[@MultiErvel]

Thanks for answering my questions. I'll see how I get these components because here with customs restrictions, pc components are expensive and those that are old cost as much as the new ones. Thanks a lot!!!

[@emrehamza9356]

Hi. I’m from Turkey. I have a imac 2007 mac os 10.5.8 Can I upgrade my imac like you ? What do you think? Is it possible or not ? I will be glad if you inform me. Thank you. Have great day.

[@theartshow1476]

Emre Hamza if it’s a 2007 like mine yes! You should be able to upgrade it if you can find the parts

[@emrehamza9356]

Thank you

[@danielmoore1067]

Any problems with graphics acceleration after doing the upgrade? I see that dosdude1's tutorial advises against running Catalina without doing a GPU upgrade for full graphics acceleration, since it will result in poor performance. Thanks!

[@theartshow1476]

If I’m not mistaken, these macs came stock with two options for the graphics card. My Mac has the better of the 2 gpus which does not require swapping for Catalina. I’ve heard of the issue. I had none

[@danielmoore1067]

@@theartshow1476 Thanks so much. Would that card be the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB?

[@theartshow1476]

Daniel Moore yes that is the exact video card in my Mac. Sorry I should have just said that

[@danielmoore1067]

@@theartshow1476 No worries, thanks!

[@gilhernandez1020]

do you know if t9550 is compatible?

[@theartshow1476]

Pretty sure it is not

[@techitsriwichai7206]

hi how you fix gpu working

[@theartshow1476]

The gpu never stopped working.

[@Chaya451]

I question of setting problem with your iMac computer my name is Chaya

[@theartshow1476]

Hello! What is your question?

[@robcikt]

are there any better cpu or is this the best one as i want to use my 2007 imac for medium graphic games but also i dont want it to lag as much can any one recomend me a good and cheap cpu

[@theartshow1476]

This is the best cpu for this Mac

[@robcikt]

@@theartshow1476 is this the correct cpu as i dont want to get the wrong cpu can you pleas comfirm www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core-2-Duo-T9500-SLAYX-2-6Ghz-6M-800MHz-Socket-P-Mobile-CPU-Processor/191740146636?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144