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Model A1418 / Late 2012 / 2.7 & 2.9 GHz Core i5 or 3.1 GHz Core i7 Processor

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CPU Upgrade to i7-3770 or i7-3770S

Hi, I have a late 2012 21.5 iMac running the 2.7 Ghz i5. I'm planning on upgrading the CPU. Now, I know it is a lot of work, but I feel comfortable attempting it. I know the i7-3770S (3.1 Ghz, 65W TDP) was an bto option, so it should work (also confirmed in a thread I red here). Do you think the normal i7-3770 (3.4 Ghz, TDP 77W), which is far more common, would also work or does the Mac not boot up when it recognizes a different type of CPU (or TDP) than originally available for the machine ? Would be very grateful about an advice.

Also, I would have the option to get an i5-3570S (3.1 GHz, TDP 65W) for a very good price, so it would definitely be interesting to know if only CPUs used by the manufacturer, only CPUs with the same TDP or all CPUs of the same socket work?

I read on another forum that people successfully upgraded their 2011 21.5 iMacs to i7-2600(K) CPUs...so many things to consider :D

Answer this question I have this problem too

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I'm really starting to wonder why there are so many myths about working on the iMac and so few people with the balls to just give it a shot. It's not some magical box, it's just a computer after all...

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I won't say myths. The iMac's are more like a laptop than a true desktop system so they tend to be harder to open and more work to gain access to some stuff. The newer Thin Series are more work and just fragile if you don't watch what you are doing. The risk of damaging the display assembly is very real and a very expensive mistake.

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Apple's design team did not put repairability as one of their top five goals. They put ease in manufacturing & costs after running quiet (Steve's bug a boo), looking cool & performance.

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First, the amount of processing gain is not that much here. A lot of work, cost & risk of damage for so little gain.

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Thank you for your answer. However, I'm sorry to say, but this is simply wrong. The late 2012 21.5 iMacs have a normal socket and not soldered CPUs. Look at the iFixit teardown and there even is a manual on how to replace the CPU... (You can even see it on the picture you attached. The CPU sits on the left side, under the heatsink and is secured in its socket by four screws holding the heatsink down. What you referred to as soldered chip is on the right hand side. But that's the Nvidia GPU, GT640/650M, which are indeed soldered onto the logic board).

The 2013 models on the other hand have soldered CPUs. I'm familiar with the specs of my machine ;)

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Your right! I messed up! It's the 2013 models on forward that don't have a removable CPU (Haswell). I guess I needed that second cup of Joe this morning. Sorry for the confusion on that point. I still don't think its much of a gain.

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If you do this stick with the lower TDP i7 chip. Going to another i5 I think is a waste here.

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No worries, I'm thankful that you at least bothered to read the question and reply ;) Since I think no one tried yet, I will try to get a hold on the i7 3770 and i5 3570S, since I'm fairly certain the i7 3770S would work anyways, and I will just give it a shot. I'm curious to see what happens.

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I know the gain wouldn't be huge, but since I'm running some very CPU intensive programs I'm happy about any gain I can get.

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If you are looking for a speed bump, I think you would be much happier upgrading the hard drive to an SSHD or SSD. You'll get a lot more bang for the buck than a CPU upgrade. If you are interested we cn give you some options and also how to address the thermal sensor issue that comes with it.

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I upgraded to an SSD on this exact machine. It’s the base late 2012 21.5” iMac, and I never put in a thermal sensor. iMac is whisper quiet without the thermal sensor. Not sure why everyone says I need one to upgrade when it’s perfectly normal without one . I’d love to know what I’m missing here.

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Me too, Eddie. Folk are referring to the old 2011 units which did have a thermal sensor cable: but besides, there are a variety of free fan controller softwares out there, and too the SSD doesn't sweat it and get hot like the old HDD. There's not even a lead for a thermal HDD sensor in the 2012s anyway!

I've upgraded loads of the thin iMacs 2012 onwards to SSD and to be honest you need to be no more or less careful than you needed to be with the previous models. Just use a good-quality 'pizza-cutter' wheel to open it up and good quality strips to seal it with. Sure, you do have to take care with the video and power cables but they are no more or less delicate that the video cable on the old unit. I didn't bother trying to squeeze the SSD back into that rubber surround as it doesn't need any shock-proofing,..

Continuing in next comment...

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continuing from last comment:

I just used good-quality double sided sticky pads. No need to take the speaker out beside the HDD location either, you can use a piece of bent steel to tuck in behind the SATA cable to persuade it back onto the SSD.

I've upgraded the iMac 2012 to the i7 3770S without any issue. Good fun, not that difficult. Nice to have accomplished. Sure it's not *that* much faster, but once to know I've upgraded it to i7 for a lot less than Apple would have charged for it when new. You can add RAM while the board is out...

Good luck and have fun. Don't do anything daft and you can enjoy getting more proficient. I did. Gives you more confidence to push the envelope of what you thought you might not be able to do.

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https://youtu.be/7xPOlV53ujo

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Regarding that YT video - yes he showed it is working - BUT - why did he NOT show it under FULL CPU and GPU load + maximum brightness with EVERYTHING on (BT WiFi etc.) - I talk about PSU capability.

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Daniel will be eternally grateful.
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