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This teardown is not a repair guide. To repair your iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639, use our service manual.

  1. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown, iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 1, image 1 of 1
    • Externally, the iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 looks identical to the previous generation, but the interior specs have been upgraded:

    • 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache

    • NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

    • 802.11ac Wi-Fi

    • PCIe flash SSD available

    great job!! thankx alot but i want to know if i can upgrade my vcar to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4 gigs memory mine is 2 gigs any advice or how to do it plz?!

    gforceemas - Reply

    Hi, Do you now if is possible change the thunderbolt port? for this mac

    27-inch, Late 2012 (Model A1419)

    Procesador 3,4 GHz Intel Core i7

    Memoria 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

    Gráficos NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 1024 MB

    Número de serie D25L71B2DNMP

    Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F37)

    Model A1419

    Cesar - Reply

  2. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 2, image 1 of 3 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 2, image 2 of 3 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 2, image 3 of 3
    Tool used on this step:
    iMac Opening Wheel
    $7.99
    Buy
  3. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 3, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 3, image 2 of 2
    • The AirPort/Bluetooth card, conforming to the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, still clings to the back of the logic board — making replacement no easier than before.

    • Not the first Mac to get updated with the new ac standard, we expected to see some similar hardware as in the refreshed MacBook Airs from earlier this year.

    • Chips off the old new block:

    • Broadcom BCM4360KML1G 5G WiFi 3-Stream 802.11ac Gigabit Transceiver—as expected, this is the same chip driving the ac Wi-Fi in the 11" and 13" MacBook Air

    • Skyworks SE5516 Dual-Band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN Front-End Module

    • Broadcom BCM20702 Single-Chip Bluetooth 4.0 HCI Solution with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Support

    Replaceable Wifi card is excellent news. Question: is it possible to upgrade the WiFi card to 'ac' in previous Late 2012 iMac? If so, where can I buy that part?

    fallenartist - Reply

  4. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 4, image 1 of 1
    • As is now standard across all new iMacs, the new iMac 27" features support for PCIe-based flash storage. This is a pleasant surprise compared to last year's 21.5" model, when we were left sorely disappointed by unpopulated solder pads on our low-end logic board.

    • According to Apple, the inclusion of PCIe flash storage allows for up to 50 percent faster speeds than the previous generation.

    • The Fusion Drive option combines the large storage capacity of a hard drive with the high performance of flash to deliver shorter boot times and faster access to apps and files.

    i jst want to know if i can upgrade my graphics card to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4 g.b memory,, is i ?!

    gforceemas - Reply

    I would like to know, do they sell a ssd that can fit in that slot in step 4.

    Is it m.2 or mSata?

    Where can I purchase the SSD to utilize that slot?

    Theo Kieu - Reply

  5. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 5, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 5, image 2 of 2
    • Apple's iMac refresh included some sneaky changes to the 21.5" model, and we were more than a little perturbed to discover a soldered CPU.

    • Thankfully, its 27" big brother was saved from the same fate, and power users will still be able to upgrade their processor without a reflow oven.

    I've never heard of anyone buying a Mac expecting to upgrade the CPU (or ever having to replace one).

    Scott Adams - Reply

    Not to mention that the reason the CPU is soldered in the 21.5" iMac is because it's the only formfactor Intel sells the CPU in with the Iris Pro graphics. You CANNOT get that chip with a socket. No way, no how.

    Given this iMac does not need the Intel graphics, Apple went with the traditional socketed design.

    Blame Intel for that one, not Apple.

    (Though I agree - do people really upgrade their CPUs? Short of enthusiasts who upgrade every 6 months (who would never buy an iMac anyways...), by the time one finds the CPU too slow, it's time to upgrade the entire machine anyhow. Even on a PC you'd probably have to replace the motherboard, so soldered or not...).

    Worf - Reply

    Do we know which i7 they're using in the 27"?

    Daniel Gray - Reply

    can i put this wifi card in my 2010 imac 27 i7 2.93 ghz?

    jess - Reply

    I've done it before. If you're happy with the shell it's a great way to spend 10% of a computer's replacement cost and still enjoy a generational leap forward in performance. Made my G4 last 10 years that way through RAM, Graphics Card and Processor upgrades. This is the same thing. I bought a Haswell iMac 27 only because the screen is so much better than my iMac 24. Otherwise I would have figured out a way to stretch my $2400 investment from 2008. Did the same with a Macintosh Plus too. Well a 2 Mb upgrade and cutting the 256k resister. Still. I've always enjoyed messing with out of the box items.

    Mike - Reply

  6. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 6, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 6, image 2 of 2
    • Heavy-weight ICs:

    • 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor

    • Intel platform controller hub

    • As advertised, the iMac 27" now sports a fancy new graphics processor:

    • NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M GPU

    • Four SK hynix H5GQ2H24AFR 256 MB GDDR5 SGRAM ICs make up the 1 GB of graphics RAM

    Good day!

    Is there any information about which exactly north bridge is installed on this model (ref to: Intel platform controller hub)?

    Today I got my iMac 1419 from non-official service and noticeably work slower and image update very slow on the screen compared to late 2011 iMac sending next to this one.

    Sergey - Reply

    Hola Tocayo, excelente explicación pero me podrìas orientar de como quitar el CPU, lo quiero actualizar a un core i7, gracias

    Javier AGUILAR - Reply

  7. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 7, image 1 of 1
    • The B-side of our IC record:

    • NXP ARM7TDMI-S based Microcontroller

    • Analog Devices SSM3302 audio amplifier

    • Cirrus Logic 4206BCNZ audio controller, the same chip as found in last year's 21.5"

    • Vimicro VC0359 webcam processor

    • Broadcom BCM57765A1KMLG gigabit ethernet controller with integrated SDXC card reader

    • Intel DSL3510L Cactus Ridge Thunderbolt controller

  8. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 8, image 1 of 2 iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Teardown: step 8, image 2 of 2
    • iMac 27" EMC 2639 Repairability Score: 5 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

    • RAM is user-replaceable without opening the case, thanks to the rear access door.

    • You can still replace the hard drive and CPU inside this machine, albeit with some adhesive cutting.

    • Components are modular and fairly easy to remove.

    • Budget-minded folks now can add a second hard drive to the base iMac because the Fusion Drive connector is no longer missing from the logic board.

    • The glass and LCD are fused together, and there are no more magnets holding the glass in place.

    • You'll have to masterfully peel off the old double-sided sticky tape and apply new tape in order to reseal this iMac into original condition.

22 Comments

You forget to mention *HOW* one should mount an extra SSD in the new port.

Do we need to remove the LCD panel or is there a slot you can access through the back, like with RAM?

Christian Bille - Reply

You'll need to remove the LCD and dig your way inside.

Miroslav Djuric -

On the BTO "SSD flash memory only model", is the SSD connected to the rear PCIe port leaving an empty SATA port? So someone could add an additional SATA drive?

Thx

Matthias Gasser - Reply

I am also looking for the same info. Anybody has an ans?

imacsps -

Is the Thunderbolt port "Redwood Ridge", ie. DisplayPort 1.2 capable?

Robert Le - Reply

Thanks for the tear-down...very nice as usual.

I'm glad we can still easily upgrade RAM on the 27" iMac. I would still like to be able to easily upgrade the HDD and/or SSD though - especially as SSDs get cheaper.

Scott Adams - Reply

What we be required to install a second drive? I would like to keep the stock 1tb hdd and add a Samsung S30 SSD.

John - Reply

Has discover how to add a second drive? thanks

janomixchile -

Do you think the cooling would support a 3 or 4TB hard drive and a 256 or 512GB SSD?

FredR - Reply

1) In order to "upgrade" the CPU, would you just "pop out" the current i5/i7 and plop a new one in? Are some not going to work? Would you need to do any software upgrades, etc.?

2) Same sort of question regarding the fusion drive slot. Would this only work with an apple fusion flash drive? could you just plop in a samsung, etc SSD? Any max for storage space?

Ali Maadelat - Reply

There is no "popping out or plopping in" a replacement processor in this or any other iMac, save for some of the earliest G3 and G4 machines. If you're going to upgrade your processor then plan on replacing the mother board complete, and then only the particular board that fit into the same model machine. This is the only way an upgrade can be achieved without a lot of 'board level' experience, the sort that won't be addressed here. Popping and plopping is saved only for various PC variants but then we don't see much in the way of generic and mundane in the Mac world.

Eric Haulenbeek -

Ok just tore mine down thinking I could easily add a SSD drive to my 1TB sata setup. NOT. There is NO additional SATA port and the one that's on the MOBO is proprietary to Apple. So unless you have a converter that can adapt a STANDARD sata cable and power, then adding your own "Fusion Drive" setup is not going to happen. However, if you bought the SSD model then you can add the additional HDD but would still need to split power from their proprietary power cable. UGH.

Michael Ybarra - Reply

Is the GPU upgradeable? Can I swap a GeForce GTX 780m for the base 755m card?

California Aggie - Reply

Does the fusion drive have a PCIe SSD and a standard sata HD or is it a special drive? Can it be splitted into two individual drives again?

Thomas Mosch - Reply

This information is wrong. If you order the iMac with a fusion drive then the logic board has an SSD slot. If you don't order it with a fusion drive, it doesn't have that slot. Please correct your article.

Thor - Reply

Eric Haulenbeek.... I just hate it when people spout off things as if they were gospel when they have no friggin' idea what they're talking about. Case in point: your assertion that you can't upgrade the CPU in these Macs without board level tweaking. Utter nonsense! Pick a CPU that will fit the same socket and TDP and you're in business. To be safe, you should pick a CPU that Apple has already installed in the same model so that the firmware will support it. For example, you could replace the 3.2GHz Core i5 4570 with the 3.5GHz Core i7 4771. Whether this would be an economically wise course of action is another question.

Lxixboss - Reply

Is it possible to install 2 ssd in raid 0 in a imac 27" late 2013. I have the one that comes with 1tb of hdd.

gera07 - Reply

I have a mid 2010 iMac 27, containing internally a 2TB conventional hard drive, and 240Gig SSD drive replacing the DVD drive. I’ve been offered an iMac 27 late 2013. Is there merit in swapping into it the 2TB and SSD drives from my 2010 model. Is there room and connectors to make this possible? Thoughts of others?

Regards,

Terry

Terry Smythe - Reply

It’s been a year since you wrote this… great time to use a Big Sur hack… the 2013 I just acquired doesn’t have a SATA port installed. But Amazon and eBay had one. Pull the logic board and hook it up. Then enjoy the extra data connection. Nvme to apple SSD adapter works with no sleep wake issues.

Pete Karnowski -

Did a CPU swap to a Xeon 1231 v3… thus far it will not POST or turn on. It leads me to believe/hope I didn’t connect the power supply well. I’m a little exhausted this was a rigorous job, tomorrow is another day. Insights welcome until then.

Pete Karnowski - Reply

Got back in, bent some CPU pins…. daintily put them back. Go for boot. Recommendation remove the plastic ram cage and start reattaching the CPU from the side closest to the edge. I can’t confirm the Xeon didn’t work, I didn’t see a point in testing too variables for repair and another surgery afterwards.

Pete Karnowski -

Rather than change parts and replace thermal paste to the heatsink and CPU, can I buy a new logic board?

David Taylor - Reply

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