Today I still use my 2017 5k i7 iMac with 64gb ram and 1TB NVmE SSD & I upgraded it with an additional 2TB SATA SSD (replaced the 2TB Fusion Drive). It still works great. Fast enough for my use. I edit photos & edit video shot on Canon R6ii (4K 60) & Canon EOS R. Though I have to transcode the R6ii footage to proxies it’s still fast transcoding to H.264 to edit my R6ii footage smoothly cuz of the quick sync. I timed it last time I shot 57 minutes of 4K 60 footage It takes about 5-6 min to transcode to H.264. Though it does take much longer to transcode to Pro Res. I will upgrade to Apple silicon when this iMac dies on me 😆 I had my iMac for 7 years now.
@@06Deuce Ram upgrade is super easy on 2017 iMac (3.5 and above processor can be upgraded to 64gb) the compartment at the back just pops out. I got mine off Amazon to upgrade from 32gb to 64gb. Making an external SSD boot drive is easier than the process of doing an internal upgrade. I have done both. You just have to be patient and careful with the screen if doing an internal upgrade which I wasn’t with my 2014 iMac and cracked the screen!
This is one of the last Mac's that can be internally upgraded. I upgraded the processor from an Intel i5 to an i7 and also upgraded the internal blade drive to a 1 GB NVME and swapped out the HD for a 1 GB SATA Drive, which allows me to have two separate operating systems if needed...excellent machine
Good to hear. I Just purchases a refurbished 27 inch iMac 2017 eBay for $400 Us i5, 3.8, 16gb memory. Think I will boot off an external Thunderbolt SSD rather than do an internal upgrade, (upgrading to 64gb ram will be easy). Did you find a big difference going from i5 to i7?
I got one week ago imac 5k 2017 with 32 ddr4 and 4gb graphics, everything is awesome on monterey, i use as studio machine. Is it difficult to upgrade to an i7 and is it worth it? Biggest issue in 2024 is Fusion Drive HDD, and I can’t upgrade it without service, that’s why I see as solution to get samsung ssd, upload there the mac os and to use it via thunderbolt!
@@Adyler_Crawly There was a slight performance increase, but if you have not done this before, I don't know if I would recommend it..Yes, I installed Ventura on an external NVME drive and can boot from it externally via thunderbolt..
@@melchora7 update: ebay seller gave me an 2017 iMac with a processor lower than advertised! i sent it back because 2017 imac i5 lower than 3.8 can’t be upgraded to ram with 64gb and an i7 processor. All the hassle worked in my favour because i ended getting an imac 2017 I7 processor off the same seller Extra $200. Just upgraded it with 64gig ram and this machine is now flying compared to my 2014 imac. I’m using a OWC thunderbolt external SSD 2TB as my boot drive and no issues. Made a big difference for me working with load times with orchestral samples and polyphony increase (amount of notes) without audio dropping out. The OWC SSD is faster than my Samsung T7 SSD’s which have been good and reliable.
Just got the intel 4ghz quad 27". Cloned my Majave OS with all installed applications from my mac mini 2ghz using carbon copy cloner to a 2TB SSD external, popped it in imac 27" and booted perfectly. The network automatically renamed the new 27 mac mini 2 on the network.
If you don't need commercial software, Ubuntu, Fedora BSD etc. will run just fine. I'm getting imac, mini near fire sale prices because mac OS support went away.
That seems to run on android, so probably not on the desktop anyhow. Commercial applications in this context are Adobe, WordPerfect, Goldwave etc. Some older versions can be made to run, but they're not built for Debian etc.
I’m writing a novel, and I’m tired of using my phone and iPad lol I would just be using living writer and scrivener. This would be a great option for that yeah?
@@Eeveewashere on imac intel 2017 27 inch. The App Store doesn’t have the same apps on there iPhones does. For example the mac doesn’t have the FanDuel app
Thanks for the video. It’s still a great .Mac Im using in my free time. Is it possible to use this iMac as a monitor with a dell laptop I’m using for work reasons? And if yes, who would I do that please?
Today I still use my 2017 5k i7 iMac with 64gb ram and 1TB NVmE SSD & I upgraded it with an additional 2TB SATA SSD (replaced the 2TB Fusion Drive). It still works great. Fast enough for my use. I edit photos & edit video shot on Canon R6ii (4K 60) & Canon EOS R. Though I have to transcode the R6ii footage to proxies it’s still fast transcoding to H.264 to edit my R6ii footage smoothly cuz of the quick sync. I timed it last time I shot 57 minutes of 4K 60 footage It takes about 5-6 min to transcode to H.264. Though it does take much longer to transcode to Pro Res. I will upgrade to Apple silicon when this iMac dies on me 😆 I had my iMac for 7 years now.
How difficult is it to upgrade the ram and SSD?
@@06Deuce Ram upgrade is super easy on 2017 iMac (3.5 and above processor can be upgraded to 64gb) the compartment at the back just pops out. I got mine off Amazon to upgrade from 32gb to 64gb. Making an external SSD boot drive is easier than the process of doing an internal upgrade. I have done both. You just have to be patient and careful with the screen if doing an internal upgrade which I wasn’t with my 2014 iMac and cracked the screen!
This is one of the last Mac's that can be internally upgraded. I upgraded the processor from an Intel i5 to an i7 and also upgraded the internal blade drive to a 1 GB NVME and swapped out the HD for a 1 GB SATA Drive, which allows me to have two separate operating systems if needed...excellent machine
Good to hear. I Just purchases a refurbished 27 inch iMac 2017 eBay for $400 Us i5, 3.8, 16gb memory. Think I will boot off an external Thunderbolt SSD rather than do an internal upgrade, (upgrading to 64gb ram will be easy). Did you find a big difference going from i5 to i7?
I got one week ago imac 5k 2017 with 32 ddr4 and 4gb graphics, everything is awesome on monterey, i use as studio machine. Is it difficult to upgrade to an i7 and is it worth it?
Biggest issue in 2024 is Fusion Drive HDD, and I can’t upgrade it without service, that’s why I see as solution to get samsung ssd, upload there the mac os and to use it via thunderbolt!
@@Adyler_Crawly There was a slight performance increase, but if you have not done this before, I don't know if I would recommend it..Yes, I installed Ventura on an external NVME drive and can boot from it externally via thunderbolt..
@@melchora7 update: ebay seller gave me an 2017 iMac with a processor lower than advertised! i sent it back because 2017 imac i5 lower than 3.8 can’t be upgraded to ram with 64gb and an i7 processor.
All the hassle worked in my favour because i ended getting an imac 2017 I7 processor off the same seller Extra $200. Just upgraded it with 64gig ram and this machine is now flying compared to my 2014 imac. I’m using a OWC thunderbolt external SSD 2TB as my boot drive and no issues. Made a big difference for me working with load times with orchestral samples and polyphony increase (amount of notes) without audio dropping out. The OWC SSD is faster than my Samsung T7 SSD’s which have been good and reliable.
Just got the intel 4ghz quad 27". Cloned my Majave OS with all installed applications from my mac mini 2ghz using carbon copy cloner to a 2TB SSD external, popped it in imac 27" and booted perfectly. The network automatically renamed the new 27 mac mini 2 on the network.
Display-wise alone, buying one of these is worth it.
If you don't need commercial software, Ubuntu, Fedora BSD etc. will run just fine. I'm getting imac, mini near fire sale prices because mac OS support went away.
Is FanDuel app commercial software?
That seems to run on android, so probably not on the desktop anyhow. Commercial applications in this context are Adobe, WordPerfect, Goldwave etc. Some older versions can be made to run, but they're not built for Debian etc.
I’m writing a novel, and I’m tired of using my phone and iPad lol I would just be using living writer and scrivener. This would be a great option for that yeah?
Is it wrong that I wish I could watch tv on these beautiful mac screens?
How come you can’t connect your phone or download the Netflix app
I’m pretty sure the 27” LG Ultrafine 5k display is the same thing
You can watch tv on your web browsers only.
@@doffydonquixte Do you mean like AirPlaying from my newish iPad to the 2017 iMac and would the Netflix app on the iPad support that?
@@Eeveewashere on imac intel 2017 27 inch. The App Store doesn’t have the same apps on there iPhones does. For example the mac doesn’t have the FanDuel app
Thanks for the video. It’s still a great .Mac Im using in my free time. Is it possible to use this iMac as a monitor with a dell laptop I’m using for work reasons? And if yes, who would I do that please?
Apple has turned off Target Mode on iMac and we cannot use it as a 2nd monitor.
I use mine as a display to play xbox 360 games. Hdmi out to video capture card to imac thunderbolt. Workaround.
can these iMacs be updates to 10.3? if so how?
they can run the current software with opencore legacy patcher (if you didn't already know)
@@CIays I am having Ventural 13.7 on this iMac 2017 5k
Have you increased the speed on this vid 😂
What update now this..
Play games primaron mine windows 10 on bootcamp. Steam is my friend. Lol
First comment:)