What would you do with a late 2013 iMac i7 ?

nitro1471

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I have a late 2013 27" iMac 3.5 i7 with 32gb ram, 4gb Video ram and 3TB fusion drive.
On Saturday I switched it on to find the dreaded No Entry Sign, having tried all the Apple suggestions it seems the Fusion drive has failed, I have re installed the OS on the only drive showing which is the 121gb Flash drive.
Fortunately all my data was backed up to iCloud and Time Capsule.
So would you:
1. Sell as is
2. Pay Mac Upgrades to supply & fit a new SSD Drive (ie Samsung 870 Evo SSD) for £262 + shipping back and forth
3. Buy a Thunderbolt enclosure and SSD (probably somewhere in the region of £120 +

I have now replaced the above with a later model, so only looking to sell on, but which option do you think would make it easier to sell.
Look forward to your ideas :)
 
Have you got a feel for it's value 2nd hand. I know it's not really directly comparable but I recently bought a similar age i7 MacBook Pro with 16GB and a 1TB SSD for 300 quid so even on a good day I suspect the SSD upgrade to be quite propertion of a likely selling price.
Can a 2013 iMac run Big Sur or is it stuck on Catalina?
 
They are a pain to get the screen adhesive off without breaking the screen, to then get in and replace the drive. Check out the repair guide on ifixit.com for replacing the “Blade SSD”. OWC make replacements or you can get a m.2 drive and adapter board to go in and have pure SSD storage. Minimum size is 256GB I would say for running a pure SSD.

If it all sounds like too much hard work. Take it to a repair or upgrade place.
 
Send it to me and I’ll fix it and keep it 🤣🤣🤣
Lol, postage would be in the region of £650 + :D:D:D
Have you got a feel for it's value 2nd hand. I know it's not really directly comparable but I recently bought a similar age i7 MacBook Pro with 16GB and a 1TB SSD for 300 quid so even on a good day I suspect the SSD upgrade to be quite propertion of a likely selling price.
Can a 2013 iMac run Big Sur or is it stuck on Catalina?
Having had a look at previous sales on here and eBay, they seem to sell for around £650-750 +
They are a pain to get the screen adhesive off without breaking the screen, to then get in and replace the drive. Check out the repair guide on ifixit.com for replacing the “Blade SSD”. OWC make replacements or you can get a m.2 drive and adapter board to go in and have pure SSD storage. Minimum size is 256GB I would say for running a pure SSD.

If it all sounds like too much hard work. Take it to a repair or upgrade place.
Yes I watched the video, not something I would want to attempt though, so may go via Mac Upgrades, just wondered whether to sell for less as is or pay and have a faster SSD installed.
Yes it can run latest Big Sur. But that will be the last OS Apple support for it.
No it won't run Big Sur without some sort of aftermarket patch which I have read can make it unstable, so Catalina is the last OS update. The other other reason I wanted to upgrade any way, so have gone for 27" iMac 4.2 with 64gb ram 4gb Video and 1 TB hard drive + external 1TB SSD
 
I've done a couple of iMac upgrades recently, removing the screen, reapplying the adhesive etc. It really isn't as difficult or as risky as some make out. You can buy the adhesive strips and pizza wheel cutter on Amazon for under £20. Just take your time and its fine, especially with all the videos available showing detailed steps.

I guess just weigh up this cost and how comfortable you feel doing it vs the cost of a third party doing it.
 
If you do go down the cross yourself and pray upgrade route then have a look for Hugh Jeffreys on YouTube, very useful resource 👍
 
No big deal not running big sur as it's never seams to install on my 2019 Mac, so it's going to be unstable for you!
I would fix it, and if you don't want to , I would offer you money and do so.
 
Thanks guys, out of interest what do you think it is worth as is, so all working ok apart from the fusion. drive, the flash drive works fine. No damage or dead pixels to screen, just a light marks around the USB ports on the back, would come complete with Apple Magic Mouse 2 & Apple Keyboard 2 and with the original box.
 
My preference would be to sell it on because a MacMini with a (now end-of-line) Apple Cinema LED monitor is a more flexible setup. This monitor has built-in microphone and camera and therefore aesthetically, it resembles the iMac.
 
My preference would be to sell it on because a MacMini with a (now end-of-line) Apple Cinema LED monitor is a more flexible setup. This monitor has built-in microphone and camera and therefore aesthetically, it resembles the iMac.
I nearly bought a 27" Thunderbolt Display last week for this exact reason. Still looks nice, has decent speakers, webcam and obviously has a nice, Mac-compatible native resolution.
 
I’m in a similar boat. Been running my iMac from external SSD drives for a couple of years due to fusion drive death. I’ve bought an internal SSD kit to fit and intend on doing this in the coming weeks all being well - in an ideal world Apple will reveal new AS iMacs this week and I can get one of those up and running and sell the Intel - unless I decide to hang on to it for more mundane tasks that is (it’s the 4GHz i7 quad core version with upgraded graphics card so still very useable). I currently pair it with an Apple Thunderbolt Display and it does look good.
 
I’m in a similar boat. Been running my iMac from external SSD drives for a couple of years due to fusion drive death. I’ve bought an internal SSD kit to fit and intend on doing this in the coming weeks all being well - in an ideal world Apple will reveal new AS iMacs this week and I can get one of those up and running and sell the Intel - unless I decide to hang on to it for more mundane tasks that is (it’s the 4GHz i7 quad core version with upgraded graphics card so still very useable). I currently pair it with an Apple Thunderbolt Display and it does look good.

How do you fancy replacing my failed fusion drive with an SSD for me :thumbsup:
 
;) knowing my luck I’d trash it. Lol. Am wary of even doing mine, but gonna do it when I have a spare Mac just in case the worst happens.
 
Just an update for those who are in the same boat, got a quote from Authorised Apple Repairer to replace the fusion drive which came out at £236 inc which was £40 diagnostic and £196 to replace Fusion Drive with an Apple supplied 1TB SSD. Expect to pick it up tomorrow and will then put up for sale as I bought a late 2017 iMac i7 to replace it.
 
Just an update for those who are in the same boat, got a quote from Authorised Apple Repairer to replace the fusion drive which came out at £236 inc which was £40 diagnostic and £196 to replace Fusion Drive with an Apple supplied 1TB SSD. Expect to pick it up tomorrow and will then put up for sale as I bought a late 2017 iMac i7 to replace it.
Academic now but just dredging up this thread to say that another option for an old 27" iMac is to use just the display. If the 2013 model has the same feature as the 2009 one that is still going strong in our lounge then it is possible to use it as a Thunderbolt Display to another Mac e.g. a Mac mini. So, velcro'ing a Mac mini to the rear is a way of bringing the computer up to date ! Although I change my main Mac virtually every year I have resisted replacing our lounge computer because I so like the display even though it is so old. The main user is my wife who is quite happy running High Sierra.
 

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