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Hi, I’d like to upgrade my iMac to be able to handle Roblox and Fortnite better, but I need a game plan to break up the cost. So, what should I upgrade and what should I do first? I know RAM for sure will help, but I was also looking at upgrading the WiFi & Bluetooth, the CPU to i7, and upgrading to an SSD or maybe making it a dual. Does that sound ok? I’m nervous about missing auxiliary repairs or replacements, so is there anything I should be replacing with the upgrades I’ve mentioned or the ones you’d suggest? Like, should I replace all the fans as a precaution? My iMac does get pretty hot, but I think it’s because of the load my son puts on it with Roblox. He’s 13. I’m really quite flustered. I’d appreciate any help or recommendations. Thanks!
To start with there really is no WiFi or Bluetooth upgrade for your system: 802.11a/b/g/n & Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR as the interface is different for the newer systems. There was a point a few companies offered upgrade kits but that ship has sailed with an adapter and needed cables to convert things. The newer 2013 27” offered 802.11ac but this is the Phase-1 version & Bluetooth 4.0. It wasn’t until 2017 when Apple offered 802.11ac Phase-2 and Bluetooth 4.2 and it wasn’t until 2020 when they offered Bluetooth 5.0. Frankly its cheaper to just use Ethernet 10/100/1000BASE-T (RJ-45) connection either directly to your internet router or use an Ethernet to WiFi bridge to connect to your main routers AP if you don’t have a direct wire connection path. Your systems drive connections are limited to SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) drives. But jumping to even a 2.5” SATA SSD drive will get you much more performance either adding it as a second drive or swapping out your 3.5” HDD drive. iMac Intel 27" EMC 2429 Hard Drive ReplacementInstalling iMac Intel 27" EMC 2429 Dual Drive Kit (HDD or SSD) So the order I would do is first upgrade the RAM as that’s the easiest. Second I would upgrade the HDD or add in a SSD drive. Jumping to a i7 CPU is the most work and depending on the app may not get you that much performance unlike the RAM & Drive upgrades. Now the next thing is the consider how much this will cost and if you can find even a used newer system which already has what you want for CPU, RAM and drive. I would spend some time looking around a bit as you might be surprised what you can find. I helped a friend find a nice 2014 27” iMac for $500 which we added RAM and a PCIe/NVMe SSD pushing it to the max for $450 so it ended up cheaper than even what it was sold as new.
