Breathe new life into an old Intel-based iMac or Mac mini [Setups] – Worship of Mac

If you have an aging Intel iMac or Mac mini that’s slowing down like an old coder, today’s iMac setup shows a relatively simple way to revitalize your machine and keep it running.

All you need is an external SSD drive and the knowledge below to make it your computer’s replacement boot drive.

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External SSD can revitalize an Intel-based iMac or Mac mini

Redditor vmcommo (“Com”) showed off his simple iMac setup in a post titled “slow as hell, but I still love it to death.”

Com uses a 2012 Intel-i5 iMac and uses a Keychron Q2 custom mechanical keyboard with Gateron Oil King switches and a Logitech wired gaming mouse.

And that’s pretty much the entire setup, aside from an expensive Herman Miller Embody chair and premium audio gear, like Audeze and Grady over-ear headphones, a Schiit Magni headphone amplifier, and a digital-to-analog converter ( DAC) iFi Zen.

“I love that you prioritize audio quality and your chair before buying the latest Mac gear,” one commenter noted. “The audio and chairs are respectable quality of life improvements.”

And apparently, “slow as hell” in the post’s title is enough to attract some helpful advice from commenters.

“I still have a few 21.5 and 27[-inch] iMacs in the house,” one said. “All with an SSD and updated to macOS Ventura via OCLP [OpenCore Legacy Patcher]. I love the design and they still work pretty well.

OCLP is Python-based software that allows older Macs to install and run macOS Ventura, Apple’s latest (currently 13.5.2).

Stick an external SSD to it with Velcro

“Get an external SSD and attach it with 3M Velcro to the back of the carrier,” another person added, describing what to do in a little more detail. “Clone your hard drive to it and use it as a startup disk.”

“That sounds like a good idea!” Com replied. “I’ll try it! Thanks!”

“It will go from a useless computer to a very efficient computer,” assured the second speaker at Com.

So why do it?

As the second commenter said, a modern external SSD as a boot drive can improve the performance of an older Intel-based iMac or Mac mini.

Apple’s discussion forums are well aware of the benefits of using an external SSD as a replacement boot drive.

As Apple says:

Your Mac equipped with a USB 3 port and a hard drive or Fusion Drive can improve system performance by connecting to an external solid-state drive (also called an SSD). An external SSD as a startup drive can give your Mac extra performance in terms of system responsiveness, applications, startup, etc.

Using an external SSD as a bootable drive is supported by any Intel-based Mac with an Apple hard drive or Fusion Drive, with USB 3 ports, running macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later.

What do you need

You of course need a Mac mini or an Intel-based iMac (see below for specific models).

For Mac minis or iMacs from late 2015 or earlier, you’ll likely need a USB-C to USB-A adapter cable to connect to an SSD.

As for your choice of SSD drives, Apple recommends one: the LaCie Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive. If you choose another one, just make sure it’s large enough to hold all your content, works over USB 3.2, and supports bootable disk functionality for Mac.

And if you want to attach the drive to your iMac’s carrier, as the person above suggested, you need Velcro or some other way to attach it.

Steps to follow

For more details on each of these steps, see Apple’s instructions.

1. Connect and erase the external SSD.
2. Install macOS on the external SSD (the operating system could be as new as Ventura or as old as Catalina, depending on the age of your computer and whether or not you use special workaround software like OCLP above) .
3. Use Migration Assistant to move your content to the external SSD.
4. Assign the external SSD your default startup disk in the Startup Disk section of System Settings.

Which Macs can benefit from it?

iMac

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
• iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
• iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)
• iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, late 2015)
• iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5 inches, late 2015)
• iMac (21.5 inches, late 2015)
• iMac (Retina 5k, 27-inch, mid-2015)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, late 2014)
• iMac (21.5-inch, mid-2014)
• iMac (27-inch, late 2013)
• iMac (21.5 inches, late 2013)
• iMac (27-inch, late 2012)
• iMac (21.5 inches, late 2012)

Mac-mini

• Mac mini (late 2014)
• Mac mini (late 2012)

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If you would like to see your configuration featured on Cult of Macsend high-resolution photos to [email protected]. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or don’t like about your setup, and let us know about any special touches, challenges, and plans for new additions.