As anyone knows who's done a CPU swap in an iMac before, this is NOT an upgrade for the faint of heart, but at least now I can provide definitive proof that the cheaper Core i7-4770 works like a treat in this particular iMac. It definitely runs hotter than the i5 that it came with, but that's something I expected. The iMac booted up first try and it recognizes the CPU as if it were factory installed.

The much more common i7-4770 CPU is readily available, so I was able to snag one for $35 and I figured I'd give it a shot and see if it would work. iMac Intel 27' (Late 2012-2019) SSD Upgrade Kit SKU: IF174-029-24 264.99 AUD Condition: New Style: Crucial 1 TB Add to Cart Ready to ship Product Details Description Upgrade your iMac with a new SSD to dramatically speed up your machine: faster boot times, application loading and switching, and file read/write speeds. I knew Apple had offered a Core i7 option, but that SKU used a rather uncommon Core i7-4771 that Intel made specifically for this iMac, and obtaining those is often difficult and expensive. Purchase with purpose Repair makes a global impact, reduces e-waste, and saves you money. Over the years I upgraded the RAM and swapped the HDD for an SSD, but it was starting to show its age with just a 4c/4t CPU installed. iMac Intel 21.5' and 27' (Late 2012-Early 2019) SSD Temperature Sensor. It was a base model, originally shipping with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, as well as a Core i5-4570 CPU.

The machine was a very generous gift from my Mom and I have loved it from the day I received it. I'm sure this has been done before- however, my goal with this post is simply to provide a success story for anyone else who is considering this upgrade. I wanted to document this somewhere on the internet as I have spent hours researching this and never found any success stories.

Imac 27 late 2013 ssd upgrade ifixit