I have an early 2008 iMac, works but slow. Can the HD be replaced by an SSD? How long will it take?

Michele

I am trying to decide whether to refurbish it or recycle it.  I mostly use it for work, not any gaming or streaming.  Other than not being able to update the OS, (it is OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11.6), it works fine.  Please advise.

Michele

For Michele, above, the iMac is an early 2008.  Looking to get rid of HD and replace with SSD, if possible; as well as clean the inside, (likely very dsty).

C0v3rt_X

Michele said:

I am trying to decide whether to refurbish it or recycle it.  I mostly use it for work, not any gaming or streaming.  Other than not being able to update the OS, (it is OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11.6), it works fine.  Please advise.

I'd personally recycle it or sell it to eBay. A 12 year old MAC. Chances are, the SATA cable is not capable enough to run the SSD at full speeds hence it will be a bottleneck. I am not a MAC person but #PCMasterRace . Anyways, that it what I would do. Backup your files then recycle it to get a new system.

TSTonyV

I'm going to agree with C0v3rt here, it's probably better to look at just picking up a newer system. An SSD replacement for an iMac is probably not doable, because if I remember correctly, there are temperature sensors in iMac hard drives that you cannot use with an SSD that prevents you from installing one normally.