Bit of a new twist here… MacBook Pro w/ SSD vs. iMac with SSD.
My main machine was a 27" iMac (Late 2013 i5, 3.2 GHz, 24 gb ram) and my “hit the road” mirror system a Late 2011 2.2 GHz i7, 8 gb ram MacBook Pro with 27" external monitor for desktop use.
I replaced the internal (system) hard drive of BOTH with SSD’s. So far I have found the MBP to be the faster machine for about everything. In fact, I did the MBP first as a trial and it became my primary machine that same day. While the SSD improves the iMac it does not seem to be as dramatic a speed increase as the MBP. So if I can’t find some speed for the iMac it will remain a “mirror” (backup) system.
If anyone can explain to me why an i7, 2.2 GHZ 8gb ram system is faster than a i5, 3.2GHz 24gb ram system I’d love to know. Perhaps my iMac has an issue?
My old iMac is a 2.5 i5 and it works great. What programs are you running on your iMac that are slow. I run the adobe suite one app at a time and almost everything I do is instant. It is a mid 2011… On occasion I will have up to 3 Adobe apps open and all runs well.
I would upgrade if I thought it would do something for me.
I am a big believer in clean installs for OS updates. It probably takes me 12 hours of time to be up and running fully but I break it down and typically load software as I need it or have extra time.
I have upgraded 4 iMacs for family and friends with SSD’s. All have been very happy and have kept their old Mac as opposed to buying new. With the speed of your iMac I am surprised you could be unhappy with it’s performance. I am guessing there is something wrong somewhere. Is the SSD in your iMac a 3g or 6g? If it is a 3g this could be your problem. Otherwise try a clean install… Many times it saves time in the long run.
The SSD is 1TB and I keep my system drive down to under 60% use. When I installed the SSD I used Time Machine/Recovery to “recover” the new disk. (Build the new disk.) Perhaps I do need a clean install.
Something is definitely wrong as sometimes when I open RW I actually see it create a temp project file folder which sits there for a second or two. I’ve never seen that before…
The size of the SSD doesn’t tell the performance. Your mac can handle a 6g drive. Perhaps the drive you installed is a 3G. A 3g drive is literally half as fast. If you go to the System Information (option click the Apple) and click on the Sata area it should identify your drive.
Is it a 6g or a 3g drive? That will tell a lot about how fast it is. My point was that you mention the drive size but not the speed of the drive. I am trying to help you figure out why your laptop is faster than your iMac.
Both drives are exactly the same… I installed fresh OSX and problem seems to have gone away. Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate it. Both are 6g btw…
Sorry for the late reply… Perfect u fixed the issue… I knew something was wrong or that the drive in the iMac was the slower 3G speed. A side note… I always prefer a clean install when dealing with a new OS. I generally start with backing up drive and then updating. Once I know the new OS works as expected with all my needed software I then do a fresh install.
I have upgraded the OS in this fashion for many years. I would guess it has been between 7 and 10 in total. While doing a clean install is work I am always happy I did it. My Macs just seem to run better.
