Chosen Solution
Hello. I recently bought an iMac (was a bit of low-funds emergency purchase to replace MacBook that died on me) and realised that RAM is not upgradable on 21,5 models and i’m basically stuck with base 8GB. I’m not really hurrying to sell this one and get a better one even though it might be, maybe, an easier option. So i had a thought - in theory, would it be possible to get hands on iMac motherboard for same iMac model as mine, but with more RAM (16) soldered on it and replace mine with that one doing a sort of RAM upgrade by that, or there are some problems this procedure might result in? (The tricky replacement procedure itself doesn’t count as the problem)
How about cost and risks do they count here? The cost of a replacement logic board (P/N 661-02983) approx. $1,500 - 1,800 US! Thats very close to buying a used one. The amount of work is quite high and there are risks if you are not skilled on opening this series of iMac’s. Many people kill the display just in the process of opening the system. Here’s the IFIXIT guide: iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2889 Logic Board Replacement. Did you note the warnings! This is not something I would recommend for a DIY project. Frankly, I would just make a backup of my system sell it and get a new or used system that met my needs.
