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The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 03:05 PM

• Scrolling in Safari hesitates before occurring
• Scrolling in Safari causes the CPU to go half load.
• Watching a 720p youtube video, you experience periodic stuttering

What's weird is none of these things were happening a year ago, that I remember.

OAW · Jan 13, 2015, 03:26 PM

Perhaps a it's time to rebuild your iMac? Save all your data, wipe the HD, and reinstall OS X from scratch. A PITA for sure but it might bring some decent performance back assuming you have no hardware issues.

OAW

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 03:30 PM

I should mention it's from 2010, when I replaced by 2006 coreduo.

ort888 · Jan 13, 2015, 03:34 PM

Since the iMac only comes with one leg... it's technically on it's "last leg" the second you take it out of the box.

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Since the iMac only comes with one leg... it's technically on it's "last leg" the second you take it out of the box.

Clever girl...

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 03:39 PM

iMac on its last core

reader50 · Jan 13, 2015, 03:56 PM

Does it happen in a new user account?

From the description, all symptoms are in Safari.

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by reader50

Does it happen in a new user account?

From the description, all symptoms are in Safari.

My suspicion is might have to do with smooth scrolling paired with a new mouse. I recently upgraded to a logitech MX with a smooth scrolling wheel. I never used to able to scroll as quickly with the old mouse.

I'll look into it, though. A new user account is an easy test.

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 04:04 PM

Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure fatty's iMac is even older and more decrepit.

ShortcutToMoncton · Jan 13, 2015, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

I should mention it's from 2010, when I replaced by 2006 coreduo.

So it has at least an i5 processor? Assuming you have enough RAM, has to be a mechanical problem.

P · Jan 13, 2015, 04:12 PM

Sounds a bit like you're low on RAM. That's both cheap and easy to fix. Have you checked what Activity Monitor says when this happens?

Of course Logitech drivers don't exactly have a great reputation, but I actually have them installed myself right now, and I haven't seen any problems.

If you need to reinstall, it's actually dead simple these days: do a full backup in Time Machine, nuke&pave on the internal HDD, and use Migration Assistant to restore your stuff from the backup.

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

So it has at least an i5 processor? Assuming you have enough RAM, has to be a mechanical problem.

Originally Posted by P

Sounds a bit like you're low on RAM. That's both cheap and easy to fix. Have you checked what Activity Monitor says when this happens?

Of course Logitech drivers don't exactly have a great reputation, but I actually have them installed myself right now, and I haven't seen any problems.

If you need to reinstall, it's actually dead simple these days: do a full backup in Time Machine, nuke&pave on the internal HDD, and use Migration Assistant to restore your stuff from the backup.

I'll bet it has 4GB rather than the max 8. Question is how easy and cheap it is to replace. I don't remember when they started making replacing RAM difficult.

P · Jan 13, 2015, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure fatty's iMac is even older and more decrepit.

Mine is older, but it has an SSD so it is probably less decrepit.

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

So it has at least an i5 processor? Assuming you have enough RAM, has to be a mechanical problem.

Only the top 27" comes with a quadcore i5. The others are i3 dualcore models, which have disabled Hyperthreading, the one good thing about the Clarkdale generation (with one i5 dualcore with HT that I think was a BTO option). The top 27" iMac was a great machine - it is almost identical to the 2009 model I have - but the lower-end models are only minor updates from the Core 2 models.

P · Jan 13, 2015, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

I'll bet it has 4GB rather than the max 8. Question is how easy and cheap it is to replace. I don't remember when they started making replacing RAM difficult.

Really easy on that model. In the center of the grill underneath the display there is a small door held in place by three screws. No pentalobe BS, just regular screws. Open that door, and the DIMM slots are underneath. Takes DDR3 SO-DIMMs.

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by P

Really easy on that model. In the center of the grill underneath the display there is a small door held in place by three screws. No pentalobe BS, just regular screws. Open that door, and the DIMM slots are underneath. Takes DDR3 SO-DIMMs.

Hmmm... that sounds really familiar. I wonder if I already did upgrade the RAM.

Chongo · Jan 13, 2015, 05:17 PM

My Mid 2007 20" started acting wierd and locking up. I also thought thought it was dying. It turns out all I need to do was take a can of commpress air and clean our the air events. Over heating was the culprit. I still upgraded to a late 2013 27" BTO refurb and donated the old one to my mom.

sek929 · Jan 13, 2015, 05:35 PM

I have a mid 2007 and I can watch buttery 1080p Youtube vids, also I rarely get skips while scrolling, unless a half dozen .gifs are trying to play. Of course a couple years ago I went SSD and never looked back, breathed new life into a machine that would probably be near-unusable at this point.

Stogieman · Jan 13, 2015, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Hmmm... that sounds really familiar. I wonder if I already did upgrade the RAM.

You know you can easily tell by clicking on the Apple menu and selecting "About this Mac."

BTW, what OS are you running?

I have a question for others in this thread. I have the same 2010 iMac. How hard is it to replace the hard drive in this model? I currently have a 1TB drive that is almost full. The DVD drive is dying and I'm thinking of replacing it with a second hard drive. Here's what I want to do.

1. Replace internal hard drive with SSD and use the current 1TB drive as a backup. (I have one of these NewerTech hard drive docks.)
2. Place a 2TB or 3TB drive in the DVD bay. It that doable or is there a storage limit with the DVD bay?

The Final Dakar · Jan 13, 2015, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by Stogieman

You know you can easily tell by clicking on the Apple menu and selecting "About this Mac."

BTW, what OS are you running?

I was at work, numb nuts.

Looks like its 3 GHz C2D. 4 GB of RAM.

Web process sucks 20% CPU at idle.

starman · Jan 13, 2015, 10:26 PM

Activity Monitor. Done.

P · Jan 14, 2015, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by Stogieman

I have a question for others in this thread. I have the same 2010 iMac. How hard is it to replace the hard drive in this model?

Hard. Partially because it is hard to remove the display panel to reach it, and partially because you have to match the drive with one of the same model to make the heat sensor work, or hack the Mac in software to manually control the central fan.

Originally Posted by Stogieman

I currently have a 1TB drive that is almost full. The DVD drive is dying and I'm thinking of replacing it with a second hard drive. Here's what I want to do.

1. Replace internal hard drive with SSD and use the current 1TB drive as a backup. (I have one of these NewerTech hard drive docks.)
2. Place a 2TB or 3TB drive in the DVD bay. It that doable or is there a storage limit with the DVD bay?

A regular HDD doesn't fit in the DVD bay, there is not enough physical depth. The DVD is a laptop model, and anything thicker will not fit.

Doable but still not easy is to replace the DVD with an SSD and leave the HDD in place. Then buy an external HDD, preferably Firewire 800, for storage. That is what I have done, but note that disassembling the iMac is on the tricky side.

P · Jan 14, 2015, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

I was at work, numb nuts.

Looks like its 3 GHz C2D. 4 GB of RAM.

Web process sucks 20% CPU at idle.

That is not a 2010 model, that is a 2009 model. And the first thing I'd do is bump the RAM, because 4GB is not a lot.

Do you use any extensions to Safari?

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by P

That is not a 2010 model, that is a 2009 model. And the first thing I'd do is bump the RAM, because 4GB is not a lot.

*ahem* Well, I have trouble keeping track. I picked it up as refurb in 2010, so that's how I remember it.

Originally Posted by P

Do you use any extensions to Safari?

ClicktoFlash and Adblock, for sure, probably Facebookblocker as well.

P · Jan 14, 2015, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

ClicktoFlash and Adblock, for sure, probably Facebookblocker as well.

Yup, that was what I was fishing for. Adblock is infamous for its extremely high memory usage, which unfortunately keeps increasing as it blocks more ads. See what happens if you disable it.

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by P

Yup, that was what I was fishing for. Adblock is infamous for its extremely high memory usage, which unfortunately keeps increasing as it blocks more ads. See what happens if you disable it.

Ok. I'm looking into RAM on newegg right now.

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 10:50 AM

Any strong opinions on 8 GB vs. 16? The price more than doubles for that latter. At 20% of the cost of a ~~new~~ current refurb iMac that's a bit daunting.

ShortcutToMoncton · Jan 14, 2015, 02:06 PM

I think it depends on what you do with the computer. If it's just web browsing and videos, 8Gb should be fine if you do not use Adblock (which I would not).

I had 12Gb in my 2010 iMac - could be an option for you.

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 02:14 PM

Well, I'm doing 8. Adbock will be on in the interim.

P · Jan 14, 2015, 02:38 PM

That model has 4 RAM slots, 2 of them filled at delivery. If you bought 8 GB more (i.e., 2x4GB), you can install that in the open slots and have 12GB total.

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 02:45 PM

Word.

I feel like I owe you a consulting fee, P.

P · Jan 14, 2015, 03:08 PM

I have had almost exactly that model for 5 years, and I have taken it apart several times. There are few things I don't know about it. It is the only Mac I've ever owned that I have not replaced after my usual 5 years, because it is still great. Plan is to replace it with a 13" MBP when one arrives that is at least the same speed, but that has still not happened.

The Final Dakar · Jan 14, 2015, 03:13 PM

Part of the problem is I replaced an old Blackbook with an Air last year. Though I had no real complaints about the iMac til the past few months. I'll be doing a restore from time machine in addition to the RAM upgrade one of these weekends, since that was recommended as well. Considering I want a new(er) iPhone this year, it'd be ice to extend this things lifespan.

ShortcutToMoncton · Jan 15, 2015, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Word.

I feel like I owe you a consulting fee, P.

WTF?

Was it because I just assumed that you knew about the RAM slots and didn't spell it all out as though you were a small child?

ShortcutToMoncton · Jan 15, 2015, 10:11 AM

P.S. is this a good place to ask about a really good ad-blocker for OS X? I used to use Adblock but stopped a couple years ago due to the RAM issue - haven't bothered to get anything else but I really should.

The Final Dakar · Jan 15, 2015, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

WTF?

Was it because I just assumed that you knew about the RAM slots and didn't spell it all out as though you were a small child?

He posted twice as much as you.

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

P.S. is this a good place to ask about a really good ad-blocker for OS X? I used to use Adblock but stopped a couple years ago due to the RAM issue - haven't bothered to get anything else but I really should.

I'm all ears, though I hadn't heard the complaints beforehand.

P · Jan 15, 2015, 11:22 AM

There is uBlock for Chrome that someone has compiled for Safari as well, but it is very much unsupported. Google it if you're interested.

Waragainstsleep · Jan 15, 2015, 03:55 PM

You need more RAM. Especially if its running Yosemite.

The Final Dakar · Jan 15, 2015, 04:00 PM

Its running 10.7

P · Jan 15, 2015, 07:52 PM

Then upgrade to at least Mavericks. Memory compression is a great feature that would have helped here.

Laminar · Jan 16, 2015, 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by Stogieman

I have a question for others in this thread. I have the same 2010 iMac. How hard is it to replace the hard drive in this model? I currently have a 1TB drive that is almost full. The DVD drive is dying and I'm thinking of replacing it with a second hard drive. Here's what I want to do.

1. Replace internal hard drive with SSD and use the current 1TB drive as a backup. (I have one of these NewerTech hard drive docks.)
2. Place a 2TB or 3TB drive in the DVD bay. It that doable or is there a storage limit with the DVD bay?

I have a 27" 2010 i7 iMac, the one with an extra SATA port for the BTO SSD option. I followed iFixit's instructions and added an SSD. If you're mechanically capable and have built computers before, it's a doable job. If you're the least bit timid, I wouldn't attempt it. Check the instructions; after pulling the glass panel and LCD, you have to pull the whole logic board off.

I will say that with the SSD and 12GB of RAM, it's blazing fast with Yosemite.

Over the holiday I upgraded my dad's C2D MacBook with an SSD and 8GB of RAM and it really breathed new life into his machine, runs Yosemite with no issue.

aardman · Jan 18, 2015, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Since the iMac only comes with one leg... it's technically on it's "last leg" the second you take it out of the box.

Why, did it have two or more legs while it was in the box? Is this some kind of Schrödinger's iMac in that it has both exactly one leg and two or more legs while it sits unobserved inside the unopened box?

ShortcutToMoncton · Jan 19, 2015, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by P

There is uBlock for Chrome that someone has compiled for Safari as well, but it is very much unsupported. Google it if you're interested.

Is that actually it for ad blockers on the Mac? AdBlock with its notorious memory problems and an unsupported and sketchy-sounding uBlock?

P · Jan 19, 2015, 12:27 PM

There are lots of adblockers for Firefox and Chrome that work on any platform. For Safari there are only AdBlock and the brand new port of uBlock. Safari hasn't had extensions as long as the other browsers, and for the longest time AdBlock was the king of the hill. It is only recently that its memory problems have become apparent.

Thorzdad · Jan 19, 2015, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

...AdBlock with its notorious memory problems...

Is this strictly to do with the AdBlock implementation in Safari? I run AdBlock in Firefox with a fairly aggressive list of blocked items, and haven't encountered anything like this. Same iMac, running 10.6.8, and 8G or RAM.

P · Jan 19, 2015, 03:46 PM

As I understand, it is pretty general. AdBlock works by injecting a massive CSS into every frame, which adds up over time. If you have many tabs open, with complex pages and lots of IFRAMEs, every browser becomes a memory hog.

That said, I don't use it myself. I block Flash, but not ads by content. Works well enough.

The Final Dakar · Jan 20, 2015, 10:11 AM

Alright, backed up the iMac, upgraded to Mavericks last, gonna back-up again tonight, then its in with the new memory and then a fresh install of the back-up.

The Final Dakar · Jan 21, 2015, 09:56 AM

Of course they made iTunes worse. Of course. Now podcasts thinks I have twice as many new podcasts because it counts shit I haven't (and won't) download(ed).

Doc HM · Jan 21, 2015, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by P

Hard. Partially because it is hard to remove the display panel to reach it, and partially because you have to match the drive with one of the same model to make the heat sensor work, or hack the Mac in software to manually control the central fan.

.

HDD Fan Control is the one to go for . Have used it dozens of times on customer macs. It's the only way around the fan issue if you want to up spec for storage on these. Stupid stupid apple and their customer temp sensor rubbish!

These gen 27in iMacs are about my favourite macs of all time (fan idiocy aside). Still speedy, built like tanks, lovely screens, loads of RAM space, what's not to love.

reader50 · Jan 21, 2015, 05:43 PM

Have you guys forgotten OWC is offering HD sensor cables for iMac upgrades? They provide the missing temp data regardless of connected HD model, so you can use any drive.

Doc HM · Jan 22, 2015, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by reader50

Have you guys forgotten OWC is offering HD sensor cables for iMac upgrades? They provide the missing temp data regardless of connected HD model, so you can use any drive.

Not worth it for UK repairs. Good in the US though.