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Hello, Is it possible to replace Intel Core i3 550 3,2GHz with i7 860 2,8GHz in iMac 27 Mid 2010? I have found one thread where some guy did it and he had some serious performance issues (after upgrade computer worked slower than before). I wonder if it was the fault of broken CPU or iMac 27 Mid 2010 doesn’t work properly with i7 860. Of course I have read other threads about upgrading iMac’s CPU and I know that i7 870 works perfectly, but i7 860 is more accessible and cheaper than i7 860 (in my country). I know it works in late 2009 iMac, but how about late 2010. Thanks for your answers :)

The CPU you propose was used in the ‘09 models. The “Mid-2010” models not only had faster processors, they also had a faster architecture with faster memory, and faster graphics processors compared to the “Late 2009” models - that’s probably why your source’s machine was slower, even with a “faster” CPU. A CPU replacement is a lot of work, time and money. For which you end up with a bastardized box… a box with little resale value. If youre upgrading a CPU on a machine which you intend to use for a long time’’ it’s probably worth the time and expense. . . otherwise sell the box used take that money AND the money you’d spend on the parts upgrade and buy a newer faster machine. Oh, and if your into customizing desktops get a MacPro… they are built with that in mind. If this Answer is helpful please remember to return and mark it Accepted.

I want to confirm that it is NOT POSSIBLE to replace Intel Core i3 550 3,2GHz with i7 860 2,8GHz in iMac 27 Mid 2010. I was making upgrade for 2 27” iMacs Mid 2010, i got one i7-870 and i7-860 (this one by mistake). Both as replacement of base i3-550. i7-870 works fine, Geekbench 4 scored it above 5000 in single-core and above 9000 in multi-core. Improvement of a system speed is noticeable, improvement of rendering is impressive. The i7-860 processor scored about 1350 in SC and about 4300 in MC, this score is lower than original I3-550 which was about 2350 S-C and 5005 M-C. Graphic issues was also noticeable (some kind of throttling) In spite of of originalmachead answer there is no problem with hardware, both i7 870 and 860 are the same year and technology. I think that there is no proper software for this processor in MacOS. Looking at Geekbench score - it seems that processor works 2 times slower because of: using 4 cores 4 threads not 8 threads. Best regards