MacFormat UK – June 2019

JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 31

here are a number of things

you can do to your Mac’s

hardware to speed it up.

We’ll cover the various

storage options on the following pages,

including swapping a mechanical hard

drive for an SSD or making a Fusion

Drive. That leaves two main areas:

memory and graphics. (Unless you

own a Mac Pro, you won’t be able to

upgrade the Intel processor.)

Adding more memory should boost

your Mac’s performance across a

whole range of apps, because it will

have to resort to paging the contents

of memory to disk less often. If your

investigations with Activity Monitor

regularly reveal a lot of red on the

Memory Pressure chart, adding more

memory will definitely help.

Whether you can upgrade your Mac’s

memory depends on its kind and

vintage. Owners of modern portable

Macs are out of luck, as their memory

is not upgradeable. Things are more

nuanced with iMacs; Apple maintains a

list of which models allow aftermarket

memory upgrades at bit.ly/mfmemupg.

Basically, if you have a 21.5in iMac

from late 2012 to 2019, you’ll need to

ask an authorised service provider.

Note that 2015 models are stuck with

their original amount. Older 21.5in and

all 27in iMacs can be upgraded by you.

Max out your mini

The situation with the Mac mini is only

a little less complex. Those made until

2012 are user-upgradeable. The 2014

mini’s memory is soldered in place, so

isn’t upgradeable. 2018 models have

removable modules, but upgrading is

involved enough that you should seek

expert help from an authorised service

provider so that remaining warranty/

AppleCare on your Mac is unaffected.

Learn more at bit.ly/mfminmem.

Image credits (left and right): Blackmagic, Stormfront Retail

Hardware speed boosts

Discover ways to build up your Mac’s strength – starting with memory...

Many iMac models can be upgraded to provide more

memory, but it may require professional service.

Easy graphics upgrades

Boosting graphics for 3D modelling, say,

needs a Thunderbolt 3-connected external

graphics processor (eGPU) or a Mac Pro,

which allows limited internal upgrades.

Tools to g e t inside

Some upgrades require specialist tools to

access the inside of your Mac. ifixit.com

publishes visual step-by-step guides, and

sells the tools at eustore.ifixit.com.

Get a pro to help

If you’re uncomfortable opening an iMac

or Mac mini to upgrade its memory, call an

Apple Authorised Service Provider, who’ll

be able to supply and fit memory for you.

Three routes to upgrading your Mac

T

On a 27in iMac, the memory slots

are accessible through a panel

under the vent behind the stand.