Since computer prices are rather like cars I wouldn't pay full price for a 2011 iMac. Firewire 800, such as on your iMac will be faster that USB, but still would. Any other accessories needed for the install?When I plug the original HDD into one of the iMac's USB ports with the SATA-USB adapter, it doesn't show up as one of the startup options (just MacOS, Windows, and Recovery are available). I downloaded a utility that changed the identifier on the HDD, and now I'm booted into that. We still have the stock 500GB HDD in it but we have somewhere around 10-15 2011 iMacs and many have been upgraded to SSD with OWC's temp sensor and mounting bracket. Anything else like swapping out the drive is difficult but can be done. Owners of iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac products may obtain service and parts from Apple or Apple service providers for 5 years after the product is no longer sold—or longer, where required by law. If you need something particularly small and light, you can still find some 11-inch MacBook Airs out there, even though it was discontinued in 2017. It was also never that powerful. 1. The 2011 iMac is a perfectly serviceable computer. I can't make that decision for you. An Apple user for more than a decade and a half, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, and Mac.Whatever you get, make sure it has an SSD, rather than a spinning hard drive.The MacBook Air may prove challenging to use for those students who work with high-end scientific, engineering, or content creation applications. Both have fantastic displays (500 nits!) I guess it "ain't that simple."Yes, OWC has a kits to install an SSD into the 3.5" drive bay or into the optical drive bay.over and do a fresh Bootcamp install on the new drive.Any and all advice and shared experiences would be appreciated. When your roommate comes traipsing through the living room and accidentally kicks your power cord while you're working, you won't have to worry about your laptop going flying. I just retired a 2005 iMac G5 after 7 years of spotless service. First I cloned the HDD onto the SSD with a USB-SATA adapter cable, by using Macrium Reflect's cloning tool where you create a bootable USB flash drive, then boot into that and clone the drives. Bootcamp is problematic with cloning and requires special attentionon your iMac, but will simply run at the speed available with your iMac.Is there a trick to restoring my bootcamp? Apple now offers the iMac with an upgraded 8th or 9th generation Coffee Lake processor, DDR4 memory, and improved AMD graphics.