09-28-2016, 05:54 PM
All of the above =)
On a budget -- going to 4 GB of ram is far, far more cost effective and 6 -- $30 for 2 X 2GB, but a single 4GB stick is $100. ouch.
SSD is mandatory. The 24" iMacs from those years are pretty easy to get into -- OWCs guides are great.
You can go internal (search just in the last few days where we talked about it) or if that sounds daunting -- even moving her boot drive to a SSD via USB 2 can make a difference. Im not sure why some people hate on this, but I can tell you from personal experience that my near identical 2007 iMac ran with a budget 120 GB SSD externally via USB 2 for some time, and it was snappier than the internal 750 GB HDD.
On a super budget, technically she could get away with a 128 GB SSD and a $10 USB 2 case. (although 256 GB is a better buy)
Now, if she wants new, then CL for a 2011 or 2012 21.5" iMac. If you can find a 2012 for the right price, then get it. USB 3. But honestly, based on her usage, USB 2 is more than fine, so a 2011 iMac would also work if thats all the budget allows...
On a budget -- going to 4 GB of ram is far, far more cost effective and 6 -- $30 for 2 X 2GB, but a single 4GB stick is $100. ouch.
SSD is mandatory. The 24" iMacs from those years are pretty easy to get into -- OWCs guides are great.
You can go internal (search just in the last few days where we talked about it) or if that sounds daunting -- even moving her boot drive to a SSD via USB 2 can make a difference. Im not sure why some people hate on this, but I can tell you from personal experience that my near identical 2007 iMac ran with a budget 120 GB SSD externally via USB 2 for some time, and it was snappier than the internal 750 GB HDD.
On a super budget, technically she could get away with a 128 GB SSD and a $10 USB 2 case. (although 256 GB is a better buy)
Now, if she wants new, then CL for a 2011 or 2012 21.5" iMac. If you can find a 2012 for the right price, then get it. USB 3. But honestly, based on her usage, USB 2 is more than fine, so a 2011 iMac would also work if thats all the budget allows...