iMac 27" 5k 2019 upgradeable?

Note that your iMac is upgradable in ways that matter to people using it for productivity applications:

• RAM is user-upgradable. The official limit is 64 GB, but the machine can actually take up to 128 GB.
• There are two USB-C (USB, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3) expansion ports and four USB-A (USB 3.0) ones.
• There is support for driving up to two external 4K displays or one external 5K one.

MacTracker is showing me is that the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) used one of the following CPUs: Intel Core i5 (8500, 8600, 9600K) Core i9 (9900K) ("Coffee Lake").

iMacs are not designed to have user-upgradable CPUs. I suppose it is possible that some of them have socketed CPUs, and that if you did major surgery on the machine, you could get inside and substitute a different Intel CPU, one that was compatible with the same socket type. Maybe the OS would recognize it, maybe not.

If it was possible to do the upgrade, we couldn't discuss that here.

According to Intel, the Core i7-12700KF uses a different socket type than the Core i5-9600K, so we're not talking about a CPU that would match the existing motherboard. The i5-9600K has a TDP of 95 watts and the one which you want to use has a TDP of 125 – 190 watts, so you would make thermal throttling problems worse – or, perhaps, fry your iMac – if you could make the substitution.

This upgrade is not feasible, and I think the Moderators will have no problem with me saying that here.

You say that you use the Mac mostly for gaming on Boot Camp. If you need a Windows/Intel machine for gaming, I would suggest that you look into specifications for gaming on a Windows PC, and buy an appropriate Windows PC. Macs can run a number of games (and Apple Silicon Macs can run some iPhone/iPad games), but if you're talking about high-end games as your primary application, Windows still holds an applications availability advantage.

No!

iMac's are not good gaming machines because they do not provide enough cooling or have interchangeable parts.

Best bet, is to spend your money on a decent Gaming PC tower instead of trying to repair or upgrade that iMac.

Awperator743 wrote:

Thank you for all your responses, you did help me confirm my suspicion.

You're welcome.

I have decided to simply repair it to its original state and later buy a Windows PC for the gaming purposes, and perhaps only increase my RAM capacity for now.

Good plan.

I do know that iMac's are not suited for gaming nor made for that, but still it is sad they they have a very poor cooling system.

It's not poor cooling, as much as it is the all-in-one configuration in a small space.

In a Gaming PC you have more space, larger heat sinks and the option to add more cooling.

Awperator743 wrote:

Quick note, am I the only one who finds it weird that the iMac does not have a mesh to prevent dust collection on its internals?

+1 Or worse you mistakenly blow air into the dirty intakes, then the dust packs up the fan and heat sink.

No, they are dust magnets for sure.

👍