OS X 11.7.11 runs far too slow on my mid 2014 iMac

Do have complete and current backups. Always. But particularly now. Have a backup. Now.

If this is the hard disk configuration, and particularly the 8 GB hard disk configuration, here is:

Why is my hard disk drive iMac so slow? - Apple Community

Here is one means of speeding the storage, short of a newer Mac:

Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community

To see if the hard disk drive or fusion drive hard disk component is possibly failing, post a DriveDx report.

Firefox is your best bet for a Web browser. Its current version runs on Catalina and later. Many major third-party browsers now require Ventura or later, and Big Sur has not received the latest version of Safari for several years.

Downgrading to Catalina would not buy you much in performance, but would mean that you could not run current versions of LibreOffice or of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). LibreOffice, GIMP, Affinity Studio, and GraphicsConverter 12 may be your main options for office & photo editing software – since vendors like Microsoft and Adobe whose policy is to support "the most recent three" moved on from Big Sur long ago.

FYI, Apple recently raised the minimum system requirement for iCloud to Mojave or later. A key security certificate expires at the end of January, and I'm not sure that any version of macOS older that Catalina will be getting a patch for that. So even though there are specific cases where one might want to stay on an old version of macOS (e.g. to run 32-bit games), trying to do work on anything earlier than Catalina is increasingly becoming a "bag of hurt".

thedogsbollock wrote:

I have a 21.5 inch mid 2014 iMac (1.4 Ghz Dual Core Intel i5) which has updated to OS X Big Sur 11.7.11 but sadly it runs interminably slow, with us constantly having to suffer the dreaded spinning wheel, when merely using Safari and Mail apps.

For comparison, we have a 2013 Macbook Air also on Big Sur and a 2015 iMac on Monterey. Both of these have internal SSDs, which are at least 5-10 times faster than internal HDDs.

If you have an internal HDD, you will never get away from your slowness problem. It is too slow to work effectively with modern web sites. And as others noted, the internal HDD might be failing. If so, it will completely fail soon and now is the tome t replace it.i

Even our above machines, with SSDs, can be laborious to use with browsers on modern web sites, especially when multiple tabs are open. Many modern web sites are actively downloading videos (e.g. for ads) or are simply more complex today and this taxes older machines. You are also limited by the amount of memory that you have. Additionally, if the internal drive is more than 85% full, it will slow dramatically.

As a result, I was wondering if it might be worth me reformatting the hard drive and installing an older version of OS X (perhaps a version of OS X without quite so many whistles; knobs)?

This won't help and an older OS than Big Sur probably won't work well with many web sites today.

If so, my question is what would be the optimum version of OS X which might run at an acceptable speed (ideally at a similar speed to when the computer was first purchased in 2015), but without discovering that everything else eg. the majority of web sites and apps won't run without a system update?

Your computer has slowed because its hardware is likely wearing out. But even putting SSDs in (or booting from an external SSD), your performance on such an old machine will be sub par. The optimum OS version for those older Macs would be the latest version they can take.

it seems downright ridiculous for us to be forced to write off such a delectable piece of computer kit so as to be able to remain connected to the outside world at an acceptable speed and to end up having no choice but to find some means of replacing it with a more modern alternative, with an array of additional features that we neither want or need!

The 2014 iMac screen still looks beautiful but its internal hardware is obsolete and outdated.

There are base model iMacs today that cost about $1500. Mac Mini starts at $899 and you would need to obtain an external monitor and, if you don't already have them, keyboard and mouse. You can find lower cost not-new/refurbished Macs from OWC/MacSales and from Apple. I would not trust any other source for used Macs than those two.

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Please download and run Etrecheck.  The free version is sufficient. However, if you find it worthwhile you should support the developer and purchase the app.

Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and after clicking on the Reply button use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

It is not un-common for those older 21.5" iMac's to end life with a failing or failed internal hard drive.

At this point you can try reinstall an earlier OS X version, but it won't help if the hard drive is failing.

see > How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

I strongly suspect the hard drive is failing.

Though there are 'solutions' for that, it would be foolish to put any money at all into keeping that machine alive.

It is obsolete. Service and repairs are no longer available for it and it is not capable of running a supported version of macOS.

It had a good life. It's time to let it go.

21.5 inch mid 2014 iMac (1.4 Ghz Dual Core Intel i5)

You have one of the education/institutional iMacs made to appeal to budget conscience bulk buyers with limited needs for power computing.

To save US$200 on the retail price, Apple opted to:

— use a laptop-class 2-core processor at 1.4Ghz instead of the desktop-class 3.5Ghz 4-core processor used the the regular consumer 21.5-inch iMacs in Late 2014.

— use a processor with "integrated" graphics instead of the faster discrete graphics in the consumer model.

— use the older style iMac display with 103 pixels/inch rather than the 4K display at 218 ppi in the consumer more.

The above data are from the MacTracker database, free in the Mac App Store. Mactracker also has some benchmarking that shows how a $200 savings affected iMac performance in 2014:

The only thing that can help that model is the external SSD option mentioned.

" It has had a good life, with MacOS" Give, it its life back, and upgrade to LINUX.

My old vintage 2013 MacBook Pro, is still, running with Linux!

Previously, it was macOS Big Sur 11.7.11

Now,one of the many LINUX Distros!

Servant of Cats wrote:

Firefox is your best bet for a Web browser. Its current version runs on Catalina and later.