Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Recommendation for SSD for 2010 top iMac 27" (as part of the Seagate recall)

Daud

Daud

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2008
149
6
I need some recommendation for SSD working for this iMac. AS I recall it has only 3G SATA speed. I know obout OWC options (expensive) or people praising Samsung 830 drives. Ther are already Black Friday offers around, like the newegg Intel 335 Series SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive ($154). Reliablity and the "right controller" is important, but the OWC prices are high compared to current "deals".

Also, my Mac has the recalled Seagate 1TB drive (no problems to date). Do you think the Apple store or certified repair shop would be willing to install "my" SSD as a part of the exchange ? Anybody tried this ?
 
N

natesymer

macrumors newbie
Nov 19, 2012
24
0
New Jersey
Most importantly, welcome to the SSD family!!!

Avoid the SandForce drives like the plague. They are anything with a size that is something like 60GB, 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, etc...

Crucial M4s are the most reliable and OCZ Vertex 4s are the fastest. Since you have a SATA II drive, I would go with the Crucial M4. Make sure you enable TRIM and disable the sudden motion sensor (if an iMac has one). Also make sure that pmset's hibernatemode is 0 to decrease large reads and writes on the SSD.

I would buy an external drive to clone your internal Seagate HDD to. This way you can have a backup drive if there is something wrong with the SSD. Then you could install the SSD and copy your files over. I would clean install.
 
Daud

Daud

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2008
149
6
Wow, I thought that SandForce is the desirable for Mac..
How I would do the TRIM setting and is it at all possible independently of the OS ?
 
N

natesymer

macrumors newbie
Nov 19, 2012
24
0
New Jersey
Google TRIM enabler for mountain lion. It patches a kernel extension to enable TRIM. SandForce SSD's are notoriously unstable and OCZ's reputation was damaged from the fallout. But I assure you, their Vertex 4 line (Indilinx Infused) is fine.

I actually had that question about SSD config... SSDs are different from HDDs, but they are all internal drive at the end of the day. It's just that SSDs need the config. It's not really a hassle. This guy has the right idea.

TRIM just works better with Marvell drives, like my Crucial M4 SSD.
 
Last edited:
A

aggri1

macrumors 6502
Jul 21, 2010
256
4
A local Authorised Apple Reseller who I spoke to said that they couldn't replace the hard disk with a SSD because of the temperature sensor. I realise that the usual practice is to short out the sensor connections, but that is not something that this shop I spoke to considered to be a reasonable, under-warranty, option.

Of course, you may well find a shop that's happy to do it for you.

I have a 2010 27" with the dodgy disk. It actually started playing up a few months ago, before the official replacement policy started (failed AHT, something to do with the fan).
 
Daud

Daud

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2008
149
6
thundermustard said:
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-2-5-Inch-Solid-SDSSDX-240G-G25/dp/B006EKJ8UI

SanDisk Extreme SSD 240 GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SDSSDX-240G-G25 at Amazon for $176.99
Click to expand...

This seems to be a poor choice reading the negative review
Warning: poor performance with some Macs, and defective TRIM
It is also the Sandforce controller.

----------
aggri1 said:
A local Authorised Apple Reseller who I spoke to said that they couldn't replace the hard disk with a SSD because of the temperature sensor. I realise that the usual practice is to short out the sensor connections, but that is not something that this shop I spoke to considered to be a reasonable, under-warranty, option.

Of course, you may well find a shop that's happy to do it for you.

I have a 2010 27" with the dodgy disk. It actually started playing up a few months ago, before the official replacement policy started (failed AHT, something to do with the fan).
Click to expand...

Aggri,

I would be also content if they would install my SSD in the open SATA position...will ask around next week.


From my reading over last days, Samsung 830 may be the best options (hardly to say about the new 840, too new and some longevity concerns).

And the Crucial M4 seems to be the slowest and don't see any BF deals around...
 
Daud

Daud

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2008
149
6
Decided

At the end I picked the OCZ Technology 256GB Vertex 4 for $160 at Amazon (ca. $140 for me after various cashback tricks). I will test drive it before committing it to the iMac innards...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom