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Can you upgrade to a Fusion drive later on?

Woodcrest64

Woodcrest64

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 14, 2006
1,303
515
My dad picked up a 21.5 iMac base model a couple of weeks ago and its works fine for him. However I am wondering if its possible at some point to bring it into an Apple store or reseller to have it upgraded with a Fusion drive.

I wonder how much it would cost in terms of the parts and labour too...
 
jmcgeejr

jmcgeejr

macrumors 6502
Oct 7, 2010
469
40
Seattle, WA
Woodcrest64 said:
My dad picked up a 21.5 iMac base model a couple of weeks ago and its works fine for him. However I am wondering if its possible at some point to bring it into an Apple store or reseller to have it upgraded with a Fusion drive.

I wonder how much it would cost in terms of the parts and labour too...
Click to expand...

the 21.5 base doesnt have the blade connector for the SSD, at least that's what early reports showed during a teardown. The 27 did though.
 
Woodcrest64

Woodcrest64

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 14, 2006
1,303
515
jmcgeejr said:
the 21.5 base doesnt have the blade connector for the SSD, at least that's what early reports showed during a teardown. The 27 did though.
Click to expand...

Oh you are right. I remember that. The other option is to have them install an SSD I guess.
 
B

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
Woodcrest64 said:
My dad picked up a 21.5 iMac base model a couple of weeks ago and its works fine for him. However I am wondering if its possible at some point to bring it into an Apple store or reseller to have it upgraded with a Fusion drive.

I wonder how much it would cost in terms of the parts and labour too...
Click to expand...
You best bet is to call and ask if it is possible to do and how much it would cost. And if you do do this, make sure you have a good backup or two of the system before bringing it in.

jmcgeejr said:
the 21.5 base doesnt have the blade connector for the SSD, at least that's what early reports showed during a teardown. The 27 did though.
Click to expand...
Actually that changed fairly quickly, you can get the fusion drive on any current iMac model.
 
A

Arfdog

macrumors 6502
Jan 25, 2013
377
0
Woodcrest64 said:
My dad picked up a 21.5 iMac base model a couple of weeks ago and its works fine for him. However I am wondering if its possible at some point to bring it into an Apple store or reseller to have it upgraded with a Fusion drive.

I wonder how much it would cost in terms of the parts and labour too...
Click to expand...

Ask Apple but all iMacs have the blade connector now. But it's likely to be a big hassle and aftermarket blades aren't that much cheaper than Apples.... just get it to begin with.
 
rkaufmann87

rkaufmann87

macrumors 68000
Dec 17, 2009
1,760
39
Folsom, CA
Woodcrest64 said:
My dad picked up a 21.5 iMac base model a couple of weeks ago and its works fine for him. However I am wondering if its possible at some point to bring it into an Apple store or reseller to have it upgraded with a Fusion drive.

I wonder how much it would cost in terms of the parts and labour too...
Click to expand...

No Apple stores will not do that type of upgrade, the best chance of any upgrade is using an AASP.
 
Lancer

Lancer

macrumors 68020
Jul 22, 2002
2,217
147
Australia
Personally I'd contact Apple and see if you can swap your iMac for a new one with Fusion and pay the difference, isn't there a grace period of a couple of weeks if you're not happy with you purchase?

It couldn't hurt to ask.
 
T

trustever

macrumors 6502
Jan 14, 2013
290
0
If you like to have a 128GB or 256GB fusion the easiest way is to get an external USB3 or TB caddy and keep it on the pedestal. In the market there are some very nice one and your dad will never notice any difference with the internal fusion.
 
Woodcrest64

Woodcrest64

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 14, 2006
1,303
515
Perk10 said:
what is your primary reason for wanting a Fusion Drive, if you don't mind my asking...
Click to expand...

Honestly my father doesn't 'need' a fusion drive but I was wondering if it were possible to have it upgraded. Where he lives there are several authorized apple dealers. His current machine is more than enough for his needs right now. Eventually the system will start to bog down once he fills up that hard drive though as all hard drives do. It's just nice to know he can spend a $200 to $300 to upgrade his machine later on and get some more life out of it.
 
Fishrrman

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,348
12,464
If you want "more speed", just pick up the SSD of your choice and put it into an external USB3 enclosure and hook it up to a USB port.

Connected this way, it will boot and run nearly-as-fast as would a fusion drive (perhaps even faster for some tasks, since you would be interacting with only the SSD and not the HDD drive).

You don't have to pay to have the iMac pried open.
Cheaper, easier, just-as-fast.

It -is- possible to "fuse" the internal HDD with a USB-encased SSD, but I really don't see any reason to do so.

One thing -- you'll have to get used to having -two- drive icons on the desktop (one for the internal HDD, one for the external SSD). That's easy to manage.
 
WizardHunt

WizardHunt

macrumors 68000
May 11, 2007
1,694
38
Las Vegas, Nevada USA
Fishrrman said:
If you want "more speed", just pick up the SSD of your choice and put it into an external USB3 enclosure and hook it up to a USB port.

Connected this way, it will boot and run nearly-as-fast as would a fusion drive (perhaps even faster for some tasks, since you would be interacting with only the SSD and not the HDD drive).

You don't have to pay to have the iMac pried open.
Cheaper, easier, just-as-fast.

It -is- possible to "fuse" the internal HDD with a USB-encased SSD, but I really don't see any reason to do so.

One thing -- you'll have to get used to having -two- drive icons on the desktop (one for the internal HDD, one for the external SSD). That's easy to manage.
Click to expand...


Or one can do what I did and make their own Fusion Drive from a External SSD Drive. With my 2012 iMac i converted my 3 TB HD iMac into a 4 TB Fusion Drive. I tend to believe you can benefit from a Fusion Drive. Things work faster, smoother, and you save time. Especially if you move files. Keep in mind if you move files from drive to drive the lowest speed of both drives will be the speed you get when copying. But overall performance and file seeking and rendering if you do movies will be much improved. What type of performance did i get? See below.

Comparecopy.jpg
 
P

Perk10

macrumors newbie
Nov 13, 2012
11
0
SW FL
I bought a 21.5" "Base model" about 5 days ago. So far I absolutely love it. I am more of an average joe than you guys when it comes to computers. I use it mostly for email, web browsing, and photo sharing.

Is there any reason I would need a fusion drive? This isnt the first time I've heard this. Coming from a 2007 Toshiba, this is a hell of an upgrade for me....:eek:
 
M

macalec

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2012
252
2
They have had the no hard drive swap policy for a number of years now. They want everyone to do the BTO on their site.
 
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