Per the ifixit teardown, having both the SSD and the 1TB drive in there should be no problem. You'll get the benefit of PCIe also, which will be nice.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+Teardown/17828/1
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Rip Those Macs Open
- Thread starter Kirkle
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Per the ifixit teardown, having both the SSD and the 1TB drive in there should be no problem. You'll get the benefit of PCIe also, which will be nice.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+Teardown/17828/1
I read their tear down article but I'm not clear on the install.
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Maybe I missed it, but what do you guys use to remove the residue from the double sided tape?
Goo gone, ipa wipe..?
Goo gone, ipa wipe..?
Here you also have the tape
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271285134990?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Bought 3 kits already after installing new SSD, cpu etc in my new iMac 27" 2013
Enjoy
Edited, sorry the link was already here. Didn't read the hole list...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271285134990?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Bought 3 kits already after installing new SSD, cpu etc in my new iMac 27" 2013
Enjoy
Edited, sorry the link was already here. Didn't read the hole list...
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Anyone tried the "Micro SATA Cables" blade-SSD adaptor?
I've been waiting to upgrade our 2012 27" iMac's HDD to 3TB and add an SSD via the blade connector. Wondering if anyone has tried the Micro SATA Cables version of blade to SATA adapter??
LINK
Their price is about half of their competitors. Has anyone been successful changing out their HDD for a higher capacity HDD and also adding an SSD via the blade connector?
I've been waiting to upgrade our 2012 27" iMac's HDD to 3TB and add an SSD via the blade connector. Wondering if anyone has tried the Micro SATA Cables version of blade to SATA adapter??
LINK
Their price is about half of their competitors. Has anyone been successful changing out their HDD for a higher capacity HDD and also adding an SSD via the blade connector?
Just Ordered 27" iMac w/ 256GB SSD
I just ordered a fully upgraded 27" iMac with 256GB PCIe SSD
I want to Rip It Open and install a 1TB HDD and Using Disk Utility merge the two to create my own Fusion Drive. (The standard Fusion Drive has a 128GB SSD with a 1TB HDD)
I want to tear it open and install a standard HDD, but I doubt it will have the SATA cable and drive enclosure inside.
Any sources on where I can purchase the cable and enclosure?
I am also concerned about what HDD I can put in. OWC says there are thermal issues with using non Apple HDD.
Can I purchase an Apple HDD online? Someone's used drive would work.
Took me a long time to hit the order button.
I have been waiting for the New Mac Pro, but it's overkill for my needs. Plus I would still need to purchase a Thunderbolt Display, which hasn't been updated in ages (I'm guessing they are working on a 4K display). I think the iMac is the right choice for me, especially if I can get this HDD installed in it.
Here is the configuration I ordered:
27-inch iMac
With the following:
3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
256GB Flash Storage
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
I just ordered a fully upgraded 27" iMac with 256GB PCIe SSD
I want to Rip It Open and install a 1TB HDD and Using Disk Utility merge the two to create my own Fusion Drive. (The standard Fusion Drive has a 128GB SSD with a 1TB HDD)
I want to tear it open and install a standard HDD, but I doubt it will have the SATA cable and drive enclosure inside.
Any sources on where I can purchase the cable and enclosure?
I am also concerned about what HDD I can put in. OWC says there are thermal issues with using non Apple HDD.
Can I purchase an Apple HDD online? Someone's used drive would work.
Took me a long time to hit the order button.
I have been waiting for the New Mac Pro, but it's overkill for my needs. Plus I would still need to purchase a Thunderbolt Display, which hasn't been updated in ages (I'm guessing they are working on a 4K display). I think the iMac is the right choice for me, especially if I can get this HDD installed in it.
Here is the configuration I ordered:
27-inch iMac
With the following:
3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
256GB Flash Storage
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
Would this SSD work
Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for this thread. It has been hugely helpful. I have a late 2012 iMac with 2.9ghz 1TB hdd and i am looking to add a 768gb blade ssd on the blade slot. Before i buy, i just want to make sure that this would work in my system.
Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for this thread. It has been hugely helpful. I have a late 2012 iMac with 2.9ghz 1TB hdd and i am looking to add a 768gb blade ssd on the blade slot. Before i buy, i just want to make sure that this would work in my system.
Attachments
I7 - 3770 upgrade - working
I just want to say special thanks to R.OG and zuri for their great contribution to this thread. Following the notes from R.OG and the tutorial that zuri posted on vimeo (http://vimeo.com/63435766), I've successfully upgraded my 27" 2012 iMac to a i7-3770 CPU after using it with a stock i5-3470 for about 10 months.
I just want to say special thanks to R.OG and zuri for their great contribution to this thread. Following the notes from R.OG and the tutorial that zuri posted on vimeo (http://vimeo.com/63435766), I've successfully upgraded my 27" 2012 iMac to a i7-3770 CPU after using it with a stock i5-3470 for about 10 months.
So i figured that every apple retina macbook blade ssd should work. I installed a 256gb apple/samsung blade ssd on my 27" late 2012 imac. I got the blade ssd off of craigslist for $150
----------
I think the latest series iMacs are the most easiest to teardown and upgrade, provided you have the right tools. Its so uncomplicated.
Thanks to everyone on this thread. Its become a bible for the community.
Just got a fairly loaded 2012 iMac i7, 1TB fusion drive, 680MX
First thing I did was crack her open and swap in a 512gb Apple/Samsung Blade SSD to replace the 128gb fusion SSD. With the stock 1TB drive and a 2TB seagate 3.5" drives, the system fan speed is now locked around 1600-1800 rpm which is much more annoying than 1200 rpm. It's gotta be a power issue that the 512gb ssd is either drawing more, or the system firmware doesn't know what to make of having a large ssd + 3.5" HDD so it jacks the fan speed up. I've read here in several posts if I replace the HDD with a 2.5" laptop drive or SSD the fan stays at the default 1200. Is this confirmed? I would hate to buy another set of tape and a 1TB laptop hard drive and find the fan speeds jacked up to 1600+ again. Thanks in advance!
First thing I did was crack her open and swap in a 512gb Apple/Samsung Blade SSD to replace the 128gb fusion SSD. With the stock 1TB drive and a 2TB seagate 3.5" drives, the system fan speed is now locked around 1600-1800 rpm which is much more annoying than 1200 rpm. It's gotta be a power issue that the 512gb ssd is either drawing more, or the system firmware doesn't know what to make of having a large ssd + 3.5" HDD so it jacks the fan speed up. I've read here in several posts if I replace the HDD with a 2.5" laptop drive or SSD the fan stays at the default 1200. Is this confirmed? I would hate to buy another set of tape and a 1TB laptop hard drive and find the fan speeds jacked up to 1600+ again. Thanks in advance!
I am curious to know a few things:
1. What did you replace the stock 1tb HDD with?
2. Which Blade ssd did you go with to upgrade to 512gb?
1. What did you replace the stock 1tb HDD with?
2. Which Blade ssd did you go with to upgrade to 512gb?
I should've been more clear, the either the upgraded hdd or the stock 1tb drive both resulted in annoying higher fan speeds when installed with 512gb blade ssd
- the only way back to lower fan speeds was to install both the original 128gb fusion blade ssd wiith stock 1tb drive OR use a 2.5" inch drive that doesn't use the 12 volt lead on the drive power connector
- I believe there's a power sensor somewhere that checks to see if there's extra drain in the 12 volt lead and if there's a ssd other than the default 128gb blade ssd and/or the hdd doesn't have an apple branded firmware it ratchets up the fan speed. This is actually worse than the older 2011 issue which was easily defeatable with software which the 2012 isn't
2. I went with a samsung 512gb taken from a 2012 rMBP 13
I also have a late 2012 27" iMac with a 1TB Fusion Drive. I've been wanting to replace the stock 1TB drive with an SSD but I've been holding off with worries of voiding my AppleCare, etc. The itch is now back and I'm wondering if there's a definitive answer to my question as what I want to do is a little different to you. I would like to just replace the 1TB hard drive with an SSD (most likely 512GB). My questions are:
1) Would this then remove the Fusion between the two, giving two separate drives?
1) Would this cause the fan/heat issues that you're experiencing?
2) Could I then use the new SSD (in place of the old 1TB drive) as my primary drive and then the smaller 128GB SSD as a second drive, i.e. for something like a small Boot Camp partition?
Thanks!
I also have a late 2012 27" iMac with a 1TB Fusion Drive. I've been wanting to replace the stock 1TB drive with an SSD but I've been holding off with worries of voiding my AppleCare, etc. The itch is now back and I'm wondering if there's a definitive answer to my question as what I want to do is a little different to you. I would like to just replace the 1TB hard drive with an SSD (most likely 512GB). My questions are:
1) Would this then remove the Fusion between the two, giving two separate drives?
1) Would this cause the fan/heat issues that you're experiencing?
2) Could I then use the new SSD (in place of the old 1TB drive) as my primary drive and then the smaller 128GB SSD as a second drive, i.e. for something like a small Boot Camp partition?
Thanks!
I've experimented a bit since my first post and just as long as you don't put anything in the hdd drive slot that draws from the 12 volt line (all regular 3.5" HDD and a few weird 2.5 inch drives like wd raptors use 5 and 12 volts, afaik all regular 2.5" hdd and ssds only use 5 volts) you'll be fine without having fan issues. For your other questions they're all a yes! Keep in mind to backup your fusion drive as the 128gb drive becomes unreadable after you remove its hdd counterpart.
My opinion is that Samsung apple ssd does not affect the speed of the fan. I had iMac 27 with unoriginal HDD WD 1TB and fan speed to around 2000 rpm. After HDD replacement on the original Apple HDD fan earned in the normal mode 1200 rpm. It is not excluded, that the the sensor tracks the power of HDD and changes the fan speed. Sorry for my English.I also have a late 2012 27" iMac with a 1TB Fusion Drive. I've been wanting to replace the stock 1TB drive with an SSD but I've been holding off with worries of voiding my AppleCare, etc. The itch is now back and I'm wondering if there's a definitive answer to my question as what I want to do is a little different to you. I would like to just replace the 1TB hard drive with an SSD (most likely 512GB). My questions are:
1) Would this then remove the Fusion between the two, giving two separate drives?
1) Would this cause the fan/heat issues that you're experiencing?
2) Could I then use the new SSD (in place of the old 1TB drive) as my primary drive and then the smaller 128GB SSD as a second drive, i.e. for something like a small Boot Camp partition?
Thanks!
Sorry if this has been asked to death already. I'm considering getting a late 2013 iMac 27. I already have a Samsung 2.5" 840 pro which I had bought to use in my late 2011 iMac but I was wondering if I could use it in the new iMac instead.
I'm getting a little confused reading over the whole thread. Is it possible to install the Samsung SSD while keeping the Apple SSD & HDD (Fusion), so 3 drive system with an upgrade kit of some sort.
Running a system with only 512gb SSD won't suit my needs for large amounts of fast storage. I was hoping to install a 4tb HDD with the Samsung 512gb SSD. While Apples prices for the 3tb fusion isn't very expensive I'm just looking for the best of both worlds. As I haven't purchased yet I'm in a position to deliberate on the best route to take before I drop the cash.
Would Apples SSD outperform the Samsung 840 pro.
I'm getting a little confused reading over the whole thread. Is it possible to install the Samsung SSD while keeping the Apple SSD & HDD (Fusion), so 3 drive system with an upgrade kit of some sort.
Running a system with only 512gb SSD won't suit my needs for large amounts of fast storage. I was hoping to install a 4tb HDD with the Samsung 512gb SSD. While Apples prices for the 3tb fusion isn't very expensive I'm just looking for the best of both worlds. As I haven't purchased yet I'm in a position to deliberate on the best route to take before I drop the cash.
Would Apples SSD outperform the Samsung 840 pro.
No, Apple's SSD is based either on Marvell or Samsung 830 controllers which are both slower than the 840. What you're doing will definitely increase your fan speed as any 3.5" HDD other than a Apple modified HDD with Apple custom firmware will cause your fan speed to go to 1600-1700+. What's funny is when the 'non-Apple' HDD goes to sleep from power management, the fan speed will drop to 1200 rpm, but as soon as it spins back up it gets noisy again.
You're right IF the Samsung Apple SSD is 128gb. I've tried a 512gb Samsung Apple SSD and my fan speeds went up anyway.
Thanks for the reply. So if I understand right I'm probably better sticking with the Apple original 3TB and install the Samsung 840 512gb 2.5". With that config should my fans speeds remain at normal levels?
Also could I keep the Apple 128gb SSD in the above config for a triple drive or will I have to ditch it if I want to use the Samsung 512gb + 3TB Apple. I guess I could sell it to help pay for the 2011 to 2013 iMac upgrade. Thanks again. Your help is much appreciated.
I'm assuming you're going to get the maxupgrade kit that turns the stock blade SSD connector into a SATA connector...
You're still going to end up with higher fan speeds with your configuration. These are the only combos that will have regular fan speeds for you:
1. Keep the original 3TB + original 128gb SSD for fusion operation
2. Use either the original 128gb SSD OR get the Apple 256gb/512gb/768gb blade SSD alone or pair it with either a 2.5" SSD or HDD
3. Get the maxupgrade kit and pair a 2.5" SSD with either another 2.5" SSD or 2.5" HDD.
The 3TB original drive will only work correctly with the 128gb stock SSD. Unless you don't care about fan noise, pairing the 3.5" drive with anything else will cause higher fan noise.
Currently, I use the Imac 27 apple ssd 256 gb and Samsung 830 SSD 256 gb configured in Raid 0. Fan is operating normally 1200 rpm https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17549696#post17549696
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Which is what's expected as your Samsung 830 is a 2.5" SSD which doesn't draw power from the 12 volt line like a 3.5" HDD would do. Drop in any 3.5" HDD and since you're using >128gb blade SSD you will have higher RPM fan speed=noise
Hey guys, I have a couple of quick questions that I'd like cleared up before I rip my late 2012 27" iMac open. I'm planning on simply replacing the 1TB HD with a 512GB 840 Pro and using that as my primary OS X drive. I'll obviously then have the 128GB flash as a separate drive.
- Can I use this 128GB drive to install Boot Camp without any problems? I wasn't sure if Boot Camp needed to be on the same drive as OS X or just on any internal. I know 128GB isn't that large but for a testing and occasional gaming install of Windows it will be great for me.
- Are these the right replacement adhesive strips? I've seen a few videos of people using other tape and they end up with a bit of a gap between the body and the screen. I'd like to put it back together looking exactly how I got it.
- As I'm replacing a 3.5" HD with a 2.5" SSD, what's generally the best bracket solution for me (that's ideally available here in Germany!). I've seen people just resting SSDs on top of the old HD, taping them to the back of the body, etc.
Thanks again - this thread has been so useful!
- Can I use this 128GB drive to install Boot Camp without any problems? I wasn't sure if Boot Camp needed to be on the same drive as OS X or just on any internal. I know 128GB isn't that large but for a testing and occasional gaming install of Windows it will be great for me.
- Are these the right replacement adhesive strips? I've seen a few videos of people using other tape and they end up with a bit of a gap between the body and the screen. I'd like to put it back together looking exactly how I got it.
- As I'm replacing a 3.5" HD with a 2.5" SSD, what's generally the best bracket solution for me (that's ideally available here in Germany!). I've seen people just resting SSDs on top of the old HD, taping them to the back of the body, etc.
Thanks again - this thread has been so useful!
Hey guys, I have a couple of quick questions that I'd like cleared up before I rip my late 2012 27" iMac open. I'm planning on simply replacing the 1TB HD with a 512GB 840 Pro and using that as my primary OS X drive. I'll obviously then have the 128GB flash as a separate drive.
- Can I use this 128GB drive to install Boot Camp without any problems? I wasn't sure if Boot Camp needed to be on the same drive as OS X or just on any internal. I know 128GB isn't that large but for a testing and occasional gaming install of Windows it will be great for me.
......
- As I'm replacing a 3.5" HD with a 2.5" SSD, what's generally the best bracket solution for me (that's ideally available here in Germany!). I've seen people just resting SSDs on top of the old HD, taping them to the back of the body, etc.
Thanks again - this thread has been so useful!
Yes, you can use the small SSD for Windows. Windows can be installed on the same physical disk, or on a separate disk without problem. I run Windows8 on an external Thunderbolt 256GB SSD (LaCie "Rugged") on my 2012 iMac.
While there are conversion brackets (IcyDock and simple metal ones), I would probably simply use "velcro" to attach the lightweight SSD.
-howard
I agree 100% The local Apple certified repair shop charged me $105 to replace my HD in my 27" iMac