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HDD upgrade for 2010 iMac

A

Aspen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 11, 2009
101
1
The hard drive in my 2010 Core 2 Duo iMac is 500 GB. I'd like to upgrade it to 1-3 TB for photo and video storage. Any suggestions or any to stay away from? Will any standard 3.5" SATA work?

I'll need to from 4 GB>>>8 GB memory also.

But do I recall that Snow Leopard can't be upgraded to Mountain Lion? That could be a negative.

Yep, it's a dinosaur but it's paid for and works fine. Plus, I still like having the internal OD.

Thanks much.
 
Last edited:
G-Mo

G-Mo

macrumors 6502
Nov 6, 2010
466
2
Auckland, NZ
Your 2010 iMac requires a proprietary Apple hard drive due to the built in temperature sensor. There are hacks to work around this and use a standard SATA drive, but, there are risks. I believe the maximum available drive from Apple for this machine is 2TB (off the top of my head).
 
Last edited:
toddzrx

toddzrx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
725
263
G-Mo said:
Your 2010 iMac requires a proprietary Apple hard drive due to the built in temperature sensor. There are hacks to work around this and use a standard SATA drive, but, there are risks. I believe the maximum available drive from Apple for this machine is 2TB (off the top of my head).
Click to expand...

Huh?

Not sure about using a hard drive, but I installed a Corsair SSD in my mid-2010 model (obviously without a temp sensor) and have had zero issues. Just get HDD Fan Control (http://www.hddfancontrol.com/) to control fan speed after installing a drive that doesn't have a temp sensor. I would imagine it's no different when installing a non-proprietary HD.

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Aspen said:
The hard drive in my 2010 Core 2 Duo iMac is 500 GB. I'd like to upgrade it to 1-3 TB for photo and video storage. Any suggestions or any to stay away from? Will any standard 3.5" SATA work?

I'll need to from 4 GB>>>8 GB memory also.

But do I recall that Snow Leopard can't be upgraded to Mountain Lion? That could be a negative.

Yep, it's a dinosaur but it's paid for and works fine. Plus, I still like having the internal OD.

Thanks much.
Click to expand...

If it's a mid-2010 model, it will have at least a core i3 processor in there; the late 2009's were the last model to have Core 2 Duos. And, that is no dinosaur. Add the right gear to it (SSD should be at the top of your list) and you'll have a faster machine than a new base model iMac.

Finally, Snow Leopard can be upgraded directly to Mountain Lion; you do not need to buy Lion first (I assume that is your concern).
 
A

Aspen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 11, 2009
101
1
toddzrx said:
Huh?

Not sure about using a hard drive, but I installed a Corsair SSD in my mid-2010 model (obviously without a temp sensor) and have had zero issues. Just get HDD Fan Control (http://www.hddfancontrol.com/) to control fan speed after installing a drive that doesn't have a temp sensor. I would imagine it's no different when installing a non-proprietary HD.

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If it's a mid-2010 model, it will have at least a core i3 processor in there; the late 2009's were the last model to have Core 2 Duos. And, that is no dinosaur. Add the right gear to it (SSD should be at the top of your list) and you'll have a faster machine than a new base model iMac.

Finally, Snow Leopard can be upgraded directly to Mountain Lion; you do not need to buy Lion first (I assume that is your concern).
Click to expand...

You are right; it's a late 2009 (bought in 2010).

Thanks to all for the help.
 
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