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HDD Replacement in 21.5" 2010 imac

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PerformancePcs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2012
11
0
Hi guys,

Usual one, 21.5" imac has packed up its hard drive.

WD5000AAKS Western digital 500GB Ceviar Blue is the present hard drive.

Obviously this one is EOL as per western digital. Apple are their usual helpful selves in not knowing. Have a couple of leading replacements but, Which one wil not send the HDD fan into overdrive?

Any suggestions would be great, thanks..
 
toddzrx

toddzrx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
725
263
Seriously, throw down for an SSD; you won't regret it. Get at least a 120GB; go 250/256GB if you can (they are typically faster than the 120's), and buy an external HD for mass storage if you need more room. While the upfront cost is a little higher than just replacing the stock HD, it'll probably extend the useful life of the machine an extra year or 2, just because it won't get that "bogged down" feeling/experience as newer OS's come out.
 
P

PerformancePcs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2012
11
0
Mate,

I know and appreciate the affluent increase in performance that an SSD will create but, there is the issue of the Fan spinning out of control and ending up at 6k rpm. Now, i've already fitted an SSD to an imac and it presents the same problem as before. Works fine, first 7 mins the HDD fan controller says all normal, then the temp drops to 0.00 and then the fan goes nuts.

If anybody has any opinions or suggestions on the matter of fitting an SSD to a 2010 imac and sorting the fan system out then please share them as ive looked into this extensively and drawn a blank..

Thanks
 
Plutonius

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,033
8,404
New Hampshire, USA
toddzrx said:
Seriously, throw down for an SSD; you won't regret it. Get at least a 120GB; go 250/256GB if you can (they are typically faster than the 120's), and buy an external HD for mass storage if you need more room. While the upfront cost is a little higher than just replacing the stock HD, it'll probably extend the useful life of the machine an extra year or 2, just because it won't get that "bogged down" feeling/experience as newer OS's come out.
Click to expand...

256GB is considerably smaller then the drive the OP had. Rather than faster, I believe the OP wants to know the best replacement drive that will keep his fan speed at a reasonable RPM.

Here looks like some good info on the HD fan speeds.
 
J

johnpateley

macrumors newbie
Jun 10, 2012
11
0
Yorkshire Dales England
Just done it!

Hello
I have just replaced a WD 500gyg blue drive with a 1 terabyte WD black.
I was worried about fan problems but I just plugged the sensor cable into the same position as the old drive and it works perfectly no fan issues!
My machine is a 2009-10
Best wishes John
 
P

pcfarrar

macrumors regular
Nov 23, 2010
104
22
If your installing an SSD the fan speed is a non issue, all you need to do is short out the temperature cable connector with a staple/paperclip and some insulation tape.
 
D

dextr3k

macrumors 6502
Nov 26, 2012
357
1
Yep, fan speed is controllable. You can short it out like the previous poster said, or you can use a program that will regulate the fan speeds based on SMART temps. SSDfancontrol is one program that is free.
 
toddzrx

toddzrx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
725
263
Plutonius said:
256GB is considerably smaller then the drive the OP had. Rather than faster, I believe the OP wants to know the best replacement drive that will keep his fan speed at a reasonable RPM.

Here looks like some good info on the HD fan speeds.
Click to expand...

Right, I got that. I'm just throwing out a suggestion, having done this on my own iMac (and a MBP before that). If you're going to go through the effort of opening up the machine, you may as well replace a failing HD with an SSD and use external HD's for mass storage. IMHO. The OP can do whatever they like.

Besides, the fan speed is controllable via shorting or software, so that's a non-issue regardless of what you replace the stock drive with.
 
Plutonius

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,033
8,404
New Hampshire, USA
toddzrx said:
Right, I got that. I'm just throwing out a suggestion, having done this on my own iMac (and a MBP before that). If you're going to go through the effort of opening up the machine, you may as well replace a failing HD with an SSD and use external HD's for mass storage. IMHO. The OP can do whatever they like.

Besides, the fan speed is controllable via shorting or software, so that's a non-issue regardless of what you replace the stock drive with.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Lots of cheap external USB drives.
 
T

tyche

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2010
413
65
I have a 2010 21.5" iMac and have no issues with my SSD and fan speed. Biggest hassle is taking it apart (those %#!@ rail magnets) and keeping the screen clean.

Install SSD, do the steps to enable trim in the OS. Get a fan control program. I use HDD Fan Control and set up the speed parameters. Oh yeah, did a CCC clone to an external drive to re image the SSD so I was back up and running in about 30 mins.

Whisper quiet and far less heat pouring off the back.
 
P

PerformancePcs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2012
11
0
ok, by shorting the temp controller out, you can then manually control the fan speed? and are there any concise instruction details on how to short the temp cable and is it done at the connector at the board, or where it links to the hard drive?? thanks
 
T

tyche

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2010
413
65
I didn't have to short any wires which is a bad idea from what I understand. It will just keep the fan off or running min speed.

Using a software app will override this need and allow the computer to increase fan speed when the heat rises (from gpu use mostly). SSDFanControl-2.12 is free to try but I only use HDD Fan Control but it cost a bit. You can set the fan speed and at what temp to start increasing its speed. It will read from the s.m.a.r.t temp or the internal case temp.
 
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