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

New 2011 iMac 27" i7 with Intel 510 SSD

N

n8diggity

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 15, 2010
11
0
Calgary
I ordered a BTO iMac. I ordered it with the factory installed SSD and when I ran a disk test the 170MB/s read & write was too slow for the wad of cash I just blew. SO... I opened it up and changed the SSD to the 250GB Intel 510. It actually links up at 6gbps. The difference is Night & Day! I recommend this upgrade for everyone. I dont recommend changing the rotational drive in these to SSD. Order it with the factory and replace it with a faster drive. The OCZ Vertex 3 scored only 280MB/s read so I went with the Intel. It works with TRIM and doesnt change my fan speeds. Also the partitions align properly and I was only able to get this one to link at SATA III speeds.

The drives that come with are Toshiba crappy 256GB SSD sata II and the hitachi is the 2TB option also a SATA II. I think apple should stop cheaping out and hook up some speed. The Cables are at least sata 3 capable.

I've included a screenshot for AJA System Test and Geekbench for anyone interested in buying one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65002081@N08/ are pictures of it being taken apart
 

Attachments

  • Screen shot 2011-06-28 at 9.49.51 PM.png
    Screen shot 2011-06-28 at 9.49.51 PM.png
    841.3 KB · Views: 1,111
Last edited:
Sweet I may just do this.

A few questions:
1) Do the partitions align automagically just like Windows 7 on a fresh install of OSX?
2) What did you do with the Toshiba SSD?
3) How many SATA III connections are there?

TIA!
 
Last edited:
dgr said:
Sweet I may just do this.

A few questions:
1) Do the partitions align automagically just like Windows 7 on a fresh install of OSX?
2) What did you do with the Toshiba SSD?
3) How many SATA III connections are there?

TIA!
Click to expand...

When I first bought this intel 510 last month I put it into my 2010 MacBook pro 2.8 i7. I used ipartition to verify the partition was aligned on both machines. It was done automatically no tweaking needed. I swapped these two after trying an OCZ vertex 3.The toshiba went into the MacBook (and is way slower even on sata2) The iMac didn't like the OCZ and would only link at sata 2 speeds. Probably something to do with firmware. Also my istat widget wouldn't record hd temp for the OCZ. Intel worked no problem. Must be the intel and intel working together on a Mac. The iMac has 2 sata 3 connectors (1&2) and 1 sata 2 (0). Also when u get a factory ssd ur chassis is molded to hold an ssd. The ssd with 2 metal clips screws into the back of the screen beneath the DVD drive. With no factory ssd there's no screwholes in the screen. Also to run cable u would have to remove the logic board. With a factory ssd the cables are already ran.
 
I know guys without the factory SSD have installed the Vertex 3 without a problem. Must have something to do with the wiring from Apple that causes some different issues. At this point I am also pretty sure that at the moment there is no way to get the SSD temp without it being factory-installed.
 
n8diggity said:
When I first bought this intel 510 last month I put it into my 2010 MacBook pro 2.8 i7. I used ipartition to verify the partition was aligned on both machines. It was done automatically no tweaking needed. I swapped these two after trying an OCZ vertex 3.The toshiba went into the MacBook (and is way slower even on sata2) The iMac didn't like the OCZ and would only link at sata 2 speeds. Probably something to do with firmware. Also my istat widget wouldn't record hd temp for the OCZ. Intel worked no problem. Must be the intel and intel working together on a Mac. The iMac has 2 sata 3 connectors (1&2) and 1 sata 2 (0). Also when u get a factory ssd ur chassis is molded to hold an ssd. The ssd with 2 metal clips screws into the back of the screen beneath the DVD drive. With no factory ssd there's no screwholes in the screen. Also to run cable u would have to remove the logic board. With a factory ssd the cables are already ran.
Click to expand...

So to change SSD's you don't need to remove the logic board? What is needed to be removed? Did you take pictures?
 
AbeFroman77 said:
So to change SSD's you don't need to remove the logic board? What is needed to be removed? Did you take pictures?
Click to expand...

I didn't take pics no. If u wait till Monday when I'm back from vacation I will take it apart again. U need to remove the screen and optical drive only. The SSD is right behind the optical drive. U need torx t5 and t6. I just did a quick google search to disassemble it. Ifixit has good pics. U can substitute a credit card for the suction cups for prying off the manetic bezel of the display
 
n8diggity said:
I didn't take pics no. If u wait till Monday when I'm back from vacation I will take it apart again. U need to remove the screen and optical drive only. The SSD is right behind the optical drive. U need torx t5 and t6. I just did a quick google search to disassemble it. Ifixit has good pics. U can substitute a credit card for the suction cups for prying off the manetic bezel of the display
Click to expand...

Good stuff. So you're suggesting to do it right and have no temp/fan issues. Get the Apple SSD and then replace it with the Intel 510?
 
n8diggity said:
I ordered a BTO iMac. I ordered it with the factory installed SSD and when I ran a disk test the 170MB/s read & write was too slow for the wad of cash I just blew. SO... I opened it up and changed the SSD to the 250GB Intel 510. It actually links up at 6gbps. The difference is Night & Day! I recommend this upgrade for everyone. I dont recommend changing the rotational drive in these to SSD. Order it with the factory and replace it with a faster drive. The OCZ Vertex 3 scored only 280MB/s read so I went with the Intel. It works with TRIM and doesnt change my fan speeds. Also the partitions align properly and I was only able to get this one to link at SATA III speeds.

The drives that come with are Toshiba crappy 256GB SSD sata II and the hitachi is the 2TB option also a SATA II. I think apple should stop cheaping out and hook up some speed. The Cables are at least sata 3 capable.

I've included a screenshot for AJA System Test and Geekbench for anyone interested in buying one.
Click to expand...

so basically you paid 2000 plus 200 for the better cpu and 750 for the 2tb hdd with ssd option.

so 2950 not counting ram or apple care then a 510 intel ssd 250gb is 579 so the machine as stocked cost over 3500 not counting taxes. that is a lot of coin. even if you sell the tosh on ebay for 350 and clear 300 you are still at 3200 not counting taxes.
 
philipma1957 said:
so basically you paid 2000 plus 200 for the better cpu and 750 for the 2tb hdd with ssd option.

so 2950 not counting ram or apple care then a 510 intel ssd 250gb is 579 so the machine as stocked cost over 3500 not counting taxes. that is a lot of coin. even if you sell the tosh on ebay for 350 and clear 300 you are still at 3200 not counting taxes.
Click to expand...

Yes I paid 3100 for the iMac. $250 for Kingston apple spec ram. And $600 for the 510. I figured if I'm spending the money might as well do it right. I don't want a hacked up iMac even if I could've saved myself $400. It would be like buying a Ferrari and putting wal mart tires on it. I feel I got my money's worth now. I can boot up without the spinny animation even showing up now. programs including iTunes open instantly. So the time I save over 2 year in waiting I'll make up my $400
 
AbeFroman77 said:
Good stuff. So you're suggesting to do it right and have no temp/fan issues. Get the Apple SSD and then replace it with the Intel 510?
Click to expand...

yes, even using their installed sata cable works with sata 3 speeds once u have the 10.6.8 update. No adapters needed. You can enable trim support too using the third party patch. HD temp reads at 53C but both hdd's come up under one temp so i dunno which one it is, but my fans for all areas work according to the load, properly, and aren't loud under normal use. I don't have to use any regulator program for their speed. It's the safest and easiest way. And should you ever need warranty you can swap it out before u take it in again because you don't need to remove the logic board. Unless you sell it, but i bet they wouldn't care. It all looks professionally done, they just might not cover the intel ssd but mine has a 3 yr warranty from intel on it.

ANd for the screen surprisingly not one spec of dust and i had it off 3 times. Just be careful and keep the pets away.
 
If you don't get the BTO SSD, can't you have it set up exactly the way it's supposed to be with an aftermarket SSD?
 
AbeFroman77 said:
If you don't get the BTO SSD, can't you have it set up exactly the way it's supposed to be with an aftermarket SSD?
Click to expand...

If you did it tonight, no. However, in the future, yes. At this point the exact cables aren't available so different techniques/adapters are used. Eventually the bracket and cables will become available for the pristine install.
 
Dresevski said:
If you did it tonight, no. However, in the future, yes. At this point the exact cables aren't available so different techniques/adapters are used. Eventually the bracket and cables will become available for the pristine install.
Click to expand...

The TS stated that the chassis is molded to hold the SSD? Are they making a different chassis just for BTO SSD? Doesn't sound efficient.
 
AbeFroman77 said:
The TS stated that the chassis is molded to hold the SSD? Are they making a different chassis just for BTO SSD? Doesn't sound efficient.
Click to expand...

TS = thread starter? His has the piece he needs to directly screw in the new SSD because he has the factory-installed drive. Those of us without the SSD currently need to wait until that inserted piece becomes available. It's not that it is a different chassis but there's a missing bracket. Saves money by not installing it "needlessly" for those of us who want to install our own drives.
 
Meaningless benchmarks like you mentioned are obviously important to some people, but it's already been proven that back in the real world the differences between these 3 drives are pretty small when it comes to real use. I've already posted interesting stuff from the anandtech about this a week or two ago. Sequential write and read speeds synthetic benchmarks count mainly at the playground.
 
AbeFroman77 said:
Would the non-SSD iMacs have those molded mounts?
Click to expand...

Mine did not... Took a bit of tinkering, and a $15.40 sata/power cable... sadly I took no photos =(

n8diggity said:
The OCZ Vertex 3 scored only 280MB/s read so I went with the Intel.
Click to expand...

I assure you that's not the case... see my thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1183918/

I also ran the exact same AJA test you ran, Disk Read/Write for 720x486 8-bit...
while yours writes 278.7MB/s and reads 338.4MB/s, mine writes 409.8MB/s and reads 398.0MB/s...
I've attached a screen shot for your comparison
 

Attachments

  • Screen shot 2011-07-08 at 1.40.41 AM.png
    Screen shot 2011-07-08 at 1.40.41 AM.png
    264.7 KB · Views: 205
Last edited:
itsmrjon said:
Mine did not... Took a bit of tinkering, and a $15.40 sata/power cable... sadly I took no photos =(



I assure you that's not the case... see my thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1183918/

I also ran the exact same AJA test you ran, Disk Read/Write for 720x486 8-bit...
while yours writes 278.7MB/s and reads 338.4MB/s, mine writes 409.8MB/s and reads 398.0MB/s...
I've attached a screen shot for your comparison
Click to expand...

I'm jealous, I wish my OCZ worked, it would've saved me some money. Did you replace your 1 or 2tb with the SSD or add it on as a second. Or replace the factory SSD?
 
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
Back