2017 21.5" 4k SSD upgrade advice please

[Wd999]

Hi all,

Just bought a 3ghz imac 2017. It has the standard 1gb 5400rpm spinner which seems to be bottleneck. This machine is slow!

I plan on buying the Samsung T5 500gb SSD and make this my primary boot drive.

1. Is this a fair plan to speed the machine up? The drive is USB 3.1 but I gather the ports on the imac are only 3.0; will it matter?
2. What can I use the stock 1TB drive for? Backing up the SSD on time machine I presume? If so, how do I enable this?
3. Any guides as to how to set up the new SSD please? The machine is new so nothing has been installed on it yet. Where do I download High Sierra from etc?
4. Would I better off getting the Samsung evo 860 and using a cable to connect it (unsure of the name, SATA converter I think)?


Sorry for the newb questions!

Help kindly appreciated

 

[potatis]

1: the drive seems equivalent to 3.0 speeds so no it won't matter, 2: I think after install, go into Time Machine in system preferences and choose 1TB drive for backup, 3: Can you find High Sierra in the App Store? Or, if you reboot the iMac into recovery mode holding down CMD+R I think you can reinstall from there. After download you should be able to select the connected SSD in installer, maybe you have to format it in HFS+ or APFS first. 4: it seems similar to the T5 in speed so maybe not.

 

[cwanja]

So out of my own curiosity, why did you buy it with the spinning hard-drive if you wanted an SSD? Also, I do not suggest using the internal drive as a backup for your SSD. Might want to explore a second external drive as your backup drive seeing as you cannot really take that drive with you should you need your backup - unless you plan to haul the iMac with you everywhere.

 

[Wd999]

So out of my own curiosity, why did you buy it with the spinning hard-drive if you wanted an SSD? Also, I do not suggest using the internal drive as a backup for your SSD. Might want to explore a second external drive as your backup drive seeing as you cannot really take that drive with you should you need your backup - unless you plan to haul the iMac with you everywhere.

I wasn't planning on buying an SSD. I wanted a 4k variant, hence went for the base spec in this variation. The machine seems slow to boot up and I wondered if it was the hdd that was the culprit, hence felt it worthwhile adding an SSD as the primary drive.

In the past, I've seen excellent results upgrading to an SSD in a 2009 MBP, so thought this may be worthwhile. Open to ideas though.

 

[tyche]

If you’re not talking about opening the iMac and installing an ssd but rather plugging one into the external USB.

Get a good ssd drive +enclosure. Not all of them have good transfer rates. I’ll leave that up to others and google to sort out

Install carbon copy cloner and make a copy of your internal drive to the external

Change the main boot drive to the external.

To test the improvement, install black magic drive test first and record the speed of the internal and then the external once you’re running on it.

Use the internal drive to store files where size is more important than speed.

 

[alien3dx]

Hi all,

Just bought a 3ghz imac 2017. It has the standard 1gb 5400rpm spinner which seems to be bottleneck. This machine is slow!

I plan on buying the Samsung T5 500gb SSD and make this my primary boot drive.

1. Is this a fair plan to speed the machine up? The drive is USB 3.1 but I gather the ports on the imac are only 3.0; will it matter?
2. What can I use the stock 1TB drive for? Backing up the SSD on time machine I presume? If so, how do I enable this?
3. Any guides as to how to set up the new SSD please? The machine is new so nothing has been installed on it yet. Where do I download High Sierra from etc?
4. Would I better off getting the Samsung evo 860 and using a cable to connect it (unsure of the name, SATA converter I think)?


Sorry for the newb questions!

Help kindly appreciated

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/t5/
1. 3.1 gen2 . Gen1 cannot have usb c monitor bandwidth.
2. I''m using as backup file.
3. https://support.apple.com/en-my/HT204904
4. me usb c western digital usb c to usbc no sata convertor

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

What you propose in post 1 is a solid and valid plan of action.

Yes, the 500gb external SSD -WILL- "transform the iMac", insofar as speed is concerned.

Set it up to hold your OS, apps, accounts.
If you have "large libraries" of certain stuff -- movies, music, pics -- you can "leave them behind" on the internal HDD. They will work fine there.

The idea is to keep the SSD "lean, clean, and mean".
This way, it will always run at its best.
Actually, you could even do fine with a 256gb SSD (again, keeping the large libraries on the internal drive).

You can use some velcro to attach the t5 (or any other external SSD) to the back of the iMac's stand. It will then be up-and-out-of-the-way. You'll hardly notice it's there.

Go ahead and try this, and report back here with your results.
I predict there'll be a BIG smile on your face once the SSD is set up and running.

Edit:
Hmmmm.....
You asked about HOW to set it up.
OK, here's what I'd suggest:
IMPORTANT:
You said there isn't much on the internal drive (which is 1tb). If it will fit onto the SSD, just use CCC as I describe below.

1. Once you have the SSD, connect it and ERASE it to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled (GUID partition format).

2. Now, download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html
CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days

3. Open CCC and accept the defaults. Put your source (internal) on the left. Put the target (SSD) to its right.

4. CCC will ask if you wish to clone the recovery partition, too. YES, you want to do this. Then click the "clone" button and let 'er go.

5. Give CCC time to copy over everything. With an SSD, it will go pretty quickly.

6. When done, quit CCC and power down the Mac, ALL THE WAY OFF.

7. Press the power-on button and IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears.

8. Do you see the SSD in startup manager? If so, select it with the pointer and hit return.

9. The Mac should boot from the SSD. When you get to the finder, it will look EXACTLY as the internal drive looks (it's a clone, right?).

10. One more important thing to do: Go to system preferences and click "startup disk". Click the lock and enter your password, then select the SSD as the boot drive. Close system prefs.

That should do it.
I'd leave a copy of the OS on the internal drive.
That way, you always have a SECOND, IMMEDIATELY-BOOTABLE copy of the OS for an "I can't boot!" moment.

PRINT OUT THIS POST and save it.
Check it off as you go along.

 

[Wd999]

Thanks for the detailed responses. I'll order it and report back in due course.

Warm regards.

 

[infantrytrophy]

... Once you have the SSD, connect it and ERASE it to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled (GUID partition format ...

Fishrrrman - Thanks for posting the clear instructions.

Is it necessary to use Mac OS extended rather than APFS? If yes, is this because the internal drive is a spinning HD?

 

[Fishrrman]

What OS are you planning to use?

 

[infantrytrophy]

What OS are you planning to use?

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 in a late 2009 27” iMac. Not eligible for upgrade to Mojave. Internal HDD is original 1TB spinning drive. Has 20GB RAM, works well except for slow boot up and slow wake from sleep.