As it has been said many times before replacing the hdd in the latest iMacs is practically impossible because of the heat sensor problem. But wat I was wondering is, would it be possible to add an extra drive to the iMac as there seems to be enough room considering you have the option for an extra ssd in the apple online store? So is t possible to easily add your own ssd without any issues?
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Add an ssd to 2011 iMac
- Thread starter jvpython
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I have temporarily replaced my HDD with an SSD.. no troubles what-so-ever.
Everyone bangs on about the fan running full speed and all that crap.
Just download SSD fan control (its like a free version of HDD fan control).
It uses S.M.A.R.T to keep tabs on the SSD's temperature and keeps the HDD fan running an optimum speed.
However, i will be moving my SSD to the optical bay caddy (as soon as it arrives) as i miss having metric **** tonnes of storage space.
http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/Site/SSD_Fan_Control.html
Its free!
Everyone bangs on about the fan running full speed and all that crap.
Just download SSD fan control (its like a free version of HDD fan control).
It uses S.M.A.R.T to keep tabs on the SSD's temperature and keeps the HDD fan running an optimum speed.
However, i will be moving my SSD to the optical bay caddy (as soon as it arrives) as i miss having metric **** tonnes of storage space.
http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/Site/SSD_Fan_Control.html
Its free!
Nah, i just bought one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220904561...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_1862wt_1398
No point buying a SATA 3 drive if your going to use one of these though as the Slimline Sata only supports Sata 2.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220904561...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_1862wt_1398
No point buying a SATA 3 drive if your going to use one of these though as the Slimline Sata only supports Sata 2.
Be careful!
Installing an ssd in an 21.5" iMac is somewhat different than a 27" iMac. They use different cables and brackets. There's a good tutorial on ifixit.com.
I have the same iMac as you have and i've tried it myself.
I wanted to make my iMac ready for an ssd upgrade. I still don't have an ssd but i wanted to look inside my mac and install the cables first(i used to build pc's and i was kind of curios).
I bought a 50 cm(20") sata3 cable and a sata power splitter finding out that the sata cable is to long(you need a 30cm (12")) and power splitter not usable because its connecters aren't 90 degrees angled(i thought i read it somewhere that this would work but that was probably for the 27" iMac)
I advice you to get the iMac 21 ssd kit from ebay consisting 3 parts (power cable, sata cable and ssd brackets) or the ssd upgrade kit from ifixit with the same parts and some extra's for not much more money.
some other things:
The fans will only spin to max when you REPLACE your hard drive with another non apple drive! Not when you ADD another drive.
You don't need a hard drive caddy for you're ssd you can put one behind the superdrive with the brackets or velcro or double sided tape.
Good luck! Tt is not that hard(if you have experience in pc building
)!
Installing an ssd in an 21.5" iMac is somewhat different than a 27" iMac. They use different cables and brackets. There's a good tutorial on ifixit.com.
I have the same iMac as you have and i've tried it myself.
I wanted to make my iMac ready for an ssd upgrade. I still don't have an ssd but i wanted to look inside my mac and install the cables first(i used to build pc's and i was kind of curios).
I bought a 50 cm(20") sata3 cable and a sata power splitter finding out that the sata cable is to long(you need a 30cm (12")) and power splitter not usable because its connecters aren't 90 degrees angled(i thought i read it somewhere that this would work but that was probably for the 27" iMac)
I advice you to get the iMac 21 ssd kit from ebay consisting 3 parts (power cable, sata cable and ssd brackets) or the ssd upgrade kit from ifixit with the same parts and some extra's for not much more money.
some other things:
The fans will only spin to max when you REPLACE your hard drive with another non apple drive! Not when you ADD another drive.
You don't need a hard drive caddy for you're ssd you can put one behind the superdrive with the brackets or velcro or double sided tape.
Good luck! Tt is not that hard(if you have experience in pc building
)!