Apple Further Restricts Upgrade Options on New iMacs

[islandman]

According to OWC, Apple has restricted options for upgrading the hard drives in the 2011 iMacs by changing the SATA power cable in such a way that it is impossible to replace the factory drive without having fan-speed issues.

If there is no true workaround for this, it is a sad day. Apparently, you can't even replace a Seagate with a bigger one without having the issue, for example.

 

[Sodner]

Just read the article. Wow Apple. I mean really?

 

[farmermac]

That sucks - the post above yours is describing that issue. That's going to be a big, big complaint especially a few years down the line

 

[Hubris]

That is pretty unfortunate. Does this modification also effect the second drive bay? I just purchased the M312 (2.7 21.5") yesterday with the plan to pop in a SSD boot drive (or better yet, SSD Cache) In a year or two.

Also, would a fan control utility at least make it possible to regulate the issue?

 

[DanFreemanPhoto]

Brilliant. I've just ordered the top spec 27" iMac this morning (without HDD and RAM upgrade)

AND....and OCZ Vertex 3 SATA-III SSD and Seagate 2TB HDD.


Oh well......

 

[islandman]

That is pretty unfortunate. Does this modification also effect the second drive bay? I just purchased the M312 (2.7 21.5") yesterday with the plan to pop in a SSD boot drive (or better yet, SSD Cache) In a year or two.

Also, would a fan control utility at least make it possible to regulate the issue?

Apparently, they said that adding something to the second bay is fine, as long as the factory drive isn't removed.

I bet that the fan control utility would still work.

 

[TheUndertow]

This due to the Z68 chipset? Strange....

 

[discounteggroll]

that is quite a shame. I guess adding to the second bay and running 2 drives isn't the end of the world. Are there any drawbacks to this option?

 

[DanFreemanPhoto]

So it's looks like the best bet is to simply add an aftermarket SSD to the existing HDD.


Can anyone positively say if doing that will void the waranty?

Also, I assume replacing the HDD itself would indeed void the warranty?

 

[Panch0]

With ThunderBolt ports available, the appeal of cracking open an iMac seems lower than it ever was. Just plug in an external (once TB enclosures become available). It'll be just as fast as replacing the internal devices.

 

[nyukfui]

It sounds I must opt for the applecare plan.

 

[Georgio]

This is what I plan on doing and is why I only went with the 1GB HD option.
However I also see that it's not possible to boot off an external drive so the cunning plan of putting the OS on the TB drive is not going to work.
Damn these meddling kids....

With ThunderBolt ports available, the appeal of cracking open an iMac seems lower than it ever was. Just plug in an external (once TB enclosures become available). It'll be just as fast as replacing the internal devices.

 

[smiddlehurst]

This is what I plan on doing and is why I only went with the 1GB HD option.
However I also see that it's not possible to boot off an external drive so the cunning plan of putting the OS on the TB drive is not going to work.
Damn these meddling kids....

Umm, sorry if I've missed something but when did Apple stop you booting off an external drive?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1948

If you mean specificaly with Thunderbolt drives then surely no-one really knows that yet?

 

[daneoni]

Looks like you're better off sticking to an 2010 i7 and plopping an SSD in it. Done and done.

 

[rw3]

There is an option to order just the SSD....wondering if you order this and then try to put in an aftermarket internal 3.5" HDD, what it will do to the fans? Also wonder how Apple has this configured to where the fans don't run at full speed....might just to order one and see...

 

[archer75]

A user on these forums posted his experience with adding a OCZ Vertex 3 drive and it worked fine.

 

[thaniel98]

You can replace the existing hard drive with a SSD just not a larger hard drive. So far i've tested a OCZ vertex 2 in the main HD slot. I have not received all the parts yet to add the SSD as a secondary drive the way apple would when you get the SSD + HD option through them.

With this drives, being SSDs they do not have internal temp sensors, report a temp value of 0 deg back to the logic board so HD fan never ramps up. It seems to have similar results to using a jumper on the thermal sensor on the older 2009 imacs.

I would be interested to hear why the OCZ drives seem to work fine but the OWC ones don't.

 

[sth]

This limitation is stupid and unnecessary.
They could simply use SMART data for reading HDD temperatures.