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Has anyone tried to ADD SSD to 2011 imac for HDD+SSD?

Crwoo said:
I will try this after my imac comes tomorrow. I have a intel 510 ssd waiting, i will be using the following parts to make it look as if apple done it themselfs. http://applecomponents.com/items/922-9538_cable-ssd-hdd-data/0000004775?pn=1&cmp=0172&per_page=30
and http://applecomponents.com/items/92...-ssd-mxm/0000004776?pn=2&cmp=0172&per_page=30

This doesnt look apple at all but is also required http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LCCBL4
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Does it matter that these SATA cables were for the 2010 iMac which was SATA II versus the new one now at SATA III? I don't know about the boards but it seems like the cords should not matter a bit and that the capabilities lie within the board(s). I guess I'm asking, is there a difference between SATA II cables and SATA III cables?
 
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Dresevski said:
I guess I'm asking, is there a difference between SATA II cables and SATA III cables?
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Sata 3 cables are probably manufactured to tighter tolerances for the increased bus speed so in certain cirmustances, a poorly built Sata 2 cable which was only tested up to 3Gbps may not be able to perform flawlessly at 6Gbps.

With that being said, the physical connections are identical as Sata 3 is backwards compatible, so no extra pins or wires. Personally I think any reasonably good Sata 2 cable would work just fine. If you have a Sata 3 already, or have to purchase one anyways, I would go the higher specs cable.

I used a Sata 3 cable to be on the safe side only because I didn't want to be in a situation where I would have to take the whole thing apart again. This was left over from a Asus main board which I recently installed for a friend.
 
Is it not possible to use a unified data and power cable similar to the optical drive?

Also can someone take a photo of the cables on the board? Just to help with sourcing one that will fit - I imagine it will need to be quite a shallow connector (is there much room at the back of the iMac between the board and casing where the connector will protrude)?.
 
OK, got it done yesterday and it took me 6 hours in total. Why? Well, first, I used ChargedPC.com's fantastic install guide. I figured that instead of using a SATA power splitter, however, I would try the 2010 iMac SATA power cable as it should work, right? I installed everything, put it all together, hit the power button and got nothing. Completely dead. I finally disassembled the whole thing and used the original power cable along with the splitter. What a pain in the ass, BTW. I had to disassemble and reverse both right-angle connectors on the SATA splitter so they would fit properly. I put it all back together (again) and it fired right up. Now I'm one happy camper. This thing is fast! :D
 
Mashuri said:
I finally disassembled the whole thing and used the original power cable along with the splitter. What a pain in the ass, BTW. I had to disassemble and reverse both right-angle connectors on the SATA splitter so they would fit properly.
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That's a little confusing. So you ended up using the power splitter going from board to SSD and HDD. Then the two SATA cables for each. Yea?
 
Dresevski said:
That's a little confusing. So you ended up using the power splitter going from board to SSD and HDD. Then the two SATA cables for each. Yea?
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Correct. The splitter was for SATA power only (feeding power from motherboard to the HD and SSD) while I used separate SATA cables for data. Also of note, the 2010 SSD Pressure Wall fits perfectly in the 2011 model. No velcro needed.
 
Crwoo said:
I ordered an imac BTO with almost everything, and i have added previous gen imacs to HDD+SSD and i wonder if anyone tried or can confirm this is not possible with this version.
I have a Intel 510 SSD waiting to install on this imac, and in the past if i did that it required jumping the temp sensor to keep the fans at a decent speed, is this still required with the new imacs?
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You need to short out the HDD power if you're only going to use a single SSD drive. Otherwise the fans will go turbo.

:apple: Part nr for this jumper/plug is:922-9877
 
peregrines said:
I am the HAPPIEST guy on this planet right now :D:D:D

First of all, after I came back home the iMac-stand problem was resolved by itself ... (dont ask me how that is possible ... but now I can move the screen like I am used to)

Second and more importantly: The SSD is unbelievable fast!!! The fans are working perfect!!!

Here is a screenshot from istatpro :
Image

It seems like the Caviar black has the kind of sensors the new iMac 2011 needs built in. Also I really can´t believe how FAST the 510 Intel SSD is.
Nevertheless I am going to sleep now.
Tomorrow I will post some benchmarks.

Good night!
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Peregrines,
Glad to hear you're not having any fan issues. Do you mind telling us what firmware your Caviar Black is using?

Also have you tried running an Apple Hardware Diagnostic to see if it passes? OWC is claiming installing even identical Caviar Blacks will cause the AHD to fail....

Thanks!
 
@ChargedPC
I am still at work ... but will ceck the firmware when I come home.
Of course I did Apple Hardware Testing (short & long) right after installing and it passed without any problems:)
There is only one thing which I am not 100% happy with ... and thats the performance of my 120gb Intel 510 SSD ... I it feels extremely fast ... but benchmarks tell me its a bit far behind of what it should be.

Does anybody have an idea why my Intel 510 is slow?
Thanks!
 
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slackie said:
You need to short out the HDD power if you're only going to use a single SSD drive. Otherwise the fans will go turbo.

:apple: Part nr for this jumper/plug is:922-9877
Click to expand...

Ahh.. got it. But it still doesn't help if I need to replace the HDD with another HDD...
 
No Problems detected

I upgraded my new iMac without a problem you just need a hard drive that is s.m.a.r.t. verified and all works out fine. I used a 3TB seagate barracuda XT. I even took the liberty to install an intel x25m SSD in the third sata port. so i don't know what owc is talking about but for me this was not even close to a problem. "hddfancontrol" is also a handy tool for anyone that is doing this because not all hard drives operate at the same temperatures so it might throw off what mac perceives as hot and run the fans to slow. but thats nothing that should discourage the type of person that would go out and buy a brand new imac only to take it apart the same day. everything checked out perfect when i ran the hardware test as well.
 
That is indeed great news. Hopefully OCW will revise their position and do some serious testing before releasing another "breaking news".
 
I replaced the 3,5HDD (a WD Caviar Black 1TB) with a 2,5" Vertex 3 120GB and my fans isnt speeding up at all. I guess this means Vertex 3 support s.m.a.r.t?

Im using Windows 7 and therefore AHCI is inactivated, I get around 300mb/s read and 150mb/s write with pciide mode. Am I getting this bad results because AHCI is inactivated? I should get around 500mb/s R/W with the Vertex 3.

Does anyone know if its possible to enable AHCI in Windows in the 2011 iMacs?

Feel free to link a guide if there is one.

And btw, wouldnt it be possible to reach the SATA-connector on the motherboard and attach a sata-cable for a secondary drive without removing the MB completly? As you can see on this picture the SATA-ports on the MB is just inches in from where the HDD sits http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1eTaSLcJV2E/TcGZvNF4L0I/AAAAAAAAABs/WdYJEyiyjP8/s1600/DSC_0687.JPG . If this would be possible I would simply add a 2,5HDD + a 2,5SSD instead of the 3,5HDD.

Regards
 
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Alkohol said:
I replaced the 3,5HDD (a WD Caviar Black 1TB) with a 2,5" Vertex 3 120GB and my fans isnt speeding up at all. I guess this means Vertex 3 support s.m.a.r.t?

Im using Windows 7 and therefore AHCI is inactivated, I get around 300mb/s read and 150mb/s write with pciide mode. Am I getting this bad results because AHCI is inactivated? I should get around 500mb/s R/W with the Vertex 3.

Does anyone know if its possible to enable AHCI in Windows in the 2011 iMacs?

Feel free to link a guide if there is one.

And btw, wouldnt it be possible to reach the SATA-connector on the motherboard and attach a sata-cable for a secondary drive without removing the MB completly? As you can see on this picture the SATA-ports on the MB is just inches in from where the HDD sits http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1eTaSLcJV2E/TcGZvNF4L0I/AAAAAAAAABs/WdYJEyiyjP8/s1600/DSC_0687.JPG . If this would be possible I would simply add a 2,5HDD + a 2,5SSD instead of the 3,5HDD.

Regards
Click to expand...

I'm gonna put in the same OCZ Vertex 3 SSD as you. Is it an easy install?
Im gonna follow the ChargedPC guide:
http://blog.chargedpc.com/2011/05/2011-imac-ssd-install-guide.html

As I can see I just need to do the first 3 steps and then I have access to the internal HD. Can I just then swap it out directly without touching the logicboard?
 
mifun said:
I upgraded my new iMac without a problem you just need a hard drive that is s.m.a.r.t. verified and all works out fine. I used a 3TB seagate barracuda XT. I even took the liberty to install an intel x25m SSD in the third sata port. so i don't know what owc is talking about but for me this was not even close to a problem. "hddfancontrol" is also a handy tool for anyone that is doing this because not all hard drives operate at the same temperatures so it might throw off what mac perceives as hot and run the fans to slow. but thats nothing that should discourage the type of person that would go out and buy a brand new imac only to take it apart the same day. everything checked out perfect when i ran the hardware test as well.
Click to expand...



Ok it's good to hear that someone was able to confirm this.
 
My apple authorized long established local repair shop can install the SSD for somewhere in the $80-100 range for labor; he said it wouldn't void applecare if he does it, and I could take the machine in for service to him under applecare if I felt squeamish about it.

When I stick one in, I think I'd rather pay him a benjamin rather than spend half a day and possibly break my machine to do it myself.
 
Adding SSD to 21"

Is it possible to add a SSD drive to a 21" so I can have 1 large HDD and a small SSD for my OS and apps or is there not enough space / connectors? Everyone so far seems to have done this with a 27" which makes me think its not possible with a 21".

Thanks
 
TechNut315 said:
Is it possible to add a SSD drive to a 21" so I can have 1 large HDD and a small SSD for my OS and apps or is there not enough space / connectors? Everyone so far seems to have done this with a 27" which makes me think its not possible with a 21".

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, it should be the same as with the 27" model. I think the SSD is mounted underneath the DVD drive on the 21" though.
 
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