Has anyone upgraded their iMac hard drive?

[mellofello]

My 2012 is starting to show signs of hardware failure. Extreme sluggishness even after a clean install of osx (which took forever etc). I would like to throw in a more modern faster hard drive perhaps even a SSD.

I started looking at the tutorial to get into the machine, and got nervous after I saw the suction cups.

If you paid a shop to do yours how much did it run. If I wanted apple to install a non OEM HD would they even offer that service?

Just looking to find out the complete picture before i take the plunge.

 

[sammyman]

I did it to a 2015 iMac. It's wasn't too hard. Everyone said I'd mess up my iMac here on the forums. I just followed a tutorial and had plenty of room and all the right tools and adhesive beforehand beginning. Took about an hour.

Don't force anything! Take your time.

I upgraded the 1tb drive -> 1tb Apple SSD and a 2 tb drive for Time Machine.

 

[mellofello]

Did you consider taking it to a pro and get any quotes by any chance?

 

[varian55zx]

SSDs are no longer the new, relatively unheard of technology that they were in the '08-'09 era.

They are now current and in fact, not even optional anymore.

macOS can't even run properly without a machine using an SSD, it's not designed for use on a platter hard drive.

You should absolutely not be looking for a replacement hard drive, and absolutely should be looking for a replacement SSD.

 

[tubeexperience]

It's easy. Just follow instructions from iFixit.

 

[Kudos6612]

Seems like you are averse to money but the replacement ssd fix is easy if you are careful. Any computer repair shop is gonna charge likely 200 just to open it. On top of that to include an ssd would be quite the price for a 4 year old computer.

Apple will not replace your machine w/ aftermarket parts lol.

 

[Sirmausalot]

My 2012 is starting to show signs of hardware failure. Extreme sluggishness even after a clean install of osx (which took forever etc). I would like to throw in a more modern faster hard drive perhaps even a SSD.

I started looking at the tutorial to get into the machine, and got nervous after I saw the suction cups.

If you paid a shop to do yours how much did it run. If I wanted apple to install a non OEM HD would they even offer that service?

Just looking to find out the complete picture before i take the plunge.

You can run an external SSD as a boot etc drive without having to crack the case. Maybe not quite optimal performance as an internal SSD, but miles better than an internal spinning disk.

 

[mellofello]

Seems like you are averse to money but the replacement ssd fix is easy if you are careful. Any computer repair shop is gonna charge likely 200 just to open it. On top of that to include an ssd would be quite the price for a 4 year old computer.

Apple will not replace your machine w/ aftermarket parts lol.

I'm just trying to get an idea of what my options are. I read the tutorial, and it seems doable, but I may rather have a professional do it for vs buying all the appropriate tools, and risking bungling it.

I have no idea what price range they ask for. $200 seems worth it to me. Above that and I may take matters into my own hands.

Same reason I could wire my house, or plumb up my bathroom but instead I hire a professional to do it right.

Regardless this is probably the last iMac I buy. I wish the Mac mini was more viable since it is easier to work on, and cheaper to replace.