HDD thermal wire and mid 2007 iMac upgrade to sdd

[tomsop]

I want to upgrade my hard drive to a SDD drive and I am reading that when you reattach the thermal wire from the old hard drive to the SDD that this will probably not work as intended so the fans will run at max and then people talk about software fixes or shorting the wires, etc. If this is not working why are people attaching this to the SDD. This is confusing. I am assuming that it works but not in all cases. Is there a consensus that this works (meaning the fans don't run at max constantly) or should I expect the fans to run at max after I do the upgrade?

On a unrelated note I upgraded my RAM to 4GB or two sticks of 2GB and now I am reading that you can upgrade to six (4+2) is this additional upgrade significant enough to justify another upgrade of my ram?

I have a 24 inch mid 2007 iMac 2.8 core 2 duo. Thanks tom

 

[powerbook911]

I want to upgrade my hard drive to a SDD drive and I am reading that when you reattach the thermal wire from the old hard drive to the SDD that this will probably not work as intended so the fans will run at max and then people talk about software fixes or shorting the wires, etc. If this is not working why are people attaching this to the SDD. This is confusing. I am assuming that it works but not in all cases. Is there a consensus that this works (meaning the fans don't run at max constantly) or should I expect the fans to run at max after I do the upgrade?

On a unrelated note I upgraded my RAM to 4GB or two sticks of 2GB and now I am reading that you can upgrade to six (4+2) is this additional upgrade significant enough to justify another upgrade of my ram?

I have a 24 inch mid 2007 iMac 2.8 core 2 duo. Thanks tom

I have a 20-inch mid-2007 as an extra machine. 2.4 Core 2 Duo.

Yes, it can take 6GB of RAM. I have had 6GB in there several years. It depends on your usage whether it is worth it or not. Can you still return one of your 2GB sticks? You probably should feel as though you need more memory to warrant the cost.

In terms of the SSD, I don't know. I have been considering that upgrade for my machine. I changed the hard drive several years ago due to failure, and the hard drive fan still works. I don't know if thats because I lucked out on the brand I bought or because my machine is not affected by what you describe.

I have seen some speculate that 2009 machines changed to use the internal sensor only for HD temperature, and that causes problems when people replace the drive and the system isn't familiar with the way that drive reports temperatures. Again, I do not know this conclusively. Therefore, in regards to the SSD upgrade, you will have to wait on someone else to chime in.

If it did make the fans run full speed and someone confirms 2007 would be affected too, I'd suggest leaving the hard drive. I don't think it would be worth dealing with that issue despite the SSD benefits, the computer would feel flawed to me with fans performing incorrectly.

 

[Gjwilly]

Big long thread about the temp sensor can be found here
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/808178/

Seems like you can:
a) leave the sensor disconnected and use software to control the fans.
b) short the sensor which many say is not needed with an SSD anyway.
c) replace the sensor with a 2nd optical drive sensor and attach that one to the casing of the SSD.

 

[Trebuin]

I want to upgrade my hard drive to a SDD drive and I am reading that when you reattach the thermal wire from the old hard drive to the SDD that this will probably not work as intended so the fans will run at max and then people talk about software fixes or shorting the wires, etc. If this is not working why are people attaching this to the SDD. This is confusing. I am assuming that it works but not in all cases. Is there a consensus that this works (meaning the fans don't run at max constantly) or should I expect the fans to run at max after I do the upgrade?

On a unrelated note I upgraded my RAM to 4GB or two sticks of 2GB and now I am reading that you can upgrade to six (4+2) is this additional upgrade significant enough to justify another upgrade of my ram?

I have a 24 inch mid 2007 iMac 2.8 core 2 duo. Thanks tom

I have the same system and upgraded to 6GB with no issues at all...I understand that if you go to 8GB, the mapping has issues as you reach the limit of your memory and something bad will happen.

As far as the SSD, the sensor does not plug into your drive like the newer ones...it is taped to the outside of the drive and works fine with a SSD. I installed the SSD, no fan issues at all and it is SOOOOO worth it for the 2007. Running the current OS just fine.

 

[tomsop]

thanks

Thanks for the info - will try to post my results if I get my parts tomorrow!

 

[talkindrum]

same iMac

I have a 20-inch mid-2007 as an extra machine. 2.4 Core 2 Duo.

Yes, it can take 6GB of RAM. I have had 6GB in there several years. It depends on your usage whether it is worth it or not. Can you still return one of your 2GB sticks? You probably should feel as though you need more memory to warrant the cost.

In terms of the SSD, I don't know. I have been considering that upgrade for my machine. I changed the hard drive several years ago due to failure, and the hard drive fan still works. I don't know if thats because I lucked out on the brand I bought or because my machine is not affected by what you describe.

I have seen some speculate that 2009 machines changed to use the internal sensor only for HD temperature, and that causes problems when people replace the drive and the system isn't familiar with the way that drive reports temperatures. Again, I do not know this conclusively. Therefore, in regards to the SSD upgrade, you will have to wait on someone else to chime in.

If it did make the fans run full speed and someone confirms 2007 would be affected too, I'd suggest leaving the hard drive. I don't think it would be worth dealing with that issue despite the SSD benefits, the computer would feel flawed to me with fans performing incorrectly.

Hello, i have the very same machine "mid 2007 2.4 core2duo" i thought i was maxed out on upgrades but now i hear i can go from 4 to 6 GB ram. in your opinion is this a worthwhile expenditure? can you tell a difference in your upgrade to 6 GB ram? I use the iMac to run recording software like Reason, & Logic, also FCP Final cut pro... so more ram could help with more tracks at one time, and with rendering. your opinion??? Thanks!

 

[powerbook911]

Hello, i have the very same machine "mid 2007 2.4 core2duo" i thought i was maxed out on upgrades but now i hear i can go from 4 to 6 GB ram. in your opinion is this a worthwhile expenditure? can you tell a difference in your upgrade to 6 GB ram? I use the iMac to run recording software like Reason, & Logic, also FCP Final cut pro... so more ram could help with more tracks at one time, and with rendering. your opinion??? Thanks!

I probably do not have enough experience with this type of software to offer a recommendation.

Because I upgraded the machine back in early Fall 2011, I can't remember exactly how the upgrade felt compared to 4GB. I do remember thinking it made some difference, and it might be more significant now with the latest OS.

I feel it's probably something that is somewhat worthwhile if you will still be using the machine for a while. I'm only a bit hesitant to flat out recommend it as I think $100 for a 4GB module is a bit expensive for a machine this old.

Good luck in your decision. I wish I could offer a more decisive recommendation.

 

[talkindrum]

Ram upgrade

I probably do not have enough experience with this type of software to offer a recommendation.

Because I upgraded the machine back in early Fall 2011, I can't remember exactly how the upgrade felt compared to 4GB. I do remember thinking it made some difference, and it might be more significant now with the latest OS.

I feel it's probably something that is somewhat worthwhile if you will still be using the machine for a while. I'm only a bit hesitant to flat out recommend it as I think $100 for a 4GB module is a bit expensive for a machine this old.

Good luck in your decision. I wish I could offer a more decisive recommendation.

Hello again, i hope i am not bothering you... but i have a quick question .... this has been a very dependable computer, in all the years since 2007 I've only had a few times when something went wrong, i can't replace it right now so looks like i will be using it until i have to. This being said, if i do upgrade the ram, is there anything i need to know? do i just put the 4GB stick in one slot & the 2GB in the other and thats it? or does it matter which one one goes where?... anything else? Thank you again sooo much!

 

[powerbook911]

Hello again, i hope i am not bothering you... but i have a quick question .... this has been a very dependable computer, in all the years since 2007 I've only had a few times when something went wrong, i can't replace it right now so looks like i will be using it until i have to. This being said, if i do upgrade the ram, is there anything i need to know? do i just put the 4GB stick in one slot & the 2GB in the other and thats it? or does it matter which one one goes where?... anything else? Thank you again sooo much!

The 4GB stick can go in either slot. These were very nice computers. I feel good that a machine I purchased nearly 8 years ago is still so functional.