Help in giving new life to my iMac 2017 27" 5K Retina

[Mmazzilli73]

I would like to change the hard drives to give new life to the computer. I already found who's going to do th job for a cheap price but I need choose the drives.
Currently I have a Fusion drive. This means that I have a Poi SSD on the motherboard (128gb) and an HHD connected to the SATA cable. These two have been configured by Apple to be a Fusion disk so (in theory) most commonly used files reside on the very fast motherboard SSD and the rest are on the HDD.

I would like to change both and NOT recreate the "fusion" configuration but simply have a very fast OS disk (the motherboard SSD) and a fast file repository (the normal SSD). I need help in choosing the drives. My idea is to put a 1TB motherboard SSD (sorry I call them this way.. this is part of my question) and a 2TB "normal" SSD connected to the cable.

A am here to ask you what should I buy? What do I have to look for to know that the motherboard SSD will work 100% at top efficiency? What is the exact format in my iMac2017? I see many names like PCIe, P2, NV1, .. etc... I would like to know EXACTLY ... what do I have to look for? Once I know that I will choose brand, speed, etc... Thanks for any help.

I found this article that seems very good although (A) I still need help to understand and (B) it doesn't seem to speak about my specific Mac: https://beetstech.com/blog/apple-proprietary-ssd-ultimate-guide-to-specs-and-upgrades

 

[George Dawes]

Thank god I went with ssd for my late 2015 iMac , things still rocking along and I’m pretty sure not getting a fusion drive helped immensely

I had two Mac minis fail due to fusion drive issues !

 

[Mmazzilli73]

Yep.. I DON'T WANT THE FUSION ANYMORE... but I need to know... what kind of SSD can I mount . On the motherboard not on the standard SSD cable.. I am talking about replacing the 128gb Pci SSD... but I see so many standards that I don't know what to buy

 

[Barnclos]

1. I would expect the person doing the replacement to be able to advise you on what you need to get. If they don’t know, I wouldn’t let them near your machine.
2. iFixit has lots of information specific to your machine, including how to replace the blade SSD (what you refer as motherboard SSD) and the HDD. It even has a Parts section (near the bottom of the page that includes replacement SSDs). https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_27"_2017
3. Every time someone asks on MacRumors about opening up their iMac to replace the drives, at least 50% of the replies suggest that they don’t do it. Instead, they suggest connecting an external Thunderbolt drive (as big and as fast as you can afford). This is good advice, you should seriously consider it.

 

[Mmazzilli73]

1. I would expect the person doing the replacement to be able to advise you on what you need to get. If they don’t know, I wouldn’t let them near your machine.
2. iFixit has lots of information specific to your machine, including how to replace the blade SSD (what you refer as motherboard SSD) and the HDD. It even has a Parts section (near the bottom of the page that includes replacement SSDs). https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_27"_2017
3. Every time someone asks on MacRumors about opening up their iMac to replace the drives, at least 50% of the replies suggest that they don’t do it. Instead, they suggest connecting an external Thunderbolt drive (as big and as fast as you can afford). This is good advice, you should seriously consider it.

Interesting idea but I am planning to "fix it" and after a bit sell it. I believe it will grow in value if modified. The guy that is going to replace the part is NOT a specific Mac technician but is very good

 

[Mmazzilli73]

1. I would expect the person doing the replacement to be able to advise you on what you need to get. If they don’t know, I wouldn’t let them near your machine.
2. iFixit has lots of information specific to your machine, including how to replace the blade SSD (what you refer as motherboard SSD) and the HDD. It even has a Parts section (near the bottom of the page that includes replacement SSDs). https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_27"_2017
3. Every time someone asks on MacRumors about opening up their iMac to replace the drives, at least 50% of the replies suggest that they don’t do it. Instead, they suggest connecting an external Thunderbolt drive (as big and as fast as you can afford). This is good advice, you should seriously consider it.

I visited the I FIX it site. I see they only suggest an OWC drive with they sell themselves. Amazon is full of NvME. Can't I use one of these?

 

[Nismo73]

On my 2012 I added an external on usb to a Samsung 860 1tb which is what I run it off of now instead of internal fusion. It boots up on the external and runs smooth for a computer that old.
I didn’t want to bother opening it up and dealing with all that. I copied whatever files off the inside storage I needed and just transferred it on the external.
I can still boot up the old system if needed and if I get rid of the computer, just wipe it and restore.
With a 2017 you have an even faster I/O for an external.

 

[Mmazzilli73]

On my 2012 I added an external on usb to a Samsung 860 1tb which is what I run it off of now instead of internal fusion. It boots up on the external and runs smooth for a computer that old.
I didn’t want to bother opening it up and dealing with all that. I copied whatever files off the inside storage I needed and just transferred it on the external.
I can still boot up the old system if needed and if I get rid of the computer, just wipe it and restore.
With a 2017 you have an even faster I/O for an external.

But a thunderbolt external drive box with a fast SSD inside (blade type?) will cost quite a bit I think.. no?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

But a thunderbolt external drive box with a fast SSD inside (blade type?) will cost quite a bit I think.. no?

You haven't read this famous thread?

A list of successful iMac 27" (2012-2019) SSD upgrades

Here you can find and discuss all the collected knowledge regarding upgrading the HDD, blade SSD and CPU of a 27" iMac 2012-2019, as well as a list of performed upgrades. Here is a list of all 27" iMac models subjected in this thread: Late 2012 - 13.2 - MD095LL/A (2.9Ghz i5-3470S, HDD only /...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Mmazzilli73]

Thanks
I see that no iMac from 2017 has problems.. that's good.

 

[CooperBox]

I've never done what you're proposing, but have worked on a number of 27" iMacs including complete restoration.
I believe the PCIe drive is located on the underside of the motherboard which means that has to be completely removed. As stated by a previous poster I too would expect the person doing the replacement for you to know exactly what SSD blade type to install, and to provide you with a clear breakdown of parts required, prices and his labour charge.