iMac 2011 - Swapping HD for SSD

[Hecro]

So I bought the iMac 2011 with the following specs:
27", i7 CPU, 2GB GPU & 1TB HD.

What I want to do is swap the internal 1TB HD with an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD. Im not concerned about the actually teardown of the hardware, however I am a bit confused about the news that has been going around the last few days.

So my basic questions are:
- Is the internal HD connected to one of the two SATA3 ports or is it using the SATA2 ports on the logicboard?
- Can I use the cables that are being used to connect the stock HD?

Any pointers to this "operation" will be appreciated.

Edit:
Looking at this teardown by iFixIt it looks like its a VERY standard SATA2 HD connectors:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-21-5-Inch-EMC-2428-Teardown/5485/1
Am I right?

 

[DamnItsHot]

Be careful - or wait and wait

From what I read you are going to have issues. The SATA connector for the HD is a 7 pin custom connector not the standard 4 pin (having to do with temp control I think - and then there is an external temp controller also?). AppleInsider covered this and said "From our testing, we've found that removing this drive from the system, or even from the bay itself, causes the machine's hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed," the report said," and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test." in this article http://www.appleinsider.com/article...stricted_in_apples_new_thunderbolt_imacs.html.

It really sucks - now about possibly connecting to the SSD bay - that is another question entirely which I would love to be able to answer. I have had a BTO 2011 iMac (i7/1TB+256G SSD/8G/27"/AMD6970M 2GB) on order for about ten days - it shows to ship 15 JUN 2011 and it is the damn SSD that changed the order from 2-4 days to 4-6 weeks! I have called and nobody at customer service knows why. I figure the SSD (I think Intel supplied) is just not quite ready and without know my options (like the custom pin connector and wanting to keep it in warranty/AppleCare I am not willing to go third pary or I would have ordered sans SSD and put in an OWC or other sandforce controlled SSD to meet my needs.

Anyone else out there waiting too?

 

[Dresevski]

Anyone else out there waiting too?

This is what you're looking for: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1148415/