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iMac 27inch late 2013 SSD HD Upgrade

firefink said:
I disagree.

#1. 2 TB is more than 1TB. If I am going to open it up why not max out the HD capacity?

Explain to me why its not worth it.
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Because you wouldn't be maxing out HD capacity that way. Maxing out would be to add the largest HDD possible. The entire concept of Fusion is that the OS manages contents to put most frequently accessed content (system files, applications, etc) on the flash drive while less frequently used data is moved to the hard disk.

In both 1TB and 3TB Fusion drives Apple uses 128GB SSDs.

If you're just looking to get the largest all-internal-flash-storage iMac possible that's a different matter. What's the point of doing Fusion?
 
So what is the point of buying all SSD in the first place?

Why even bother getting an all flash model?

Getting TB fusion makes sense if you are trying to get a lot of HHD on a budget. Which is what I am not trying to do. I am trying to get as much SSD in as possible.

I know that having all SSD is not fusion. I dont know enough about fusion drives and dont really care as they are basically used to keep costs down with higher capacities.
 
1) Because for the >$1,000 you are spending, you could sell that machine and have a Retina iMac.

2) No you won't. People don't pay extra for weird niche fixes unless they are desperate. And an extra TB of flash is a *very* weird niche fix because it serves so little purpose for most people - if you want that much space, you probably want a LOT more space, and will still need an external array.

3) Experience is nice, but there's a line between interesting experience and better. You still have the crappy screen.

I guess you don't ever look at text on your monitor, do you? Pictures and theoretical 4K video are interesting, but the real magic of retina is text rendering.

firefink said:
I disagree.

#1. 2 TB is more than 1TB. If I am going to open it up why not max out the HD capacity?

#2. I will get my money back when I sell it.

#3. Half the reason I am doing this is for experience.

Explain to me why its not worth it. Going through the trouble of opening it just to put in the bare minimum doesnt make sense to me.
I am not all the impressed with the retina. Digital media is not ready for it yet. Unless you like looking at things all fuzzy. It is the same with 4K. 4K media on a 4K screen looks amazing but there just isnt enough to make it worthwhile yet. 4K monitors dont even run properly yet with computers
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firefink said:
So what is the point of buying all SSD in the first place?
Click to expand...

To get the maximum amount of all-flash storage possible?

I know that having all SSD is not fusion. I dont know enough about fusion drives and dont really care as they are basically used to keep costs down with higher capacities.
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Yes, part of the benefit of Fusion is cost performance, but it is also currently the only way to get SSD speeds with over 1TB of total internal storage on an iMac. Some people prefer the larger internal real estate regardless of the price. It's all about your personal preferences.

As I said, if all you are looking to do is maximize the amount of all flash storage internally, then just do the two 1TB SSDs and run both drives independently with the OS installed to the PCIe.

Just because an iMac has two internal drives does not mean they are required to be run as Fusion.
 
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@nrubenstein

More opinionated assumptions.

#1. I got this used at a great price. Only lacking the upgraded HDD. I have access to parts fairly cheap and can get it all done for about 1200$. 2 SSDs and installation.

#2. You say `no you wont` so matter of fact. I live in Japan where `weird` niches are the norm and this isnt even weird. Japanese people like things in enclosed spaces taking up as little space as possible. External drives are not really liked here. SSD is quite popular and selling it online is not a problem. Just because you dont like it doesnt mean other people wont. I can get my money back plus profit possibly.

#3. I dont think the screen is crappy on my 2013. Sure 5K looks nice especially when you look at it from an inch away. Move away to 2 feet and unless you have superman eyes the difference is almost negligible. My experience taking this apart is my experience to take. Its an out of warranty imac. Better I do this on a used one then a brand new retina dont you think?

I prefer to wait half a year until the design flaws have been ironed out on the new retina as well as wait until most apps have been updated for the new resolution. If having perfectly pretty text is what makes you happy, great. Thats your niche.

I do understand your view though and can understand how you can see it that way
 
Any help on which of these PCIe blades are the right one for the late 2013 27 imac?

MZ-KPU1T0T/0A1

MZ-KPU1T0T/0A2

MZ-KPU1T0T/0A6

Having difficulty again finding a clear answer.

Help is much appreciated
 
firefink said:
lol! What kind of advice is that?

I know there are cheaper ways of doing it but I am not trying to jimmy rig this thing. I will stick with having a pro do it. Plus, I dont have any of the tools to do it.
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Well that is exactly how a "pro" would have to do it. Ive changed HDD's in iMacs for years, its not rocket science.
 
firefink said:
Lots of people seem to think otherwise. Like I am opening pandora box
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It really is very easy, especially on the late 2012 imacs onwards as the lcd panel all comes off in 1 piece which give you instant access to the 3.5" HDD bay. I had a 3TB fusion setup in my 2012 iMac and replaced the 3TB HDD drive with a Samsung 840 pro 1TB SSD. So i now have the OEM 128gb SSD running windows and the 1TB sata SSD running OSX.
 
Wow! Great information. Thanks for that.

Di you take off the LCD yourself?

If so was it hard to put back on straight etc.?

Which is faster of the 2 drives for read and write?
 
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firefink said:
@nrubenstein

More opinionated assumptions.

#1. I got this used at a great price. Only lacking the upgraded HDD. I have access to parts fairly cheap and can get it all done for about 1200$. 2 SSDs and installation.

#2. You say `no you wont` so matter of fact. I live in Japan where `weird` niches are the norm and this isnt even weird. Japanese people like things in enclosed spaces taking up as little space as possible. External drives are not really liked here. SSD is quite popular and selling it online is not a problem. Just because you dont like it doesnt mean other people wont. I can get my money back plus profit possibly.

#3. I dont think the screen is crappy on my 2013. Sure 5K looks nice especially when you look at it from an inch away. Move away to 2 feet and unless you have superman eyes the difference is almost negligible. My experience taking this apart is my experience to take. Its an out of warranty imac. Better I do this on a used one then a brand new retina dont you think?

I prefer to wait half a year until the design flaws have been ironed out on the new retina as well as wait until most apps have been updated for the new resolution. If having perfectly pretty text is what makes you happy, great. Thats your niche.

I do understand your view though and can understand how you can see it that way
Click to expand...

I'm currently sitting two feet from a 2012 iMac (same screen as yours), and I can see individual pixels. It looks terrible. (And I should note that this has looked terrible ever since I got an iPhone 4 - it's not a special "oh, I've got a Retina iMac, so all old displays are now crap" thing.)

And I stand by my position on the "no you won't" point.

As for waiting for apps to get updated with Retina support, um, you do realize that that already happened, right? There are no special iMac only apps that haven't been updated, while people wrote Retina apps for the Macbook Pro...
 
firefink said:
Wow! Great information. Thanks for that.

Di you take off the LCD yourself?

If so was it hard to put back on straight etc.?

Which is faster of the 2 drives for read and write?
Click to expand...

Yep i took the LCD panel off myself with a guitar pick and a hairdryer. Easy to put back on straight, its impossible to put it on wrong as it sits into the frame snuggly. My 2012 iMac didn't have the PCIe blade SSD so the 2.5" Samsung SSD is faster then the 128gb blade that came with the fusion drive.
 
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