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iMac hard disk upgrade? Should i?

user1690

user1690

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 13, 2011
146
6
Searching....
Hey guys,

Had my iMac for a few days now and im already running low on space, so i was thinking on a hard disk upgrade, and i cant seem to find a good set of instructions on howto replace the drive.

So im going to list what would be put on the drive, so maybe you could help me decide to upgrade the internal drive, or simply get external.

1.) Games (Mostly steam games, as they seem to take up quite a bit of space. But i fear if steam were on an external drive, that i would have performance issues.)
2.) Documents/etc.
3.) Music, gotta love my music.
4.) Some movies.

In conclusion im basically asking, should i upgrade internal drive, or get external? If im going to upgrade the internal drive, could anyone provide some instructions on how to do so?

iMac details:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 3 GB

OS's running: Snow Leopard , Windows XP (Mostly for making maps for some steam games)
 
Thanks!

simsaladimbamba said:
It is quite easy to replace the iMac's HDD, if one has the right tools, table and time. I did it with my 2007 Alu iMac and it took me about an hour due to not having the best table.
Instructions can be found here: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/...C-2105-and-2118-Hard-Drive-Replacement/1092/1

Btw, everything you listed, except the games, can be stored on an external HDD.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. Shame the games cant really be stored on an external HDD. Thanks for the link as well I'll use it when i order a 500GB or 1TB :D
 
user1690 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. Shame the games cant really be stored on an external HDD. Thanks for the link as well I'll use it when i order a 500GB or 1TB :D
Click to expand...

id go 1TB..you will fill a 500gb before you know it. when it comes to hard drive space i look at it as better safe than sorry, some people go with external hard drives also though. I have 1TB internal, and roughly about 3TB external
 
For any store except games installation I would suggest you get a NAS.

1) It's a RAID... one HDD failed you still can get a backup but swapping drives.
2) some are easily scalable
3) 1TB upgrade internal compare to like 4 or 5 3TB raid (a total of 6 to 9TB).
4) Speed is not a concern. I stream x264 720p/1080p stuff from the NAS and don't notice any slow down.
5) even for games.. you can always move the whole folder off to the NAS for archive. If you have to play it .. just move it back to you mac.
 
I have also a question about the 1TB-SATA-II-Harddrive that came with my IMac27-Mid2011.

If i get it replaced by a 2TB-SATA-III-Harddrive, will i see big improvements? How big?

Thanks!
 
IeU said:
No one knows?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'd say it depends on the buffer of the HDD (or, the Cache), for example a 16MB cache will be slower than a HDD that had a 32MB cache. The higher the Cache, and the RPM, the faster read times and file transfers will be. Along with the huge space gain (i mean, sheesh, 2TB? Thats alot.)

Someone correct me if im wrong tho ;)
 
IeU said:
I have also a question about the 1TB-SATA-II-Harddrive that came with my IMac27-Mid2011.

If i get it replaced by a 2TB-SATA-III-Harddrive, will i see big improvements? How big?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nothing you would see on a day to day basis.

SATA 2 is 300 MN/ps. On a really good day a single platter based HD might get 90 MB/ps. So hooking a drive that *might* get 90 MB/ps to a SATA III connection that can go up to 600 MB/ps will make zero difference.

And thats provided you can plan on tearing the whole thing apart.

Research wouldnt hurt.
 
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