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iMac Late 2012 SSD Slot
- Thread starter jaa6921
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If it came with a Fusion Drive then yes.
If not, I believe the 2014 was about the first to have the blade drive slot as standard.
If you are up to it, just remover the 5400rpm laptop style drive and replace with a fast SSD. Or an easier route is an SSD in an external caddy connected via USB3 and used as the boot drive.
If not, I believe the 2014 was about the first to have the blade drive slot as standard.
If you are up to it, just remover the 5400rpm laptop style drive and replace with a fast SSD. Or an easier route is an SSD in an external caddy connected via USB3 and used as the boot drive.
Thanks for the insight. I have the machine semi disassembled ready for a new display, so maybe I should drop the MB out. MAcsales are selling an SSD for the Late 2012 model, and their video sort of implies it may be there and unpopulated
I already have a 7200RPM HD but its still laggy on clicks.........
Thanks again
I just found a chart together with this on everymac.com. This suggests that the late 2012 - 27" EMC 2546 does have the PCI connector on the MB. Seems the 21.5 only had the connector if the system was shipped as a Fusion drive system.
By contrast, the 27-Inch "Late 2012" and "Late 2013" as well as the "Late 2014" and "Mid-2015" Retina/5K iMac models all have this connector on the motherboard even if the system only is configured with a hard drive at the time of purchase, so it is possible to add a PCIe-based "blade" SSD to these models after the initial system purchase.
By contrast, the 27-Inch "Late 2012" and "Late 2013" as well as the "Late 2014" and "Mid-2015" Retina/5K iMac models all have this connector on the motherboard even if the system only is configured with a hard drive at the time of purchase, so it is possible to add a PCIe-based "blade" SSD to these models after the initial system purchase.
Hard Drive Interface 1 - 6.0 Gbps Serial ATA (SATA), 1 - 5.0 GT/s PCIe x2
The above refers to the Blade Drive Slot for the first time on the late 2013 iMac according to Mactracker.
The above refers to the Blade Drive Slot for the first time on the late 2013 iMac according to Mactracker.
I can confirm it comes with a SSD slot. Only the 21.5" did not have one if factory configured without SSD.
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This is correct.
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This blade slot refers to the PCIe interface which indeed came first with the 2913 iMac. The 2012 of the OP also came with a blade slot, albeit one for the SATA-III Apple blades.
Correct. Adapters and blade SSDs are available for the 2012 but they are not the same as the 2013-on (or the 2010–11 that have an extra SATA connector).
There's no need to do it, however, since there's no advantage to having one there (that changed in 2013). Since that buss is also SATA III, just replace the HDD on the other SATA III buss with a large enough SSD. 2TB runs around $300 and you can get a 4 TB Samsung 860 EVO under $769 if you shop around.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786QNSBD/ref=twister_B079P94LLX?_encoding=UTF8&th=1
The original HDD is old, worn out and runs too hot, cooking other internal components. The question is not if it will fail but when or has it already?
It's an easy DIY. OWC sells the tools, tape and heat sensor you need.
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMACHDD12/
This adapter bracket is recommended. Without it, you use double-stick foam tape to stick the SSD to the back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ELRRKW8/ref=psdc_160354011_t1_B005PZDVF6
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True, the theoretical speeds are the same in the late 2012 iMac, whether you use an Apple Blade SSD or simply remove the hard drive and install the SSD in its place.
What should be stressed is that in the 27" version, exchanging the hard drive against a non-Apple (regardless whether HDD or SSD) will cause the fan run at full speed. You can control it either via software (e.g. Mac Fan Control) or via a specific temperature sensor cable after which's installation the SSD just works, in terms of fan control, like an Apple HDD. That adapter cable can be found in the OWC link Mike posted.
Further, a practical tip if you use the adapter bracket Mike suggested. The bracket restores the dimensions, mounting points and SATA port position of a 3.5" HDD. There is a very small piece of PCB which does nothing else than relocate the SATA connections to their proper place.
That PCB is not strictly needed if you use the OWC temperature sensor cable. Thus, when I modified my 2012 iMac with said adapter and cable, I removed this little PCB and attached the adapter cable directly to the SSD mounted on the frame. This gives you 2cm of quite welcome working space in the relatively tight iMac enclosure.
Best,
Magnus
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I've never considered removing the PCB but you're right that it's redundant I do everything one-handed so I don't know if it would make anything easier. Since the temp sensor adds length to the cable, I can see why one might want the additional room. Good tip!
I tried using the software fan control. OWC was backordered on the temp sensor at the time. The things I didn't like were that a) Though you can control the fans manually, now you have to. As my office can get hot in the summer, this was a PIA. b) The fans roar to 100% during the boot process until the extension kicks in. That got very old, quickly.
I tried using the software fan control. OWC was backordered on the temp sensor at the time. The things I didn't like were that a) Though you can control the fans manually, now you have to. As my office can get hot in the summer, this was a PIA. b) The fans roar to 100% during the boot process until the extension kicks in. That got very old, quickly.
I wouldn't say no advantage.
You could put an SSD there too and run a software RAID0 if you wanted extra speed and storage size. I think I saw a thread on here of someone getting 1000MBps speeds on their Late 2012 with a RAID0 set up.
I might do this with my Late 2012 iMac, but it looks like a pain in the butt to replace the blade SSD on it.