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Installing OCZ Vertex SSD (Mid 2011 iMac)

N

nghix123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 30, 2008
19
0
California
Hi guys,

I own a mid 2011 27inch iMac i7 (2GB 6970M, 2TB HDD, 16GB SDRM).

I recently just purchased a OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD and was looking to see if anyone can recommend a place in the Los Angeles area to perform the installation. I called up a few Apple authroize dealers and they stated they cannot install an aftermarket SSD at this time. I've been researching online and notice a few iMac owners have done so with this specific SSD and it's working great. I prefer to take it to a professional or pay someone on the forums who has done this upgrade to their own system then to open up the iMac myself.

Any help or recommendation would be very much appreciated.
 
bump.

Anyone who has installed the OCZ Vertex 3 in your 2011 iMac, can you tell me your experience with this SSD? How was the fan speed and did you run into any issues with this drive? thanks.
 
Installing is not that bad. People are saying that it is terrible but I just splayed everything out on a conference table (at work) and labeled everything with sticky notes. Not the worst thing ever, although I have a knack for this kind of thing. Keep in mind I have never done any computer work. Installed the SSD with a 13-pin female to 22-pin female cord seen elsewhere on this site. It's microsatacables.com or something (blue and red). Set up the SSD before install via USB and it worked immediately as my boot drive upon installation. No fan issues in W7 or OSX, although I do use smcFanControl to keep the temp down a bit normally. Took about 2 hours to take apart, install and reassemble the computer. Then another couple to get the final pieces of lint from behind the glass. Do it yourself, not that bad of a project if you're careful. Good luck!
 
I had it installed by an apple authorised service center, found it from apple.com. They charged 110 dollars. No fan issues.
BTW update firmware of the SSD before installing, as you cannot update it later.
 
I really appreciate the feedback. I'm so anxious in getting this SSD installed but I'm too scared to open up the iMac myself.

How are you guys liking the SSD?

premneo said:
I had it installed by an apple authorised service center, found it from apple.com. They charged 110 dollars. No fan issues.
BTW update firmware of the SSD before installing, as you cannot update it later.
Click to expand...

I'll be sure to update the firmware before installing. Thanks for the advice. Are you in the Los Angeles area by chance? If so where did you take your iMac? I've called so many places and most places are stating they can't do it. Hopefully I'll have some luck this coming week.
 
I'm in LA. If you bring your iMac to my place I'll install the drive for you for half the cost of what shop would change. PM me if you're interested. I've already done an SSD install on my own 27" iMac. Install was flawless.
 
portishead said:
I'm in LA. If you bring your iMac to my place I'll install the drive for you for half the cost of what shop would change. PM me if you're interested. I've already done an SSD install on my own 27" iMac. Install was flawless.
Click to expand...

PM sent! Did you run into any problems after installing the SSD (Heat/Fan Noise etc..)?
 
premneo said:
I had it installed by an apple authorised service center, found it from apple.com. They charged 110 dollars. No fan issues.
BTW update firmware of the SSD before installing, as you cannot update it later.
Click to expand...

I have a question about firmware updates on ocz ssds. I've read that ocz will not allow firmware upgrades when the drive being updated is the boot drive. But what about if you boot from FireWire or even USB? My reasoning is that if you boot from a drive other than the SSD, you would be able to do the firmware update.

Any info you have on this would be very very helpful. I'm considering pulling the trigger on an ocz quite soon.
 
portishead said:
PM Replied. The SSD didn't cause any fan noise, but when I replaced the 3.5" drive, it did cause the fans to kick in. If you reinstall your OS, it fixes this though.
Click to expand...

I can't thank you enough for offering to help me install the SSD. I actually found a place near home that is willing to do the install. They're actually going to update the firmware of the OCZ drive, install the OS and make it the boot drive.

I read a few negative review about the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD but it's all coming from Window users. All the Mac users that I've been following seems to love the SSD and hasn't recorded any issues.
 
hi portishead - quick question, I have an iMac coming, it is presently on order and expected to ship in the next 1-2 business days. When installing an SSD into an HDD+SSD iMac configuration (e.g., swapping the Apple-stock Toshiba for a SATA3 drive), is there anything special you need to do to format the drive so that is plays appropriately with the HDD already resident in the iMac?

Or are they seen as two completely independent physical and logical volumes - just like plugging in a FW drive, for example?

thanks!
Mark
 
Hi! Quick question to anyone who has installed this drive (sorry if this seems pretty obvious)

Do you have space and cables to be able to install the drive without removing the old one? Was the software easy to install with it?

Thanks!
 
-pete- said:
Hi! Quick question to anyone who has installed this drive (sorry if this seems pretty obvious)

Do you have space and cables to be able to install the drive without removing the old one? Was the software easy to install with it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I just got my machine back today after getting the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD installed and let me tell you, it's probably one of the best upgrades you can do. The machine opens/closes apps so easily. Once you go SSD it's extremely hard to go back to the regular HDD. Remember to update the firmware before you start the installation.

Here's what you'll need to install the SSD:
1. Sata Data Cable
2. Sata Power Splitter

I picked these 2 up at Frys but you can always order it online. Good luck!
 
So I got the HDD failure email and was considering going to replace it and adding the Vertex since the iMac is open. My question is this possible, granted I haven't asked the techs that are going to do it yet, wanted to ask you guys first, so I know what I'm doing when going to talk to them.
 
Replacing the HDD requires taking off glass and screen, then switching out the drive. Installing a SSD requires the same first two steps (easy) then the additional pain of removing the motherboard and hooking up the power/data cable. They may want to charge you $100+ or will be unwilling to do it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
 
eemsTV said:
So I got the HDD failure email and was considering going to replace it and adding the Vertex since the iMac is open. My question is this possible, granted I haven't asked the techs that are going to do it yet, wanted to ask you guys first, so I know what I'm doing when going to talk to them.
Click to expand...

FWIW I have 3 Apples stores near me and none of them were willing to add an SSD to my iMac (which originally had no SSD). Others may have had luck in this area but not me. Each Apple employee recommended contacting an Authorized repair center to have this work done. A few quick phone calls confirmed this to be true but in the end I just did the job myself. It was much easier than I had anticipated though I can understand folks not wanting to do it themselves.
 
iLidz said:
FWIW I have 3 Apples stores near me and none of them were willing to add an SSD to my iMac (which originally had no SSD). Others may have had luck in this area but not me. Each Apple employee recommended contacting an Authorized repair center to have this work done. A few quick phone calls confirmed this to be true but in the end I just did the job myself. It was much easier than I had anticipated though I can understand folks not wanting to do it themselves.
Click to expand...

It was extremely hard to find any authroize Apple repair places that would do it. I had to convince a few places and also provide them with this link:

http://blog.chargedpc.com/2011/05/2011-imac-ssd-install-guide.html
 
Last edited:
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If I had to persuade a repair center to do the work I needed I would definitely take my business elsewhere. I used the chargedpc guide when I did my install and the whole procedure went pretty good for me.
 
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