Late 2009 27" iMac - replacing optical drive with SSD worth it?

[sparkie7]

As per title, I'm thinking of putting my old OCZ Vertex 250GB SSD from my Mac Pro 2008 into my 2009 iMac 27" i7's optical bay. I hardly use the CD/DVD. And figured putting in there is better than the the HDD, as I want to leave the 1TB HDD in there as a second drive, and also dont have to mess with the thermal cable.

What is the connection speed of the cable to optical drive, the same as to the internal HDD?

ie. is installing an SSD in place of the optical drive bay will yield just as fast performance as installing to the internal HDD bay?

Also, what to do with the optical drive - are there enclosures - so I can still use it if need be say via USB?

 

[sboychuck]

If you are happy with the machine and comfortable with opening it up, I think it is a good way to get a few more years out of it. Putting an SSD inside will wake up the computer, whether or not you replace the hard drive or the optical bay. You may not be able to realize all of the speed of an SSD, but you may not need all that speed either. If I was going to open it up anyway, I would take out the hard drive and put in either a 256GB or 525GB SSD, or larger, depending on your needs. You can then put in a 7200 rpm hard drive in place of the optical drive with a size to support your needs. I find that I need an optical bay less and less nowadays, but your needs may vary. I have recently pulled out the old spinners and put SSD's into a 24-inch iMac and a 17-inch MacBook Pro and they are much faster. I then have an external drive connected by USB to do Time Machine and CCC back-ups. If you are happy with an older Mac, and do not need the newest and fastest computer, save some money and breath some new life into it.

 

[MadDane]

I don't really have any answers for your questions. But I can highly recommend replacing the optical drive with an SSD. I did that on my late 2009 i7 about 4 years ago and it still runs beautifully. It is only a 128GB SSD but I have made it into a Fusion Drive with a 2TB HDD and it has worked remarkably ever since.

 

[danielwsmithee]

I have the 2009 27" i7 and have replaced both the optical drive and hard drive with SSDs, good way to bring new life into an old machine.

This model has slower SATA II ports so you won't see the full speed of most SSDs, but it is still a vast improvement over Hard Drives.

 

[macnicol]

I have the 2009 27" i7 and have replaced both the optical drive and hard drive with SSDs, good way to bring new life into an old machine.

This model has slower SATA II ports so you won't see the full speed of most SSDs, but it is still a vast improvement over Hard Drives.

How did you bypass the HDD temp sensor for the fan speed control?

 

[danielwsmithee]

How did you bypass the HDD temp sensor for the fan speed control?

I use HDD Fan Control, however I'd recommend getting the OWC kit instead...