Late 2009 27" iMac - Upgrade or Not?

[genin88]

Hi all! Another upgrade or not question for you. See details below.

Currently I have the following setup:

- Late 2009, 27" iMac 3.06 Ghz C2D, 1TB HD, 8 GB ram
- 2012 Mac Mini - 2.3 i7, 1TB 5400 RPM HD and 256GB SSD (Samsung 830), 16GB ram

The 27" iMac was purchase off of CL for $750 a year ago and the only upgrade was an additional 4GB of ram for $20. So all in all I have $770 into it.

The mini was purchase from CL as well and I installed the SSD and the memory myself.

Usage:

I use the 27" iMac for general web surfing, email and watching a few videos. I have the Mac Mini connected via the display port cable (from thunderbolt port to display port) and use the 27" as a monitor in target mode. I use the mini in the same manor, but of course it runs circles around the iMac.

I love the size and quality of the iMac and the ability to use the 27" as a monitor for the mini and the MBP that I have as well. My assumption is the iMac will be viable for at least another 4 yrs based on the Apple OS X upgrade cycle (to run the latest OS X).

I use my PC desktop for gaming and finincial stuff...so I use both PC and Mac. Looking at CL, it's expected the market will be saturated once the next release of an iMac. For me, I pretty much only buy and sell used Macs, so I never use the latest from Apple. But I am SSD all the way, even the Late 2008 MBP I have has an SSD in it as well.


Question:

So with the usage I mentioned, is there any reason to replace the superdrive with a SSD in the 27" iMac? I hate the beach ball, even if it is mainly logging in I have to wait. I can replace the super drive myself, the technical aspect is not an issue.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[thedeske]

I think everyone will say yes, install the SSD. A crucial MX100 is plenty and darn cheap right now.

I and a friend both did our 09 machines and it makes a huge difference in the overall feel, even with the 3g limit on the bus.

 

[Johnf1285]

Totally go SSD! It's going to give you a lot more use out of that machine!

 

[rei101]

Have Apple switching the drive for you.

I have a 2010 iMac and the drive I got from CompUSA 2 blocks away, didn't have the same port for the temperature sensor and the fan went nuts! I had to reinstall the original drive again and that was it.

So... your iMac is good, if you get a SSD drive be sure is 100% compatible with that model.

Then, you can find the tools in Radio Shack. And you do not need suction cups to pull the display, you can insert a little plastic knife or similar in the border and it will come out.

You do not need to unplug every single wire neither, just some of them and move the screen a bit and you will have enough room to remove the drive.

In your case, I would sell the Mac Mini, I do not see the use of it.

 

[Drharrington]

Do the upgrade. Have same model. It rocks. You a paper clip and short the temp sensor.

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Use fan control or short the temp sensor. It's easy. Just google it.