Late 2009 27" SSD Upgrade Help

[ab225]

I've been trawling through the forums to get clear instructions for this but I could still do with some guidance on it.

Basically, I just bought a really cheap late 2009 27" iMac with 16GB ram and i7 processor from eBay. I want to use it as an external monitor for my MacBook Air M1 (with a USB-C to mini display port cable - Use of Late 2009 iMac as External Display for m1?), a system I can boot into mountain lion with (to use an old laser printer) and a general use machine if I need to check emails, listen to music or whatever. I don't need an optical drive. I'd also like it to be as quiet as possible.

To keep it quiet and running fast, I was going to upgrade it to an SSD. Ideally I don't want to buy any extras (like a new thermal sensor drive cable). I know there is a thermal sensor for the 3.5 HDD and one for the optical drive, so if I take out either of these the fans are going to max out. I was thinking of taking both out for better airflow.

I know I can install a fan controller but when does that start working? When you're logged into an account and the app starts up?

And if I take out both the optical and the disk drive where would be best to plug in a 2.5 SSD? I was thinking of just taping it to the frame somewhere. Is there anything else I need to worry about or is it as simple as that?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

1. I know I can install a fan controller but when does that start working? When you're logged into an account and the app starts up?

2. And if I take out both the optical and the disk drive where would be best to plug in a 2.5 SSD? I was thinking of just taping it to the frame somewhere. Is there anything else I need to worry about or is it as simple as that?

1. Yep, the app starts after logging in.
2. The optical drive is also a pressure wall for airflow. Not a good idea just taking it out. Think about a 2.5" caddy bay.
On my iMac, I installed the SSD right where the HDD was. Open your iMac and you'll figure it out yourself. It's not that hard.

 

[pshufd]

I have the Core 2 Duo version of your system. I have an SSD in an Inateck USB 2.0 enclosure and performance is decent for booting and running in general. I think that the enclosures are about $20. It's a lot easier than taking your iMac apart. You can get better speed with a Firewire 800 adapter but it will cost more.

 

[EugW]

You can buy an optical drive temperature sensor cable for about US$8 shipped, to replace the hard drive sensor cable. You get a temperature sensor reading and the fans stay quiet.

However, if you don’t want to do that, then just cut the hard drive sensor cable at the hard drive and connect the two free ends together (and cover that with electrical tape) to short the circuit. You get no temperature reading but the fans still stay quiet.

Those are the two preferred options. I would not recommend the fan control software option since that is a software bandaid for a hardware problem that the first two options above solve.

BTW, I would also recommend spending $8 to get a 2.5” to 3.5” drive adapter for the SSD. It makes for a neat and stable SSD install using the existing 3.5” drive bracket.

IMO, booting off a USB 2.0 SSD is too slow. It works but it’s aggravating. Booting off a FireWire 800 SSD is a much better experience but is more costly, and is still nowhere as good as booting off an internal SSD. I have tried all three of these options.

EDIT:

This is my 2010 i7 iMac, but it's the same idea.

The optical drive temperature sensor cable is in place of the previous hard drive temperature sensor cable. Note that I have attached the sensor end onto the 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket. (Technically it should be attached to the SSD itself, but I did it this way because it doesn't really matter that much, and this allows me to remove the SSD in the future if necessary, while keeping the cable in place.)

I am not using Macs Fan Control, but I installed it temporarily just to confirm that the SSD temperature reading (bottom right) was working, using the optical drive temperature sensor cable. I promptly uninstalled this app after taking the screen grab. Note that the fan control is on 'Auto' (ie. no fan speed intervention from this app) but the HDD fan is running at minimum speed in line with the low temperature reading.

 

[AdamJohnG]

I have an Core2Duo 27" Late 2009 that is now mainly used as an external monitor. Put a small cheap SSD in the Optical Drive bay, as that does not require disconnecting the LCD panel, just lift up the top of the panel and put some chop sticks or similar to keep it lifted while you do the quick swap. Even with the ancient Core2Duo processor, it is still usable also as a basic web browsing computer. Though for that I have a loaded Mac mini 2018 with a 38" wide screen.

 

[pshufd]

I have an Core2Duo 27" Late 2009 that is now mainly used as an external monitor. Put a small cheap SSD in the Optical Drive bay, as that does not require disconnecting the LCD panel, just lift up the top of the panel and put some chop sticks or similar to keep it lifted while you do the quick swap. Even with the ancient Core2Duo processor, it is still usable also as a basic web browsing computer. Though for that I have a loaded Mac mini 2018 with a 38" wide screen.

You can use them as a Streaming Television (I still have the remote control which came with it) or for casual computing. Quality monitors are expensive these days due to the pandemic. These things may work nicely for you if you can find one of these for $100 or less. I do not see these things above $100 moving though some try to sell them for $200 to $300.

 

[EugW]

I have an Core2Duo 27" Late 2009 that is now mainly used as an external monitor. Put a small cheap SSD in the Optical Drive bay, as that does not require disconnecting the LCD panel, just lift up the top of the panel and put some chop sticks or similar to keep it lifted while you do the quick swap. Even with the ancient Core2Duo processor, it is still usable also as a basic web browsing computer. Though for that I have a loaded Mac mini 2018 with a 38" wide screen.

I've seen someone on YouTube replace the hard drive with an SSD without removing the LCD panel. Same idea as you. He wedged a box in there to keep the LCD lifted while he did the work.

I thought about doing this but it was too awkward and my screwdrivers were too long to fit properly, so I removed the LCD panel.

 

[pshufd]

I've seen someone on YouTube replace the hard drive with an SSD without removing the LCD panel. Same idea as you. He wedged a box in there to keep the LCD lifted while he did the work.

I thought about doing this but it was too awkward and my screwdrivers were too long to fit properly, so I removed the LCD panel.

I used the HDD for quite some time and performance was fine. With 16 GB, just about everything is cached in RAM if you're using it for simple office stuff. 16 GB of RAM with a USB 2.0 SSD is even better for those odd programs that hit storage regularly.

 

[EugW]

I used the HDD for quite some time and performance was fine. With 16 GB, just about everything is cached in RAM if you're using it for simple office stuff. 16 GB of RAM with a USB 2.0 SSD is even better for those odd programs that hit storage regularly.

Let's just say that you and I have very different expectations for performance.

IMO, using High Sierra with the OEM HDD is an exercise in frustration.

I tried a good quality Samsung SSD in a USB 2.0 enclosure and it was still an exercise in frustration. Using benchmarking software I confirmed I was getting expected USB 2.0 speeds, but it just wasn't very pleasant.

Moving to a FireWire enclosure was a big performance boost but it was still not ideal. Plus the lack of TRIM caused significant performance issues with larger transfers.

With the SSD installed internally in place of the hard drive, the machine feels like a modern machine.

 

[ab225]

You can buy an optical drive temperature sensor cable for about US$8 shipped, to replace the hard drive sensor cable. You get a temperature sensor reading and the fans stay quiet.

However, if you don’t want to do that, then just cut the hard drive sensor cable at the hard drive and connect the two free ends together (and cover that with electrical tape) to short the circuit. You get no temperature reading but the fans still stay quiet.

Those are the two preferred options. I would not recommend the fan control software option since that is a software bandaid for a hardware problem that the first two options above solve.

BTW, I would also recommend spending $8 to get a 2.5” to 3.5” drive adapter for the SSD. It makes for a neat and stable SSD install using the existing 3.5” drive bracket.

IMO, booting off a USB 2.0 SSD is too slow. It works but it’s aggravating. Booting off a FireWire 800 SSD is a much better experience but is more costly, and is still nowhere as good as booting off an internal SSD. I have tried all three of these options.

EDIT:

This is my 2010 i7 iMac, but it's the same idea.

The optical drive temperature sensor cable is in place of the previous hard drive temperature sensor cable. Note that I have attached the sensor end onto the 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket. (Technically it should be attached to the SSD itself, but I did it this way because it doesn't really matter that much, and this allows me to remove the SSD in the future if necessary, while keeping the cable in place.)

View attachment 1936878

View attachment 1936877

I am not using Macs Fan Control, but I installed it temporarily just to confirm that the SSD temperature reading (bottom right) was working, using the optical drive temperature sensor cable. I promptly uninstalled this app after taking the screen grab. Note that the fan control is on 'Auto' (ie. no fan speed intervention from this app) but the HDD fan is running at minimum speed in line with the low temperature reading.

View attachment 1936876

Great advice thanks. I'd much prefer a hardware solution to the fan sensor issue so I'll look getting the optical cable set up, or otherwise just shorting it. I saw online someone had soldered a resistor or something onto it which looked too involved for me. But this seems like a pretty elegant solution.

I also agree about SSD and USB 2 speeds. I'd prefer an internal SSD drive, even just for startup speeds.

Thanks!

 

[pshufd]

Let's just say that you and I have very different expectations for performance.

IMO, using High Sierra with the OEM HDD is an exercise in frustration.

I tried a good quality Samsung SSD in a USB 2.0 enclosure and it was still an exercise in frustration. Using benchmarking software I confirmed I was getting expected USB 2.0 speeds, but it just wasn't very pleasant.

Moving to a FireWire enclosure was a big performance boost but it was still not ideal. Plus the lack of TRIM caused significant performance issues with larger transfers.

With the SSD installed internally in place of the hard drive, the machine feels like a modern machine.

My username should tell you that I'm into optimization.

The HDD is only slow on startup so I just never shut the system down - that was when I was using the HDD. I used it in a way which minimized use of the HDD and performance was fine. It's better with the SSD but I could use it in either mode.

I bought the 2014 iMac this morning: 4.0 Ghz i7, 16 GB RAM (2x8), 500 GB SSD, Radeon R9 295X 4GB GPU. It is freaking gorgeous.

 

[EugW]

My username should tell you that I'm into optimization.

The number 1 item to optimize an older computer is to install a SSD of course.

The HDD is only slow on startup so I just never shut the system down - that was when I was using the HDD. I used it in a way which minimized use of the HDD and performance was fine. It's better with the SSD but I could use it in either mode.

Well, I hear ya, but it's nonetheless quite restrictive in my personal opinion. It's doable, and I did it for a while with my 12 GB RAM, but in the end I just bit the bullet and upgraded... to a Firewire SSD initially which was a huge improvement. But even compared to that Firewire SSD, internal SSD is a very nice improvement... as you'll see:

I bought the 2014 iMac this morning: 4.0 Ghz i7, 16 GB RAM (2x8), 500 GB SSD, Radeon R9 295X 4GB GPU. It is freaking gorgeous.

Nice. Enjoy!

 

[pshufd]

The number 1 item to optimize an older computer is to install a SSD of course.


Well, I hear ya, but it's nonetheless quite restrictive in my personal opinion. It's doable, and I did it for a while with my 12 GB RAM, but in the end I just bit the bullet and upgraded... to a Firewire SSD initially which was a huge improvement. But even compared to that Firewire SSD, internal SSD is a very nice improvement... as you'll see:


Nice. Enjoy!

My Windows desktop has an i7-10700 and 128 GB of RAM. If something runs slowly on the 2009 iMac, I can just move it to one of my other systems. Kind of like a Pareto approach.