Late 2013 21.5" iMac - Booting from external SSD

[photogramps]

Having just acquired a late 2013 21.5" iMac I thought about any possible advantage in booting off of an external SSD, what I didn't want though was something cumbersome maybe desk mounted that would limit ease of movement as the iMac needs moving around a bit each day to cater for different situations.
After a little bit of searching I came across the Pioneer 3D NAND portable external SSD which is about the same size as a credit card, though thicker and it sits perfectly on the back of the stand mounted on some 'Blue Tack', out of view and totally unaffected by the iMac being moved around.
It boots quicker than the original internal platter HD and makes the iMac quicker in daily use ... all in all a neat little drive.

 

[uller6]

I've used velcro to attach external drives / USB hubs to the back of my iMacs for years. I've never thought of using blue tack to do this - great idea!

 

[wardie]

I have an TB3 external drive like that but it has an aluminium enclosure as a heat sink,so I just rest it on the iMac’s stand base plate. Works well to dissipate the heat.

 

[photogramps]

I have an TB3 external drive like that but it has an aluminium enclosure as a heat sink,so I just rest it on the iMac’s stand base plate. Works well to dissipate the heat.

Yep, great idea - in my photo you can see that I too have a small external drive blue-tacked to the stand base plate and it acts as my Time Machine ... the aluminium enclosure fits in well with the iMac.

 

[Shroom11]

Hey,

I also just purchased a late 2013 iMac 21.5 and wanted to upgrade the HDD to SSD to make the Mac run faster. I was considering taking off the screen and doing this internally but going with an external SSD seems a lot less hassle. What I wanted to know is would there be a significant difference in performance between the internal and external SSD for booting? Say using a Samsung 860 EVO 2.5 inch with a usb 3.0 enclosure?

Thanks for any help!

 

[photogramps]

Hey,

I also just purchased a late 2013 iMac 21.5 and wanted to upgrade the HDD to SSD to make the Mac run faster. I was considering taking off the screen and doing this internally but going with an external SSD seems a lot less hassle. What I wanted to know is would there be a significant difference in performance between the internal and external SSD for booting? Say using a Samsung 860 EVO 2.5 inch with a usb 3.0 enclosure?

Thanks for any help!

Initial booting isn't the main positive for this arrangement, for some reason the iMac seems to check what it's doing before booting up from the SSD and I can't find a way to MAKE it go straight to the SSD.
That said, it's much quicker in general use and no longer to boot than booting from the original drive.

I have the adhesive strips to do the eventual internal replacement but I am holding off for the time being and don't feel the need to rush.

 

[Shroom11]

Initial booting isn't the main positive for this arrangement, for some reason the iMac seems to check what it's doing before booting up from the SSD and I can't find a way to MAKE it go straight to the SSD.
That said, it's much quicker in general use and no longer to boot than booting from the original drive.

I have the adhesive strips to do the eventual internal replacement but I am holding off for the time being and don't feel the need to rush.

That's brilliant thank you! I might do the same then until I build up the courage to take the screen off! 👍

 

[Beejan181]

i am also in the same boat, i have a 21.5 inch late 2013 iMac running 2.9 Ghz quad core i5, 8 gb of ram and Nvidia GeForce GT 750M
what did you end up adding to increase the speed of your imac
I have got this three ssd's
sandisk ultra ii 480 gb / Samsung 860 EVO mSata 500 gb ssd or Samsung 1 tb VNAND 850 EVO ssd.
i have got a sandisk 480 gb ultra 11 ssd drive what's my best option for the
usb 3 enclosure back to the iMac in usb 3 port
or
Thunderbolt 3 enclosure for ssd drive to go in on of the TB port at back of the iMac

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Gramps have you been into System Preferences > Startup Disk and selected (highlighted) the SSD?