mid 2011 iMac 21.5" Samsung 870 EVO SSD question?

[GlynH]

Are there any known issues when fitting a Samsung 870 EVO 1TB into a mid 2011 21.5" iMac 12,1 / A1311 / 2428.

I've done a search but didn't pull up anything directly and I have had issues with the same SSD in a cMP but had good experiences with 850 & 860 EVO's in both iMac and cMP.

I believe the 870 incompatibility might be down to the revision of firmware on the SSD itself but I ended up sending mine back and using an earlier 860 EVO instead with no problems.

I'm asking for a friend who owns the 21.5" as when replacing the original 1TB HDD in my 27" iMac of the same vintage I fitted the OWC Temperature Sensor to prevent the fans running at full speed as I prefer that solution to installing 3rd party software and letting that control the fans instead of the Mac itself. Is some kind of fan control also needed in the 21.5" when replacing the original HDD?

Finally in my 27" there was an additional drive bay underneath the ODD - does the 21.5" have this or space for a second SSD?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[dirkske]

Adding a 840 EVO to my mid 2011 21,5 inch to create a fusion drive with the original HDD did not cause any issues. SSD was installed almost 8 years ago and the iMac is still my daily computer. There’s space behind the CD slot to stick the SSD. There’s an empty connector you can use. Because the original HDD is still there, there is no need for any software or sensors to control the fans. I used the ifixit kit to install the SSD.
Hope that helps.

 

[Warped9]

Adding a 840 EVO to my mid 2011 21,5 inch to create a fusion drive with the original HDD did not cause any issues. SSD was installed almost 8 years ago and the iMac is still my daily computer. There’s space behind the CD slot to stick the SSD. There’s an empty connector you can use. Because the original HDD is still there, there is no need for any software or sensors to control the fans. I used the ifixit kit to install the SSD.
Hope that helps.

Yeah, similar experience. About two years ago I put a Samsung EVO 500GB behind my optical drive on my mid 2011 21.5. At the same time I swapped in an i7 2600S and bumped it up to 32GB RAM. I used Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the original hard drive to the SSD. Ten years old and this computer runs better than new.

 

[GlynH]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys.

Like you I have had no issues with the earlier generation Samsung EVO SSD's I have fitted to my 2011 27" iMac

The 850 EVO was installed in 2015 by a Mac 'specialist' who used 4 sticky pads that lost adhesion leaving it dangling on its cables underneath the ODD. I have since been back in myself and refitted it properly using the factory frame when I replaced the long dead Seagate 1TB spinner with an 2TB 860 EVO plus OWC Temperature Sensor.

Just hanging around...


Very little contact area can be seen from only two of the sticky pads - not rocket science when you take into account the curve in the case. My guess is it had become detached by the time I had driven it home...


Sticky pads vs Apple mounting frame designed for the job!

I have also fitted earlier generation Samsung EVO SSD's without issue in my;

2010 Mac Pro - 2TB 860 EVO

2012 13" MacBook Pro - 1TB 850 EVO

2012 15" MacBook Pro - 1TB 850 EVO

2012 Mac Mini - 2 x 1TB Samsung 850 EVO

I did however have a problem with the 870 EVO in the only machine I tried it in - Mac Pro and ended up sending 3 of them back.

Mac Pro 870 issue here

I was just asking for a friend who needs to fit an SSD to his 2011 21.5" whether anybody has had a similar 870 EVO issue in their iMac as I experienced in my Mac Pro.

The 870 seems to be the current model, the 840/850/860 are earlier models and hard to come by so it limits his choice somewhat.

It's also a lot of work opening up the iMac, installing the SSD (with OWC Temperature Sensor - is that needed on the 21.5" as it was on my 27" when removing the original HDD?) so just wanted a sanity check before he attempts to replace it.

Interested in hearing from anybody who has experience of replacing the original HDD with the 870 EVO in the 2011 21.5" iMac if anybody has already been down this path.

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[kirreip]

Have you ever recieved an answer to your question? I am in the same boat: I want to upgrade an iMac 2011 but had troubles with the 870 EVO on my cMP 5.1. So before buying them for the iMac I wanted to know if someone was actually using them on an 2011 iMac.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Have you ever recieved an answer to your question? I am in the same boat: I want to upgrade an iMac 2011 but had troubles with the 870 EVO on my cMP 5.1. So before buying them for the iMac I wanted to know if someone was actually using them on an 2011 iMac.

How can it go wrong with a SATA disk in a SATA slot?

 

[retta283]

How can it go wrong with a SATA disk in a SATA slot?

Just because it's SATA doesn't mean that it'll work. SATA III is supposed to be backwards compatible, obviously, but sometimes the controller doesn't permit this. A lot of cheapo SSDs have this problem and will not work with older computers, but looks like the 870 does as well. A Google search will reveal that this SSD does not play nice with any old Macs of 2012 or older.

 

[kirreip]

I could never explain this as good as tsialex, that‘s why I will just refer to him:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/caution-troubles-with-870-evo-drives-on-cmp-5-1.2287656/?post=29763339#post-29763339

As I said: I had troubles with mine and had to return them. And as tsialex explains: this also happens to the early SATA III Macs.

So again: Before buying them for the iMac I wanted to know if someone was actually using them on an 2011 iMac.

 

[B S Magnet]

Just because it's SATA doesn't mean that it'll work. SATA III is supposed to be backwards compatible, obviously, but sometimes the controller doesn't permit this. A lot of cheapo SSDs have this problem and will not work with older computers, but looks like the 870 does as well. A Google search will reveal that this SSD does not play nice with any old Macs of 2012 or older.

Best advice: focus on the SATA chipset being equipped with the model of your Mac.

Adding on this, I can attest (for those reading this discussion later on) that I’ve experienced consistent good outcomes with running WD Blue (from 2021) and WD Red (from 2023) SATA III 2.5-inch and m.2 form factor SSDs in my 2008 aluminium MacBook Pro (which uses the ICH8-M chipset) and 2011 unibody MacBook Pro (which uses the Intel 6 Series chipset). (Both the Blue and Red lines have built-in DRAM caches.) The Kingston model you see below (which also has a built-in DRAM cache) works well as a SATA III boot volume on the late 2011 MBP.

Additionally, I’ve also had success using a 2018-era, budget SATA III SSD, the iRecData 6, as the boot volume in another 2011 MBP with the Intel 6 Series and had no issues:

In short: compatibility/suitability may come down to the chipset found in your Mac (see: System Information > SATA/SATA Express tab): Macs using the Nvidia chipset, like those from late 2008 through 2010, may have completely different tolerances for which SATA III SSDs they can use, especially for boot volumes. It really all comes down to the Mac’s firmware associated with the SATA bus.