Models to avoid?

[r6mile]

Sorry, I have just checked and the 27" takes two hard drives (unlike the 21.5 which only takes one), so you can ignore most of my above post.

 

[vkd]

The 2011 models used integrated temperature sensors in the hard drive that did not use a separate cable, so installing a non-Apple drive (including SSDs) will require an OWC Hard Drive sensor kit.

Not true.

I have mid-2011 27" iMac and put in a non-Apple HD. Yes, fan ran on full until I quickly found and installed Macs Fan Control software app for free. No trouble whatsoever, computer works and sounds exactly like factory setting and bonus I can control temps for all components at will. eg. gaming in an emulator can increase GPU temps, with Macs Fan Control, I can edit the values for the GPU diode and heatsink to a lower max temp so fans will cool it more readily. Game runs more smoothly for longer.

So, massive savings on HD by buying non-Apple and temp control flexibility thrown in for free!

 

[DoNoHarm]

interesting, so if I understand your post, it's possible to keep both drives and pick the new SSD as the drive that the computer boots from without any delay in speed?

Congratulations! I had this exact model for the last 4 years. Other than the Seagate HHD recall ( i.e. Affected some units....Apple replaced the HHD under this recall), the iMac had no issues. I just recently sold it (for $900) after removing the additional SSD and replaced with a late 2015 27 inch version. So, you got a good deal!

I see some of your other posts below regarding adding SSD. Here is what I did. I left the HHD in its place, but installed an additional SSD via the instructions in this video from OWC ( i.e. And using a kit purchased from OWC that included everything needed....around $35 at the time). You then have lots of options on how you want to use the HHD/SSD combo. You can create your own fusion drive, install OSX and apps on the SSD and "manually" manage what data you keep on the SSD versus what data you keep on the SSD, etc..... There are plenty of smart people on this forum that can help you with the steps involved (and pros/cons) of the various options on how to best us the HHD/SSD combo. So, my recommendation is to keep the HHD installed and just install an additional SSD (i.e. Then you have both to work with).

The whole process was fairly simple if you follow the instructions in the video carefully. You have to be careful (i.e. Lots of fragile things to disconnect/reconnect), but very simple really.

Video:
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_mid27_2010_ssddiy/

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[DSTOFEL]

interesting, so if I understand your post, it's possible to keep both drives and pick the new SSD as the drive that the computer boots from without any delay in speed?

Yes, it's possible to keep both drives (i.e. I did...as per the video in my link) and it's possible to "pick' the new SSD as the drive that the computer boots from "with much faster "boot up" and other application "startup" speed. Other's on this forum, much more knowledable that I about the "mechanics" of installing a fresh copy of OS X on the SSD as well as installing the Apps on the SSD can hopefully chime in for specifics...as well as pros/cons of the various options of using a combined hdd/ssd configuration.

 

[DoNoHarm]

How does it work with time machine backups then? Do you only backup the drive that the OS is installed on?

Yes, it's possible to keep both drives (i.e. I did...as per the video in my link) and it's possible to "pick' the new SSD as the drive that the computer boots from "with much faster "boot up" and other application "startup" speed. Other's on this forum, much more knowledable that I about the "mechanics" of installing a fresh copy of OS X on the SSD as well as installing the Apps on the SSD can hopefully chime in for specifics...as well as pros/cons of the various options of using a combined hdd/ssd configuration.

 

[r6mile]

You can back-up multiple drives on a single Time Machine, so as long as your time machine was big enough you could back up both.

 

[DSTOFEL]

How does it work with time machine backups then? Do you only backup the drive that the OS is installed on?

Just as the previous poster said: Time Machine BU can be set to back up both.....only limited by the size of the drive used for your BU

 

[Twimfy]

I recently bought a 2010 3.06ghz i3 27". It was preconfigured with an SSD boot and 2TB HDD. I was nervous about it lacking power especially seeing as my previous machine was an 8-Core Mac Pro.

It doesn't disappoint. I'm a heavy Xcode user and I occasionally do some gaming. It doesn't get phased by anything and the HD5760 still has some clout with older titles. It also acts as the primary Plex server for my household.

Glad to see you're pushing for an SSD. Even the 2015 models feel slow without one. I think it's appalling they're not standard these days.