Hi all, this is my first post here. i'm writing it for mac newbies like me. I'm a longtime PC user moved to iMac. Few weeks ago I purchased a used Mid-2011 iMac 27" with Core i5 2.7Ghz, 1TB drive, and 4gig of ram. Overall i love the simplicity and beauty of the iMac. And for under $800 I thought it was a great deal. Still learning how to use OS X. Frustrating I don't know all the ins and outs yet (like uninstalling an app...seems too simple).
I'm a huge SSD and Ram fan from my PC world so I tackled the upgrade challenge. iMac is much more difficult than opening up a PC case. You pay for the exterior simplicity and beauty
I ordered HDD installation kit from OWC, seems like a great source for upgrades. I also ordered second drive SSD kit as well.
SSD Kit DIYIM27SSD11 Link
HDD Kit DIDIMACHDD11 Link
I decided to install Western Digital 2TB Green Hard Drive to replace the 1TB drive. I wanted to increase capacity but also I assumed 1TB was the original and wanted a fresh drive. Picked one up for $79, Amazon recently had it for $69.
For the SSD i installed Kingston HyperX FURY 240GB (SHFS37A/240G). Got mine from Tigerdirect at a decent deal Link
For the Ram the iMac had 2x2GB ram installed. I decided to buy 2x4GB for the 2 remaining open ram slots for a total 12GB. Easy to upgrade. I bought some used Corsair RAM from eBay for about $50, 8GB (2x4), part number CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9. I toiled over Mac and non Mac memory. The 4th character in part number "O" is for PC and "A" for Apple. All it means, in a simple way, is that it has been certified or confirmed to work with Apple. Blah Blah...the PC ones i ordered work great. ebay Search Link
I'll tell you my installation experience of these upgrade but first let me comment on performance. As expected the SSD is amazing, apps start faster, startup is much faster, the Wester Digital drive is quiet and all works well. Before the upgrade I timed the startup time, logging in, and opening mail, iTunes, and Safari with one of my regular websites. Total time from start to final app loading was 2 minutes and 20 seconds, this dropped to 37 seconds. Solid improvement.
The hard drive installation was involved and tested my nerves. I've done few iPod repairs and iPad screen repair with success so I felt confident. If you take your time it is doable. I had a few avoidable scares along the way...
First thing is to watch the OWC videos on youtube, at least 2-3 times. Have an iPad or another device handy as reference during the upgrade. I did not have a static strap but maintained contact to iMac chassis at all times. I used gloves handling the screen.
The connectors behind the screen are key, very awkward to hold screen partially tilted to disconnect and reconnect 4 connectors. the power connector and display port connector are difficult.
Once the screen is off the rest of the components are easy, make sure you remove the ram to allow the logic board to tilt forward. While inside the iMac i cleaned all the dust.
HDD installs easy, simple R&R, and use the temp sensor from OWC kit. Temp sensor is needed on this iMac (maybe others) to control the cooling fan speeds. Without this kit the fan speed is maxed all the time.
SSD was simple but requires some work to properly route the new SSD SATA cables. The SSD drive attaches using double sided foam tape included in the OWC kit. I used rubbing alcohol to clean the surface on the drive and iMac chassis.
The first time (there is a second time!) when I buttoned everything up and powered up the iMac I heard the startup beep but my screen was black! then the fans started running at max speed. WTF! I just took a good working iMac and made a paperweight out of it.
I reopened everything and traced my steps the next day. Not sure what the issue was but I suspected the display power cable (to the right of the iMac next to flat display port cable). This one is very hard to re-install, not a lot of slack, While tilting the screen it pulled the connector on the logic board. i was able to re-seat properly. I also made sure the display port flat cable was completely seated before locking it down. I used a second person this time around to hold the screen tilted while I worked on the connector.
Second time around everything worked, no fan speed issues, very happy at this point, until....booting from the Yosemite install USB the "install to" did not show my 2TB and 240GB drives....WTF! I messed up the drives!!! Once I calmed down, I notice install tools on the toolbar (did I mention I was new to OS X and iMac?). I used the disk manager to format both drives before they shows up as an installation destination. Happy again.
Overall it was a trying experience but all worked out and this puppy is running very smooth. Am I crazy enough to opening this thing back up for more upgrades? probably. My next upgrade may be the Core i7 2600 processor. There is a post here on the topic but very old, this should cost about $200-$240. A little expensive i'm sure due to guys like me searching for it. Don't get the 2600K (unlocked), it will not work. The graphics card upgrade to 2GB version is interesting but part costs are unreasonable, to a point where I could have just bought a new iMac.
Anyhow, i hope some of the upgrade tid-bits may help a newbie. Also...don't try to install Ubuntu on an external drive and deal with GRUB..that is a story for another day.
I'm a huge SSD and Ram fan from my PC world so I tackled the upgrade challenge. iMac is much more difficult than opening up a PC case. You pay for the exterior simplicity and beauty
I ordered HDD installation kit from OWC, seems like a great source for upgrades. I also ordered second drive SSD kit as well.
SSD Kit DIYIM27SSD11 Link
HDD Kit DIDIMACHDD11 Link
I decided to install Western Digital 2TB Green Hard Drive to replace the 1TB drive. I wanted to increase capacity but also I assumed 1TB was the original and wanted a fresh drive. Picked one up for $79, Amazon recently had it for $69.
For the SSD i installed Kingston HyperX FURY 240GB (SHFS37A/240G). Got mine from Tigerdirect at a decent deal Link
For the Ram the iMac had 2x2GB ram installed. I decided to buy 2x4GB for the 2 remaining open ram slots for a total 12GB. Easy to upgrade. I bought some used Corsair RAM from eBay for about $50, 8GB (2x4), part number CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9. I toiled over Mac and non Mac memory. The 4th character in part number "O" is for PC and "A" for Apple. All it means, in a simple way, is that it has been certified or confirmed to work with Apple. Blah Blah...the PC ones i ordered work great. ebay Search Link
I'll tell you my installation experience of these upgrade but first let me comment on performance. As expected the SSD is amazing, apps start faster, startup is much faster, the Wester Digital drive is quiet and all works well. Before the upgrade I timed the startup time, logging in, and opening mail, iTunes, and Safari with one of my regular websites. Total time from start to final app loading was 2 minutes and 20 seconds, this dropped to 37 seconds. Solid improvement.
The hard drive installation was involved and tested my nerves. I've done few iPod repairs and iPad screen repair with success so I felt confident. If you take your time it is doable. I had a few avoidable scares along the way...
First thing is to watch the OWC videos on youtube, at least 2-3 times. Have an iPad or another device handy as reference during the upgrade. I did not have a static strap but maintained contact to iMac chassis at all times. I used gloves handling the screen.
The connectors behind the screen are key, very awkward to hold screen partially tilted to disconnect and reconnect 4 connectors. the power connector and display port connector are difficult.
Once the screen is off the rest of the components are easy, make sure you remove the ram to allow the logic board to tilt forward. While inside the iMac i cleaned all the dust.
HDD installs easy, simple R&R, and use the temp sensor from OWC kit. Temp sensor is needed on this iMac (maybe others) to control the cooling fan speeds. Without this kit the fan speed is maxed all the time.
SSD was simple but requires some work to properly route the new SSD SATA cables. The SSD drive attaches using double sided foam tape included in the OWC kit. I used rubbing alcohol to clean the surface on the drive and iMac chassis.
The first time (there is a second time!) when I buttoned everything up and powered up the iMac I heard the startup beep but my screen was black! then the fans started running at max speed. WTF! I just took a good working iMac and made a paperweight out of it.
I reopened everything and traced my steps the next day. Not sure what the issue was but I suspected the display power cable (to the right of the iMac next to flat display port cable). This one is very hard to re-install, not a lot of slack, While tilting the screen it pulled the connector on the logic board. i was able to re-seat properly. I also made sure the display port flat cable was completely seated before locking it down. I used a second person this time around to hold the screen tilted while I worked on the connector.
Second time around everything worked, no fan speed issues, very happy at this point, until....booting from the Yosemite install USB the "install to" did not show my 2TB and 240GB drives....WTF! I messed up the drives!!! Once I calmed down, I notice install tools on the toolbar (did I mention I was new to OS X and iMac?). I used the disk manager to format both drives before they shows up as an installation destination. Happy again.
Overall it was a trying experience but all worked out and this puppy is running very smooth. Am I crazy enough to opening this thing back up for more upgrades? probably. My next upgrade may be the Core i7 2600 processor. There is a post here on the topic but very old, this should cost about $200-$240. A little expensive i'm sure due to guys like me searching for it. Don't get the 2600K (unlocked), it will not work. The graphics card upgrade to 2GB version is interesting but part costs are unreasonable, to a point where I could have just bought a new iMac.
Anyhow, i hope some of the upgrade tid-bits may help a newbie. Also...don't try to install Ubuntu on an external drive and deal with GRUB..that is a story for another day.