Seagate HDDs in iMacs - firmware version?

[Tim0]

I am considering upgrading my Airport Time Capsule to 4 Tb, and as I was looking at the Ifixit teardown guide, I realized that the original TC 2TB Seagate drive uses custom AP54 firmware:

I have a 27-in mid-2011 iMac with 1TB HDD (with the recent addition of 256 GB SSD), so I was wondering if I can use 2TB drive from Time Capsule in the iMac without it causing fan issues.

Can anyone tell me the firmware version of a Seagate hard drive used in their iMac?

 

[macthefork]

AP63 for the 1TB Seagate in this mid 2011 27" iMac. Should be the same as listed in yours.

the fan issue caused by the internal sensing in the drive in these iMacs.? There's plenty of posts on how to disable it or use sortware to adjust the fans if the firmware version you have in your seagate doesn't work.

 

[Tim0]

Thank you, macthefork. Yes, I heard about the software fix, just wondering if ATC drive might work "out of the box". Also, if I remember correctly, my 1TB drive is WD Blue - but I suppose it shouldn't make much difference. Interesting though - 4th Gen TC hard drive came with original WD firmware, but ATC drive seems to be customized.

 

[Richdmoore]

Owc sells a hardware it that allows 2011 imac's to use other hard drives. It may be a better solution, as it is hardware vs software and you can put whatever hard drive you wish into the imac.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other+World+Computing/DIYIMACHDD11/

 

[Tim0]

Well, it will definitely look to some of you like the longest upgrade ever, but I finally did it: swapped the CPU for i7 2600, swapped the hard drive for the one pulled out from ATC (2TB Seagate AP54), and created a Fusion Drive with 256 GB Toshiba SSD. Unfortunately, AP54 HDD does not seem to perform quite as well in temperature management as stock AP63 HDD despite thermal sensor signal being registered. The HDD fan operates at about 3500-4000 rpm, which is a still above my comfort zone (though not as much as the rumored 5500, of course). The latest version of Macs Fan Control has sensor-based management, and it partially solves the problem - however, I noticed HDD temps increase which is kind of a bother (47-48C, not sure what it was before). After installing El Capitan, running benchmarks and doing some light browsing (YouTube, etc.) yesterday the i7 2600 CPU was at 52-57C which seems to be ok, but other temps were kind of high (PSU at 65C, etc.). Right now it is idling at 43C (CPU) and 32C (HDD) (light browsing - will monitor for some time, but if anyone can advise on proper temp range, that would help .

I'm also wondering whether it's worth it to replace i5-2400S CPU in an entry-model 21.5" iMac 2011 to i5-2400 from 27" without kernel panic and/or heating issues.