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[SOLVED] New 2011 27'' iMac SSD replacement

L

littledexter

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 13, 2011
7
0
Hey there!

I finally cropped together a lousy 2700€ to buy a new 2011 27'' Imac i7 with 3,4 GHz.

To make it short let's simply call the Apple store SSD & SATA harddrive prices/options (and even ram prices/options) a total rip-off. :mad:

It is only logical to me that i will save myself a 650€ by not buying the SSD from apple. I am of course planning than configuring it very basic (1TB without SSD, only 4GB of RAM) and upgrade it visiting an Apple dealer/Reseller of my choice. So I called my local store asking them what options i have concerning SSD replacement/upgrade.

This is what my local Apple dealer told me:

Apple uses Samsung SSDs and Intel SSD drives would be nearly half of the price (around 280€ for 200GB) and three times as fast if afterwards installed.

They also told me i can get an SSD replacement only with two types of brands: a Kingston SSD and another brand that i forgot.

They said that unless you originally ordered the Imac with a preinstalled SSD
there in no kinda rackmount in the Imac and no set of connector cables.

Here's whar my reseller wants:

-120€ (1 1/2 hours) replacement fee
-160€ cables to connect the SSD (if no basic SSD was built-in)
-90€ for the rackmount kinda thing the ssd needs.

(an SSD drive is not even on the list)

I would favor an intel drive like this one if it fits http://www.amazon.co.uk/INTEL-SATA-...QBPU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305310100&sr=8-2)

Now i read this:

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/12/apple-restricts-hard-drive-replacements-on-new-imacs/ :confused:

that there needs to be a special firmware Apple preinstalled on the drive, that there is a certain issue with a temperature connector - and maybe the whole missing cable thing comes in the way too.


Heres my questions:

-Is it a Samsung SSD? (If so, how "bad" is this SSD?)
-Which SSD brands do work if attempting a 2011 Imac 27'' i7 3,4 GHz SSD replacement?
-Does one need the set of connector cables or can we just get rid of the optical drive and connect it there?
-Which SSD brand/brands is actually used in the current 2011 27'' i7 3,4 GHz Imacs?


Thank you for also sorting out truth from rumor in what i wrote.

I am a full-blood Mac user since 2003 planning on getting one but if trying to rip me off seems to be their :apple: pollicy Apple will sure loose me and probably other customers in the not too distant future.

Thnx in advance :)
 
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This is really annoying and it p*sses me off so hard i really don't know what to do.
I just save my thousands of € until there is a workaround/hack/solution.
You know i am a hard working man, i hate Windows but as i said i work hard for my money and i will surely not give apple 600€ of my hard earned money for nothing of equal worth at all just coz they're Apple.
I mean they were always a mixture of innovative and snobbish but this goes too far.
 
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I decided a year ago not to buy Apple glorified, overpriced PC products anymore, I built a hackintosh. This latest move by them has reaffirmed that decision. I am sure Mac OS Lion will be a step closer to buying software through the Apple store, and only through Apple. I am allergic to "you have to" and "you can't".

Don't buy the new iMac, see if you can find one from the previous generation. Otherwise build a hakintosh if you are committed to the Mac.

Apple is pushing many of us that can still think, out the door. The fact that people and Apple publications go along with it is the really scary part. I am sad to be leaving the Mac, not Apple.
 
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lol my next desktop will probably a custom *hint*hint*

laptop might be a macbook pro though with a vertex 3 or similar unless they decide to do the same thing with their hard drives. then i'm not gonna bother spending any more money on their computers.
 
Voltaic said:
Here is more food for thought, I haven't seen this anywhere in the Apple-kiss-ass sites:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/new-imac-frees-you-from-the-tyranny-and-convenience-of-servici/

I have been a Mac user since 1990. With the direction Apple has taken the Mac, well...I'm done with them. What a shame, what greed and stupidity.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure the *swapped* HDD will boot, the fans may go haywire though.

Using the S.M.A.R.T Fan Control should fix the problem.

EDIT: HDD Fan Control may be more suited to iMac's.
 
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Guys, I can't believe that such an incompetent review can make the headlines and have such a big impact on people's decisions.

The OWC report is totally inaccurate and incompetent as it has been proven many times, but no one is bother to publicise that.

I installed the Vertex 3 into the 27" 2011 iMac and others have done it too without any of the problems the OWC mentions. Further more, users have replaced their stock hard drives witch success without speeding fans or AHT failures.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=12567852 Make sure you read the whole thread.

As for speeds, I am really enjoying 500MB/s read & writes on the new iMac. So far the Intel 510 has been tried by some other users and it seems results are a bit lacking. The Vertex 3 seem to perform very well though.

Hope this helps.
 
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Voltaic said:
Here is more food for thought, I haven't seen this anywhere in the Apple-kiss-ass sites:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/new-imac-frees-you-from-the-tyranny-and-convenience-of-servici/

I have been a Mac user since 1990. With the direction Apple has taken the Mac, well...I'm done with them. What a shame, what greed and stupidity.
Click to expand...

What a shame for public ignorance. That article has been debated and proven wrong hundreds of time but despite all the success stories users are having, the vast majority keeps bashing Apple for something the didn't do because some popular company whats to be in the spot light no matter what.
 
maxinc said:
What a shame for public ignorance. That article has been debated and proven wrong hundreds of time but despite all the success stories users are having, the vast majority keeps bashing Apple for something the didn't do because some popular company whats to be in the spot light no matter what.
Click to expand...

Even if OWC, a Mac dedicated hardware company, is wrong, what is the need/intent in having a proprietary cable for the HD? Apple is moving to a closed system, just as with the iPhone/iPad. Apple is probably testing the waters with this latest "inconvenience-at-your-expense" change.

How would you like to get a flat tire and find there is a special lock on the wheel, calling your dealership and finding out you can only have them replace the tire at triple the going price? All the expense and inconvenience at your end, of course.

Macs are PCs, no better, no worst. Well, these limiting restrictions make them worst in my book.

Cheers.
 
maxinc said:
What a shame for public ignorance. That article has been debated and proven wrong hundreds of time but despite all the success stories users are having, the vast majority keeps bashing Apple for something the didn't do because some popular company whats to be in the spot light no matter what.
Click to expand...

You are actually right after half a day of looking real deep into the matter i figured that the replacement is indeed not that big of a deal as OWC stated in the article. Actually OWC was really a little quick, harsh und incompetent in their article.

But what stays anyway is:

-The apple RAM prices are at least a rip-off
-The apple SSD prices are a rip-off too.
-Apple is disqualifying itself evermore as a Windows alternative. Their politics are Mirco$oft-like and M$ really sucks big time.

Here is a solution for the SSD replacement part:

english guide:

http://blog.chargedpc.com/2011/05/2011-imac-ssd-install-guide.html#more

german guide:

http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f197/nachruesten-einer-ssd-einem-imac-mid-2011-27-a-807863.html

I will by the way buy an intel 510 120Gb SSD (235€) coz judging from the amazon reviews is is more reliable than the OCZ Vertex 3. Having a TRIM-ready drive is also important to me.

Cheers
 
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