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SSD Upgrade in iMac 27" 2020 possible?
- Thread starter ich558
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greedy company, does not allow you to use the technique to the maximum!Thats the thing i wanna know about the 2020 Models
I think he is asking is it technically possible or not and what to hear your thought. I'm pretty sure he know how to add additional storage to his iMac.
On any new generation Mac, any drives are controlled by T2 chip to increase security if device gets stolen, it could be very complicated if you try to upgrade it with non official firmware.
But there is a chance it may work too, If I can find bad board, I'll try it on 2020 iMac 27" and see if something else needs to be done hardware or software level.
Yes, some caps, resistors, filters might be also required. It's also hard to say that just tracing paths on the board since it's multilayer PCB. Afaik there is no schematics available for latest generation Macs.
I'll update here if when I'm done with my test run.
Cheers!
On any new generation Mac, any drives are controlled by T2 chip to increase security if device gets stolen, it could be very complicated if you try to upgrade it with non official firmware.
But there is a chance it may work too, If I can find bad board, I'll try it on 2020 iMac 27" and see if something else needs to be done hardware or software level.
Yes, some caps, resistors, filters might be also required. It's also hard to say that just tracing paths on the board since it's multilayer PCB. Afaik there is no schematics available for latest generation Macs.
I'll update here if when I'm done with my test run.
Cheers!
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You don't have to. Watch the video in the below link. It requires much more than you might imagine to upgrade the internal storage.
27-inch iMac teardown shows lack of storage upgrade options | AppleInsider
A teardown of the 2020 27-inch iMac reveals Apple made a few changes to the internals to accommodate its removal of the mechanical hard drive, including the loss of SATA connectors, the SSD being integrated into the logic board, and some small changes to the case.
appleinsider.com
Thanks for posting a reasonable/interesting question. I was looking for the same answer. The thread that followed your question is actually the most interesting part. The OP in his post never actually said he brought one, he was only asking the question.
Quick preference- I own a lot of apple gear- I use a handful mac-mini's for various server and media server functions, we have laptops for work, iPhones. iPads etc etc. For the most part, it is my preference and I do think apple puts together solid hardware that lasts a long time (They eventually force your hand by OS updates that will eventually make it inoperable).
I've read some silly posts (not just his thread) one said soldiering every component into the mobo is done with our 'best interest in mind; apparently the reason being is if you dared to add more ram to your machine you lose your warranty (you dont). But let's say you did, how in any situation does that help us?
I point this out in the hopes it resonates with one or two fanboys that were quick to judge, but didn't actually read OP's question and may/may not have been using apple as long as some of us old timers.
Think about this- a $2k+ desktop iMac, with plenty of room to make these updates yourself. However the newbs/FB's get belligerent at this topic.
To be clear- not wanting to pay an additional $200+ for a single stick 8G ram or SSD most certainly does not = he bought the wrong computer. It simply means he's looking for alternatives to buy a Mac without unncessailry pissing way lot of money.
There's an interesting story about this that started with Steve Jobs. The birth of the MacBook Air was a test to see what was important to their customers, at least what was important to some of them. So the thin, MBA was launched.
It was far less powerful than the MBP, less connectivity options- it was a non 'pro' MacBook. However what it did have was in size and and so thin it would fit in a woman's purse. The MBA was a big success, every Mac that followed regardless of the size, saw each iteration the number of parts that could be repaired was becoming fewer and far between. 3 years later the transition was complete and the entire Mac set of completeness was soldered to it's Mobo.
Quick preference- I own a lot of apple gear- I use a handful mac-mini's for various server and media server functions, we have laptops for work, iPhones. iPads etc etc. For the most part, it is my preference and I do think apple puts together solid hardware that lasts a long time (They eventually force your hand by OS updates that will eventually make it inoperable).
I've read some silly posts (not just his thread) one said soldiering every component into the mobo is done with our 'best interest in mind; apparently the reason being is if you dared to add more ram to your machine you lose your warranty (you dont). But let's say you did, how in any situation does that help us?
I point this out in the hopes it resonates with one or two fanboys that were quick to judge, but didn't actually read OP's question and may/may not have been using apple as long as some of us old timers.
Think about this- a $2k+ desktop iMac, with plenty of room to make these updates yourself. However the newbs/FB's get belligerent at this topic.
To be clear- not wanting to pay an additional $200+ for a single stick 8G ram or SSD most certainly does not = he bought the wrong computer. It simply means he's looking for alternatives to buy a Mac without unncessailry pissing way lot of money.
There's an interesting story about this that started with Steve Jobs. The birth of the MacBook Air was a test to see what was important to their customers, at least what was important to some of them. So the thin, MBA was launched.
It was far less powerful than the MBP, less connectivity options- it was a non 'pro' MacBook. However what it did have was in size and and so thin it would fit in a woman's purse. The MBA was a big success, every Mac that followed regardless of the size, saw each iteration the number of parts that could be repaired was becoming fewer and far between. 3 years later the transition was complete and the entire Mac set of completeness was soldered to it's Mobo.
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would love to see if you got around to this as well.
Sad that so many people jumped on the OP for his question, which was clearly over the heads of a lot of people.
the pin pads are there, but it'll be interesting to see if it's possible that the NVMe slot is actually still 'hot' to the PCIe buss.
IF IT IS, that opens a lot of options for a lot of people...
That’s why I got the 2019, plus it’s the last 32bit capable Mac. I’m planning to swap out the SSD as well.
How did you make out? Did you get to the bottom of upgrades to install nvme port?
Now that the 2020 27” iMac’s have been around for a couple more years, is there any further progress on this question?
I’m looking at purchasing an i7 with the 5700xt graphics chip upgraded with an i9.
Which was an available option.
To my knowledge the 2020 i7/ i9 was the only 2020, 27” iMac to give the option of 4tb or 8 tb ssd. It appears that 2 tb is in the form of soldered ssd and the remaining (2TB or 6 tb) is connected with an nvme slot, in the same position as previous generations PCIe/ nvme slots.
I’m wondering if anyone has broken down enough of the 2020 i7’s to see if the nvme slot is installed on all these boards whether 4tb and higher capacity was originally ordered or not.
If all of these models have the nvme slot installed, what are the options for upgrades?
I’m not in the chip mfg field but a production line might be setup to install the nvme port on at least all 2TB (soldered) boards to reduce the number of variables, especially for a higher end product with lower production numbers.
I’m looking at purchasing an i7 with the 5700xt graphics chip upgraded with an i9.
Which was an available option.
To my knowledge the 2020 i7/ i9 was the only 2020, 27” iMac to give the option of 4tb or 8 tb ssd. It appears that 2 tb is in the form of soldered ssd and the remaining (2TB or 6 tb) is connected with an nvme slot, in the same position as previous generations PCIe/ nvme slots.
I’m wondering if anyone has broken down enough of the 2020 i7’s to see if the nvme slot is installed on all these boards whether 4tb and higher capacity was originally ordered or not.
If all of these models have the nvme slot installed, what are the options for upgrades?
I’m not in the chip mfg field but a production line might be setup to install the nvme port on at least all 2TB (soldered) boards to reduce the number of variables, especially for a higher end product with lower production numbers.
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Looks like you nailed it judging from today’s post regarding the Nvme adapter kit 🎉
