Upgrade iMac Optical Drive to SSD: Problems.....

[DrDoug]

Friends. Some help with a few specific questions would be most appreciated.


Background:
iMac 27" i5 2009, currently running Mavericks.

Plan:
Upgrade Optical drive to 250/500GB SSD (DIY) to host OSX and apps.

Questions:
1. How to manage OSX after the hardware upgrade. Can I do a timemachine install of everything onto a different drive (ie Boot partition moves from HDD to SSD) but everything else stays..
2. Is it a good opportunity to upgrade to Yosemite, or is this asking for trouble? I dont really want a clean install as I like all my apps and wont be able to install apps (like CS5) from disk etc - but maybe I should..
3. Whilst I have the machine open, is there a way to add PCIe USB3 support?
4. Any recommendations for the least flaky SSD option. Am considering 500GB Samsung EVO..

thanks

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ Any recommendations for the least flaky SSD option. Am considering 500GB Samsung EVO.. ]]

I've seen a number of posts reporting issues with the latest crop of Samsung drives.

As an alternative, I'd suggest any of the Crucial SSD's -- haven't seen much in the way of issues insofar as they are concerned...

One other suggestion (a question you didn't ask):
For ANY SSD that you buy, I would recommend that you get either:
- an external enclosure
- a USB3/SATA dock, or
- a USB3/SATA "dongle"
.... and "prep and test" the drive BEFORE you install it.

Get it initialized, install the OS onto it, install apps, create accounts, move your data over. Get it bootable and known-to-be working before you open up the iMac.

 

[DrDoug]

Thanks for that. I like the externally bootable SSD idea, as a test, but in the absence of thunderbolt or USB3/SATA - how could I go about it?

 

[DrDoug]

JUST EDITED MY ORIGINAL... I have the 2009 iMac, not 2011..

 

[matreya]

JUST EDITED MY ORIGINAL... I have the 2009 iMac, not 2011..

In that case, you really want to install the SSD internally. I would suggest a Crucial SSD over a Samsung too..