I'm looking at buying a new iMac for the household, but realistically we will need a hard drive which is larger than 1TB. From what I am see, there isn't an option to upgrade the 21.5" at the time of purchase. Is this correct? If so, roughly how hard/expensive would it be to change the hard drive over?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Upgrading iMac hard drive
- Thread starter SleepingLions09
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Do you mean the current (2014) base model iMac?
It's not worth breaking it apart to upgrade the HDD. The HDD used is a 2.5" laptop drive which means that higher capacities will be more expensive than the regular 3.5" desktop drives.
I would just get a USB3.0 external hard drive. You can get 2-3TB for around $150 I think.
I don't mean the current base model which was released a couple of months back, but probably the next one up - I haven't decided yet. I don't want to move up to the 27" models though, because I think the screen size would overwhelm the kids.
It looks like I will have to go down the external hard drive route. I wanted to avoid having yet another thing plugged in 24/7, but it sounds as though it would be the best option.
Thanks for your help
It looks like I will have to go down the external hard drive route. I wanted to avoid having yet another thing plugged in 24/7, but it sounds as though it would be the best option.
Thanks for your help
The higher end 21.5" iMacs also have 2.5" laptop drives that are pretty difficult to upgrade. An external hard drive is definitely the best route, and allows you to move it around when necessary which can be useful.I don't mean the current base model which was released a couple of months back, but probably the next one up - I haven't decided yet. I don't want to move up to the 27" models though, because I think the screen size would overwhelm the kids.
It looks like I will have to go down the external hard drive route. I wanted to avoid having yet another thing plugged in 24/7, but it sounds as though it would be the best option.
Thanks for your help
It can be annoying to have an external hard drive continuously using up a USB port, but USB hubs are cheap, and you can use them for all your non-storage purposes. They also let you reach the USB ports more easily to plug in random stuff.