whats the best option for replacing drive(s) in 2011 27" imac

[madeirabhoy]

I have a 2011 imac and I'm perfectly happy with it. since I got a playstation my only reason for casting an eye on newer models being gaming is now unimportant.

however, I'm aware itll run faster with an SSD, plus I'm aware that 7 years down the line theres a good chance my hard drive could go and id ideally rather avoid that pain or at least know my options to move quickly.

at the same time I am thinking its false economy to spend too much on it when I could start saving towards an eventual replacement.

so my thoughts are, and any opinions on them appreciated:

1. I could replace the old drive with either an SSD or hard drive, or one of each.. am I right in thinking theres a complication in terms of needing some sort of temperature sensor? would I be best in that case to stick the one drive in and leave the old drive in because of the sensor? is the 2nd slot slower?

2. I could buy thunderbolt external drives. I see the smaller 128gb ones are about 140 quid, which is extortionate but cheap if that makes sense. that would save opening my mac up and would be a cheap way of improving speed but id need to hope the internal drive lasts or id be back to 1. replacing it. but I suppose I could go with an SSD external and an internal HD or am I over complicating things?

3. I could buy a thunderbolt to usb3 adaptor/base station. a lot of extra expense that would be wasted if/when I move on

 

[Krayzkat]

I have a 2010 iMac (11.3) and recently added in a SSD internally.

I bought a 480Gb Crucial SSD (on Amazon as it was slightly cheaper than Crucial's website) but i used an OWC fixing kit ( bought on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BMWEPME/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ).

The good thing about this fixing kit is that i could leave my existing HDD inside my iMac and install the SSD nearby and use the new supplied cables to connect them all together. That meant i didn't have to touch the temperature sensor inside that monitored the HDD.

The kit basically gives you tools to get inside your iMac (the kit has a link to a video you can watch on your phone/tablet while doing it), and the SSD gets stuck on with double sided tape behind the cable run near the existing HDD.

It took me about an hour or so to do ( and i took my time). I also bought an air duster to give the internals a good clean while i had the insides exposed.

After the installation is done, you can use Carbon Clone Copy to make a clone of your existing HDD onto the SSD. My existing HDD is still inside my iMac although it is not used for anything, therefore it is never.


ps. I know a lot of people who remove the HDD and replace with another HDD or a SSD will get problems with the temperature sensor, and this causes their fans to run continuously, and then they need to install special fan regulation software.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

120GB just is not enough.

When I had your model I purchased a Silicon Power 240GB Thunderbolt SSD which did not need an external case, just plug, clone operating system to it and select as the boot drive in System Preferences > Startup Disk.

Simples as the meerkat says!

 

[madeirabhoy]

120GB just is not enough.

When I had your model I purchased a Silicon Power 240GB Thunderbolt SSD which did not need an external case, just plug, clone operating system to it and select as the boot drive in System Preferences > Startup Disk.

Simples as the meerkat says!

see yes I can go with a bigger SSD, but the same money would get me a smaller SSD plus a hard drive giving me tons of space, as 240gb isn't enough to be my sole drive.