Which SSD should I buy for an Upgrade??

[houssein31]

I have a 2012 21.5 inch iMac with a 1T HD and I want to change it to a 512gb SSD. Im going to get it done at the local best buy, but they told me that I have to provide the SSD chip.

Im looking on amazon, and there are so many different type and they range for 200 to 300$. Why are some more expensive than other (even if they have the sae 512gb capacity)? Are the more expensive ones faster?

Any suggestions for a particular model I should buy?

Thanks in advance

 

[hfg]

Wow ... no way I would let Best Buy Geek Squad open up my iMac!

The easy way would be to get a Thunderbolt 2.5" enclosure, insert a SSD of your choice, and simply velcro it to the back of the iMac stand. No need to risk opening up the iMac at all. I would use a Samsung or Crucial SSD myself as I have had good experiences with them, and get something in the 256 - 512GB size.

My iMacs all have internal SSD only, however I have done the above for my Windows SSD using the LaCie "Rugged Thunderbolt" drives which have 512GB Samsung 840 EVO SSDs inside.

 

[illusionx]

Which SSD should I buy for an Upgrade??

Opening a 2012 iMac is not for the faint of heart. it has a glued display instead of a magnet held display glass. I wouldn't let the GeekSquad open it that's for sure.

As suggested, get a TB enclosure and put your SSDS in it. It's your best solution.

Choices for the best bang for the buck, get a Samsung 840 EVO or a Crucial mx110.

 

[houssein31]

Opening a 2012 iMac is not for the faint of heart. it has a glued display instead of a magnet held display glass. I wouldn't let the GeekSquad open it that's for sure.

As suggested, get a TB enclosure and put your SSDS in it. It's your best solution.

Choices for the best bang for the buck, get a Samsung 840 EVO or a Crucial mx110.

Will putting in an external SSD make it as fast as if I changed it internally??

 

[satinsilverem2]

I also wouldn't let the Nerd Herd touch my mac. I second the Samsung 840 EVO in an external Thunderbolt enclosure or even a USB 3.0 one if money is a little tight. There may be a little bit of a bottleneck with using an external enclosure but nothing that the average user will notice.

 

[hfg]

Will putting in an external SSD make it as fast as if I changed it internally??

Your "user experience" will be the same.

My 2012 iMac is the 27" and the internal mSATA blade SSD benchmarks at around 450 MB/s whereas an external thunderbolt 840 EVO benchmarks at around 375 MB/s. Putting that 840 EVO 2.5" SSD internal will not appreciably increase the benchmark speeds.

You could use a 840 Pro or 850 Pro for better benchmark performance ... but at higher cost.

 

[illusionx]

Will putting in an external SSD make it as fast as if I changed it internally??

The sata 6gbs SSD would be the bottle neck. Otherwise, there wouldn't be performance lost with a TB enclosure vs internal sata.

Using a usb 3.0 enclosure will be limited to usb 3.0 speed, but it will be faster than your internal 5400rpm HDD for sure.

 

[viorelgn]

There are two new Crucial models: a budget one (BX100) and a high performance one (MX200), any information on how they compare to the Top Pick and Step up? Currently the BX100 500 GB is just 9$ less than the MX100, it does not seem worth the difference, but it will probably go down I guess...

 

[illusionx]

I'd like to see the spec sheets for the BX100. But it's a direct replacement of the mx100.

 

[houssein31]

But I dont understand, the Geeksquad guy told me they coud do it...You really think they're gonna mess it up?

 

[yjchua95]

Your "user experience" will be the same.

My 2012 iMac is the 27" and the internal PCI blade SSD benchmarks at around 450 MB/s whereas an external thunderbolt 840 EVO benchmarks at around 375 MB/s. Putting that 840 EVO 2.5" SSD internal will not appreciably increase the benchmark speeds.

You could use a 840 Pro or 850 Pro for better benchmark performance ... but at higher cost.

It's not a PCIe blade. 2012 iMacs only have mSATA blades.

 

[hfg]

It's not a PCIe blade. 2012 iMacs only have mSATA blades.

Yes, you are of course, correct ... I was typing on my RiMac and misspoke. The speeds I posted for the 2012 iMac are correct, and about half what the 2014 is capable of.

Thanks for the correction.