I have a 27 inch Retina iMac (2015) that has a bad hard drive. Can I replace it with any off the shelf 3.5 inch SATA hard drive?
I ask because previous iMacs I have owned had heat sensors that would occasionally require specific model hard drives or would require me to change the heat sensor itself to get the fan to work correctly
Yes my friend, you can replace your drive with a standard off-the-shelf 3.5-inch SATA Hard Disk Drive or even a 2.5-inch SATA SSD of any brand.
It definitely requires some care, but there are lots of greats videos and such how to do it. As mentioned above, OWC is the best source for this:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/imacdiy/
The main thing is that in addition to a replacement HDD you would need to buy a separate thermal sensor so the iMac's SMC can still get a temperature reading off the drive otherwise the iMac will think it's overheating and run the fan at constant high-speed (not good). You can buy a kit with the sensor and all the tools you need for $50 at that link.
If you want the most space you can get (for doing things like video editing) a 3.5-inch HDD is the way to go. If you want just some larger space but much faster performance a 2.5-inch SSD is the way to go. You'll just need to pick up a $10 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch bracket to be able to securely mount the smaller form factor 2.5-inch drive in place of the larger form factor 3.5-inch drive.
Yes my friend, you can replace your drive with a standard off-the-shelf 3.5-inch SATA Hard Disk Drive or even a 2.5-inch SATA SSD of any brand.
It definitely requires some care, but there are lots of greats videos and such how to do it. As mentioned above, OWC is the best source for this:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/imacdiy/
The main thing is that in addition to a replacement HDD you would need to buy a separate thermal sensor so the iMac's SMC can still get a temperature reading off the drive otherwise the iMac will think it's overheating and run the fan at constant high-speed (not good). You can buy a kit with the sensor and all the tools you need for $50 at that link.
If you want the most space you can get (for doing things like video editing) a 3.5-inch HDD is the way to go. If you want just some larger space but much faster performance a 2.5-inch SSD is the way to go. You'll just need to pick up a $10 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch bracket to be able to securely mount the smaller form factor 2.5-inch drive in place of the larger form factor 3.5-inch drive.
Yes. Unless you get an official Apple-customized drive installed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider (or the Genius Bar), that is correct. You will really need to spend the $39 for the SATA-powerline thermal sensor in order to use a generic SATA drive without the fans going haywire (max speed) 100% of the time. (the OWC DIY kits w/ tools cost $50)
Here is just the sensor though if you don't need the full DIY toolkit:
I suggest that you contact Other World Computing (OWC) and post this question to their sales/support staff. They should be able to assist you with the correct drive replacement and the required procedure to do so ... even if you do not end up buying the drive from them.
So the answer really is that I can use any hard drive but no matter which I choose regardless of brand and type it will require the purchase of a new thermal sensor?
Replace hard drive in 2015 Retina iMac
