I need a new internal drive for my iMac. The options are NVMe SSD and a 2.5" SSD, each 2 TB.
I use the iMac for CAD, Photoshop, and normal uses like Word and Excel.
What are the arguments either way?
Thanks in advance!
iMac 27″, macOS 13.2
NVME drive is of course faster than an SSD. I also have a 2019 iMac 5K and use an NVME external drive in a TB enclosure as a boot drive. Works very fast. Changing your internal drive is not easy on this iMac. I would use an external drive. Why you believe you need a new internal drive (size?).
I would strongly suggest that you followed tbirdvet's advice.
this is just FYI. if the iMac you have (same model year I have) was configured with 100% flash storage, then there is not a SATA connection in it at all. to have the SATA connection, the iMac needs to have been originally equipped with either an HDD or Fusion Drive.
Simpler than entirely dismantling your iMac to get at that guess-work SSD slot, I recommend an appropriately sized external Crucial X8 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Mbps) drive rated at 1050 MB/s that you direct connect via USB-C to one of your available USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 ports.
All of my current external drives (e.g. Time Machine, Parallels 18 Pro guests) are on these Crucial drives and they are flawless.
I would do the easy first, then the difficult…
Memory, then hard drive, then blade drive…
OEM memory is listed as 8 gigabytes, with 128 possible, two slots open.
You can add two 16 or 32 gigabyte chips, giving you 40 or 72…
Look at Other World Computing for chips.
Second is internal hard drive. While this requires opening the iMac, the drive is pretty accessible…
The question is, SSD or platter?
A 4 terabyte Western Digital Black is about the same cost as a 1 terabyte Samsung 870 EVO.
Look on NewEgg for good prices.
Use the Newer 2.5 to 3.5 adapter from Other World with the SSD…
Last is a blade. Major disassembly…. Look on Other World for a blade. I would get a small one, then load my Operating System on it, and programs on the Internal hard drive…
Better replacement drive on my iMac 27" Retina 2019? — NVMe SSD or 2.5" SATA III SSD?
