Convert iMac Fusion Drive to Solid State Drive

Many thanks for that. However, is it possible to remove the Fusion Drive and replace it internally with a SSD? I've heard of a non-Apple computer repairer doing that.

Certain iMacs are difficult to tear apart, but others are easier. You can replace the two drives with one, or just replace the HDD with an SDD and "Fuse" those together. Check iFixit.com or OWC (macsales.com) to see how difficult it is to do. If you take it to a computer repair shop, they may be able to do it.

I would recommend getting an external SSD and use that as your startup disk and copy data from your Fusion Drive to it. You can then rely solely on the SSD without having to access the slow Fusion Drive at all. Another benefit is that if/when you do upgrade the computer, you will be able to use this drive for extra storage.

peterpatter wrote:

Many thanks for that. However, is it possible to remove the Fusion Drive and replace it internally with a SSD? I've heard of a non-Apple computer repairer doing that.

Although it maybe possible, having a " non-Apple computer repairer " to perform this work does require specific tools and the expertise to perform this

If they claim to work on Apple Computers ask them for references of from other customers who have had similar work done on their Apple Computers

One wrong this or one wrong that during this operation could kill the patient ( Computer )

You may reconsider you options and go with a Good External Enclosure and a Good SSD Drive for the enclosure

The already suggested Souces for such equipment would be a good start

They may even have Specifc Suggestions that best match your specific computer

peterpatter wrote:

Many thanks for that. However, is it possible to remove the Fusion Drive and replace it internally with a SSD? I've heard of a non-Apple computer repairer doing that.

Yes it may be possible. The iMac is not portable so having an external drive should not be a problem and the ability to use it in the future, in my opinion, would outweigh the expense of having it installed internally. As for speed improvement I may not be the best source as there are many things to consider and maybe someone else will be able to chime in who has done this conversion. The internal bus will likely have higher transfer speeds than what you would get from an external drive. Your overall speed improvements is hard to measure, since the Fusion Drive does contains a much smaller SSD for fast access with the majority of the storage dedicated to the slower read/write access on the drive platter. The numbers that float around for Read/Write times on the Fusion Drive is 2GB/sec for reading and 700MB/sec for writing compared to a SSD at 2.5GB/sec for reading and 1.9GB/sec for writing. That is where another perspective would be welcomed to comment on real world speed improvement after the conversion has been done as well as comparing internal vs external drive.