What hard drive should I use?

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Level 1

4 points

What hard drive should I use?

ok so maybe a dumb question, I have a late 2010 iMac 21.5" and my HD went out. I looked online for the specs of the HD before taking it apart and it states i currently have a 3.5", SATA 6, 5400 rpm, 1Tb HD. If I want to upgrade to a beefier HD what specs should I stick to and which ones can I play with? example, I know i have to get the same brand which is Seagate, but the bigger HDs I've found that are SATA 6, 3.5" are higher speeds so does that matter?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), 21.5" EMC 2389

Posted on Aug 28, 2015 6:40 PM

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Answer 1

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Aug 28, 2015 6:46 PM in response to jsaucey

Higher speeds = faster performance, it's better, any 3.5" Sata 3 drive (6Gb/s) will work. SSD's are very much faster than any Hard Drive.

You do not have to be concerned about keeping the same manufacturer

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Aug 28, 2015 6:47 PM in response to jsaucey

Visit OWC for help with this decision, tools, drives, tutorials, and connectors that help maintain the temp. sensor included on the stock drive but missing on replacement drives. Most drives come in 5400 or 7200 RPM speeds. The latter means a faster drive, ceteris paribus. Your model can handle a 2 TB SATA II drive internally. I recommend using an HSGT or Hitachi drive as they are the best on the market currently.

There are SATA I, II, and III drives. No SATA 6. I also did not find a Late 2010 iMac model. Are you sure it isn't Mid-2010?

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Answer 3

jsaucey Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 28, 2015 7:55 PM in response to jsaucey

i misspoke and it's a mid 2010 model. So I don't have to worry about buying the same model? that's good news then because I haven't heard good things about seagate. I was hoping to put a 3-4 Tb drive but I guess a 2 Tb will have to do, thanks for your help.

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