Mid-2011 27" - Upgrade HD to SSD questions

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Level 1

11 points

Mid-2011 27" - Upgrade HD to SSD questions

I just want to make sure I purchase the correct gear and choose the best option for the least cost and hassle. I will have a shop do the work, since opening up the iMac looks above my pay grade.

My iMac has been painfully slow lately, and I would like to upgrade to an SSD. However, Apple just replaced my 2TB hard drive for free (still in the shop). They did so while they were also replacing the video card for free. Told me that SMART failed test while they had it in the shop. Computer still worked, but maybe that is part of the speed and excessive disk spinning issue. I'll see when I get it back.

I wanted to get a recommendation on whether to:

(1) Replace my 2TB internal hard drive with an SSD. I have already purchased a Samsung EVO 1TB, regular sized drive. The obvious drawback is that I lose half of my hard drive space and the brand-new hard drive, which is already filled over 1TB, mainly with photos. Would a bracket or any additional hardware be needed to make this fit, in addition to the SSD?

(2) Replace my built-in DVD drive with the 1TB SDD and use that as my boot drive. I would boot from the SSD and keep my applications on the SSD, but store documents/photos/music, etc. on the 2TB hard drive. I have heard from different people that this requires some switching of the SATA connectors? Others have told me not to do this, but I'm not sure they fully knew what they were talking about. If relatively easy, this would be my preferred route, since it gives me the most storage.

Question: will the regular size SSD fit here or do I need to exchange it for a mini-SATA drive as someone told me? Also, can someone please point me to whatever bracket or other hardware I would need to purchase to make the drive fit in the computer? I can't quite figure that out.

(3) Boot from an external Thunderbolt or USB SSD drive and leave my internal drives alone. While this is the simplest and eliminates installation, the Thunderbolt drives are expensive, and I"m not keen on running the OS from an external drive that can get knocked out.

My computer specs are:

iMac, 27-inch, Mid-2011

3.1 GHz Intel Core i5

20 GB RAM

Thanks, very much!

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Oct 6, 2015 7:04 AM

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Answer 1

Rudegar

Level 10

170,706 points

Oct 6, 2015 7:51 AM in response to EIS15

generally regular sized drive is 3.5" but Samsung EVO 1TB is 2.5"

usb2 connected ssd disc would be a waste though usb2 is not fast enough

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Answer 2

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Oct 6, 2015 8:36 AM in response to EIS15

I have a late 2009 27" iMac so it's older than yours but close enough to offer my experience. I removed my optical drive and installed a 240GB SSD to use for boot and application drive, I store my data on the internal 1TB hard drive, exactly what you want to do. I put my SuperDrive in an external case. I got my SSD and the Data Doubler adapter to install the SSD in the optical bay from OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/ You don't need to switch any SATA connectors, you just remove the SuperDrive and replace it with the SSD mounted in the adapter. The complete job took me about 45 minutes using iFixIt's step by step guide https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Optical+Drive+Replaceme nt/7583 You can also install an SSD and leave the optical drive in place but it's a very difficult process that involves removing the logic board https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Dual+Hard+Dr ive+Kit/7575

Boot time with the SSD is just over 17 seconds from chime to log in screen and opening apps is virtually instant. Installing SSD's in both my iMac and my Macbook are the single best upgrade I've ever done. Doing so also removed my fragile super drive from all of the internal heat and vertical orientation.

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