iMac9,1 & large SSD not compatible?

Tried upgrading an iMac9,1 (early 2009) with a Sandisk Ulta II 960GB SSD. This is a SATA III SSD. Ended up with a white screen upon boot. Absolutely would not boot with this drive (internally or externally). I did test the SSD thoroughly and even installed it into a late 2009 iMac10,1 which booted just fine. Then I put a 240GB Kingston (also SATA III) into the 9,1 and it booted fine. Checked the System Report and the SATA interface reported 3Gb negotiated to 1.5Gb. The speed improvement was still phenomenal as the SSD had El Cap on it and all operations from booting onward were quite speedy.

I recall OWC having 3Gb SSDs (and a quick search at OWC for an SSD compatible with the imac9,1 confirmed they recommend 3Gb).

What have been the experiences of other iMac9,1 owners who have done this sort of upgrade? Which large (960GB/1TB) SSDs have worked for you?

Thanks!

Barry

Posted on Feb 27, 2016 7:27 PM

20 replies

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Apr 3, 2016 4:10 PM in response to BC001

The cable is very old, it was built in the days when 50MB/s was a lot, SSD's are at 500MB/s, that is a significant difference.

You are correct that a Sata 2 controller should negotiate a 3Gb/s connection if used.

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

105 points

Jul 1, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Barry Levine

Posting this just in case there are others wondering which SSDs will work with older Macs.

Latest test: MacBookPro5,5 (late 2008-2009) - MacSales shows that this machine requires their 3G SSDs (and lists -no- 6G SSDs). It uses the MCP79 chipset so it's one of the "******" old units. However, I used a PNY CS1311 480GB and it boots and works fine. System Report shows a link speed of 3G and a "negotiated link speed" also of 3G so the PNY SSD is a winner.

Hope this helps others.

Barry

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Jul 1, 2016 1:33 PM in response to Barry Levine

I also have a 5,5, it's fitted with a 6GB/sec Crucial SSD at a negotiated 3GB/sec

Barry Levine Author

Level 1

105 points

Jul 1, 2016 4:38 PM in response to Csound1

So we have proof that both the Crucial and PNY SSDs will work fine at the proper speed. Nice that we don't need to spend the extra $ for the 3G units from MacSales (which, although they are high quality, are more costly).

Thanks!

den.thed

Level 10

90,874 points

Jul 1, 2016 5:10 PM in response to Barry Levine

I can also vouch for the PNY CS1111 and CS1311 series SSD's. They both work great in my 2010 Mac Mini at 3G and my 2012 Mac Mini at 6G.

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iMac9,1 & large SSD not compatible?