Installing an SSD on an iMac

Apple Stores will not do what you are requesting. Your best bet is dealing with a third party Apple Authorized Service Provider, first question to ask is if they have experience doing what you are requesting.

The SSD you install is not as critical as the iMac you own. If you have one 2011 or earlier doing and SSD upgrade is pretty simple, if it's a 2012 or later it's either not practical or just impossible. I would recommend using an external Thunderbolt enclosure and installing the SSD inside that, this is simple to do. Then you can install Mac OS on that drive, assign it as your boot drive and you're up and running.

Apple Stores will not upgrade, so you will need to call around and find an Apple Authorized Service Provider that will.

see > Mac Service Answer Center - Apple Support

If you decide to DIY,

have a look at the upgrade options and guides at > SSD Upgrade Kits For iMac (2003 - Current) from OWC

and/or the guides for your specific model at > iMac Intel Repair - iFixit

FWIW the 2011 is easier to work on than the later models with sealed displays, but you must use a special cable kit to add an SSD or replace the existing HDD.

I question putting such an expensive drive in a computer that itself is only worth less than $400. I have the same model myself.

What's the purpose?

If you want greater performance look at the total sum (residual value of your iMac + SSD Drive + technician charges + risk) and see what they will buy you in performance if spent on a newer iMac.

Keep in mind that this is all going into a 7 year old computer that could fail any day and has no warranty and is close to the cut off line for future System updates.

Other suggested alternatives such as an external thunderbolt case are going into a Thunderbolt 1 connection that has been twice obsoleted and is itself also over the top expensive and serves no radical improvement to the rest of the system.

Things that can improve your system for far less money are maxing out your RAM, using an external Fusion drive or RAID connected to either Thunderbolt or your Firewire 800 ports or a Thunderbolt to USB 3 adaptor, and connecting a high quality secondary monitor or a second palette monitor to free up your main screen.

Things that your system lacks that a more up to date Mac can provide are faster processor, faster connections (Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1), faster and more RAM and of course the huge improvement of a Retina Screen, all possibly under warranty for a maximum of 2-3 years.

I personally would look to buying a refurbished recent model iMac 27" close to the specs you want and attach a larger USB 3.1 Fusion drive with a second palette monitor to supplement the retina screen. All for less than what you are spending on this model.

Peter

OWC DIY Kit: 2.0TB 7200RPM SSHD Upgrade/Replacement... at MacSales.com

There is a video on this page that shows the process, pretty involved but not impossible. May be hard to find Mac-knowledgeable repair shops in your area, if you don't feel up to the task of a DIY operation at this level.

some additional info on www.ifixit.com

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel_27%22_Retina_5k_Display

The earlier models 2010, 2011, that had a thicker form factor with the DVD drives, were much easier to access the internal drive bay. I put an SSD drive in my 2010 iMac, they are super fast (booting and launching apps) and totally silent, they run cooler so your fans almost never kick in making the whole machine quiet. Once you go SSD, you will not want to have a loud and hot spinny drive in your machine again. Fit my needs perfectly and I feel was well worth the effort and expense. To each their own.

Just a word of caution on your choice of SSD. It seems that

installing a Samsung EVO series (or Pro for that matter) has

had mixed success in Macs. Many install and function without

issue but there are also many that have had serious issues.

With the difficulty of replacing a drive in an iMac, not something I

would want to risk.

A very safe alternative would be to get a Thunderbolt enclosure or

a USB 3 enclosure and put the SSD in it, clone your system, and

then boot from it.

The Thunderbolt option will achieve speeds nearly as fast as mounting

internally. It is however a bit on the pricey side.

The USB3 option while not as fast as the Thunderbolt, will still be much,

much faster than the internal HDD drive. There are also completely

integrated SSD solutions for USB 3, however, I personally prefer to use

an empty enclosure and install my own drive. That way I know exactly

what is in it.

OWC has many high quality enclosures for both USB3 and Thunderbolt

and you can "roll your own" or get them with drives pre-installed.

Mac External and Internal Drives, SSD, Drive Enclosures & More!

The one big advantage of this approach, is that you do not need to

"crack open the case" and take the chance of damaging anything.

FWIW, I have been doing this from day one with my late 2013 27"

iMac and I use the internal drive as my cloned backup.

ahhhh... please update your profile!

As it indicates that you have an iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

.