iMac 2009. Upgrading to SSD, options?

[megaphone]

I have a 2009 iMac, it is i7 and has 8Mb RAM, I'd say the HDD is now the slow point and I'm looking at options to upgrade to an SSD.

One I've seen is to swap out the optical DVD drive for an SSD, using this as the boot drive and keeping the existing HDD for storage. Anyone done this? Any tips as I can't find a definitive guide.

I can buy a complete kit from OWC in the US. Add $20 for delivery http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Com... Anyone bought from them? Any customs or VAT to add?

Or should I just replace the old HDD? Are SSDs good enough now? 1TB is big enough. Or are the hybrid drives any good?

[Monty Python]

SSDs are fine (I've just bought one) - you can get a 480GB one for £80

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDSSDHII-480G-G25-...

[Otispunkmeyer]

What size is it? I have a later, 2010 model (27 inch) and you can literally plug in a second hard drive in the spare SATA connector and sticky back tape the SSD to the chassis. SSD's in 2.5 inch hard drive form are hilariously light, they feel like you've been sold a box of air so some decent adhesive tape or pads from 3M work fine apparently. You can go whole hog and buy the correct mounting brackets and cables. I do think you need to buy a new cable either way.

I dont have the links to hand, but if you just search for iMac SSD upgrade (relevant to your model) on YT you should find many videos showing you how to do it and where to get the bits. I did inquire myself and one of the stores selling me the parts even suggested the sticky-back pads solution to save me a bit of money!

This way you keep the super drive. I know they are seldom used these days but there will be one day when you want to use it and then you can't (unless you put it in its own USB enclosure).

[megaphone]

Mines a 27 inch, late 2009. I was under the impression there are no spare SATA ports? Maybe they changed it for 2010?

I've been looking at various guides, that's why I'm confused ! I've seen the adaptor option , replacing the DVD/optical drive, seen the same using the sticky pad option, but this means removing the logic boards to get at the SATA cons, did you have to do that?

Edited by megaphone on Monday 30th November 11:12

[jmorgan]

Tear downs on ifixit are worth a peep.

Not sure off this is the correct model!!!!!
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+21.5-In...

But check out the comments on the HD for this example. Know not whether that is true or not. At least you can see what the job would be like.

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 30th November 11:16

[megaphone]

Thanks. I've seen a few guides and am not too fazed about doing the upgrade. I just want to do it once! I'm just getting conflicting info on the best way to go.

For instance the optical drive port is SATAII so I need a compatible SSD, I believe its a 3Gb/s version rather than the newer 6Gb/s versions. I'm trying to find a definite solution.

[megaphone]

This is the guide I've seen

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+iMac+Intel...

[jmorgan]

Ignore mine then.

[Warmfuzzies]

megaphone said:

This is the guide I've seen

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+iMac+Intel...

That's how I did mine, used a crucial 500Gb SSD and kept the older 1Tb hd for backups, also gives you the opportunity to hoover up a bit, they do get messy inside

Then installed fan control to optimise the fan speeds and heat control

Job done

[megaphone]

Warmfuzzies said:

megaphone said:

This is the guide I've seen

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+iMac+Intel...

That's how I did mine, used a crucial 500Gb SSD and kept the older 1Tb hd for backups, also gives you the opportunity to hoover up a bit, they do get messy inside

Then installed fan control to optimise the fan speeds and heat control

Job done

Thanks. What caddy did you use for the optical bay?

[Super Slo Mo]

I did this a couple of years back. Used a cheap caddy off Amazon, think it was in the region of £15.
I put the original HDD in the optical drive caddy, and the new SSD in the original location. When it booted up, it just went straight to the original HDD even though it'd moved, and then I simply formatted the new drive and cloned the original one.
I think you need to tell the Mac to look at the new drive, and then it's just a case of formatting the original drive so it's nice and clean.

It makes a huge difference in terms of performance, although mine is now absolutely knackered, I've a solid band of white down my screen, so it's effectively an 11 inch square format . The glass screen protector is long gone, there are 6 bolts holding the screen frame together and there are a number of missing screws out of the bottom plate.

I will replace it one of these days.