Do-It-Yourself: Upgrading Apple's 27" iMac With An SSD

[mikbetk]

Just be aware that in the newer iMacs if you replace the drive your drive fan will turn on full speed because Apple re-engineered the SATA cable to also carry the temperature data.

 

[RealBeast]

Apple isn't the only one that overcharges for SSD upgrades, Dell and HP do too. Whenever I buy a laptop I get the minimum ram and HDD usually from Dell and then upgrade to a big SSD and lots of memory from Newegg.

 

[Guest]

You don't need to remove the HDD to install a SSD there are 2 SATA ports on the 2011 27 inch iMac.

http://blog.chargedpc.com/2011/05/2011-imac-ssd-install-guide.html

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]Realbeast[/nom]Apple isn't the only one that overcharges for SSD upgrades, Dell and HP do too. Whenever I buy a laptop I get the minimum ram and HDD usually from Dell and then upgrade to a big SSD and lots of memory from Newegg.[/citation]
While Apple isn't the only one to overcharge for RAM and SSD upgrades its far more fun to criticize Apple than it is to give Dell and HP the credit they deserve. Tom's doesn't even bother writing articles on Dell and HP unless its nearly national news. Can you imagine an article from Tom's on HP building a cafeteria at their headquarters for employees? Who'd care?

...but I agree, Dell, Apple, and HP all charge a ridiculous premium for installing the additional RAM or SSD for you. You see, its so difficult to do that they're doing you a huge service and really aren't charging enough. /facetious

 

[andy_newton]

[citation][nom]MANOFKRYPTONAK[/nom]I have had apple pcs, I have had numerous iphones, (I have a 4s right now) and I am wondering too why there is an article about how to change your SSD? Never mind that it is about apple, this should just be a forum post just like all the other DIY stuff.I have to say I though TOMS has never been like this before. This is twilight zone weird.P.S. No more macs for me, they fail on me. A buddy of mine has melted 3 mac book pros doing graphics on his at our university. Macs fail like PCs do sometimes, they just cost 3 x as much.[/citation]

You're not comparing a $600 i3 dual-core Intel GMA Dell with a $2500 i7 Macbook Pro aren't you? Because in that case the Mac is 3x more expensive. If you do your math properly, a Mac is $300-$500 more expensive than similarly equipped Dells.

 

[andy_newton]

[citation][nom]04stiman[/nom]There is no real price premium. Price out a similarly equip'd laptop from another manufacturer to the Macbook and see what it costs. Make sure you get one with a screen that does not suck. You have to easily spend over $1000 to get any laptop that has a decent video card and processor and something better then a shitty 1366 by 768 screen. You are then still saddle with a flexy plastic case that will start to deteriorate after several years use.What 'sucks' about the aluminum unibody design?[/citation]

Actually from a manufacturing standpoint, the unibody-machining is cheaper than making tons of molds for multiple piece plastics. Only the Aluminum is more expensive than plastics.

Wait around until we run out of non-recycled plastics (from oil btw), we will all see aluminum becoming the cheaper material.

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]andy_newton[/nom]Actually from a manufacturing standpoint, the unibody-machining is cheaper than making tons of molds for multiple piece plastics. Only the Aluminum is more expensive than plastics.Wait around until we run out of non-recycled plastics (from oil btw), we will all see aluminum becoming the cheaper material.[/citation]
That's great, so let's get a head start and stop using plastics. I'd love to see a wide-spread switch to aluminum as the chassis material.

 

[Guest]

So you'll give up a bunch of storage capacity for a little faster boot times and App loading? Really? With a external SSD drive you could do way better and not void your warranty. Why would you risk screwing up your internal iMac parts? If your willing to buy a SSD you can buy a external case to put it in.

 

[Guest]

I'd change from mac but I don't want to be associated with windows users who spend all their time on the internet seeking mac articles and criticising them