iMac 2011 and Later and SSDs

[Becharax]

Hello Guys,

Just a question, does anyone know if replacing the HDD with a third party SSD ""OR"" adding a third party SSD to the already installed HDD into an iMac 2011 would cause the fan to run at full spped and be noisy ??

I got an intel 520 SSD that I am reluctant to install ...

Any Advice ?

[CME]

Swapping out the original HDD can cause that. But owc has a cable kit that comes with a special cable the fixes that problem if you want to swap the original HDD. Adding an SSD and keeping the original HDD shouldn't cause the problem.

[Becharax]

Can you link me please??

[Becharax]

Oh you mean if I add an additional SSD to the original HDD there won't be any fan issue ??

If that is so ... how can I do it ?? any tutorial ?

[CME]

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIM27SSD11/

And they will do it for you. And have an esata option. It's under the turnkey options at the bottom of the description

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIM27HDD11/

And this is the kit for swapping the HDD. And if you're doing both, you can buy one full kit with tools and one kit with just the cables.

[John_Toolbox]

There are great tutorials on ifixit.com for taking apart an imac. You'll need a pair of good suction cups and a torx screwdriver(can't remember the exact size, but it's listed on ifixit's tutorials). If you're used to working on laptops it's not that hard, but it's a little nervewracking when you pull the glass off the first time.

There are 3 places you can put an SSD in a 2010-2011 imac:

1. Internal hard drive (3.5") location - if you put it here and remove the 3.5, you will get fan ramp up

2. Internal SSD (2.5") location - If the imac didn't come with an SSD, the bracket is missing, so you need to use double sided tape or velcro to mount the SSD, but the SATA connection is there.

3. Optical Bay - There are adaptor cases for putting an SSD in place of the optical drive that run about $50... You can get them from ifixit.com. The optical drive has a thermal sensor taped on to it, just gently peel it off and stick it to the new adaptor case.