2019 iMac 27" upgrade questions

[BigEnso]

Hi all.

I have a 2019 iMac 27" i5-3.0 GHz running Mojave that I want to upgrade with a new PCIe blade and at least a 4TB HDD. I have some experience upgrading iMacs since last year I upgraded my 2013 with a new Intel SSD 6 2TB blade and a Seagate 4TB HDD and they worked fine.

Another poster (macmanes) posted details on his upgrade of the same 2019 model iMac and he indicated everything went well. He used a 2TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSD for his upgrade. I did a search for that but found that the standard version he used seems to have been discontinued. The only models available that seem to be available now are the Plus and Pro versions. I can't fin any information about the differences between the standard blade and the Plus or Pro versions to see if they will work.

The questions are 1) what PCIe blade should I use now (2TB preferred) and 2) will the system handle a 6-8TB HDD.

Any help appreciated.

David

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice is:
If the 2019 is running ok, it's "too early yet" to be prying it open.

I'd get an EXTERNAL thunderbolt3 SSD, plug that in, and use it instead.
Nearly as fast as the internal drive (or equal), and you don't risk anything by opening a 2-year-old Mac.

 

[Hxrdcxre]

I'd recommend getting an OWC SSD that's designed for the iMac, and an 870 EVO ssd with an adapter for the SATA slot. I do not recommend nether an HDD or SSHD for the SATA slot.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Hi BigE

The standard model of the 970 Evo had some issues on the firmware. That’s the reason Samsung released the Plus version to replace the first, slightly flawed version. Samsung however was great enough to also release new Firmware for the earlier models. Kudos to Samsung, big thumbs up. However there have been also Firmware upgrades on early Plus models, so this needs to be checked. The PRO version uses different, better chips with a longer warranty.
From past, decade long experience with Samsung, I can absolutely recommend Samsung. You would be super fine with the EVO Plus 2TB. This blade will need an adapter in order to be used in your iMac. No older version should be in circulation by now, this was hot in 2019/20.
The only advantage of the OWC blade is to have no adapter needed. They use a different controller chip that uses overprovisioning. Since the newest Aurora x2 version, they seem perfectly fine, maybe slightly marked up because of the original Apple socket standard they use. Not a bad choice since you can order it with a bundle / case for your original Apple blade.
I don’t think there is a sata port size ceiling, 4TB should work.

 

[BigEnso]

Hi BigE

The standard model of the 970 Evo had some issues on the firmware. That’s the reason Samsung released the Plus version to replace the first, slightly flawed version. Samsung however was great enough to also release new Firmware for the earlier models. Kudos to Samsung, big thumbs up. However there have been also Firmware upgrades on early Plus models, so this needs to be checked. The PRO version uses different, better chips with a longer warranty.
From past, decade long experience with Samsung, I can absolutely recommend Samsung. You would be super fine with the EVO Plus 2TB. This blade will need an adapter in order to be used in your iMac. No older version should be in circulation by now, this was hot in 2019/20.
The only advantage of the OWC blade is to have no adapter needed. They use a different controller chip that uses overprovisioning. Since the newest Aurora x2 version, they seem perfectly fine, maybe slightly marked up because of the original Apple socket standard they use. Not a bad choice since you can order it with a bundle / case for your original Apple blade.
I don’t think there is a sata port size ceiling, 4TB should work.

@AlexMaximus Thanks very much. That basically answered all my questions. Just one last question. Is a heatsink necessary for the EVO Plus 2TB? When I put an Intel SSD6 660p in my old 2013 iMac it ran just fine without one.

Many thanks for your helpful response.

 

[AlexMaximus]

@AlexMaximus Thanks very much. That basically answered all my questions. Just one last question. Is a heatsink necessary for the EVO Plus 2TB? When I put an Intel SSD6 660p in my old 2013 iMac it ran just fine without one.

Many thanks for your helpful response.

I believe the NVME blade is located on the lower left corner on the backside main board. It should be close to the lower intake air vents, that’s a rather good location from a thermal perspective. You might be fine without one. If you decide you put one on that blade, you would need a very slim one, not to obstruct with the back shell. Note, there are differences on heat sinks for one-sided and dual-sided blade assembly fixture.

 

[BigEnso]

I believe the NVME blade is located on the lower left corner on the backside main board. It should be close to the lower intake air vents, that’s a rather good location from a thermal perspective. You might be fine without one. If you decide you put one on that blade, you would need a very slim one, not to obstruct with the back shell. Note, there are differences on heat sinks for one-sided and dual-sided blade assembly fixture.

@AlexMaximus Perfect. Thanks again for taking the time to give me some good answers.