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27" iMac - 1Tb or 2Tb Fusion Drive?
- Thread starter Goody13
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There's always risk with anything.
There's a risk that you and others may drink at a party, get into a fight, got arrested and booked in jail.
Does that stopped you from going to a party?
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Anyway, the OP already said that he may upgrade the HDD/SSD later, so that's always an open door.
"I am not set up for Time Machine right now"??? It takes all of about 2 minutes and done.
That's a ludicrous comparison, I have to say you're really stretching and doing some logical gymnastics on this one.
Why can't you accept that some people choose not to upgrade their iMacs because its not worth the risk (either damaging it or warranty). I understand you did it, and that's great. I understand you want to communicate that to others, fine, but you're unable to let it go, and accept other do not agree with you.
I never said that everyone should upgrade the HDD/SSD themselves: it's a suggest.
They can just not do it or do it later.
That said, saving up to $700 is a big reward for the risk.
Well, the risk is you damage a $2,000 - $4,000 computer, possibly rendering it unusable.
That being said, I wouldn't do it just because of that aspect. Now, once it's out of warranty and a few years old, I would give it serious thought.
That being said, I wouldn't do it just because of that aspect. Now, once it's out of warranty and a few years old, I would give it serious thought.
I'm just going to come out and say one thing, I wouldn't recommend ANYONE to open up and pry open their brand new, beautiful, 5K iMac that is still in warranty, and attempt a risky and difficult procedure that brings with it the potential of a whole host of problems ranging from voiding your warranty, to breaking and dismantling your computer to the point that it is unusable.
I would not recommend anyone to try this procedure because not only is it the polar opposite of the intended use of the machine (the ***** thing is sealed for a reason), but it is also a highly risky procedure that has a high potential of problems occurring.
A common problem with people who attempt this performance is they'll end up with a couple specs of dust permanently stuck behind their screen (unless they want to break it open again). I think it would be quite easy for a couple small specs flying around to get caught behind there, and for someone to not notice until it is too late. And that is the least of what can go wrong.
A superior alternative for people who want to put an aftermarket SSD in their iMac, is to pay a licensed professional to do it.
As they are a licensed professional, the risk of anything going wrong would be the lowest possible.
Apparently with this procedure it is possible to do it without voiding your warranty, but there is a possibility of voiding it too, so I would more recommend to only pay the professional after your warranty expires, or else, do so at your own risk.
And that is only if you must do this procedure. What I truly recommend and what the best route is, is to simply buy the adequate model, from Apple, at the time of purchase.
Recommending every single user in sight to pry open their brand new, sealed iMacs, and attempt a risky and difficult procedure, is the height of absurdity and insensibility.
It is the height of irresponsibility in all aspects.
I would not recommend anyone to try this procedure because not only is it the polar opposite of the intended use of the machine (the ***** thing is sealed for a reason), but it is also a highly risky procedure that has a high potential of problems occurring.
A common problem with people who attempt this performance is they'll end up with a couple specs of dust permanently stuck behind their screen (unless they want to break it open again). I think it would be quite easy for a couple small specs flying around to get caught behind there, and for someone to not notice until it is too late. And that is the least of what can go wrong.
A superior alternative for people who want to put an aftermarket SSD in their iMac, is to pay a licensed professional to do it.
As they are a licensed professional, the risk of anything going wrong would be the lowest possible.
Apparently with this procedure it is possible to do it without voiding your warranty, but there is a possibility of voiding it too, so I would more recommend to only pay the professional after your warranty expires, or else, do so at your own risk.
And that is only if you must do this procedure. What I truly recommend and what the best route is, is to simply buy the adequate model, from Apple, at the time of purchase.
Recommending every single user in sight to pry open their brand new, sealed iMacs, and attempt a risky and difficult procedure, is the height of absurdity and insensibility.
It is the height of irresponsibility in all aspects.
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This is not s problem for recent iMacs as they come with fused display (glass and display is one assembly). This was the case for old "thick" iMacs where you had to remove the front glass first and expose the display.
I would phrase the rest of your post as:
"Don't open your iMac unless you are comfortable with computer hardware and electronics repairs."
Personally I don't care if someone is apple certified or not as soon as has skills to do the job.
Yes, upgrading iMac is harder than upgrading the same thing in a standard PC for example, requires special tools, dealing with adhesive strips, etc., but still - iMac is not a space shuttle.
1. It is best to order a proper configuration to avoid need to upgrade
2. Check if you feel comfortable with the procedure: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+Retina+5K+Display+SSD+Replacement/30537
3. If not and still want it, pay someone to do it for you.
Ok, but I am saying for the sake of a recommendation.
"I hope he has the skills" is subjective and not precise, and will mean different things to different people. Maybe you understand why I said Apple certified by now. Because it is the safest bet.
Again, for most people, better to pay a pro to do it for a number of reasons. Obviously, yes, there are more difficult things that exist in the world...
When the time comes, I'll be considering this option, as their work will be warrantied. I'm not willing to do this while under my Apple Care warranty is still active but once that expires I may consider that. Its hard to say where I'll be in 2.5 years, but its on my list of potential upgrades.
So what's the risky part? Dropping the screen after removing it from the iMac?
Well, unfortunately, Apple no longer sells upgradable towers and when it did, they was terribly overpriced.
And this is when you know that someone has no idea what he/she is talking about. The screen is fused to the glass so there won't be dust stuck to the screen.
You would be mistaken to think that a "license professional" can do it better than a non "license professional".
Some people have iMac(s) that sounds like rocket engines after having the AASPs upgraded the HDDs/SSDs because the AASPs did not install the In-line Digital Thermometer required to control the fan.
Obviously, one can not void the warranty by practicing common sense such as not slamming the screen down on the counter and cracking the screen.
Obviously, DIY upgrades are not for everyone, but for many people who have done DIY upgrades before, upgrading the HDD in the iMac relatively is easy: in fact, it's easier than upgrade the HDD in the Mac Mini.
In fact the only "scary" (and I put it in quotation for a reason) is to remove the screen without dropping it and breaking it.
If you have every moved around a glass table top without breaking it, then you can absolutely move around with an iMac screen without breaking it.
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That's the wrong procedure.
The right one is here and even easier: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+Retina+5K+Display+Hard+Drive+Replacement/30522
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varian wrote above:
"I'm just going to come out and say one thing, I wouldn't recommend ANYONE to open up and pry open their brand new, beautiful, 5K iMac that is still in warranty, and attempt a risky and difficult procedure that brings with it the potential of a whole host of problems ranging from voiding your warranty, to breaking and dismantling your computer to the point that it is unusable."
Agreed.
That's why I never respond to posters who start threads along the gist, "I opened my Mac to install an SSD, and broke something inside...."
Too late, too late.
Easiest way to add an SSD to an iMac is to buy a USB3 SSD and plug it in.
No risk that way.
Of course, you'll hear some folks say, "I don't want an external drive because it musses up my desktop!".
That's "facepalm talk".
Open it up and break it, instead!
That's just dumb -- particularly if it's still under warranty or AppleCare.
"I'm just going to come out and say one thing, I wouldn't recommend ANYONE to open up and pry open their brand new, beautiful, 5K iMac that is still in warranty, and attempt a risky and difficult procedure that brings with it the potential of a whole host of problems ranging from voiding your warranty, to breaking and dismantling your computer to the point that it is unusable."
Agreed.
That's why I never respond to posters who start threads along the gist, "I opened my Mac to install an SSD, and broke something inside...."
Too late, too late.
Easiest way to add an SSD to an iMac is to buy a USB3 SSD and plug it in.
No risk that way.
Of course, you'll hear some folks say, "I don't want an external drive because it musses up my desktop!".
That's "facepalm talk".
Open it up and break it, instead!
That's just dumb -- particularly if it's still under warranty or AppleCare.
The point I think about external drives, is they can complicate your data storage a bit. I lived with an external drive for years with my MBP and it was mostly fine, but iTunes had a habit of resetting back to the internal drive for some odd reason. It didn't happen all the time, but it happened often enough.
I personally like the idea of having all my data internally, it makes a lot easier to back up and maintain. I do still have and use external drives (mostly for backups and running other operating systems)
maflynn wrote:
"The point I think about external drives, is they can complicate your data storage a bit."
Not much to it, really.
I keep no less than -7- drive icons (disks and partitions) on my desktop at all times -- sometimes 8, 9, 10 or more.
I -know- where just about everything is.
Backing up is easy -- I use CarbonCopyCloner exclusively. Don't touch Time Machine, ever.
Again, I look at those who get nervous about having more than one drive to manage on their computers with a facepalm! heh!
"The point I think about external drives, is they can complicate your data storage a bit."
Not much to it, really.
I keep no less than -7- drive icons (disks and partitions) on my desktop at all times -- sometimes 8, 9, 10 or more.
I -know- where just about everything is.
Backing up is easy -- I use CarbonCopyCloner exclusively. Don't touch Time Machine, ever.
Again, I look at those who get nervous about having more than one drive to manage on their computers with a facepalm! heh!
Cracking the screen while removing it. Flexing the LCD. Bending a pin in a connector. Breaking a connector when something "yanks" on it. Fumbling with a tool and scratching a trace. Etc etc are all things I've seen people do.
My motto is if you can't fix something you "could" break than you need to question whether you should be doing it in the first place. Soldering a wire onto a logic board in place of a trace that was scratched off is easy too, but I don't think I would suggest it to someone if they initially feel uncomfortable with the idea.
Coincidentally I had a friend installing his own garage door opener and he somehow managed to let something spinning drag on the garage door openers circuit board. It severed a trace. I was able to fix it for him (terrible pic) but without my help he would have had to get a new opener (since it was solder in to begin with).
He should NOT have been doing that himself.
Aside from screen, none of those are iMac problems.
You can break a connector in a Mac Mini, a MacBook Pro, an Xbox, a DVD Player, etc.
Those were things I've seen other people do here working on there iMac in general. I don't know much about the mini but I'm assuming it also has a logic board littered with traces and connectors.
Just thought I'd pop in with an update to thank everyone for their advice, and someinteresting DIY debates! Having taken everything into consideration, I pressed the button and ordered last night. I decided on 2TB fusion drive to take advantage of the larger SSD, 8GB RAM, which I will upgrade myself if I should feel things are getting sluggish, and the M390 graphics option. Looking forward to heaving a play and getting used to Maclife!
Congrats and enjoy your new baby
Its a great computer, and the 2TB Fusion drive is rather nice - at least I think it is.
Thanks for the reassuring comments. It's taken a lot of reading and trying to read between the lines (fusion vs SSD, M380 vs M390). Whilst I understand you get better the more you spend, there is a limit to what I am prepared to spend on a computer.
Considering I started off looking at the mid range 21.5", then considered the RAM upgrade, as I couldn't do it later, then the 1TB fusion, I've done my usual and spent more than I was planning to, but I'm happy I've settled on a decent compromise of spec vs price.
Of course, I've also had the concern that UK prices could go up at any time owing to the weakness of the Pound against the Dollar. I'm glad I be done it.
Considering I started off looking at the mid range 21.5", then considered the RAM upgrade, as I couldn't do it later, then the 1TB fusion, I've done my usual and spent more than I was planning to, but I'm happy I've settled on a decent compromise of spec vs price.
Of course, I've also had the concern that UK prices could go up at any time owing to the weakness of the Pound against the Dollar. I'm glad I be done it.