A list of successful iMac 27" (2012-2019) SSD upgrades

[ssdaytona]

hey guys,

so, I was one of the early ssd blade upgraders... 512GB Samsung 970Pro has been working great on my 2015 27" iMac.

anyhow, just upgraded to new 2019 27" iMac base model. what's everyone doing for upgrades? 1tb or 2tb NVME? Samsung still or other brands? Also, cpu upgrades too?


Gotta order the parts for upgrades again. Thx!

 

[Dom Lipscomb]

I have an iMac 2019,1 27inch. I got a 512GB SSD version because the price was pretty expensive at the time to go up to 1GB SSD. I'd now like to get some more space on there.

I see a lot of videos/instructions for how to convert the Fusion to SDD (or upgrade the Blade SSD part of the fusion) in this iMac model but none just to upgrade the 512GB SSD to say a 2TB SSD. Do I take it the SSD is blade for this SSD only model and there is no Sata SSD option which would be an easier swap out.

Thanks.

Dom

 

[ssdaytona]

so, the apple preconfigured SSD models come with a "blade" type of SSD drive only. basically it's a proprietary NVME connector on the other side of the iMac motherboard. It takes complete disassembly of the iMac.

If you had gotten a fusion drive version then your machine would have a combo blade type NVME and standard hard drive. The hard drive, you can then replace with a standard 2.5" SSD drive and you wouldn't have to remove the motherboard. It would be just remove the screen, move the speaker and plug in a new drive.


while the screen disassembly and motherboard removal are complex, it is completely doable for the technically inclined

 

[Dom Lipscomb]

so, the apple preconfigured SSD models come with a "blade" type of SSD drive only. basically it's a proprietary NVME connector on the other side of the iMac motherboard. It takes complete disassembly of the iMac.

If you had gotten a fusion drive version then your machine would have a combo blade type NVME and standard hard drive. The hard drive, you can then replace with a standard 2.5" SSD drive and you wouldn't have to remove the motherboard. It would be just remove the screen, move the speaker and plug in a new drive.


while the screen disassembly and motherboard removal are complex, it is completely doable for the technically inclined

Thanks, that's really helpful. In effect I just follow the guides for a blade replacement on iMac 2019,1 27 inch (as if it were paired with an HDD). The combo of blade and adaptor below should do it (that is exactly my model) and obviously no HDD involved.


Blade + HDD upgrade by natheyshaw

Device: Early 2019 - 19.1 - MRR12LL/A (3.7GHz i5-9600)
Blade upgrade: 128GB Blade -> 2TB WD Black NVME
HDD upgrade: 2TB SATA HDD -> 2TB Crucial M500
Speed test: 2970 MB/s read, 2580 MB/s write
OS: Catalina
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Location: London, UK
Temperature sensor: none
Issues after fresh OS install: none, everything works good

 

[Fernandez21]

Thanks, that's really helpful. In effect I just follow the guides for a blade replacement on iMac 2019,1 27 inch (as if it were paired with an HDD). The combo of blade and adaptor below should do it (that is exactly my model) and obviously no HDD involved.


Blade + HDD upgrade by natheyshaw

Device: Early 2019 - 19.1 - MRR12LL/A (3.7GHz i5-9600)
Blade upgrade: 128GB Blade -> 2TB WD Black NVME
HDD upgrade: 2TB SATA HDD -> 2TB Crucial M500
Speed test: 2970 MB/s read, 2580 MB/s write
OS: Catalina
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Location: London, UK
Temperature sensor: none
Issues after fresh OS install: none, everything works good

Just remember, if you plan on also adding an 2.5" SSD, you'll need the SATAIII cable as yours won't have one.

 

[Phoenix90]

Hello everyone, I was thinking to upgrade the CPU on my iMac 2019 27" from the i5 8600 to the i9 9900.
I know that the factory iMac i9 is the 9900k but i wanted to the 9900 because of the lower TDP. Anyone knows if it is compatible or if someone managed to install it with no problems?
Thanks

 

[Analias]

I have a late 2015 27" imac and I have encountered the reboot on wake issues. Is there any reason why we can't inject the nvme driver from the later models into the boot rom like is well documented for the 2013-14 MBA and MBP? I have previously done it sucessfully on a 2013 MBA which would not wake after an nvme install. I am yet to find anyone report that they have tried this method.

http://www.macbookmedic.com.au

 

[mbosse]

Another success - HDD & Blade upgrade:

Device: Late 2013 - 14.2 - MF125LL/A (3.5Ghz i7-4771, Fusion HDD+128GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 128GB Blade -> 32GB Apple NVMe SSD (656-0029D)
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA HDD -> Samsung PM883 1.92TB SATA III SSD
Speed test: 762r/343w & 522r/489w
OS: Catalina 10.15.5
Adapter: none
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE

No fan issues at all even without fan control software or OWC temperature sensor cable. The small Apple NVME SSD is used as a scratch disk only. I had it anyway and wanted to see whether such an NVME SSD would cause sleep or hibernation issues. Is does not, but with the caveat that in my case this SSD is not used as a boot drive.

The speed test results:

(1) The Apple 32GB NVMe SSD:

(2) The Samsung PM883 1.92TB SATA III SSD:

Also, tried successfully with a SanDisk X600 SSD, again no temperature sensor needed!
Best,
Magnus

 

[kretek]

Device: Early 2019 - 19.1 - MRR12LL/A (3.7GHz i5-9600, Fusion 2TB HDD + 128GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 128GB Blade -> Samsung SSD 970 Pro 512GB
HDD upgrade: 2TB SATA HDD -> N/A (Fusion drive completely removed)
Speed test: see below
OS: Catalina 10.15.3
Adapter: Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C + EKWB Heatsink
Location: South Africa
Temperature sensor: none
Issues after install: None.

Installation performed by Apple Service Provider.

 

[easy4lif]

Device: Mid 2017 - 18.2 - (3.6Ghz i7-7700, 1TB Fusion HD)
Memory 32GB Crucial
Blade upgrade: 1TB Aura Pro X2 Blade
HDD upgrade: 500GB Crucial SATA HDD
Speed test: tbd.
OS: Catalina 10.15.5
Adapter: none
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE

I know its not a 27, but Im really proud of the upgrades I made on this iMac.

 

[ssdaytona]

^yea, it's great when we can do our own upgrades and save quite a bit of money at the same time.

 

[370zulu]

Hello everyone, I was thinking to upgrade the CPU on my iMac 2019 27" from the i5 8600 to the i9 9900.
I know that the factory iMac i9 is the 9900k but i wanted to the 9900 because of the lower TDP. Anyone knows if it is compatible or if someone managed to install it with no problems?
Thanks

This would be a very interesting upgrade.

 

[nemoryoliver]

QUOTE="easy4lif, post: 28520648, member: 49777"]
Device: Mid 2017 - 18.2 - (3.6Ghz i7-7700, 1TB Fusion HD)
Memory 32GB Crucial
Blade upgrade: 1TB Aura Pro X2 Blade
HDD upgrade: 500GB Crucial SATA HDD
Speed test: tbd.
OS: Catalina 10.15.5
Adapter: none
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE

I know its not a 27, but Im really proud of the upgrades I made on this iMac.
[/QUOTE]

Hi easy4lif, I'm thinking of upgrading to the Aura Pro X2 as well. May I know the max speed you're getting from it? Also, did you not have to install a thermal sensor for the SATA SSD? I hope it will work fine without the thermal sensor.

 

[legaleye3000]

I have a Late 2015 27inch that came with a 512gb SSD. Is the SSD a blade or a 3.5 inch? Regardless, can I have 2 hard drives (a blade AND non-blade) ssds in my iMac at the same time? Thanks.

 

[rbart]

If it’s an apple genuine SSD, it’s a blade.
You can also install a second SATA SSD, but you will probably need some cables

 

[legaleye3000]

Thanks for your quick reply. Do you know what I would need to buy? Or is there a guide for wanting to add a SATA SSD while keeping the blade ssd? Thank you.

 

[Jadacrook]

If it’s an apple genuine SSD, it’s a blade.
You can also install a second SATA SSD, but you will probably need some cables

I have a genuine Apple / Samsung 512 SSD Blade i just removed. I replaced with a 1tb SSd. Does anyone know a compatible enclosure i can use for the removed Genuine Apple blade. Which will make the SSD readable to be Erased etc? looking for something affordable. I believe the drive is 12+16 pin.

 

[Amsterdamned]

I have a genuine Apple / Samsung 512 SSD Blade i just removed. I replaced with a 1tb SSd. Does anyone know a compatible enclosure i can use for the removed Genuine Apple blade. Which will make the SSD readable to be Erased etc? looking for something affordable. I believe the drive is 12+16 pin.

The only one I’ve ever seen was made by OWC (Envoy). Not cheap though. If you just want to erase it, find a friend with a compatible MacBook Pro and swap the drive in there or maybe get a pcie adapter card and use a PC or cMP to wipe it.

 

[mbosse]

The only one I’ve ever seen was made by OWC (Envoy). Not cheap though. If you just want to erase it, find a friend with a compatible MacBook Pro and swap the drive in there or maybe get a pcie adapter card and use a PC or cMP to wipe it.

Transcend supplied such with their Apple-compatible SSDs as well.

Magnus

 

[Amsterdamned]

The Intel 660p looks to be the almost fool proof SSD upgrade for the 2013 iMac. Not the fastest nvme on sale but they can’t take advantage of the extra speed another drive might bring anyway.

So, to all those that have used the 660p in a late 2013 iMac: Any issues with sleep/hibernation, or anything else?

 

[mbosse]

The Intel 660p looks to be the almost fool proof SSD upgrade for the 2013 iMac. Not the fastest nvme on sale but they can’t take advantage of the extra speed another drive might bring anyway.

So, to all those that have used the 660p in a late 2013 iMac: Any issues with sleep/hibernation, or anything else?

I would be interested as well!

 

[thetomng]

Device: 2019 iMac (3.0GHz i5, 570X, 1TB Fusion)
Blade upgrade: Stock Apple -> 970 1TB Samsung
HDD upgrade: 1TB SATA HDD -> None
Blade Speed test: 3000/MBps read, 2400/MBps write
OS: Catalina 15.5.5
Temperature sensor: none
Issues after fresh OS install: Everything works perfectly

For some reason my multicore geekbench 5 and cinebench r20 scores are low, 7334 points max on GB5 and 3999 points max on cine r20, can anyone please share their score?

 

[Amsterdamned]

I have an iMac 2019,1 27inch. I got a 512GB SSD...Do I take it the SSD is blade for this SSD only model and there is no Sata SSD option which would be an easier swap out.

Correct. You’d probably need to buy the bits and bobs to add a SATA drive anyway and you’d lose a ton of speed doing it, compared to the nvme option. It’s a board out upgrade (blade swap) but well worth doing.


Edit. Completely missed the previous response from @ssdaytona (need more sleep I think).

 

[mbosse]

Blade + HDD upgrade

Device: Late 2013 -14.2 (3.5Ghz i7-4771), 32GB Ram, 3TB Fusion Drive
Blade upgrade: 128GB -> Intel 660P 2TB (SSDPEKNW020T8X1)
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA ST3000DM001 HDD -> 2TB SATA Crucial MX500 SSD
OS: Mojave 10.14.6
Location: NB Canada
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013
Issues after fresh OS install: Did not do a fresh OS install, cloned from old drive. No problems. Fan Normal, Sleeps as it should.

Before beginning upgrade I used SuperDuper to clone my old fusion drive to the Intel 660p using a USB nvme sled. Tested a reboot from this on a USB port on the rear of the iMac before upgrade, worked like a charm.

I had bought both the ST-NGFF2013 (the tiny little one) and NGFF2013-C (the ~90mm length version) adapters, found the '-C' model didn't seem to fit in the motherboard blade slot, the smaller 'non-c' version fit perfectly.

After putting the system back together, it came up perfectly, everything worked, no fan alarms, sleep works as it used to, overall very, very happy!

For I/O speed, keeping in mind this is a 2013 iMac thus can't get full PCIe speed, my speed has tripled from using the old mechanical hard drive, getting approximately 700/800 MB/s for Write/Read, which seems in line with others who have installed the Intel 660p on a 14,2 iMac.

Highly recommend this to others!

IanQ

Did you suffer any sleep/hibernation issues so far? Could you upgrade the EFI?

Thanks a lot,
Magnus

 

[mbosse]

Another success - HDD & Blade upgrade:

Device: Late 2013 - 14.2 - MF125LL/A (3.5Ghz i7-4771, Fusion HDD+128GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 128GB Blade -> 32GB Apple NVMe SSD (656-0029D)
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA HDD -> Samsung PM883 1.92TB SATA III SSD
Speed test: tbd.
OS: Catalina 10.15.5
Adapter: none
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE

No fan issues at all even without fan control software or OWC temperature sensor cable. The small Apple NVME SSD is used as a scratch disk only. I had it anyway and wanted to see whether such an NVME SSD would cause sleep or hibernation issues. Is does not, but with the caveat that in my case this SSD is not used as a boot drive.

The speed test results:

(1) The Apple 32GB NVMe SSD:

View attachment 924810
(2) The Samsung PM883 1.92TB SATA III SSD:
View attachment 924811
Best,
Magnus

Speed test results added.