Honestly I cannot tell yet: I installed Catalina from USB and then used Software Update to upgrade to Monterey with instant success. That was a few days ago so I got 12.2 right away, with no further software update yet to test.
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A list of successful iMac 27" (2012-2019) SSD upgrades
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Honestly I cannot tell yet: I installed Catalina from USB and then used Software Update to upgrade to Monterey with instant success. That was a few days ago so I got 12.2 right away, with no further software update yet to test.
I was under the impression a 27” that had the blade from the factory only had the SATA connector on the board. The brackets and sundry cables need to be purchased before an additional 2.5”/3.5” SATA drive can be added.
If nobody here knows, I will be able to tell you in about 2 weeks after I opened my factory-SSD-only equipped Late 2015 27”.
I don't know where to find the Product Number? If it's on the sticker I can't see it anymore.
I have the same firmware as you. I don't use FileVault.
Did you install windows virtually or one drive just for windows? Was surprise to see samsung magician!
I’m doing two things: upgrading the SSD on a 2019 iMac, and upgrading to that iMac.
Can I do a straight disk utility restore to the new drive? How should I format it to have the appropriate restore partition?
Can I do a straight disk utility restore to the new drive? How should I format it to have the appropriate restore partition?
Blade + HDD + CPU
Device: 2019 27” i5 Pro 580x w/3TB Fusion Drive
CPU upgrade: i5-9600k --> i9-9900k
Blade upgrade: 128GB --> 4TB Corsair MP400
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA HDD --> 1TB 850 Evo Boot Camp Drive
Speed test: 2729 MB/s read, 2871 MB/s write
OS: Mojave 10.14.6
M.2 Adapter: Rivo NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card
3.5” --> 2.5” Adapter: Fenlink 2.5" to 3.5" Internal SSD Hard Drive SATA Drive Converter
Heatsink: GLOTRENDS M.2 Heatsink (PS5/PC Installation) for 2280 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Location: Texas
Temperature sensor: none
Notes: The Corsair MP400 was purchased used, so I did a secure erase on the drive and formatted it in HFS+. I then did a firmware update in windows with the Corsair utility app. I then cloned the 2TB SSD from my 2012 iMac to the MP400 (using the 2012 iMac booted into the 2TB SSD) with Carbon Copy Cloner. (No fresh install).
Issues Encountered:
1. The 2019 iMac was running Monterrey on its 3TB fusion drive. After cloning but before installing, I was able to boot from the 2012 iMac, but the 2019 iMac gave the “no OS” error (see pic) after attempting to boot (using USB-C, the drive was unrecognized with the USB port, weirdly). Resetting the PRAM let me successfully boot once, but subsequent attempts failed. I carried on with the instal anyway, and so far it’s working. I suspect the Monterrey install blocked any lower OS from booting (shame on you apple!)
2. The 4TB SSD doesn’t sit right in the adapter. The underside ICs cause the adapter to bend downward. Also, the included screw didn’t fit, so I zip-tied the SSD to the adapter and used the OEM screw to hold the adapter in place (see pic):
3. Running Mojave on an HFS+ formatted drive makes apple block any OS updates such as security updates. Prior to cloning, I made sure to apply the latest OS updates. Other updates such as Safari appear to work fine.
4. After cloning, my safari 12 extensions got uninstalled, but only when booting from the 2019 iMac, not when booting into the original 2012 iMac. This doesn’t make sense. Shame on you apple x2 for forcing your stupid safari extensions gallery and being such a bitch to developers.
[edit to add issue 5]:
5. The SATA SSD contained a boot camp install of windows 8.1 that I was running for a time in my 2012 iMac, then as a bootable USB after the logic board failed and was replaced by apple (they removed the SSD). After installing it in my iMac, initially it booted without issue. Then suddenly it BSODed on me, then it went completely to **** and the SSD appears to be fried, reporting bad sectors. The SSD is 6 years old, and while I've used it a lot, I haven't abused it by any means. As soon as I install it and boot into it with the 2019 iMac it gives me bad sectors and fails. Potentially this is a driver issue, as I didn't do anything to prepare the SSD for the new computer. I think this is something worth being cognizant of.
Final picture before installing screen:
Device: 2019 27” i5 Pro 580x w/3TB Fusion Drive
CPU upgrade: i5-9600k --> i9-9900k
Blade upgrade: 128GB --> 4TB Corsair MP400
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA HDD --> 1TB 850 Evo Boot Camp Drive
Speed test: 2729 MB/s read, 2871 MB/s write
OS: Mojave 10.14.6
M.2 Adapter: Rivo NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card
3.5” --> 2.5” Adapter: Fenlink 2.5" to 3.5" Internal SSD Hard Drive SATA Drive Converter
Heatsink: GLOTRENDS M.2 Heatsink (PS5/PC Installation) for 2280 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Location: Texas
Temperature sensor: none
Notes: The Corsair MP400 was purchased used, so I did a secure erase on the drive and formatted it in HFS+. I then did a firmware update in windows with the Corsair utility app. I then cloned the 2TB SSD from my 2012 iMac to the MP400 (using the 2012 iMac booted into the 2TB SSD) with Carbon Copy Cloner. (No fresh install).
Issues Encountered:
1. The 2019 iMac was running Monterrey on its 3TB fusion drive. After cloning but before installing, I was able to boot from the 2012 iMac, but the 2019 iMac gave the “no OS” error (see pic) after attempting to boot (using USB-C, the drive was unrecognized with the USB port, weirdly). Resetting the PRAM let me successfully boot once, but subsequent attempts failed. I carried on with the instal anyway, and so far it’s working. I suspect the Monterrey install blocked any lower OS from booting (shame on you apple!)
2. The 4TB SSD doesn’t sit right in the adapter. The underside ICs cause the adapter to bend downward. Also, the included screw didn’t fit, so I zip-tied the SSD to the adapter and used the OEM screw to hold the adapter in place (see pic):
3. Running Mojave on an HFS+ formatted drive makes apple block any OS updates such as security updates. Prior to cloning, I made sure to apply the latest OS updates. Other updates such as Safari appear to work fine.
4. After cloning, my safari 12 extensions got uninstalled, but only when booting from the 2019 iMac, not when booting into the original 2012 iMac. This doesn’t make sense. Shame on you apple x2 for forcing your stupid safari extensions gallery and being such a bitch to developers.
[edit to add issue 5]:
5. The SATA SSD contained a boot camp install of windows 8.1 that I was running for a time in my 2012 iMac, then as a bootable USB after the logic board failed and was replaced by apple (they removed the SSD). After installing it in my iMac, initially it booted without issue. Then suddenly it BSODed on me, then it went completely to **** and the SSD appears to be fried, reporting bad sectors. The SSD is 6 years old, and while I've used it a lot, I haven't abused it by any means. As soon as I install it and boot into it with the 2019 iMac it gives me bad sectors and fails. Potentially this is a driver issue, as I didn't do anything to prepare the SSD for the new computer. I think this is something worth being cognizant of.
Final picture before installing screen:
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* Another successful iMac 5K 2019 upgrade *
Blade + HDD + RAM + Display Internal Dust Removal
Device : Early 2019 - iMac 27" - 19,1 - 3.0 GHz Core i5 (i5-8500) - A2115 (EMC 3194)
Blade upgrade : 32GB Blade --> 512GB Apple OEM Blade (brand new pulled from a new 2019 27" iMac)
HDD upgrade : 1TB SATA HDD --> 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD
Memory RAM upgrade : 2 x 4GB Apple OEM (Micron) --> 2 x 4GB Apple OEM (Micron) + 2 x 16GB Crucial (2 x CT16G4SFRA266) = 40GB total
Blade Speed test : up to 3576 MB/s read, 2187 MB/s write
SATA SSD Speed test : up to 523 MB/s read, 483 MB/s write
Memory Performance : All operating at 2667 MHz, 27,102 MB/s
Display Internal Dust Removal : Took apart the display to remove some small amounts of dust from the bottom left and right corners
OS: Monterey 12.2
Location : Oregon
Adapter for the blade : none
Heatsink for the blade : none
Temperature sensor for SATA SSD : none
SSD Drive Bracket : NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket
Issues after fresh OS install : none, everything works great!
* Notes *
1. I am using the blade drive for the OS and all applications, and the SATA drive as a data drive
2. I think that a lot of iMac 5k displays (most?) have a small amount of dust at the bottom corners, but it probably doesn't bother everyone. I just wanted to see how hard it would be and if I could get rid of the dust. I was able to remove all of the dust. I followed this video I found...:
3. I used Apple OEM adhesive strips, and opener tool from eBay (seller tecknic-lee).
4. Wanted to also upgrade to an i9-9900k but the price was prohibitive. Might try it if used prices for this cpu drop later in the year.
Thanks for all of the contributions to this thread! It helped me a great deal.
Blade + HDD + RAM + Display Internal Dust Removal
Device : Early 2019 - iMac 27" - 19,1 - 3.0 GHz Core i5 (i5-8500) - A2115 (EMC 3194)
Blade upgrade : 32GB Blade --> 512GB Apple OEM Blade (brand new pulled from a new 2019 27" iMac)
HDD upgrade : 1TB SATA HDD --> 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD
Memory RAM upgrade : 2 x 4GB Apple OEM (Micron) --> 2 x 4GB Apple OEM (Micron) + 2 x 16GB Crucial (2 x CT16G4SFRA266) = 40GB total
Blade Speed test : up to 3576 MB/s read, 2187 MB/s write
SATA SSD Speed test : up to 523 MB/s read, 483 MB/s write
Memory Performance : All operating at 2667 MHz, 27,102 MB/s
Display Internal Dust Removal : Took apart the display to remove some small amounts of dust from the bottom left and right corners
OS: Monterey 12.2
Location : Oregon
Adapter for the blade : none
Heatsink for the blade : none
Temperature sensor for SATA SSD : none
SSD Drive Bracket : NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket
Issues after fresh OS install : none, everything works great!
* Notes *
1. I am using the blade drive for the OS and all applications, and the SATA drive as a data drive
2. I think that a lot of iMac 5k displays (most?) have a small amount of dust at the bottom corners, but it probably doesn't bother everyone. I just wanted to see how hard it would be and if I could get rid of the dust. I was able to remove all of the dust. I followed this video I found...:
4. Wanted to also upgrade to an i9-9900k but the price was prohibitive. Might try it if used prices for this cpu drop later in the year.
Thanks for all of the contributions to this thread! It helped me a great deal.
WOW - you're a brave guy. But I am surprised to learn how (relatively) easy it is to take apart the display. I noticed there are many layers of (presumably) filters - did you clean each and every such layer?
Thanks,
Magnus
I think there were four layers. I started by lifting them all up and working on the glass. I used two microfiber cloths, one dry and the other with a small amount of IPA on it. One corner needed the IPA to get the dust off, it was really stuck to the glass. I wiped off the corners of the two bottom layers, but the dust was primarily on the glass. The hardest part is to make sure you prevent random dust particles from depositing on the glass while you are working on it. I used a powerful led flashlight to look for dust particles coming from the room. I used the same ESD tape as in the video to seal it back up. Hopefully it is air tight now. It was a little bit scary, but I am glad I did it. The display is crystal clear.
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**** you couldn't have posted this like.... 2 days earlier?! I could have airtighted my display while I had it out.
I’m just kidding (sorta), this is a good writeup, and I’ll refer to it in 5 years or whenever I might need to do this.
Hi.Blade
Device: 2017 Mid iMac 27" Base model with 256GB SSD from Apple - 18.3 - MNE92LL/A (No mechanical HDD)
Blade upgrade: Apple 256 GB -> 2TB Samsung NVMe SSD 970 EVO PRO (latest firmware - 2B2QEXM7)
CPU upgrade: N/A (Couldn't be bothered getting it from aliexpress as the upgrade won't be much of a difference)
Speed test: ~3300 MB/s read, ~3200 MB/s write
OS: Big Sur + Bootcamp Windows 10
Location: Sydney, Australia
Adapter: Sintech NGFF M.2 nVME SSD Adapter Card for Upgrade 2013-2015 Year Macs(Not Fit Early 2013 MacBook Pro) - This is apparently the newer one and comes with black film cover over the socket pins
View attachment 1816177
Issues with sleep: none
Heatsink for nvme SSD: Bought a cheap low rise version off ebay (~$5). size:7x2.2x0.3cm (The slim height makes it compatible). I removed the Samsung 970 evo pro sticker at the top of the SSD before applying.
View attachment 1816176
Adhesive strip
My tip for future upgraders: Why hasn't anyone recommended the adhesive strip to be replaced? After you remove the screen, it won't stick back properly.
Very happy with the upgrade!
Quick question, if I may…
What drive speed did you see before the upgrade?
I’m tossing up between a mid 2017 with the Apple 256GB blade and one that has a HDD that I’d upgrade myself, either to a genuine Apple blade or a 3rd party. The model with the blade is a fair chunk more but I could get away with 256GB and would welcome not having to peel open another iMac. The DIY upgrade would bring increased (dual) storage which could potentially be faster but the overall cost could still be AUD200 less, depending on the storage upgrades chosen of course.
If the Apple blade is fast “enough”, it would certainly be the simpler option.
I have 2 iMac 5K's, one Late 2015 which I upgraded with a Samsung 970 EVO plus M2 SSD, and a stock iMac 5k Mid 2017 with 512GB Blade SSD. You can compare the screenshots for a speed comparison.
This is actually faster than my stock iMac 2017 with native Blade SSD:
In everyday use, I guess the blade is "fast enough". However, it can be satisfying to upgrade your iMac to the max and be out cheaper at the same time.
Hy
I installed windows10 by Bootcamp. Only one Drive the 970 evo plus. First internet recovery big sur than montery after that iso win10 by bootcamp that makes a partition i choose 199 GB need it only for Trading thats enough 😊
I ended up getting the 2TB Fusion 2017 27". The specs were much better than the iMac with the 256GB blade (i5 3.8GHz, Radeon Pro 580 8GB, 16GB vs i5 3.4GHz, Radeon Pro 570 4GB, 8GB) and I snagged it for AUD1200 (around US800 I think) which is a decent price for Australia, especially South Australia.
Now deciding on what path to take next; 1TB NVME or 1TB Apple Polaris. The 2017 could be configured with up to 2TB SSD so the Polaris would make the iMac factory spec, especially as I intend to dump the spinning drive. On the other hand, I could add a 1TB WD SN750 and a 1TB MX500 for the same money - double the storage, the main drive would be faster and, as an added bonus, I could have everything in hand within a week.
I've split the fusion drive and am running Monterey on the 128GB blade. My local storage requirements aren't as great as some (networked RAID storage helps there) so I can get away with it for a short while.
Decisions, decisions...
UPDATE: Purchased a genuine "never used" 1TB Polaris from an ebay seller with very good feedback.
This is the item I purchased:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/144429279418?ViewItem=&item=144429279418 (relisted - 9 available as of 03/03/22) - a very reasonable $149 USD which became almost $300 AUD by the time shipping and taxes were added. A Fair bit more than the equivalent NVME equivalent but it keeps the iMac "stock".
DriveDX shows the 2TB HDD has a few errors, so it's definitely going in the bin.
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Have you considered running a VM for Windows? If you're not gaming you likely don't need serious graphics performance. A VM would allow you to run both at the same time, no rebooting. Just RDP into the Windows box, do what you need to then close the session and it'll continue to run in the background. VirtualBox is free and works extremely well, I've found.
Blade + HDD + CPU + Memory
Device: Mid 2017
Blade upgrade: Apple 512GB -> 1TB Crucial NVMe SSD No heatsink
HDD upgrade: No HDD -> 2TB Crucial SATA SSD
CPU upgrade : Core i5-7500 -> Core i7-7700K
Memory ugrade : 48Go 2400MHz PC4-19200 DDR4 -> 64Go 2666MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 (!!!???!!!)
OS: Monterey 12.2
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Temperature sensor: not used
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE
Location: Paris
Device: Mid 2017
Blade upgrade: Apple 512GB -> 1TB Crucial NVMe SSD No heatsink
HDD upgrade: No HDD -> 2TB Crucial SATA SSD
CPU upgrade : Core i5-7500 -> Core i7-7700K
Memory ugrade : 48Go 2400MHz PC4-19200 DDR4 -> 64Go 2666MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 (!!!???!!!)
OS: Monterey 12.2
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Temperature sensor: not used
Issues after fresh OS install: NONE
Location: Paris
Hey Inapurna.
Question pour vous. Pourquoi changer de “blade”? Votre Polaris n’était pas assez?
Question: why change the blade? Wasn’t the Polaris good enough?
* Another successful iMac 5K 2019 upgrade *
I found a good deal ($850) on a higher end iMac 5k 2019 and decided to buy it and perform another upgrade with similar components as in post #835
Blade + HDD + RAM
Device : Early 2019 - iMac 27" - 19,1 - 3.7 GHz Core i5 (i5-9600K) w/Radeon Pro 580X GPU 8 GB - A2115 (EMC 3194)
Blade upgrade : 128GB Blade --> 512GB Apple OEM Blade (brand new pulled from a new 2019 27" iMac)
HDD upgrade : 2TB SATA HDD --> 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD
Memory RAM upgrade : Swapped the 24GB that came with this machine (SK Hynix and Kingston) with the 40GB from the machine in post #835
Blade Speed test : up to 2959 MB/s read, 2175 MB/s write
SATA SSD Speed test : up to 524 MB/s read, 484 MB/s write
Memory Performance : All operating at 2667 MHz, 28,842 MB/s
Geekbench 5 CPU Scores : 1157 single core, 5845 multi-core
OS: Monterey 12.2.1
Location : Oregon
Adapter for the blade : none
Heatsink for the blade : none
Temperature sensor for SATA SSD : none
SSD Drive Bracket : NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket
Issues after fresh OS install : none, everything works great!
* Notes *
1. The blade used was the newer version 655-1994F than the one used in post #835 which was the 655-1994E. Not sure why the newer one tested slower for reads.
2. I didn't do the display internal dust removal for this computer since I couldn't really see any dust in either lower corner. I did tape up the corners of the display with ESD tape before putting it back on just in case dust might start to accumulate over time.
3. This machine had 10x as much dust inside as the last one. I spent a lot of time blowing it out with compressed air. It spent the last 2.5 years in a very dirty environment.
4. The most problematic part of the whole process for me was re-attaching the display cables. Not sure if my hands are just too large, but that was an issue each time I did it. Second most problematic part was re-attaching the microphone cable which is tiny and delicate.
5. Used more OEM adhesive strips from eBay. I have no concerns with the display falling off with this stuff. It is so strong do yourself a favor and only get the OEM strips.
6. I follow the official Apple repair guide for this machine when re-attaching the display (put all strips on, put display on with painter's tape along bottom edge, etc.) to avoid having to redo the display attachment. Some of the other online procedures can lead you astray.
Thanks to all contributors of this thread!
I found a good deal ($850) on a higher end iMac 5k 2019 and decided to buy it and perform another upgrade with similar components as in post #835
Blade + HDD + RAM
Device : Early 2019 - iMac 27" - 19,1 - 3.7 GHz Core i5 (i5-9600K) w/Radeon Pro 580X GPU 8 GB - A2115 (EMC 3194)
Blade upgrade : 128GB Blade --> 512GB Apple OEM Blade (brand new pulled from a new 2019 27" iMac)
HDD upgrade : 2TB SATA HDD --> 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD
Memory RAM upgrade : Swapped the 24GB that came with this machine (SK Hynix and Kingston) with the 40GB from the machine in post #835
Blade Speed test : up to 2959 MB/s read, 2175 MB/s write
SATA SSD Speed test : up to 524 MB/s read, 484 MB/s write
Memory Performance : All operating at 2667 MHz, 28,842 MB/s
Geekbench 5 CPU Scores : 1157 single core, 5845 multi-core
OS: Monterey 12.2.1
Location : Oregon
Adapter for the blade : none
Heatsink for the blade : none
Temperature sensor for SATA SSD : none
SSD Drive Bracket : NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket
Issues after fresh OS install : none, everything works great!
* Notes *
1. The blade used was the newer version 655-1994F than the one used in post #835 which was the 655-1994E. Not sure why the newer one tested slower for reads.
2. I didn't do the display internal dust removal for this computer since I couldn't really see any dust in either lower corner. I did tape up the corners of the display with ESD tape before putting it back on just in case dust might start to accumulate over time.
3. This machine had 10x as much dust inside as the last one. I spent a lot of time blowing it out with compressed air. It spent the last 2.5 years in a very dirty environment.
4. The most problematic part of the whole process for me was re-attaching the display cables. Not sure if my hands are just too large, but that was an issue each time I did it. Second most problematic part was re-attaching the microphone cable which is tiny and delicate.
5. Used more OEM adhesive strips from eBay. I have no concerns with the display falling off with this stuff. It is so strong do yourself a favor and only get the OEM strips.
6. I follow the official Apple repair guide for this machine when re-attaching the display (put all strips on, put display on with painter's tape along bottom edge, etc.) to avoid having to redo the display attachment. Some of the other online procedures can lead you astray.
Thanks to all contributors of this thread!
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Wow, that was an epic deal on the 1TB Polaris. Good job! The vendor I have been buying Apple OEM blades from has the unused 1TB blade for $439.99 at the moment.