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I want a SSD inside my 24" iMac

B

bontempi

macrumors member
Original poster
May 14, 2008
68
13
Hello

I want to replace my SUPERDRIVE with a SSD drive.

I have a 24" iMac 2.66ghz. It's the last 24" iMac released (2009). I still need my 640gb HD with it for storage. The Superdrive port is SATA 2.

The "Crucial RealSSD C300 64 Go" is said to go as fast as 335 Mo/s.

- Is it compatible with my iMac ? Will it fit ?
- How fast will it be inside my iMac ? full speed or less ?
- I couldn't find a teardown of the 24" iMac. Only for the 20". Is there a big difference ?

Thanks !
 
Just go for it! Obviously follow the tear down guide for the 24" imac on ifixit!

U will need a replacement supper drive caddy to house the SSD! Ebay ;)!

I did it last night on my brand New ! 27" i7 iMac!

Just remove the glass with a suction cap, undo the screws holding the screen around the edge with a troxi T10 screw driver.

Gently lift it a little. Then you will see the cables and plugs attaching it to the motherboard. Disconnect each one carefully and lift the display off the imac.

Now you can undo the four screws around the supper drive, disconnect the pug and temperature sensor and put in the new caddy with ssd!

Its not hard at all, just be patient and don't force the plugs out.

I always find the biggest problem is keeping the dust out when you put the glass back on!

Speed wise, once you go ssd you never go back, even if it a supposedly slow one! ;)

And utilising the SATA connector is genius.

The only issue iv'e ran into is, that if you want to reinstall the os, using an external usb dvd drive, when the installer reboots half way through the process it doesn't recognise the disk!!!! So bear that in mind. Im making a Install disk, onto an 8gb usb drive. (So no Snow Leopard CD needed.)

Im sure OSX Lion will be release on USB drive as the macbook airs come with them.
 
thanks !

do i REALLY need an optical bay ?
seems like some people don't even use one, as the SSD is light...

thanks
 
bontempi said:
thanks !

do i REALLY need an optical bay ?
seems like some people don't even use one, as the SSD is light...

thanks
Click to expand...

If you find that you need an optical drive, just buy an external USB one and plug it in when you need it.
 
sorry, i meant do i really need an optical drive BAY to place the SSD :)
 
I got a cheaper Chinese version of the opti-bay, so only cost 1/4 of the price. As the official opti-bay is expensive!

I didn't take a look at the connection, that connects to the drive bay.

I assumed you needed the opti-bay to convert to a standard sata, but looks like from the image that might not even be necessary! (As you mentioned)!!!

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-iMac-Intel-27-Inch-Optical-Drive/1636/1

I might let it hang lose like you ;)

PS I got the USB Mac osx boot drive working in Disk Utilities!
Rip a 'read only' image of the SL Disk. Save it to the desktop.
In disk utility to select the disk image, right click it and select it as the sauce and in the top menu, select scan image. When its complete you can restore the image to a USB, or HDD. And you have a OSX disk.
 

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I had a 20" White intel 2.16 imac, that I also changed the HD in.

Their isn't allot of difference between the them. Just 2 extra cables to unplug that are attached to the display.

I think you would be alright following the 21.5" or 27" teardown.

Its obvious which ones you need to unplug. Otherwise the display wont lift off.

On 27, the display screws are along the side, and none on the top and bottom.
Im not sure if the go all the way round on the 24.

Their would be enough space for the STA to mini sta cable as long as you rap it up and know what you are doing and what to buy!!!

I still think the optical bay is the easiest solution.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...13&_nkw=optical+bay&_sacat=See-All-Categories
 

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Last edited:
Links to optical bay enclosures pretty please

Hi All,

I have a 27" i5 Late 2009 and am interested in replacing the superdrive with a SSD. Would anyone be so kinds as to link a few of the cheaper optical bay caddys that they used? I was hoping not to have to buy the MCE cadillac version ;)

Thanks so much.
 
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