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iMac 2012 upgrade to SSD is it worth it?

M

mackie8

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Original poster
Nov 6, 2014
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my 21 inch imac 2012 is running slow...
im thinking if i should sell it and get a MBP 15 or latest imac .. i could sell it at S$850-900
but i have another option... someone is offering me to replace the HDD to 256 SSD at S$500

my question is... is the new SSD upgrade worth it? will it last me for another 2yrs maybe ?
will there be a massive difference on the speed?
my 2012 imac specs is core i5 2.5ghz , 8gb ram and 1tb hdd..

and another question.. if i change the hdd to ssd can i still transfer the recovery from the old hdd?
the guy who wants change the HDD told me that HDD needs to be remove so he can put in the ssd..
i cant keep the hdd inside together with the ssd..
 
$500 seems a little steep for a 256GB SSD, despite the machine being glued together. But yes, an SSD will definitely be a very significant upgrade. If you do not wish to perform the upgrade yourself, I know a lot of people here have had good experiences using an external SSD. Your iMac both have USB 3 and Thunderbolt, so you have plenty of options for going down the external route. That way you can even get a 1TB SSD with enclosure for less than $500.
 
mackie8 said:
i could sell it at S$850-900
but i have another option... someone is offering me to replace the HDD to 256 SSD at S$500
Click to expand...

What an absolute rip off, the 256GB SSD he'll fit in it can be bought brand-new for under $70 on Amazon. It makes me mad when I read stories like this; some people out there are complete con artists, and can happily take advantage of others without getting a bad night's sleep out of it.
 
Not at that price, a $70 SSD and a couple of hours work tops should cost no more than $200 and even that's a bit much.
 
Hard to evaluate the economics due to currency exchange. But any brand name SSD will last years - you can get them with a 3-year warranty, but they are very reliable these days. And once installed, you'll think your iMac is better than new.
 
Actually labor cost is S$180 ... May i know how is the procedure for external ssd? Can it bootup using external ssd?
 
OP wrote:
"i have another option... someone is offering me to replace the HDD to 256 SSD at S$500"

NO! Not worth it!

You can "add an SSD" -WAY- cheaper yourself, by plugging in a USB3 SSD and booting and running that way.

The cost will be far less and it will TRANSFORM the overall performance of the machine.

You don't need anyone's help (other than from online) to do this.

Something like this will do the trick:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ZTRY532?tag=delt-20

The 240gb size will be fine, unless you want to spend a little more for the 480gb.

Just plug this in, initialize it with Disk Utility, and either "clone over" your OS, apps, and data (be aware that ALL of the data may not fit, you may have to leave some on the internal drive),
or
... install a clean copy of the OS onto the new drive, and then "migrate over" your apps and accounts.

Don't let ANYONE tell you that booting and running from an external USB3 drive is a bad idea -- I've been doing this for years with my late-2012 Mini, it runs smooth and quick.

You CAN do this yourself, there's almost nothing to it.
 
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mackie8 said:
Actually labor cost is S$180 ... May i know how is the procedure for external ssd? Can it bootup using external ssd?
Click to expand...
Seeing as there are few members from Singapore and the majority from the states, might I suggest you quote relative prices in USD. I think you would find much more helpful answers this way.

Labor cost is = $130.22 US Dollars
 
mackie8 said:
Actually labor cost is S$180 ... May i know how is the procedure for external ssd? Can it bootup using external ssd?
Click to expand...

Well that's not too bad a price for labour, so can you just order your own SSD and pay the labour costs?? That would get you 500gb drive for about 130 USDollars and maybe $10 to ship it to you.

The procedure for an external is to Clone you drive to an external usb3 SSD and set it as your boot drive. Here is a simple guide.

http://robinmonks.com/2013/10/speed-up-your-mac-with-an-external-ssd/

And a you tube video.

 
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Thanks for your help guys... Will try the external route...
Can i buy any brand external ssd with usb3 ?
Will go clean install maybe coz i have bootcamp also so i think 240gb wont fit if i do direct clone...
 
mackie8 said:
Oh i just read that ssd usb3 ia having issues with bootcamp.... :(
Click to expand...
Don't fret because Thunderbolt is still an option :).

A Thunderbolt drive is actually the preferred method to run an external drive as your boot drive because it more or less behaves the same as your internal drive and isn't subject to the same limitations of USB 3.0 drives. For example, Thunderbolt will allow you to run TRIM and BootCamp as previously mentioned.

You can follow the directions posted above and I actually recommend the same drive Roberto Jorge uses in his video as it's at a great price point.

The Transcend 256GB Thunderbolt Solid State Drive StoreJet 500 can be purchased for $189.99 (262.09 SGD) by clicking on this link. If you go this route you will save half your money and still get SSD performance. An added bonus is that you can keep your new SSD when it's time to purchase another computer and use it for additional storage.
 
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mackie8 said:
Any free software like the winclone that he use?
Click to expand...

I think you mean Carbon Copy Cloner, that's the software he's running in his video. I personally use CCC and believe it is the best software for the job and the trial (free) version will accomplish what you are trying to do.

How much space have you used on your iMac's internal HDD, for cloning purposes you have to consider that your new SSD will be smaller than the 1TB you are moving from. An alternative method would be to do a clean install of OS X on your Thunderbolt SSD and run your OS and frequently used files from there but move your media files to the internal 1TB.
[doublepost=1464155684][/doublepost]You could also use OS X Disk Utility for cloning, but be warned it's going to be a bit more work going from a large drive to a small drive via this route.
[doublepost=1464157081][/doublepost]Don't forget to factor import taxes before making your final decision. I stand my original suggestion that you should purchase an external SSD. S$500 is too much money to invest in an internal 2.5" 256GB SSD.
 
he is having another video for bootcamp.. i think that one needs winclone to copy the bootcamp drive.
 
Are you trying to move an existing BootCamp partition to the new drive? If so, Winclone is the only method I've seen work without hassle.
 
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