Imac 27 5k ssd upgrade

[kurt_st3]

Hi everyone,
I just bought an used 2015 27' 5k Imac with 1tb fusion drive.
I'd like to upgrade the Imac with an internal SSD, is it worth to replace the mechanical drive with the ssd and leave the original 24gb ssd in place? Should the speed be improved?
I'm mainly working on lightroom CC and photoshop CC,and sometimes need to transfer big sized folders to/from external drives.

 

[Fishrrman]

You don't need to rip the iMac open to get the performance benefits of an SSD.

Just buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, something like this or similar:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ZTRY532?tag=delt-20

Connect it and use a piece of velcro to secure it to the back of the iMac's stand, up and out-of-the-way. Once there, you'll hardly notice its presence.

Initialize it to the Mac OS using Disk Utility.

Then install either a clean copy of the OS onto it, along with your apps, and "migrate over" your user account. Then set it to be the boot drive using the startup disk preference pane.

You should see read speeds jump up to about 430mbps, and writes in the range of 275-350mbps or so (depending on the drive brand and size).

Or, you could use something like CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper), either is a free download for 30 days, and just "clone over" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD, providing that they fit.

You DON'T need to buy a large-capacity SSD.
500gb, or even 250gb will be fine.
If you have "large libraries" of movies, pics, or music, just let those remain on the internal hard drive -- they don't require "speed" to access.

A Samsung t3 or t5 external SSD would also be a good choice.

It's Black Friday -- you should be able to find some deals on these!

Set up an "external booter", and you'll enjoy speeds that are about 85% those of an internally-installed SSD, without having to tear open the iMac and run the possibility of breaking something.

Much easier that way!

 

[dcmaccam]

You don't need to rip the iMac open to get the performance benefits of an SSD.

Just buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, something like this or similar:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ZTRY532?tag=delt-20

Connect it and use a piece of velcro to secure it to the back of the iMac's stand, up and out-of-the-way. Once there, you'll hardly notice its presence.

Initialize it to the Mac OS using Disk Utility.

Then install either a clean copy of the OS onto it, along with your apps, and "migrate over" your user account. Then set it to be the boot drive using the startup disk preference pane.

You should see read speeds jump up to about 430mbps, and writes in the range of 275-350mbps or so (depending on the drive brand and size).

Or, you could use something like CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper), either is a free download for 30 days, and just "clone over" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD, providing that they fit.

You DON'T need to buy a large-capacity SSD.
500gb, or even 250gb will be fine.
If you have "large libraries" of movies, pics, or music, just let those remain on the internal hard drive -- they don't require "speed" to access.

A Samsung t3 or t5 external SSD would also be a good choice.

It's Black Friday -- you should be able to find some deals on these!

Set up an "external booter", and you'll enjoy speeds that are about 85% those of an internally-installed SSD, without having to tear open the iMac and run the possibility of breaking something.

Much easier that way!

So for my 2011 iMac 27" which has USB2 I could do the same thing with a Thunderbolt SSD ?

 

[jerwin]

So for my 2011 iMac 27" which has USB2 I could do the same thing with a Thunderbolt SSD ?

you would have to use thunderbolt-- usb 2.0 would completely negate the purpose of the SSD.

 

[Fishrrman]

"So for my 2011 iMac 27" which has USB2 I could do the same thing with a Thunderbolt SSD?"

Yes.
Be aware that thunderbolt2 external SSD's are somewhat more expensive than would be a USB3 equivalent.

BUT... with the 2011 iMac (no USB3), thunderbolt is the only "external solution" available...

 

[dcmaccam]

One of the options was buying a Buffalo HD-PA1.0TU3-EU 1TB MiniStation Thunderbolt /USB3 Ext Hard drive and remove the drive (to use elsewhere) and replace with a Samsung EVO 850 SSD. Do You think that would work. Would work ? Would I need any other adapters ?