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Is SSD worth the $600 premium?

B

Bodhi395

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
817
0
Apple is offering the 256 GB SSD drive on the new 27 inch iMacs, but its $600 extra.

I've heard that the SSD drive does greatly speed up performance, but is it enough to warrant spending that much?

Also, would it be possible to buy an iMac with a regular hard drive and in the future, switch that hard drive out for an SSD, hopefully when SSD prices go way down?
 
It depends on what you are using it for. I am in IT and bought a 27 inch i7 because I couldn't justify spending money on a Pro. I have been thrilled with the machine. I use it mostly to rip and encode videos for my iPhone, and it's great at that. Plenty fast for everyday use.
 
Sammy Cat said:
Simple answer to is it worth it: no.

Switching the drive? Currently the only ones that have a built in housing and connectors are the ones that already have the SSD installed. It would be difficult, but possible to later swap.

https://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/28/new-27-inch-imac-disassembled-aftermarket-ssd-install-deemed-difficult/
Click to expand...

This is talking about adding a second SSD drive later on, but could you simply remove the current hard drive and replace that with an SSD drive? Would a stock SSD drive fit in a regular hard drive's housing and work with its connectors?
 
Bodhi395 said:
This is talking about adding a second SSD drive later on, but could you simply remove the current hard drive and replace that with an SSD drive? Would a stock SSD drive fit in a regular hard drive's housing and work with its connectors?
Click to expand...

There were numerous threads re: this when the i7 came out earlier in the year. Yes, is possible. You can also use an SSD in place of your DVD drive.

Here's one that may offer some insight:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/808178/
 
Bodhi395 said:
Apple is offering the 256 GB SSD drive on the new 27 inch iMacs, but its $600 extra.

I've heard that the SSD drive does greatly speed up performance, but is it enough to warrant spending that much?

Also, would it be possible to buy an iMac with a regular hard drive and in the future, switch that hard drive out for an SSD, hopefully when SSD prices go way down?
Click to expand...

The 256GB SSD that Apple is selling isn't worth it. It's probably a Toshiba or Samsung, and those are not the fastest models. I cannot see that you will need 256GB if you also have a regular HDD. It's nice to have the OS + Apps on the SSD and then use the regular HDD for media storage.

I would recommend going for a HDD+aftermarket SSD combo. That way you can get a 80-160GB price worthy SSD (Intel x25-m for example) for around $200-300. The problem is that it's a bit tricky and risky to install the SSD by your self if you're not familiar with the inside of a compact computer. :)
 
I have seen the price of the SSD given as $600 in several posts. Apple actually is charging $750 for the SSD. The base price of the 27-inch system shown on the Apple website includes a 1TD HDD. You can buy a SSD for an additional $600 only if you give up the 1TB drive, which is a $150 sacrifice. To go from 1TB HDD to 1TB HDD + SSD costs you $750. The $750 is the price Apple is charging for the SSD.
 
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