Late 2013 27" Imac PCIe Storage upgrade

[InfernoST]

Hi All
I'm seeking some information on a PCIe storage installation. I changed out my 1TB Hard Drive for a 1TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD and am now enjoying a much faster machine. I have not permanently reinstalled the screen (Being held on using scotch tape at the moment) because I was curious about populating the PCIe slot before closing her back up properly. My question is If i populate the empty PCIe slot with a 500GB SSD will I be able to boot off of it and use the 1TB as a second drive within the machine? Also how much of a performance boost will this give my machine? Thanx in advance for you guidance and help.

 

[pmouritz]

Hmm I'm not sure I understand why you would do that. You have an 1 TB SSD and would like to add an PCIe 500 GB SSD? But is it because you need the extra storage?
Usually, one would have an traditional HDD connected via SATA and then a blade style SSD connected via the PCIe, eg. how Fusion Drives work. Anyways, if you purchase a compatible PCIe blade style SSD and connect it via the PCIe alongside the 1 TB Samsung 850 SSD and reinstall the OS X, then the iMac would automatically register the two harddrives as running as a Fusion Drive. The way Fusion Drive works is that it uses the SSD drive for the OS and programs but keep all 'heavier' files stored on the traditional harddrive. However, in you case the two SSDs will likely be equally fast and I therefore do not see the need for a PCIe SSD to your already very snappy version

 

[bent christian]

Hi All
I'm seeking some information on a PCIe storage installation. I changed out my 1TB Hard Drive for a 1TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD and am now enjoying a much faster machine. I have not permanently reinstalled the screen (Being held on using scotch tape at the moment) because I was curious about populating the PCIe slot before closing her back up properly. My question is If i populate the empty PCIe slot with a 500GB SSD will I be able to boot off of it and use the 1TB as a second drive within the machine? Also how much of a performance boost will this give my machine? Thanx in advance for you guidance and help.

Judging by the speeds of our 13" MBP, I would say it's probably not worth it. Benchmarked seq read/write speeds should max out at 100-150MB/Sec over the SATA bus. I don't think this will result in a noticeably faster machine in everyday use. Boot from your SATA drive and connect via USB 3 for additional storage. If 2013 is anything like 2015, Apple used a propriety connector that is not readily available. Also, if like the 2015 model, the PCIe bus will be a pain to get at and you risk damaging the machine.

 

[InfernoST]

So what your saying is there won't be much of a performance gain by installing the PCIe? If thats the case I will just take the machine apart for the last time to clean out the dust and put her back together completely.

This is before the SSD

This is with the SSD

The difference is definitely noticeable.
[doublepost=1479232651][/doublepost]

Judging by the speeds of our 13" MBP, I would say it's probably not worth it. Benchmarked seq read/write speeds should max out at 100-150MB/Sec over the SATA bus. I don't think this will result in a noticeably faster machine in everyday use. Boot from your SATA drive and connect via USB 3 for additional storage. If 2013 is anything like 2015, Apple used a propriety connector that is not readily available. Also, if like the 2015 model, the PCIe bus will be a pain to get at and you risk damaging the machine.

I just picked up a 2015 15" MBP after watching the not so exciting Keynote about the 2016 models, I love it is very fast, 1500MB/s write speeds and 1950MB/s read speeds. This is the reason why I was considering the PCIe for my iMac

 

[bent christian]

This is before the SSD
View attachment 672472

This is with the SSD
View attachment 672473

The difference is definitely noticeable.

That's the difference between HDD and SSD.

IIRC, our 2013 13" MBP gets seq read/writes in the area of 600-700 MB/Sec during benchmarking. In 2013, Apple used a slower PCIe bus. I don't think the difference translates into a noticeably faster machine over 500 MB/Sec. This is speculation on my part. All I have to compare to is an iMac. Two very different machines. The risk would outweigh the benefit for me.

 

[InfernoST]

That's the difference between HDD and SSD.

IIRC, our 2013 13" MBP gets seq read/writes in the area of 600-700 MB/Sec during benchmarking. In 2013, Apple used a slower PCIe bus. I don't think the difference translates into a noticeably faster machine over 500 MB/Sec. This is speculation on my part. All I have to compare to is an iMac. Two very different machines. The risk would outweigh the benefit for me.

Thanks for your input, I do have to say there is huge difference in performance between my MBP and my iMac the MBP is noticeably faster but the iMac is plenty quick for me now (it really wasn't a slouch with HDD) I'm just gonna clean her out and re assemble her. Thanks again

 

[bent christian]

Thanks for your input, I do have to say there is huge difference in performance between my MBP and my iMac the MBP is noticeably faster but the iMac is plenty quick for me now

As expected. The 2015 models brought a much faster PCIe bus.

 

[InfernoST]

Hmm I'm not sure I understand why you would do that. You have an 1 TB SSD and would like to add an PCIe 500 GB SSD? But is it because you need the extra storage?
Usually, one would have an traditional HDD connected via SATA and then a blade style SSD connected via the PCIe, eg. how Fusion Drives work. Anyways, if you purchase a compatible PCIe blade style SSD and connect it via the PCIe alongside the 1 TB Samsung 850 SSD and reinstall the OS X, then the iMac would automatically register the two harddrives as running as a Fusion Drive. The way Fusion Drive works is that it uses the SSD drive for the OS and programs but keep all 'heavier' files stored on the traditional harddrive. However, in you case the two SSDs will likely be equally fast and I therefore do not see the need for a PCIe SSD to your already very snappy version

Thanks for helping me come to an answer, I'm cleaning her out and putting her back together.

 

[pmouritz]

SSD

Thanks for helping me come to an answer, I'm cleaning her out and putting her back together.

No problem!
It will also very likely depend on the actual SSD drive. There are various of speeds but the PCIe blade style SSDs I've been looking at for a reasonable price have 500/500 as you already have via you traditional SATA III. As well as for the Samsung 850 Evo, the speeds should be in the 500s as yours are.
I think it may be a overwhelming procedure to actually install a PCIe if you don't need it for Fusion Drive.