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What's the BEST SSD Upgrade for iMac 27" and how do we do it?

Best SSD Upgrade (MLC) for the iMac 27"?

  • OCZ Vertex Series/Mac Edition (60G/120G/250G)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • OCZ Vertex Turbo Series (60G/120G/250G)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • OCZ Colossus 3.5" (NEW)

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Intel X25-M G1 (80G/160G)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Intel X25-M G2 (80G/160G)

    Votes: 9 90.0%

  • ANy Other?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .
@Cockroach
You could even do a software RAID 0 of the 2 Intel G2...that would be very MacPro-ish :) Together with 16gb of RAM and quadcore/8-thread cpu....juicy...
 
Transporteur said:
Does the iMac has two SATA connectors?
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Every mac released after october 2008 does:
- october 2008 UMB and UMBP
- nvidia9400 white MB
- iMac spring 2009
- Mini spring 2009
- and so on

Down to iMacs october 2009.

You just need to trash the SuperDrive (who uses it anyway, it's ok to put it outside).
 
Guys, let's drop the noise and cut to the chase. At least for now, the iMac 27" has SATA Connectors and it is 3 Gb/s - FOR SURE!!
 

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sanjuvarma said:
Starting a thread to post pictures, videos and tutorials to show how the new iMac 27" can be upgraded to a better hard drive, especially an SSD Drive and which SSD would best fit in it.
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There's already a few threads on SSD upgrades, my one is here (discussion of installation process, the way around the weird connector Apple is using for thermal management etc)
 
Are we still wanting to discuss which is the best SSD upgrade option for the iMac 27"? Are there any videos/photos/tutorials posted anywhere on the web yet? I just can't believe after all the hoopla over the new iMacs and how popular they've gotten over the past one month, there's absolutely no one out there who's released any SSD upgrades for the iMac.

Personally, I feel, the quad core iMacs are beasts of a machine but how fast is fast really? With an SSD in it, that replaces a turning hard drive .... will actually be a monumental upgrade. I felt it when I had upgraded my older 24" iMac 2008 to have a Velociraptor 10k Hard drive, so imagine an Intel X25 or a OCZ VT running OS X.

Just Imagine!!
 
sanjuvarma said:
Are we still wanting to discuss which is the best SSD upgrade option for the iMac 27"? Are there any videos/photos/tutorials posted anywhere on the web yet? I just can't believe after all the hoopla over the new iMacs and how popular they've gotten over the past one month, there's absolutely no one out there who's released any SSD upgrades for the iMac.
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https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/8707758/
 
NATO said:
There's already a few threads on SSD upgrades, my one is here (discussion of installation process, the way around the weird connector Apple is using for thermal management etc)
Click to expand...

That thread is good, but it's lost the discussion on iMac 27". Each iMac model is a little different on its own. I'm still wanting to keep this current thread alive on the iMac 27" interest and not any other Apple computers.
 
I can highly recommend the OCZ Vertex SSDs but search for reviews of the latest 160GB Intel X25-M SSDs and it appears they still wipe the floor with the competition.

I just sold my OCZ Vertex for a 160GB Intel X25-M but I'm waiting on my iMac Core i7 being delivered before I can install and use it.
 
NATO said:
I can highly recommend the OCZ Vertex SSDs but search for reviews of the latest 160GB Intel X25-M SSDs and it appears they still wipe the floor with the competition.

I just sold my OCZ Vertex for a 160GB Intel X25-M but I'm waiting on my iMac Core i7 being delivered before I can install and use it.
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So are you going to install the Intel X25-M on your new iMac 27" i7 in the HDD or the SuperDrive. A lot people are saying that it's better on the SuperDrive, since it preserves the HDD that came with it so you have storage too. But of course, I would think twice, since the resale value drops if you try to get rid of computer without a DVD drive (a few yrs from now)
 
I'm just going to install it in place of the Hard drive since it cuts out a lot of the noise right in front of your face when you're using it (plus I will need the SuperDrive from time to time). For large file storage (media, iTunes library etc), I have 2x1TB External FW800 Drives for that which are fast enough for the sorts of data I would have stored on them. The key is to have the OS and Applications stored on the SSD as that's where the main advantage is and is what makes the whole computer so snappy.
 
NATO said:
I'm just going to install it in place of the Hard drive since it cuts out a lot of the noise right in front of your face when you're using it (plus I will need the SuperDrive from time to time). For large file storage (media, iTunes library etc), I have 2x1TB External FW800 Drives for that which are fast enough for the sorts of data I would have stored on them. The key is to have the OS and Applications stored on the SSD as that's where the main advantage is and is what makes the whole computer so snappy.
Click to expand...

NATO, did you ever do any benchmark testing with your iMac + SSD?
 
NATO said:
I'm just going to install it in place of the Hard drive since it cuts out a lot of the noise right in front of your face when you're using it (plus I will need the SuperDrive from time to time). For large file storage (media, iTunes library etc), I have 2x1TB External FW800 Drives for that which are fast enough for the sorts of data I would have stored on them. The key is to have the OS and Applications stored on the SSD as that's where the main advantage is and is what makes the whole computer so snappy.
Click to expand...

Yeh I have a similar setup - I have 2x Dual Bay USB Enclosures holding about 6.5 TB of storage space so I'm not bothered about the iMac storage. I just need performance. The price of a 160GB Intel X25-M is about the same as OCZ Vertex Turbo 120GB, so that is a 40Gb plus for system (which is not needed though), but I'm just a little worried about the Intel X25's write speeds. Considering that writing is not as often on smaller capacity drives, my choice is still Intel X25-M.
 
53x12 said:
If you want the best, you need to be prepared to pay. If you can'f afford it, from what I have been told and read, it would be highly worth it to wait until you save up enough for it imho.
Click to expand...

True, true! But newegg is going crazy on the high performing SSDs. They're actually bumping the price because its selling like hot cakes especially the OCZ Vertex Turbos and the OCZ Vertex Mac edition and they're always out of stock. It's not that hard to get a cheaper Intel X25-M or the OCZ VT - like on ebay for example. Why rely on newegg
 
NATO said:
I didn't, I probably should have while it was up and running. I'd be happy to run a benchmark once my i7 iMac gets here and I get the Intel X25-M installed.
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That would be awesome and much appreciate by me (and I'm sure others).
 
sanjuvarma said:
Yeh I have a similar setup - I have 2x Dual Bay USB Enclosures holding about 6.5 TB of storage space so I'm not bothered about the iMac storage. I just need performance. The price of a 160GB Intel X25-M is about the same as OCZ Vertex Turbo 120GB, so that is a 40Gb plus for system (which is not needed though), but I'm just a little worried about the Intel X25's write speeds. Considering that writing is not as often on smaller capacity drives, my choice is still Intel X25-M.
Click to expand...

The new firmware (which has been temporarily pulled due to a problem but is due to be re-released at the end of the month) increases sequential write speeds by 40%.
 
sanjuvarma said:
True, true! But newegg is going crazy on the high performing SSDs. They're actually bumping the price because its selling like hot cakes especially the OCZ Vertex Turbos and the OCZ Vertex Mac edition and they're always out of stock. It's not that hard to get a cheaper Intel X25-M or the OCZ VT - like on ebay for example. Why rely on newegg
Click to expand...


If you don't want to spend that money, you could wait until the prices drop (they will continue to do so as they get larger and larger in size). If I had to drop money on a SSD, I would get a X-25M G2 no questions asked. By far the best one on the market. I plan on getting a X-25 when the prices drop. If you need a SSD, you might as well get the cream of the crop!!
 
NATO said:
The new firmware (which has been temporarily pulled due to a problem but is due to be re-released at the end of the month) increases sequential write speeds by 40%.
Click to expand...

Nice ... but I'm a noob at this then. How does one install new f/w for a SSD disk especially on a mac??
 
2x Intel X25-M in an iMac in RAID 0

What do you guys think of 2 Intel X-25M (80G each) in an RAID 0 enclosure and fitted in to the HDD space for an iMac 27"? Will this be a performance boost instead of 1x 160GB Intel X25? I don't care of losing storage space!!
 
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