Video tutorial demonstrating the before and after effects on performance with an SSD upgrade on a mid-2010 Apple iMac quad core i7 desktop. The factory configuration of my iMac was a 1TB 7200 Western Digital Caviar Black drive but after running the hard drive for the past 3 years I opted to pull the trigger and install a secondary 256GB SSD boot drive to improve the boot and application loading times. My video shows a detailed step by step process will hopefully enable a person handy with tools to upgrade their iMac and breathe new life into their aging computer. Unlike the upgrade kit available from OWC that uses double sided sticky tape and non Genuine Apple components to perform the upgrade I opted to go the more pricey but FACTORY install path and ordered the bracket assembly, revised power cable and secondary SATA cable. All components can be sourced from www.applecomponents.com.
Apple Components part #:
922-9531 - Power Cable
922-9485 - SSD mounting bracket
922-9538 - 90 degree SATA cable
Other things you'll need:
SSD drive - bigger is probably better b/c their faster and you don't want to take this iMac apart again should you put in a drive that is too small. I opted for a 256GB version but if I could afford a 512GB I would've chose that.
4 - SSD drive mounting screws with flat heads. Don't buy tapered screws as you might have them rub against the chassis of the iMac. Make sure the screw threads are compatible with your SSD mounting holes.
Special thanks to Tobias @ for his awesome write up available at
http://www.twam.info/hardware/apple/installing-additional-ssd-in-mid-2010-27-imac
This YouTube video was a direct interpretation of his wicked write-up - Thanks again Tobias!
The SSD installed in my mid-2010 iMac is a Toshiba THNSNH Q series. This drive is a fairly new entrant into the retail market and it's performance is nothing short of blazing fast. For a desktop that is over 3 years I continue to be impressed by the i7's performance given the right resources.
The best part about this upgrade is that I was still able to keep my factory hard drive and set it up as a data store drive, not have to worry about the proprietary thermal sensor in the hard drive (aftermarket drives installed in place of the stock Apple provided drive results in fans going full speed).
Just make sure you have a electrostatic discharge mat/cord on you (I didn't have one so I touched the metal chassis a lot to ground myself) and also to download the TRIM enabler for OSX from www.groths.org
Key points to consider:
1. Super fast boot/application drive - SSD is used for that specific purpose.
2. Stock WD (Apple provided) 1TB 7200 RPM drive is kept in computer and can be now used reasonably fast data storage.
3. 100% stock Apple parts so it's like you're building an iMac like how the Apple factory would but at a fraction of the cost.
4. Cheap to do relative to what Apple charges to get BETTER performance SSDs.
5. YOU get to pick the SSD. You can buy fast and expensive, or cheap and affordable. The choice is YOURS not Apple's.
6. SSDs continue to drop in price and performance INCREASES so you benefit.
7. It's pretty easy to do.
8. TRIM support is enabled with a free TRIM enabler available at www.groths.org
Good luck and enjoy your new SSD!
