[low.pfile]

Solid State Drives (SSD) are now a build to order option on the Summer 2010 released 27 inch iMacs. SSD prices are high at this early stage, but likely will be standard in a few years with a substantial price drop.

So, I have been thinking that it would seem possible to add an SSD to an iMac after purchase. You can always swap out a standard hard drive on any computer with a SSD if you only needed limited drive space or had money falling out of your shoes to acquire a large capacity.

There are a few threads on AC already, mentioning the benefits of SSD drives for audio server computers (mac mini, macbook pro, etc.), though nothing substantial. Yet.

Being in the market for a new home computer, I've been researching the non-audio computing benefits of SSDs. Most casual computer users would only see a slight benefit during actual application use. But image and video processing, graphics, animation, CAD, other high data cruncher apps will see the most benefit. It seems that most task times are cut in half. My thought is to use the SSD as the boot drive, only holding the OS and Applications folder (currently these total up to approximately 6GB and 9GB on my two macs), so only a small size is needed. Now I have to wait to see if the cabling is present for the SSD, so I can add my own later. Let the iMac tear downs begin.

The option to ADD a 256GB SSD, during purchase from Apple, is $750, as of on 7/27/10. Only available on the 27in i5/i7 Quad-core models.

Here are some pricing examples of alternate SSDs, as of 7/27/10.  (Copied from a review of OWC SSD on MacWorld.)

Other World Computing
Pro models (7% over provisioning and 3 year warranty)
60GB: $179.99
120GB: $319.99
240GB: $629.99
480GB: $1599.99

Pro RE models (28% over provisioning and 5 year warranty)
50GB: $209.99
100GB: $369.99
200GB: $679.99
400GB: $1679.99

Here are some other recent SSD reviews-with test scores, etc.
Western Digital SSD $720 256GB
Kingston SSD $319 128GB


I am in no real hurry to add the SSD, as the standard Intel iMac will toast my old PPC G5, which my first gen Intel macbookpro already does. This could be helpful for those wondering about SSD and a good bookmark on pricing changes.

[skunark]

Sadly for iMacs, if you don't add the 2nd SSD drive at the time of purchase you won't get the bracket to hold the second drive, but this shouldn't stop you from swapping out the old HDD with an SSD.

Just to decrease the number of moving parts in a laptop, I think SSDs becomes a good financial value, but a harder story for desktops.

I recently switched from an HDD to an SSD on my work laptop and noticed a a very speedy boot, suspend and shutdown times, but other than that I haven't noticed any benefit other than I can shake the crap out of it when i get frustrated with Win7 ... Just kidding, but it's nice to know I can walk around without suspending it.

[low.pfile]

I was wondering about the bracket. have you seen it or photos of the brkt yet? could just double side tape it  in!

found the answer myself via google...on Apple Support Forum.

http://blog.macsales.com/6332-27%E2%80%9D-mid-2010-imac-disassembled

The bad news is that, unless your Mid 2010 iMac originally came with an Apple SSD, there’s no graceful way to install an OWC one. The appropriate mounting bracket and connector cables are nowhere to be found on the non-SSD models.

This unfortunate development continues Apple’s proclivity toward making the iMac’s inner workings less “accessible” than they could (or some may say “should”) be.

In case you were curious, here’s what the new 27″ iMacs look like on the inside. We’ve outlined the area where the SSD should go in red.

The SSD would go underneath that metal lattice and circuit board, and would sit in its carrier against the back wall of the iMac. Connections would be made with a special power cable that would power both, and the data cable would run to the third SATA channel on the logic board.

Of course, you can still install that second drive on a non-SSD iMac if you:

   1. Connect a data cable to the empty SATA port on the back of the logic board (a process requiring the removal of several screws and partial removal of the logic board.
   2. Get a Y-cable that goes from 1 SATA male power connector to 2 SATA female power connectors. (This step is actually pretty easy.)
   3. Find a way to secure your 2.5″ drive in the space that the carrier would normally hold it.

So DIY seems possible but with a bit of complication and needs extra parts.

[johnzm]

i will say, that having 2 pc's currently with ssd drives as their primary drive (both desktops) i will say without a doubt it is the best performance modification you can do to any pc today.

everything from reduced heat and noise, to decreased power and increased speed (multiples faster than a standard hd) makes for an upgrade that is almost all positives and only 1 negative (price).

i will no longer buy a standard hd, unless it is only being used for data storage purposes.

[silver_strings]

Aftermarket is the way to go to save money, I also hear that the ones apple provides are not great ( still better than regular HD's ) you can get a better SSD for less by replacing it yourself, doing it on the macbook pros is pretty easy, there are many tutorials online.

if you go to computeraudiophile.com you can get more info n the audio benefits of using a SSD>

[dB Cooper]

Look at Other World Computing's blog for the procedure (outlined in another post) . You essentially have to almost completely disassemble the computer. This also has to be done under "clean room" conditions unless you don't mind dust between the LCD and the glass. Fuhgeddaboutit. "Because you can" isn't always the best reason to do something.

For those who complain about apple's "closed" design of the imac, they could fix this by making the computer much bigger, thicker, and uglier. If a second internal drive is that important to you, you are probably better off with the easily and extensively user-customizable Mac Pro tower. Or with a Mac notebook- as silver_strings notes, replacing the HD on one of those is about a fifteen minute job.

Also, food for thought: if a "conventional" HD fails, you can in many cases recover the data (albeit at considerable expense). With a SSD you're... SOL.

[skunark]

I would hold up on saying the samsung SSDs are slow until a review is out.   Tom's Hardware rates the newest generation pretty well.   It's not the fastest but it's not far behind.   

As for a drive failure, it's just best to backup and it's rather easy with a Mac to do.   

[low.pfile]

An interesting option for SSD on the new iMac 27"

OtherWorld Computing
Add an OWC SSD Up to 270MB/s as a 2nd Drive
From $329.00 Including Professional Installation and Delivery

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/iMac_2010_27/SSD

So this addresses the complicated screen removal and missing cables, etc. going the DIY route. other upgrades available too.

A 60GB SSD for $330(installed) vs. Apple's Built-to-order 256GB for $750

[low.pfile]

I'm going with the OWC turnkey SSD option on a 27" i5 quad ITB HDD. They will be adding a small OWC 60GB SSD for apps and OS only.
The iMac will be used for graphics/photo/CAD and as a music server of course. Will give me the chance to try out Pure music now with the updated OS. iMac is replacing my dual 2.3Ghz PPC G5 10.4.11. Music drives will remain external FW.