Swapping out HDD for SDD on iMac

[GenXer]

Is it worth swapping out a regular 1TB HDD with a 1TB SSD in an older iMac from 2013. I heard you have to scrape out the mounting tape and suction the glass panel from the main body and practically disassemble the entire MB to get to the hard drive. Any success/failure story?

[omasou]

You can view the process here.

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvi..._hdd/iMac14-2/

Personally, I wouldn't bother. I once updated RAM to buy another year but once I finally upgraded the speed difference was night and day.

I ditched my iMac and moved to a MacBook Pro w/Ultrafine monitors.

[GenXer]

My iMac still works well and looks brand new. It's a quad core I-5 3.0 ghz model. I'm just concern about the age of the drive. I had to re-partition and reformat it already. I know there are some back sectors in it. I had great success swapping out a HD on my old Macbook but it was a whole lot easier. I've seen those HD swap video for the iMac and they look about as much fun as replacing a front windshield of your car.

[SoCalDodgy]

I'd say it was worth it in our case. I've done the HDD->SDD swap myself on two older macbook pro's, but the process for the iMac scared me enough to pay a local shop to do it to my wife's iMac about a year ago (I gave them the SSD and just paid for the labor and their experience). Totally worth it for her--sped it up noticeably and bought us at least another few years of use. Good luck!

[GenXer]

Originally Posted by SoCalDodgy

I'd say it was worth it in our case. I've done the HDD->SDD swap myself on two older macbook pro's, but the process for the iMac scared me enough to pay a local shop to do it to my wife's iMac about a year ago (I gave them the SSD and just paid for the labor and their experience). Totally worth it for her--sped it up noticeably and bought us at least another few years of use. Good luck!

You are spot on! I think it will be worth it too but it looks like I would do some damage freeing this large glass screen from the unit if not break the glass in thousands of pieces. How much was the labor cost for you?

[SoCalDodgy]

I want to say it was about $100. I didn't have him backup or restore (totally comfortable doing that), so it was a well-paid hour, but totally worth it. In addition to the two MBP's I've done memory and HDD swap on, I've also replaced the battery in an old iPod classic. To my credit, it has worked just fine, but the case does have a blemish or two from my "learning". Based on that, and your same fears about pulling the glass off the iMac and getting a good clean seal when done (without any dust or stray hairs), I don't regret paying an "expert" at all. I didn't get to see him do it, so I can't comment any more that the videos and guides online (ifixit has guides/kits, too) would tell you. Either way, best of luck!

[vreihen16]

The glass is only held on by a few posts in springy retainer sockets, and was meant to be removed in a few seconds using a suction cup or two. Unlike an iPhone, there are no gaskets to scrape or anything.

I had an iMac of around that vintage in my office for about 4 years, and swapped the hard disk for an SSD. I'm blanking right now on the details once the glass was off, but I do remember having to use a third-party app to manage the cooling fans because Apple's cooling logic used a temperature sensor in the factory HDD that the SSD did not have.

Anyway, if YouTube doesn't have a video of the process, find a suction cup or two around your house, pop the glass, and see if you're comfortable digging deeper. If there's a free socket and you haven't done it yet, I'd recommend also doing a RAM upgrade while you're in there.....

[GenXer]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

The glass is only held on by a few posts in springy retainer sockets, and was meant to be removed in a few seconds using a suction cup or two. Unlike an iPhone, there are no gaskets to scrape or anything.

I had an iMac of around that vintage in my office for about 4 years, and swapped the hard disk for an SSD. I'm blanking right now on the details once the glass was off, but I do remember having to use a third-party app to manage the cooling fans because Apple's cooling logic used a temperature sensor in the factory HDD that the SSD did not have.

Anyway, if YouTube doesn't have a video of the process, find a suction cup or two around your house, pop the glass, and see if you're comfortable digging deeper. If there's a free socket and you haven't done it yet, I'd recommend also doing a RAM upgrade while you're in there.....

"The display on the iMac is held by an adhesive around the edges which you'll have to cut apart. This is a tricky process which runs the risk of cracking the display. So you'll need to be very careful"

This is an excerpt from this instructional video https://eshop.macsales.com/installvi..._hdd/iMac14-2/

as well as others.

[vreihen16]

Mine must have been a 2011 model that came apart easier. The glue doesn't scare me, as long as I had the special "pizza cutter" tool and a replacement adhesive kit to glue it back together.

Maybe M_Six has some feedback to share on this?????