A list of successful iMac 27" (2012-2019) SSD upgrades

[gpbonneau]

Hi, did you have any problems with bootcamp after the drive upgrades? how much slower would you say boot up was after changing the blade drive with the sabrent nvme?

With Paragon Hard Disk Manager it's quite simple, with the item "Disk Copy" you just have to select the HD (check BootCamp partition + the EFI partition and the Window Recovery partition, and uncheck APFS partition) and copy them to the SATA SSD by modifying the size of the BootCamp partition to the maximum. After put the SSD in place of HD and start with option key, to run W10. All seems to be working well for now...

My iMac starts a little faster (less than 30s) and the applications launch faster, it's clear.
Same thing for managing Finder, it's faster and I no longer have the colored wheel that I had from time to time.

Disk test with the 2TB FusionDrive was about 400 MB/s Write and 1600 MB/s Read :

and now with 2TB NVMe SSD :

 

[IlllIlI]

With Paragon Hard Disk Manager it's quite simple, with the item "Disk Copy" you just have to select the HD (check BootCamp partition + the EFI partition and the Window Recovery partition, and uncheck APFS partition) and copy them to the SATA SSD by modifying the size of the BootCamp partition to the maximum. After put the SSD in place of HD and start with option key, to run W10. All seems to be working well for now...

My iMac starts a little faster (less than 30s) and the applications launch faster, it's clear.
Same thing for managing Finder, it's faster and I no longer have the colored wheel that I had from time to time.

Disk test with the 2TB FusionDrive was about 400 MB/s Write and 1600 MB/s Read :
View attachment 885227
and now with 2TB NVMe SSD :
View attachment 885229

Hey man, Which heatsink did you use? Im afraid of getting one that won't fit both the adapter and ssd.

Thanks!

 

[gpbonneau]

Hey man, Which heatsink did you use? Im afraid of getting one that won't fit both the adapter and ssd.

Thanks!

Not easy ro find one because there is not much space above the MVNe, it should not be too thick.
I used the heatsink supplied with the MVMe to USB3 adapter (I use it only to clone FusionDrive to NVMe).
Supply also with thermal pad to place between SSD and heatsink.

Wanfocyu USB Type C M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Adapter, USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps Solid State Drive Aluminum External Casing, Unique Cooling Fin Design for Good Heat Dissipation

Product name: Wanfocyu M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Enclosure. Interface type: M.2 NVMe PCIe to USB 3.1. Transfer rate: up to 10Gbps. Product size: 111 mm x 43 mm x 11 mm (4.37 x 1.7 x 0.44 inches). Material: aluminium. Cable type: USB 3.1 USB-C to C& USB3.1 USB-C to A cables. Support SSDs Drivers Size: 223...

www.amazon.com

I adapted it to fix it on the Sintech adapter.

 

[mbosse]

Not easy ro find one because there is not much space above the MVNe, it should not be too thick.
I used the heatsink supplied with the MVMe to USB3 adapter (I use it only to clone FusionDrive to NVMe).
Supply also with thermal pad to place between SSD and heatsink.

Wanfocyu USB Type C M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Adapter, USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps Solid State Drive Aluminum External Casing, Unique Cooling Fin Design for Good Heat Dissipation

Product name: Wanfocyu M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Enclosure. Interface type: M.2 NVMe PCIe to USB 3.1. Transfer rate: up to 10Gbps. Product size: 111 mm x 43 mm x 11 mm (4.37 x 1.7 x 0.44 inches). Material: aluminium. Cable type: USB 3.1 USB-C to C& USB3.1 USB-C to A cables. Support SSDs Drivers Size: 223...

www.amazon.com

I adapted it to fix it on the Sintech adapter.

I am using an EK Water Blocks EK-M.2 NVMe heatsink.

Best,
Magnus

 

[gpbonneau]

I am using an EK Water Blocks EK-M.2 NVMe heatsink.

Best,
Magnus

Good choice.
I had bought one but it was too thick.

GLOTRENDS Dual Size NVME M.2 Aluminum Heatsink Cooler for 2280 M.2 SSD (Star)

GLOTRENDS Dual Size NVME M.2 Aluminum Heatsink Cooler for 2280 M.2 SSD (Star)

www.amazon.com

That's why I used the one from my NVM" to USB3 adapter.

 

[kubzero]

Hello everyone, found in youtube one additional option to upgrade imac 2019 cpu to i9 9900k and blade to Firecuda 510 series m2.nvme. Also for ssd was used Patriot p 200 for 2tb. And ram was upgrated for 40gb.

Does anyone know what is the posible distance between blade and back housing? I plan to buy WD blade with ek cooling does that fit? And is it compatible ?

Here is the video:
Imac 2019 upgrade video

 

[priva28]

Device: Late 2015 - 17.1 - MK462LL/A (3.2Ghz i5-6500, HDD only)
Blade upgrade: None -> 500GB WD Black SN750 (no heatsink)
Speed test: 2750 MB/s read, 2400 MB/s write
OS: Catalina 10.15.2
Location: Victoria, Australia
Adapter: No-brand ST-NGFF2013 from eBay + Kapton tape
Boot ROM Version: 174.0.0.0.0
Issues after fresh OS install: the iMac cannot wake from normal sleep, have to use hibernate 25 instead and disable standby.

Was going to upgrade the CPU as well but couldn't really find any for a good price, maybe next time. Anyway, this has made such a massive difference coming from a HDD only Mac. Things happen almost instantaneously, it's amazing. The sleep issues are annoying but it's fine considering the other upgrades, hopefully we can still get a fix.

I'm not sure if there was something wrong with the OS on my HDD but these are some comparisons showing how slow the HDD was and how fast the SSD is:
Before / after:
Boot time: 2.16s/0.22s
Login time(until dock and desktop appear): 0.54s/0.06s
Xcode launch(just home screen not project): 1.22s/0.06s
FCPX launch: 1.08s/0.08s

The only thing I'm a little worried about now is the adhesive strips. The screen seems to be held on quite tightly but I've heard some horror stories and therefore still have tape on the outside holding it as well as the strips. Has anyone else had problems or am I just being too cautious?

 

[MBehr2]

Does anyone know what is the posible distance between blade and back housing?

Here is the video:
Imac 2019 upgrade video

Well from the video - SSD dual heatsink sandwich @ 14.14mm fits in the space. I would think having only one heatsink will be safely under 14mm

 

[gpbonneau]

The only thing I'm a little worried about now is the adhesive strips. The screen seems to be held on quite tightly but I've heard some horror stories and therefore still have tape on the outside holding it as well as the strips. Has anyone else had problems or am I just being too cautious?

No problem with the strips coming from iFixit.
I added a little piece of scratch between speakers and the back of the screen to be sure.
But I regularly try to shoot the screen and they look very well fixed. Impossible to pass the nail between the glass and the frame.

 

[Eduard01]

Hi guys i just want to make sure that I can use in my late 2013 27" (base model 1TB hdd, no fusion) apple newer 4 gen 4x ssd 256gb SSUBX (16+12 pin) it has aluminium heatsink (maybe from mac pro) model number: MZ-JPV256R/0A1
I will also chage HDD for some cheaper 512gb ssd sata III(adata su800 ect.).
So I will have apple blade 256gb + 512gb (not as fusion) (do i need temperature sensor if i chage HDD and add blade ssd?)
It will be only little bit slower SSUBX (around 750r) but it will work as it should right?

its for me big "project" because i will also swap cpu for 4770K or 4771, add blade ssd + sata ssd, deep clean from the dust and it is my first time i will open this imac. Before that i upgrade only imac with magnetic glass.

THX for help

 

[mbosse]

Hi guys i just want to make sure that I can use in my late 2013 27" (base model 1TB hdd, no fusion) apple newer 4 gen 4x ssd 256gb SSUBX (16+12 pin) it has aluminium heatsink (maybe from mac pro) model number: MZ-JPV256R/0A1
I will also chage HDD for some cheaper 512gb ssd sata III(adata su800 ect.).
So I will have apple blade 256gb + 512gb (not as fusion) (do i need temperature sensor if i chage HDD and add blade ssd?)
It will be only little bit slower SSUBX (around 750r) but it will work as it should right?

its for me big "project" because i will also swap cpu for 4770K or 4771, add blade ssd + sata ssd, deep clean from the dust and it is my first time i will open this imac. Before that i upgrade only imac with magnetic glass.

THX for help

Yes, that should work (you might need either fan control software or a thermo-sensor cable (OWC). I'd test this before I seal the iMac again). Usually, you'd be amazed howe little dust finds itself into the late 2012 and younger iMacs. Quite a difference to the thicker ones before!

Best,
Magnus
[automerge]1579169758[/automerge]
Another success:

Device: Mid 2017 - 18.3 - MNEA2LL/A (3.5Ghz i5-7600, Fusion HDD+32GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 32GB Blade -> 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD
HDD upgrade: 1TB SATA HDD -> -/-
Speed test: tbd.
OS: Catalina 10.15.2
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Heatsink: EK Water Blocks EK-M.2 NVMe Heatsink
Temperature sensor: not used
Issues after fresh OS install and restore: NONE, no sleep or hibernate issues

To be honest, this is the first installation that I had done by an authorised Apple Service Provider. Reason is that the iMac was brand new and I did not want to risk losing the warranty (I have ACPP as well). I bought it at a sale so the installation costs were nicely covered by the price reduction.

Here's the speed test:

Cheers,
Magnus

 

[iqmac]

Blade + HDD upgrade

Device: Late 2013 -14.2 (3.5Ghz i7-4771), 32GB Ram, 3TB Fusion Drive
Blade upgrade: 128GB -> Intel 660P 2TB (SSDPEKNW020T8X1)
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA ST3000DM001 HDD -> 2TB SATA Crucial MX500 SSD
OS: Mojave 10.14.6
Location: NB Canada
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013
Issues after fresh OS install: Did not do a fresh OS install, cloned from old drive. No problems. Fan Normal, Sleeps as it should.

Before beginning upgrade I used SuperDuper to clone my old fusion drive to the Intel 660p using a USB nvme sled. Tested a reboot from this on a USB port on the rear of the iMac before upgrade, worked like a charm.

I had bought both the ST-NGFF2013 (the tiny little one) and NGFF2013-C (the ~90mm length version) adapters, found the '-C' model didn't seem to fit in the motherboard blade slot, the smaller 'non-c' version fit perfectly.

After putting the system back together, it came up perfectly, everything worked, no fan alarms, sleep works as it used to, overall very, very happy!

For I/O speed, keeping in mind this is a 2013 iMac thus can't get full PCIe speed, my speed has tripled from using the old mechanical hard drive, getting approximately 700/800 MB/s for Write/Read, which seems in line with others who have installed the Intel 660p on a 14,2 iMac.

Highly recommend this to others!

IanQ

 

[Jinsang Lee]

I upgraded Blade drive.


Device: Late 2015 - 17.1 - MK472LL/A (3.2Ghz i5-6500, Fusion HDD+24GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 24GB Blade -> Western Digital pc SN520 NVME SSD 512GB M.2 2280
OS: Catalina 10.15.2 (19C57)
Location: Vietnam, Asia
Adapter: Generic SSD Controller (aliexpress)
Issues after fresh OS install: iMac restart because of a problem (IONVMeFamily .. )

 

[curtis242]

what size heatsinks fit on the nvme

 

[kretek]

what size heatsinks fit on the nvme

Plenty to find on Amzon.

This one is really cheap.

Voice on growth Aluminum PS5 Heatsinks for PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD with Silicone Thermal Pad, DIY Laptop PC Memory Cooling Fin Radiation Dissipate (Ordinary Edition)

Voice on growth Aluminum PS5 Heatsinks for PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD with Silicone Thermal Pad, DIY Laptop PC Memory Cooling Fin Radiation Dissipate (Ordinary Edition)

www.amazon.com

 

[curtis242]

Plenty to find on Amzon.

This one is really cheap.

Voice on growth Aluminum PS5 Heatsinks for PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD with Silicone Thermal Pad, DIY Laptop PC Memory Cooling Fin Radiation Dissipate (Ordinary Edition)

Voice on growth Aluminum PS5 Heatsinks for PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 SSD with Silicone Thermal Pad, DIY Laptop PC Memory Cooling Fin Radiation Dissipate (Ordinary Edition)

www.amazon.com

i have found a lot of them myself but will they fit the case when they are mounted on the nvme drives?

 

[Broqlowo]

Hello everyone,

I have late 2012 27 inch iMac - i5-3470, no fusion drive, only HDD, it's been never opened.

As I find conflicting information on the internet and this thread states that for slim iMacs I don't need this OWC thingie for thermal sensor could anyone confirm that it's not needed on the 2012 27 inch with no fusion drive? There are reports in this thread for newer machines, but I wonder that maybe apple changed something in those.

 

[mbosse]

Yes, that should work (you might need either fan control software or a thermo-sensor cable (OWC). I'd test this before I seal the iMac again). Usually, you'd be amazed howe little dust finds itself into the late 2012 and younger iMacs. Quite a difference to the thicker ones before!

Best,
Magnus
[automerge]1579169758[/automerge]
Another success:

Device: Mid 2017 - 18.3 - MNEA2LL/A (3.5Ghz i5-7600, Fusion HDD+32GB blade)
Blade upgrade: 32GB Blade -> 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD
HDD upgrade: 1TB SATA HDD -> -/-
Speed test: tbd.
OS: Catalina 10.15.2
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013-C
Heatsink: EK Water Blocks EK-M.2 NVMe Heatsink
Temperature sensor: not used
Issues after fresh OS install and restore: NONE, no sleep or hibernate issues

To be honest, this is the first installation that I had done by an authorised Apple Service Provider. Reason is that the iMac was brand new and I did not want to risk losing the warranty (I have ACPP as well). I bought it at a sale so the installation costs were nicely covered by the price reduction.

Here's the speed test:

View attachment 890732

Cheers,
Magnus

Updated reply now with speed test.

Magnus

 

[eh1160]

Device: Late 2015 - 17.1 - MK462LL/A (3.2Ghz i5-6500, HDD only)
HDD upgrade: 1 TB SATA HDD -> None (removed it)
Blade upgrade: none -> Samsung 970 EVO SSD 500GB - M.2 NVMe (MZ-V7E500BW) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...3596277f5770ffedd227a17f4bab62&language=en_US)
Speed test: ~2390 MB/s read, ~2340 MB/s write
OS: Mojave 10.15.2 (Catalina)
Location: United States (US - Philadelphia area)
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013 (https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-Adapter-Upgrade-2013-2015-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG)
Temperature sensor: None - Did not use the SATA interface
Adhesive strips: LeFix Replacement LCD Panel Adhesive Tape (https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Adhesive-Sticker-Opening-27-inch/dp/B07GX8DFNB)
Issues after fresh OS install: The iMac displayed the "blinking question mark folder" as soon as it when to sleep. It would reboot fine. Successfully resolved by running `sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 25 standby 0`

 

[mavis]

Hello everyone,

I have late 2012 27 inch iMac - i5-3470, no fusion drive, only HDD, it's been never opened.

As I find conflicting information on the internet and this thread states that for slim iMacs I don't need this OWC thingie for thermal sensor could anyone confirm that it's not needed on the 2012 27 inch with no fusion drive? There are reports in this thread for newer machines, but I wonder that maybe apple changed something in those.

I have a late-2012 27" iMac as well; when the HDD part of my Fusion drive died, I replaced it with an OWC Mercury SSD - I did use the sensor thing but I don't know if was necessary. Sorry.

 

[BigEnso]

**Deleted**
[automerge]1580122252[/automerge]

Another device for you for your list. Upgraded for client due to failing 3TB drive

Device: Late 2013 -14,2 (3.5Ghz i7-4771)
Blade upgrade: 128GB SDNEP 655-18378 -> Intel 660P 2TB SSDPEKNW020T8X1 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07JHGMNC5
HDD upgrade: 3TB SATA ST3000DM001 HDD -> 4TB SATA ST4000DMZ04 HDD (Cold storage)
Speed test: 750 MB/s read, 750 MB/s write
OS: Mojave 10.14.4/10.14.5
Adapter: Sintech ST-NGFF2013 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sintech-Replace-MZ-JPU128T-SD6PQ4M-128G-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG

Working with NO tweaks to sleep mode, no crashes when resuming. Tested under both 10.14.4 and 10.14.5 with no issue.

Might it be that the 660P is the cure? It's certainly not the fastest drive (made slower by the 2013 it's gone into...)

MRI Photos as attached - Notice it's not shown as an internal drive as all NVMe drives appear to be external. HDD Temp issue is normal after replacement drive.

View attachment 837682 View attachment 837683 View attachment 837684

This is the most helpful post I have seen since your beginning configuration is very close to what I have. I have a 27", late-2013 (14,2), 3.2 GHz i5, with a 3TB HDD that is failing. I am running the most current update to Mojave 10.14.6. My machine did not come with a blade installed but has a slot for it.

Can I ask you a question about your HDD upgrade?

Is there a reason you with with a HDD rather than a SSD for your HDD upgrade? Cost? Performance?

Thanks

 

[Corben Dallas]

Hello everyone,

I have Late 2013 -14,2 (3.4Ghz i5-4670) no fusion just HDD.

Now i uppgraded HDD to 2tb ssd Crucial Mx500.

And i bought from ebay Ssd Blade (Apple 512GB Flash SSD SSUAX 655-1805B). On the Blade was already Catalina installed by the seller which not have answered my emails yet.

So everything startsup smooth and then it shown sellers username Mac and ask for password which i dont have...

I tryed to instal Catalina again with startup manager and it took like 30-40min and seems to run normaly, after installation i ended up same startup screen with Username Mac and ask for password.

I dont know which kind of tweaked installation this blade has on it..


Any idea can i format that blade and run installation example from USB stick? Any posibilities to have some startup problems couse this iMac was original without fusiondrive?

 

[turbomacs]

Catalina 10.15.3 came with an EFI firmware update. Can anyone with a late 2015 iMac see if they fixed the sleep issues with NVMe drives? Can someone reset your sleep settings and see if it sleeps properly without crashing now.

 

[turbomacs]

Hello everyone,

I have Late 2013 -14,2 (3.4Ghz i5-4670) no fusion just HDD.

Now i uppgraded HDD to 2tb ssd Crucial Mx500.

And i bought from ebay Ssd Blade (Apple 512GB Flash SSD SSUAX 655-1805B). On the Blade was already Catalina installed by the seller which not have answered my emails yet.

So everything startsup smooth and then it shown sellers username Mac and ask for password which i dont have...

I tryed to instal Catalina again with startup manager and it took like 30-40min and seems to run normaly, after installation i ended up same startup screen with Username Mac and ask for password.

I dont know which kind of tweaked installation this blade has on it..


Any idea can i format that blade and run installation example from USB stick? Any posibilities to have some startup problems couse this iMac was original without fusiondrive?

Did you format the drive before you reinstalled?

 

[Jacoblee23]

Right now, I'm running the Samsung T3 SSD as an external

Curious about doing this on my 27” iMac versus paying an authorized retailer to put a ssd in my 2017 27” 1tb fusion drive iMac. How well does it work? It would cost me $540 all together to have an ssd put in. That’s a little ridiculous.