upgrading my iMac ports

[zoran]

My mid2010 iMac has only got a fw800 port, and believe it or not, backing up in TMachine my 8TB data is sluggish... it takes ages. So i was wondering if its possible to find a way in order to make my backups faster. Perhaps opening of the case and connecting the HD sata ports to my external HD backup case... just some thoughts

 

[jerwin]

Once upon a time, OWC offered a eSATA upgrade for the mid 2010 imacs.

https://blog.macsales.com/6374-owc-offers-first-ever-esata-interface-for-imac/

needless to say, the cost of their service dwarves the value of the machine.

 

[zoran]

Very interesting, but i dont understand how the eSATA cable is connected under the iMac?
Also how much faster is that eSATA connection compared to FW?
And what do u mean by "...the cost of their service dwarves the value of the machine"?

 

[jerwin]

Very interesting, but i dont understand how the eSATA cable is connected under the iMac?
Also how much faster is that eSATA connection compared to FW?
And what do u mean by "...the cost of their service dwarves the value of the machine"?

Come on, it's $159 plus shipping.

eSATA runs at regular SATA speeds. (3.0 Gb/s in the case of a SATA II machine). Firewire 800 is, of course, only 0.800 Gb/s.

USB 3.0 promises 5 Gb/s (plus you can connect more than one drive). The first imac to support USB 3.0 was iirc the 2012 lineup. The 2011 imacs have thunderbolt, but only usb 2.0.

 

[Berenod]

You can upgrade to usb3, but it's not exactly for beginners!
You also lose wifi doing that, but of course you can add a USB wifi Dongle.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...&share_fid=13661&share_type=t&link_source=app

[/URL]

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

There's simply no practical way to do what you propose to do.
(Not saying it can't be done, see berenod's reply 5 above).

If you "want more speed", the only real solution for a 10-year-old iMac is...
... buy a newer, faster iMac.

 

[Berenod]

Indeed. On the 2011 you have at least a Thunderbolt port (or 2 on the 27"), which gives you some options, albeit on the expensive side.
Thunderbolt to usb3 adapters exist, as do external storage solutions
I think the Delock TB to usb3 is around 100$.
For you, the firewire at roughly 1,5 times the speed of usb2 is the best you'll get without some serious modifications ..

 

[USB3foriMac]

You can upgrade to USB 3 for a small fee with a bit of DIY.
See my thread here:

USB 3.0 for iMac mid 2011

Hello folks, I have been following the thread about graphics card upgrade 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade for some time, and someone mentioned that he has upgraded to USB3. So I started my own USB3 project, and succeeded, at a cost of around US$ 20, plus around 3 hours work. I replaced the...

forums.macrumors.com

This also applies to the 2010 model.

 

[zoran]

The eSATA option looks interesting, the problem is that i have no idea how it can be done!
I can't find OWC's "how to" install video, if there was one available at the time. Was there?

 

[zoran]

Once upon a time, OWC offered a eSATA upgrade for the mid 2010 imacs.
https://blog.macsales.com/6374-owc-offers-first-ever-esata-interface-for-imac/
needless to say, the cost of their service dwarves the value of the machine.

I cant find the OWC video