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SSD

Can a 1 tb HD Drive be replaces by an.SSD drive imac 2017 4K

iMac

Posted on Jul 11, 2023 4:44 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 11, 2023 4:51 PM

PerfMagic wrote:

Can a 1 tb HD Drive be replaces by an.SSD drive imac 2017 4K


Apple won’t, but an Apple authorized third-party provider might be willing to swap the HDD for an SSD.


An external SSD can also be used: Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community


2 replies

Jul 13, 2023 8:59 AM in response to PerfMagic

A massive +1 on going external.


Per Apple, even some Apple Authorized Service Providers may be reluctant to work on sealed-case iMacs. Those that do have told me that they must charge two hours labor to do anything inside the case due to Apple's "minimalist" case design and sealed access.


In the NW US where I live, tech labor charge run US$65-80 per hour, so the labor charge can be far more than the SSD can cost.


If your current internal HD still works, you leave it in place for extra storage where speed i not an issue.


As you have a 2017 model with modern Thunderbolt 3 ports, that interface offers a very fast external option but is far more expensive. This is a Thunderbolt external.


[Disclaimer: I have no relation with Other World Computing (OWC and macsales.com) other than as a long-time customer.]


What about performance?


  • Your current drive, based on other reports here from that iMac model, is moving data at a theoretical max of about 80MB/sec. In real life and being 5-6 years old, it is probably doing between 50 and 70MB/sec
  • Opening the computer—with significant associated costs and hazards—and installing an SATA 6G SSD in place of the current HDD will allow moving data at around 500MB/sec.
  • The external USB3 SSD option, that can be accomplished at home by the average end user, will move data at about 400MB/sec


Take from one who has been upgrading Macs since about 1997: in actual use, you will not notice the difference between a 400MB/sec drive and one at 500MB/sec. Either will make your computer feel like a much newer model.


The other external USB advantage is that, when you buy your next computer, the external SSD can live on as extra storage for that computer.


SSD

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