Installing additional SSD in Mid-2010 27" iMac

The 27" version of the Mid-2010 iMac is available with an additional 256 GB Solid State Drive for a small extra fee of $750. As I already owned an 160 GB Intel X25 G2 SSD I wanted to use this in my new iMac as well. There is several information on the web, how to replace the hard disk or the optical drive with a SDD, but information about adding a SSD without losing the hard drive and the optical drive is very rare.

spare parts

The problem is, that all iMac which haven't been ordered with the built-in SDD miss the mounting option for the SDD and the cables. So you have to order them separately. Fortunately http://applecomponents.com has them in stock. You will need three parts:

  • The power cable 922-9531 with connectors for logic board, LED backlight, hard disk and SDD which replaces the old power cable.
  • The mounting kit 922-9485 for the SSD which will replace a small plastic part
  • The SATA data cable 922-9538 which connects the SSD with the logic board

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"OCZ miniPCI-Express SSD (SATA)" without miniPCI-Express

OCZSSDMPES-16G top side

OCZSSDMPES-16G top side

I few days ago I found the OCZ miniPCI-Express SSD (SATA) by chance. On the website it claims to be an SSD with

  • up to 110 MB/s read and up 51 MB/s write speed
  • PCIe interface
  • 16 GB or 32 GB size

So this is much faster than my 40 MB/s 8GB CF Card I'm currently using for my server and it's much cheaper. Amazon sells the 16 GB version for 57.50 EUR.

So I ordered one, but I got disappointed: Continue reading