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I bought the 2013 27" iMac with a 256gb SSD. This is way too small. I have tried attaching a usb 3 drive but it causes problems or inconvenience when I am working with FCP due to the size of the projects. I understand that this mac uses PCIe connectors. My idea is to leave the current SSD and add a second SSD in the SATA connector. Does that sound feasible ? Thanks.
This series of iMac’s has two drive connections. The first is the SATA III (6.0 GHz) that supports a standard HD. The second is a custom PCIe SSD blade drive. As the configuration you bought was a SSD model you do have the SATA drive location free to support a second drive. So, yes you could put in another SSD drive but you may find the limits of space will still be present if you don’t get a larger SSD. Sadly, the larger SSD drives are costly! A 1, 2 or 4 TB SSHD drive maybe a better way to go. It offers a deep SSD cache, yet it’s a standard spinning HD for the deeper storage. Bear in mind the newer ‘Thin Series’ iMac’s are a bear to open and if you don’t use the correct tools and take your time you can damage the display. Follow the IFIXIT guides to the letter otherwise you could have the added expense of a new display assembly!
Thought I would ask here before repeating the same question in a new thread, I am wanting to install a 2.5" SSD and was wondering if someone could give me a list of parts I need (Drive Bays, SATA cables, screws, Thermal Sensors, etc.), as well as where to get them. Thanks.
Is it possible to add a mount bay for 2 SSD/SSHD drives where the original HD drive is located ?
Dan, I have a 2013 A1419 27" iMac (i5/3.4Ghz) which had a cracked display. I got a replacement in, but it took me a couple of days to realize I had to move the heat sensor that was on the old display. Prior to that I had been trying everything to get it working properly and the fan not spinning up! One thing I tried was to reformat the M.2 “Blade” SSD attached to the back of the logic board, but now that I know the issue wasn’t the drive or the installation of same, I need to format the drive back to “unformatted” which is what its designation was before. I’ve tried Disk Utility, Drive Genius and I’ve looked at Terminal commands, but do not find a command or item that does what I need. I think possible “writing zeros” in Drive Genius might, but not sure, any thoughts? Thanks, JoeL ATL
Hey Dan, Directionally similar question for you, as I couldn’t get ‘straight answers from OWC about this, but I want to put a an ADDITIONAL SSD into my 2013 iMac 27” - is there a 2nd m.2 slot hiding in there? I’ve already replaced/upgraded the original 1tb hdd with a 2tb SSD, but I’d like to know if I can add in a 2nd SSD - a ‘blade’ M.2 2 (512gb from my late 2013 MBP)? this is just a 2nd drive, no raid, or fusion, or any Of that nonsense
