upgrade iMac late 2012 - change HD with SSD - Fusion Drive or not with 2 SSD

[DaffY44]

Hello everyone,

For a friend I intend to make an upgrade for its iMac late 2012 21.5 ".
Initially equipped with a FusionDrive (FD) of 1TB. (association of 32GB in ssd and a 1To HD classic in 5400 tprm), he would like to change the classic HD by a new one SSD.

I read here and there that it was necessary to undo the FD before physically changing the drive.
No problem.
In addition Apple support confirms that it is posible to live with 2 separate HD instead of one FD.

My question is about after the exchange.

Is it better to stay with 2 separate disks (which I think I will do)
or
to rebuild a FD by associating the two SSDs?

I thank you for your answers.

Forgive me my poor English ... I hope you understand me

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Your English is fine.

It's best to remove the Fusion drive all together (both the 32 GB SSD and the 1 TB HHD) and replace it with one SSD. The size of the SSD will depend on how much you wish to spend. Also take note that the 2012 21.5" iMac is difficult to get into. The display has to be removed first. Go to www.ifixit.com and review the procedure.

 

[pm-r]

My question is about after the exchange.

First, welcome to mac-forums.com, and I would also agree with what chscag says above.

And you can find more info on that similar iMac here:
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-i5-2.7-21-inch-aluminum-late-2012-specs.html

And note their linked article you might want to read:
How do you upgrade the hard drive in the "Tapered Edge" Aluminum iMac models?
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...grade-imac-hard-drive-aluminum-2012-2013.html

PS: I would also make a cloned bootable backup of the existing drive(s) and I would suggest using Carbon Copy Cloner to do so:
bombich.com

Good luck and take care and time. There are some delicate flat cables inside.

PPS: You might need to check and see if a temp sensing adapter cable is required with the new SSD to save screaming fans running. OWC has them if required:
macsales.com
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/imac-21.5-inch/2012





- Patrick
======

 

[chscag]

PPS: You might need to check and see if a temp sensing adapter cable is required with the new SSD to save screaming fans running. OWC has them if required:
macsales.com

Good idea to do that, however, I'm fairly certain that the 21.5" models do not need the thermal cable.