SSD in new iMacs, HDD problems?

[Bill Gates Jr.]

Does anyone know if Apple has iMacs with a SSD HD instead of HDDs?
The reason I ask is I'm contemplating replacing my 1 TB HDD with a 500 GB SSD, but...since mine is a mid 2011 and although my display, glass and case were replaced due to damage, I occasionally get a black screen for a few seconds (HDD?) and I still get the beachball almost daily (HDD?), and I have 20 GB of RAM! The power cord is snug in place on the back and the other end is in a Cyber Power AC backup system.
If it is my HDD failing I would just replace that with an SSD.

I'm also looking to buy my wife a new 17.3" win laptop with a 256GB SSD (she only shops online) as her computer is about 6 or more years old and she complains about it being slow. Yes I have run malware programs, defragged, and everything else I can think of, so...a happy wife is a happy life.

Pierre

 

[chscag]

The latest iMacs that are sold by Apple do have an option to add a SSD in place of the normal Fusion Drive (combo SSD and HDD). My 2017 27" 5K iMac has an SSD that I ordered in place of the normal Fusion Drive that came with it. Of course it meant extra $$$ but to me it was well worth the expense.

As for replacing the HDD in your iMac with a SSD, yes it's possible. However, you will have to find a service repair shop that works on Macs as an Apple store will not do the work for you. Of course you can always attempt to do it yourself if you feel up to it.

 

[ferrarr]

You can look at ifixit.com for their repair guides for your size & year iMac here, https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel, to see if it's something you may want to attempt as a D-I-Y project.

 

[Bill Gates Jr.]

I found a shop in Henderson, NV that can replace the SSD for me. Its the same shop that replaced my damaged display, glass front and case that got damaged in shipment. Getting a new iMac with SSD is what I would like to do. 500GB should be large enough for me. The cost is not a problem. Chscag, How much RAM did you get with your new iMac? Selling my current iMac is what would hold me back. Not sure how to do that. Maybe the Local store would buy it or does Apple take older iMacs as trade-ins? Don't want to sell outside of Las Vegas/Henderson, as shipping would be problematic. And how would I erase the HDD if I do sell it? Erase and then install latest OS for next guy?

I do have all the tools and had the instructions on replacing everything, but lost/misplaced that while moving.

 

[ferrarr]

Apple has an article for what to do if selling your Mac, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065. It tells you what to do, before you sell your Mac, and how to proceed, after everything is backed up.

 

[Maria Kate]

Make sure you sign out on every account on your mac like iTunes, iCloud, iMessage, and unpaired Bluetooth devices. Then you can now delete your hard drive and reinstall macOS to restore your Mac to factory settings. After macOS installation is complete, the Mac restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. Now it's up to you how will you setup of your system.

 

[chscag]

Chscag, How much RAM did you get with your new iMac?

I went with the standard 8GB (2 x 4GB modules) that the unit came with. The only thing I ordered special from Apple was the SSD. After receiving the new iMac I purchased an additional 8GB from OWC and installed it myself. Adding memory to the 27" iMac is a 10 minute job - very easy.

As far as my older iMac (27" 2013 model), I packed it in the same shipping container that the 2017 came in and sent it to my Son in Atlanta via UPS insured. Got there in one piece and he's still using it. It was like new.

 

[Bill Gates Jr.]

Update. Replaced my 1TB HDD with a 256gb SSD at an Apple repair shop. Have about 163 GB free. Plus 20GB RAM. But still get beach ball on occasions. Not sure why.

 

[pigoo3]

Installing an SSD and adding more RAM can help with Beachballs...but will not 100% eliminate beachballs.

Many times beachballs happen because:

- The computer is being asked to do more than it can handle at any one given time.
- Or maybe the computer hasn't been rebooted in a long time.
- Or maybe the computer could use a little bit of periodic maintenance.

Installing more RAM & installing an SSD can help...but I'm sure there are computers out there with 1 terabyte SSD's and 64gig of RAM (or greater)...and they still get beachballs from time to time.

- Nick

 

[ferrarr]

With a 2011 model, the “main” issue will be the graphics card, especially if your doing/using graphic intensive work/apps.

 

[chscag]

With a 2011 model, the “main” issue will be the graphics card, especially if your doing/using graphic intensive work/apps.

Yep, that's true. I had a 2011 iMac prior to the 2013 model I purchased later on. (I gave it to my granddaughter.) Its graphics card was an AMD with only 512 MB of video memory and it would beachball. But even with my current iMac (2017 retina model) and a much more powerful graphics card, I still on occasion get beachballs.

 

[Bill Gates Jr.]

Thanks all. Graphics shouldn't be a problem as I don't do anything that would use that. By reboot do you me restarting the computer? What periodic maintenance should I be doing? Defragging? Do you mean using a third party program to do periodic maintenance?

 

[chscag]

The only maintenance program we recommend running is OnyX. And, if your iMac has an SSD or Fusion drive you do not want to use a defrag program as that can cause more harm than good. By rebooting, we mean restarting your iMac once in awhile.