For some people who have commented facing some slow drive issues. Definitely make sure that your Evo SSD is update to date with the latest firmware with Samsung. YES, you will need a PC with an available M.2 slot in order to upgrade. I have noticed that the drive I upgrade in this Mac started slowing down at some point and my parents alerted me of this. (This was their iMac that I upgraded for them.) All I had to do was reformat the drive, run first aid, and the re-install MacOS. It's working great again. For anyone else continuing to have issues, be sure to check and see if you didn't receive a faulty adapter. You may to replace the one you're using.

i have a late 2013 iMac... and i got an external SSD. using USB. its actually sort of spectacular. ;) video was excellent, BTW.

Thanks for this video, you are the first I have seen that actually shows the performance gain. I had similar results on my 2013 MacPro and some Macbooks but I have shied away of doing the iMac. I tried separating the fusion drive and use the original M2 SSD as a boot drive and sure got some performance gain, but not much more than using an external SSD via USB 3 or Thunderbolt as it is the SATA interface that limits the speed. But seeing your results I think I will do the operation as I also use a lot of VM’s.

Hello! I have a question. How will the iMac react if you replace the Fusion Drive ssd let’s say with a 256 gb ssd? Will it prioritize it or how can I ensure that the iMac uses this one and not the hhd like before. Is there any sense in replacing both with an ssd the hhd with a sata ssd and the pcie slot one with just a more capacity name ssd ? And how can I format the to work together for example if I would like to use the hhd or if I upgrade it the sata ssd to store Fotos but fotos only and the nvme ssd only for data and apps is there a way to achieve this or will the iMac just decide on its own where what will be stored. Thanks for the help. Great video btw.

Zippo fluid strips adhesives, and does not strip finishes like acetone. Zippo used to state that on the can, but not anymore. Ronsonol lighter fluid works too.

I did the upgrade on my 2013 iMac, replacing the 3 TB HDD portion of the Fusion drive with a 240 GB SSATA SDS. Once I did this, I had a still usable 120GB NVME drive (only the 3TB Fusion drive had this). If I had a smaller Fusion drive with the paltry 32GB NVME, I would just take the easy route and use an external SSD via Thunderbolt 3. The speed diffence is minimal and you don't have to take anything apart.

@86config

Жыл бұрын

Late 2013 doesnt have thunderbolt 3, It has two thunderbolt 1 ports. They are still pretty quick though and comparable to SATA 3 speeds ( i use a Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt SSD and a Win2Go Windows 10 install instead of bootcamp and its surprisingly quick). The drive speeds are pretty decent on the 3tb model, i get about 200/200 on the 3tb drive and 300/700 from the 120gb Apple NVME and 350/350 on the Lacie External ( using black magic disk test ) NB. the Late 2013's nvme controler is 2x, so even if you replace the internal nvme you are not going to get the stellar results the vlog author gets on his.

Great video! However, given the extensive work required to replace the blade SSD, do you think it's really worth it when compared to simply replacing the spinning HDD with an appropriate SSD and using that in lieu of the Fusion drive setup? Replacing the HDD seems like a much easier process IF you don't require the added performance of the NVMe drive. Welcome your thoughts. Thanks and keep up the great work!

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

That is true, from what I've seen, even theoretically you would get some faster speeds, it's not that much of a difference than just replacing the HDD. Buuuuttttt... if you're going to go through the trouble of tearing apart your Mac, you might as well go for it, especially so that you don't just have a tiny SSD just sitting there doing nothing!

This is awesome, I've got the exact same 2017 5K iMac as you. Will the Crucial P2 NVME 1TB work running Mac OS?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

I believe it will. But double check the guides/ links that in the description. The forum has all the info on the compatible drives. But I do believe it is one of them.

Great video but just noticed the sintech adapter in your description does not support samsung 970 evo plus. Have you had any issue. I am about to update my 2017 Imac and wish if you could share your thoughts on compatible NVME drive available in the market now.

It's about time computer manufacturers followed the same standard connectors policy used within the cell phone industry. Using non standard connectors is a sharp practice It needs legislation to replicate cell phone legislation.

Can I upgrade 2TB blade to late 2015 iMac 27 inch model?

So much easier to simply cut a small hole in the back of the chassis with a Dremel.

Will my Late 2014 iMac will recognize this PCIe Samsung SSD with adapter and I will be able to format it to run OS Catalina? I just installed PCIe OWC 1Tb and it gives me only about 700 Mbs read and write compare what they advertised is higher. Also my boot time is twice as long as I had on my original 128Gb PCIe SSD. Thanks

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

Does the OWC have trim enabled? Otherwise I would say that as long as you can use that OWC, then the Samsung should work just fine. Just make sure you update the drivers on it using a PC before installing.

thanks Victor, what is the temperature of the NVME when it is quiet and under stress? do you need a heatsink?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

So far it’s still working well with no issues and this is without a heat sink. Although I haven’t tried taking the temperature.

???? Will this nvme drive work with my 21.5 inch imac 2017 4k retina ????

¡Hola Victor! If I install a SSD external drive on my 2020 iMac (27") will I have to download all my apps again and will I lose my settings? Any other advise I should take into consideration? Thanks.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

That should be all, just be aware of that.

Still no reply on my question bellow. But other than that, the Mac was working perfectly for few days then for no reason restarted twice giving ? Folder icon on booth. After restart it finds the drive and boots normally. I have the report screenshot. Any ideas?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Make sure you update the firmware of the drive using Magician on a PC before installing, and enable trim within terminal.

Hi, do you know if I can put an NVME on an iMac late 2015 21.5 1.6ghz? Greetings!

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

You can!

I just installed a 2TB SSD to my late 2015 iMac 5k, and now I'm thinking I did the wrong upgrade. My question is. Can I still use the 2TB 2.5 inch SATA SSD along with the SSD Blade i'm going to install?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

Yes you can!

@Randywatson34

3 жыл бұрын

OK cool thank you for the quick response. I’m assuming I would need to use the fusion drive feature to use both SSD’s cards?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

@@Randywatson34 No problem! And no you don't have to. You can use both drives individually, as in one being your primary and the second being your slave if you wanted to. In order to set them as a fusion drive, you have to enter in some Terminal commands before installing the image via USB stick.

i did this with the same exact drive with my late 2015 27 inch but the drive is not recognized. i put the drive on fresh out the box is this wrong?

@DeweyC0x

3 жыл бұрын

also having this issue. Tried a EVO 970 and 970 plus with the sintech adapter and I can not get it to recognize the drives in disk utility for either one. Both were manufactured in 2021. 2014 Imac 27"

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Make sure you update the firmware of the drive with a PC with a Samsung Magician before installing it!

Ahhh cchhasssisss

Hi mate Thanks for the video. I did upgrade my late 2013 which shipped with 128GB vvme and replaced it with Samsung evo970 plus along with the mechanical HDD. After the upgrade i did format the evo to IOS with journal and did a speed test with black magic speed tester. It turned out i can achieve only 760 mbps write speed. However my evo supports 3600mbps!!! Although under NVME the TRIM support is YES and the TRIM width is x2. Any advice what causing the bottle neck. May thanks in advance.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, try re-installing MacOS from a factory reset it again. I would delete the drive in recovery mode, run a disk health check and then reinstall. I have had to do this recently.

@TheCroupier74

2 жыл бұрын

That is the max you will get because the logic board of this model is made for pcie 2.0 x2 speed, you need a newer Mac that supports pcie 3.0 x4 speed

@86config

Жыл бұрын

@@TheCroupier74 Exactly this. Might still be worthwhile doing it for capacity but you aint getting the huge numbers you would from

Hello ! Can I instal a Samsung Evo 980 pro ssd in a iMac late 2013 fusión drive ?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!

I have late 2013 21.5inch and I want to upgrade Nvme Samsung 980 pro ,it's compatible ?

@hhy2k

11 ай бұрын

no, unless it came with a fusion drive...

You could connect the nvme ssd externally with a Thunderbolt 3 case. Than you could clone your sistem drive to it.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

True. Although throughout my research, before installing the drive, I have heard that there are sometimes some performance differences between an externally attached drive than an internal drive. This video was meant to show how it is possible to replace/ upgrade the internal blade drive of the iMac to be used as the main drive with better performance.

@AlexanderHernandez-yn9wh

3 жыл бұрын

@@VictorMendezuBetchya I have been running my Imac Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017 OS Catalina using an external T3 SSD drive. (1TB WD_Black SN750 NVMe Internal Gaming) with a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure. I have been consistently getting average speeds: Write ~2100 / Read ~2300 MB/s. I wonder what your thoughts are on the matter? I am careful enough to have a TimeMachine back up running but keep wondering how resilient such a method is. Would be fantastic to hear what you've researched on the matter. Thanks for putting these videos together.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

@@AlexanderHernandez-yn9wh From what I've researched, placing your SSD within an enclosure like that does bottleneck the speeds that the hard drive can theoretically give as it requires it to send data back and forth from and to the enclosure rather than it being immediately available like an internally attached drive. This has even been true for people who have used external GPUs. You just can't get the same performance as an internally connected SSD or GPU. That's why I didn't initially go with his method. However, I will be testing this at some point later on for some on hand experience. I'll upload a video here with that information when it happens. And you're welcome! :)

@khoita5704

3 жыл бұрын

This is what I did to get a 32TB Mojave Boot Disk with 2100 Mb/s read and write speed using external TB3 drives with Mojave (Not Catalina or Big Sur). I used 8 of the 4TB SATA Samsung 860 Evo 2.5 SSD in an Apple RAID0 configuration with the OWC 4bay TB3 drives (need 2). Format each of the 4TB SSD using Mac Journal (NOT APFS). Configure with Apple RAID0 for 32TB. Carbon clone the original HDD onto this 32TB RAID0 drive. Select the 32TB RAID0 as your start disk. ONE HUGE CAVEAT: YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH CATALINA, MOJAVE is the last OS that you can do this. Now why did I do this? I do 4K editing and needed as much storage space as I could. I had 8 of the 4TB SSD already. So for the cost of 4TB SSD from Apple, I could do 32TB SSD at 80% of the speed of Apple 4TB SSD. I did this in 2019. It is now almost 2020 and I need the updated Final Cut Pro which required Catalina. Catalina can't be installed onto the Apple RAID0. Hence I'm now taking the 2019 iMac apart to put in the Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB SSD. I will still use the 32TB as my work disk but at least the boot disk with Final Cut Pro will work fast enough. This is a short term solution until the Apple Silicon iMac arrives in Q32021.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

@@khoita5704 I'm stoked for the new iMac as well. I was very skeptical of the new M1 Macs at first, but now I'm convinced they're the greatest.

I have a problem with an iMac 2017, I already did everything and I can't find the solution, at first it detected the ssd with the adapter, I have a crucial 1 TB P3, I connect it to the motherboard and when I put the bootable usb with MacOs Ventura does not recognize it internally, if that same ssd I put it externally if the iMac recognizes it, I do the format externally and at the moment of putting it internally it it does not recognize it. I already installed the macOS Ventura by external means and I put it internally and it doesn't recognize it either, I don't know what to do I've been testing for a month and I have to be assembling and disassembling the iMac, I hope someone can help me, The disk utility does not recognize it, I already made the list disk and nothing does not appear the ssd m.2 nvme, I am totally blocked, do I need to do it with high sierra and then update to Ventura?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

Ай бұрын

I can’t vouch for crucial drives being compatible with Macs. But I would check to make sure that it is first. Also, were you able to update the firmware using a PC?

A Mac OS Fusion drive is not using the SSD as a cache. The SSD is used for frequently accessed files. In factory iMacs the SSD is pretty small, but you can replace it with a larger SSD and see huge gains. In My 2012 Mac Pro I have a 4TB 2.5" SSD combined with a 12TB conventional HD, and the result is a 16TB drive where most of the time Its working at full SSD speeds.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

You’re correct! I oversimplified my explanation in the video. And yes, after setting up my iMac to run solely on the SSD, it runs really fast! I don’t regret doing it. But wow! How much did you spend on those hard drives?

@DeputyNordburg

3 жыл бұрын

@@VictorMendezuBetchya Abut $600. The SSD was $415, and the 12TB drive was 190. The fusion drive is very good for what it does.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

@@DeputyNordburg Wow, not bad!

can I instal in iMac 2015 late tanks...

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

On the 21" you can't, but you can on the 27".

So, would it be Solid Solid State Drive or Solid State State Drive? #SSSD

@VictorMendezuBetchya

4 жыл бұрын

It’s a really solid drive!

What year is your Imac?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

3 жыл бұрын

Mid 2017

For everyone already doing this full disassembly to replace the ssd in a 2019 - unless you have a top model ;) - I suggest replacing the CPU at the same time. It would be a waste to miss out on this and needing/wanting to do again in a year or two. Update: Forgot to mention - CPU change is not for the unexperienced, you can bend the pins very easily if the cooler shifts during reinstallation. Don't do it without adult supervision ;)

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Great suggestion!

@mahira.627

2 жыл бұрын

I wouldn’t recommend it. iMacs have different cooling systems depending on CPU and GPU. If you have an i5, in my opinion it’s blazing fast with just the CPU upgrade and the i7 upgrade isn’t totally necessary. I’m not a heavy user however but I love my mac after upgrading it

0:23 whoa how is your keyboard backlit

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Check out my video I did a while back about "Finally an Apple RGB keyboard"

1300 write and 2800 read in my case. Why such a big difference?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Did you update the drive using magician on a PC as well as enable trim?

@peterlanephotography

2 жыл бұрын

@@VictorMendezuBetchya the drive came already with the update. No idea how to enable trim. This morning I found the "?" folder, obviously restarted. The error log starts : "panic(cpu 4 caller 0xffffff8014742836): nvme: "3rd party NVMe controller. PCI link down. Delete IO submission queue. fBuiltIn=1 MODEL=Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB FW=2B2QEXM7 CSTS=0xffffffff US[1]=0x0 US[0]=0x1 VID=0xffff DID=0xffff CRITICAL_WARNING=0x0. " @IONVMeController.cpp:6053"

Is it still working fine?

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

It's working good!

If someone try to do this, please, do not create fusion drive from two ssd's like I did. You will encounter with Ionvmecontroller panic every 30 minutes of using IMac.

However, however , however, however 😂

At the end of the video you show tests from Macbook Pro not iMac. Quite misleading.

@VictorMendezuBetchya

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for noticing that, the tests DID come from the iMac, but the settings shot did come my MacBook since I was too lazy to set up my camera in front of my iMac (I had forgotten to take that shot as B-Roll). All that was required for that shot was to navigate through the settings so I shot it pretty quickly.

@peterlanephotography

2 жыл бұрын

@@VictorMendezuBetchya Can I see a screenshot of read and write, please? Also a screenshot of the NVME in system settings. x2, or x4? in my case x1. Considering the restarts and error I mentioned in my other comment, it looks like a controller/adapter issue. No idea what to do.