OWC Internal SSD DIY Kit for all Apple 21.5" iMac (2011) Models

How to use the OWC DIY Kit for all Apple 21.5" iMac (2011) Models to install an internal SSD into a system currently equipped with only a hard drive.

You can find the DIY Kit here: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%...

If, after watching the how-to video, you are not fully confident of your ability to add an SSD to your 2011 27" iMac, you can choose to have OWC "Do It For You" via our Turnkey Upgrade Installation Program.

Turnkey Installation:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnke...

• Category

  Science & Technology

[DrDuu]

The logic board SATA connector is only free slot with 6GBit, correct? The DVD SATA connector are only 3GBit/SATA II, isn't it? Thus a replaced of the DVD makes no sense for high performance. In the serial hardware description you find for DVD Link-Speed 3GB, but it is 6GB Chip...maybe reduced by Firmware?

[OWCmacsales]

The 2011 iMac 21.5" models have two hard drive SATA interfaces at 6Gb/s and one SATA optical interface at 3Gb/s. The Intel Core i3 processor only supports 2 SATA 6Gb/s ports - the remaining available ports are at 3Gb/s. There's no firmware downclocking at play there.

[DrDuu]

Yes, but in general the chip is a 6GBit Chipset. "While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including “fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt,” it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA 3.0 capabilities of two of the internal drive bays.

Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s"

[OWCmacsales]

"the chip is a 6GBit Chipset" is correct to an extent. Out of 6 total SATA connections available (of which the iMac only utilizes three), two of the connections are SATA Revision 3.0 (6Gb/s) connections (thus classifying it as a 6GBit chipset) but the remaining 4 connections are SATA Revision 2 (3Gb/s). No amount of firmware or software finagling will change that - it is a hardware specification of the processor itself....

[OWCmacsales]

...Now the first day that the machine was on the market, Apple had firmware downclocked those two 6Gb/s ports to 3Gb/s - as they were not building their machines with 6Gb/s capable drives in the first place. iMac EFI Update 1.6 did unlock the full 6Gb/s capability of those two fastest ports.

[TheeMidnightMarauder]

OWC, is it possible to have an SSD and a regular drive installed?

[OWCmacsales]

Not only is it possible, that's what this instructional video is for.

[Raphael Vieira]

After installation, can I use the SSD as the primary drive and HDD as a storage files drive?

[OWCmacsales]

Absolutely. You can even make the interaction between the two drives seamless - see our TechKNOWlogy Episode 1 video also found on our YouTube channel.

[TheeMidnightMarauder]

LMFAO! Wow, my bad. Thanks, man. Great response.