Chosen Solution
Hi! Sorry, I’m new on, this site, I hope the question hasn’t been answered already. First: I’d like to have confirmation that I can buy this new iMac with the standard RAM can I easily max it out to 32GB myself later? Second: I don’t understand what “PCIe flash SSD available” means. Can I add a extra SSD drive myself? Thanks to those who help!!
Sort of - EveryMac says: This model has a proprietary PCIe connector for an SSD. If the SSD is not installed at the time of purchase, the connector still is present and later professional or self-installation is possible. The problem may be in locating a “generic” version of this proprietary drive. OWC has been among the first to offer solutions for previous Apple Proprietary drives. It’s not clear to me if they have done so as yet for the iMac. The RAM should not present a problem. If this Answer is helpful please remember to return and mark it Accepted.
After a lot of research this looks like a viable option: SSD Adaptor Waiting on a response from them for compatibility with the Late 2013 iMac’s. This should work as they have made very little changes to the logic board, however if examined closely the shielding on the pcie connector is sligthly different with a cut on the top (2012) model compared to a non cut shield on the 2013. I have ordered the kit regardless, and I will confirm everything once the kit and adhesive strips are in hand. The only down side that I can see at this point is that power is sourced from the primary HD and is split (supplied splitter with kit) to accommodate the SSD addon. I will also take the time to do a video walkthrough, as it is sorely needed. Update Update: All SSD Blade Kits designed for 2012 models are not compatible with the 2013 models! The following link can shed some light on this problem: HERE What can be done now? My suggestion for now is a part pulled from late 2013 MacBook Pro’s or iMacs will work for the SSD option, with a Homebrew Fusion setup a few terminal commands away. I would highly suggest skipping over ANY 128GB SSD modules as they are considerably slower than the 256GB modules. Please be aware that 2012-Early 2013 modules are not the same as Late 2013! The retaining pin (off center recess on the SSD module) on older modules are 1-2mm right of where the new retention resides. The contacts and number of pins are also different. Also as a side note a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro registered 38MB’s write with a 130MB read rating through BlackMagic, using the normal SATA connection to the stock drive! I have a 15 day timeframe before my Samsung 256 SSD designed for the PCIe is delivered, at that time i can do further testing and provide a guide if necessary. A full guide can be done once a blade kit is finalized for this model. Apple has indeed made it extremely difficult, but the war is not over! I will be actively involved in getting more information from OWC and a possible fix through microsatacables for a revision on their 2012 SSD Blade Kit. (microsatacables.com also provided the blade kit for this test, many thanks to them for their overwhelming support for the modding community!) What you can do is contact OWC, tell them to provide us Late 2013 SSD modules for the PCIe. I’ll add to this once more information is available. You do still have the option of using a thunderbolt driven external drive, but the cost is still pretty high.
I just purchased an iMac 27" (late 2013) with the following specs: 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz 8GB (two 4GB) memory 1TB hard drive1 NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1GB video memory It’s the latest low end model that Apple is currently selling. If you have the same model then you can upgrade the 1TB hard drive with an SSD just like you can in any other computer. I just finished installing 32GB of RAM from OWC http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IELD… and a 1TB Samsung 850 Prohttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LF10… You will also need to purchase the right 3.5" to 2.5" SSD bay http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G56Z… Armed with a full suite of tools that I purchased from iFixit the whole job didn’t take very long at all. Just follow the instructions for replacing the HDD and installing the screen adhesive that’s provided on the iFixit website and you’ll be good to go. The performance of your iMac will absolutely amaze you!
