Imac mid 2010 graphics card replacement install#

I’ll just run one of my $2 SATA cables from the back of the logic board and out through the Memory cover on the bottom. I have a free External SATA connection option! At one point we half-jokingly suggested that we just dremel a hole in the back for an eSATA port, instead, as it’d probably be easier.Īs rough as it may seem, though, initial tests seem to indicate that this methodology actually does work. While these steps aren’t particularly egregious, they’re not elegant, either. Find a way to secure your 2.5″ drive in the space that the carrier would normally hold it.Get a Y-cable that goes from 1 SATA male power connector to 2 SATA female power connectors.Connect a data cable to the empty SATA port on the back of the logic board (a process requiring the removal of several screws and partial removal of the logic board.

Imac mid 2010 graphics card replacement install#

Of course, you can still install that second drive on a non-SSD iMac if you: Connections would be made with a special power cable that would power both, and the data cable would run to the third SATA channel on the logic board. The SSD would go underneath that metal lattice and circuit board, and would sit in its carrier against the back wall of the iMac. We’ve outlined the area where the SSD should go in red. In case you were curious, here’s what the new 27″ iMacs look like on the inside.

This unfortunate development continues Apple’s proclivity toward making the iMac’s inner workings less “accessible” than they could (or some may say “should”) be. The appropriate mounting bracket and connector cables are nowhere to be found on the non-SSD models. The bad news is that, unless your Mid 2010 iMac originally came with an Apple SSD, there’s no graceful way to install an OWC one. The good news is that the SSD bay available in the new iMacs holds a standard 2.5″ form factor drive, which means you can install a high-performance OWC Mercury Extreme SSD for the speed advantage over Apple’s SSDs. Well, we have good news and bad news for you.