Chosen Solution
Hi everyone, I just bought EMC 2389 iMac for dirt cheap on eBay and it’s glorious! Perfect condition and little to no yellow tint! Apart from being noisy, the HDD in combination with the other hardware seems to be some sort of a bottle neck… I’ve already learned that I would need some sort of thermal sensor cable if mine was a 2011 model… my question is, what parts exactly do I need to replace the HDD for anSSD and eliminate the HDD altogether… and what SSD would you recommend? I’m sure many of you have done exactly that… Thanks!
Well it’s a bit more complicated than just swapping things about. First I wouldn’t take the working HD out. But instead add the SSD as a second drive! Here we’ll alter the boot drive from the current HD to the SSD so you’ll get the speed you are looking for. Here’s the IFIXIT guide you’ll need to follow: iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2389 SSD Dual Drive Installation. Here we are giving up the optical drive for the SSD unit using this adapter frame: 12.7 mm SATA Optical Bay SATA Hard Drive Enclosure. That way you also hang onto the HD for your deeper storage needs If you don’t want to give up your optical drive then swapping out the HDD will require a few pieces as the HD in this system is a 3.5" unit and the SSD is a 2.5" unit so you’ll need an adapter frame. You’ll also need to replace the built in HD’s thermal sensor your systems heat management system requires. Here we’ll use OWC’s in-line thermal sensor. As you need to buy it I’ve added the OWC frame you’ll need. OWC In-line Digital Thermal Sensor for iMac 2009-2010 Hard Drive UpgradeOWC 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Adapter Bracket here’s the IFIXIT guide you’ll need to follow: iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2389 Hard Drive Replacement
