Late 2015 27 iMac - Blade style SSD replacement:

[G+_Michael Wild]

Late 2015 27” iMac - Blade style SSD replacement:

 

I own a Late 2015 27” iMac 3.2 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5 with Retina 5K display and 1 TB HDD. I find it slow and want to install a Fusion Drive.

 

After doing some research on the Late 2015 27” iMac, it appears the fusion drive is not a “Hybrid drive” but instead is made up of 01) a standard 3.5” spinning HDD plus 02) a blade style SSD drive that looks like the one in the 2013 and newer MacBook series.

 

Skip to 7:48 of this video to see the blade style SSD on the motherboard:

 

As you will see from the video, the blade style SSD drive attached (buried) to the backside of the motherboard in the late 2015 27" iMac.

Question: Is the internal SSD in the 2013 and later MacBook series, specifically, the Late 2013 15" MacBook Pro exactly the same as the blade style SSD in the Late 2015 iMac?

MacBook Pro Replacement Drives:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro-retina-display/2013-2014-2015

 

I ask because I would like to take the 500 GB blade style SSD out of my late 2013 15" MacBook Pro and use it in the 27" iMac. I will also replace the current 1 TB HDD in the iMac with this 6TB drive:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/HDWE160XZSTA/ Then I can configure both drives as big ass Fusion drive.

 

FYI: I plan to replace the current MacBook Pro drive with a 1 TB SSD:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro-retina-display/2013-2014-2015.

[G+_Kevin Britain]

Hey man, in my experience with these devices they are never cross compatible, especially from 2013 to 2015 models..

 

Also I'm not 100% sure that all 2015 models has the pcie ssd port if it didn't initially come with the fusion drive please check that before..

 

ifixit.com - HDD Upgrade/Replacement with SSD?

 

You can check iFixit for some more info..

 

And finally think hard about the fusion drive, again in my experience they're more a "sounds like a great idea" than they actually are in practical.. I think that fusion drive "technology" used some sort of sorcery in the back end out of the factory to work properly.. third party recreation never gets it 100%..