iFixit has taken a look at the newly-released generation iMacs, tearing down both the 21.5 inch and 27.5 inch variants. Although most of the internal structure is the same, which is to be expected given that the new iMacs have retained the same casing, there are some small differences.
iFixit points out that the 21.5 inch iMac now includes a Fusion Drive SSD bay as standard, improving future upgradeability prospects of the machine. With last year’s model, this expandability was only available if customers had specifically ordered the iMac with a Fusion Drive originally. As the new drives are now connected via PCIe, third-party drive makers should be able to make appropriate adapters to enable the addition of a second hard drive. Both the 21.5 inch and 27 inch models offer this unused PCIe Fusion Drive SSD port. A picture of the empty port is attached below.
Unfortunately, the CPU on the 21 inch model is now soldered to the logic board. This means it is no longer user-replaceable. According to iFixit, this is the first aluminium iMac to have a CPU that is soldered to the board. The 27 inch variant does not have this restriction however.
A picture of the spare Fusion Drive PCIe port now found as standard in the new iMacs.
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So a purchaser is better off financially to order the model without the Fusion drive, then add a cheaper SSD from OWC later?
It’s kind of low to have an article that basically only exists as a reference to another article on another site, but to not even provide a link to the source.
ummm…the links ARE there.
Next time link the source, please.
soooo bad… poor performances?
My frustration is that the 21 inch still limits you to 1Tb. Can we use this second bay to expand that? How specifically?