Apple Finally Adds SSDs to iMac Options

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Apple has added the option for SSD storage to its iMacs.

Up until recently, it was not possible to equip your iMac with an SSD. This excludes the 27" model, which could only be equipped with a 768 GB SSD for a massive price of about $1400. Beyond this, the closest that iMac buyers could get to equipping their iMacs with an SSD was by choosing Apple's so-called "Fusion Drive". The Fusion drive is essentially a 128 GB SSD that gets used as a caching SSD alongside a traditional hard drive. Supposedly the iMac would boot up 70 percent faster and import files up to 350 percent faster. A caching SSD places the most used files and programs on the SSD storage (As well as leave it on the hard drive) for faster access and throughput.

Now however, Apple has expanded the options for storage on the iMacs. The SSDs that can be chosen will cost $300 for the 256 GB model, $600 for the 512 GB model, and $900 for the 768 GB version. Unfortunately, for those who aren't interested in a 27" iMac, but want the 21.5" model, this machine cannot be configured to have either a 3TB hard drive, a 3 TB Fusion Drive, or a 768 GB SSD.

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Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • squirrelboy
    wait, getting a 256gb ssd is $300 more expensive than a 1tb hdd?! damn...
    Reply
  • christop
    Apple owner save a 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443and just add this to your icrack..
    Reply
  • christop
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443
    Reply
  • fulle
    Pricing of the SSD 300 dollars over a 1TB HDD, suggests that they're overcharging on the SSD by at least 100 dollars...
    Congratulations Apple fans! Now you can be ripped off on SSDs as well.
    Reply
  • bllue
    Gotta keep that tradition of overcharging for storage
    Reply
  • house70
    Wow! Innovation at Apple never fails. Surely they must be the first to think about something like that.
    Oh, wait... nevermind.

    At least, they're first in overcharging, but that's hardly new for them.
    Reply
  • edogawa
    Why am I not surprised. Apple likes to overcharge by around 30% on everything.
    Reply
  • lp231
    Title is a bit misleading, it should be Apple finally adds stand alone SSDs to iMac options because Apple Fusion drive still contains a SSD along with a mechanical HDD.
    This isn't the same as hybrid HDD where you get like 4-8GB for SSD caching.
    Still Apple sheep will believe in anything so it doesn't matter.
    Reply
  • velocityg4
    Don't see why everyone is complaining about the overpriced SSD. Last I checked every single computer company overcharges for custom upgrades.
    What does suck though. Is you cannot just simply go to Newegg and get an SSD to put in yourself. As they use a proprietary wiring scheme to send temperature data. So you need to wait until someone makes and adapter or MacSales (OWC) releases an overpriced drive that is compatible. As with the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro Retina.
    I just wish every PC vendor would give the option for an SSD instead of a hard drive in all laptops and desktops. For most people a 64GB SSD is more space than they will ever need during the useful life of the computer. Instead of a regular hard drive with tons of space that will never be used. Let people opt for the SSD instead. As they cost about the same as standard sized hard drives used in desktops and laptops.
    Reply
  • Azn Cracker
    ^ Uhh not as bad as apple... $300 more over the 1tb HDD? That means the 256 SSD costs $400, double what you can get on newegg. I mean if they overcharge by like $50 then thats ok, but this is insane.
    Also replacing the hard drive yourself may be difficult with a mac, but ive dont it with a store bought pc before. A little more of a hassle but very doable
    Reply