Chosen Solution
I’ve just bought a mid 2010 iMac 21.5” (i3 3.06 ghz) and want to implement an SSD drive into it. However, I’m unsure as to if I should replace the current HDD with the new SSD or just add an SSD alongside or replace the optical drive with an SSD? (I won’t use the optical drive) Is there much of a difference between the two? What are the pros and cons? I will not be doing this myself, I’ll bring it into a repair shop to get it upgraded.
Your hard drive is right at 9 years old and ready to be replaced, not added to. You will need the OWC thermal sensor adapter to prevent the run away fan issue. Here’s how to do it on your model: iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2389 Hard Drive Replacement Here are your drive option, if going to an SSD you will need a 3.5” to 2.5” adapter: https://eshop.macsales.com/upgrades/imac…
An SDD is much faster than a HDD. Faster boot times, faster write speeds etc. So what I personally would do, is run the SDD with your OS on it, and use the HDD for extra space. Definitely use both if you can.
