Hello.
Here's an infomation for those who are still unsure if they should upgrade.
I have an iMac Late 2015 (17,1) 27" 5K A1419 EMC2834 with 1TB Fusion Drive, which means 1TB HDD via SATA and 24GB via PCIe.
I have never done such a procedure before. But I can say in advance, it was worth it.
I ordered two upgrade kits from OWC to refresh both drives.
- Aura Pro X2: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MA10K/
- OWC 6G SSD 480GB: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/K27IM12HP480/
While waiting for the package, I backed up my data and splitted the Fusion Drive.
For the upgrade, I studied various YouTube videos and the one from OWC.
It took about an hour to disassemble all the components.
I used a brush and an air compressor to clean the individual parts once the iMac was open.
The Aura Pro X2 Flash SSD fit right out of the box.
Including the installation of the new SATA SSD, it took about 45 min to assemble without the display. I guess the thermal sensor is no longer necessary since 2015, but it was included, so to be safe, I installed it.
I installed MacOS Big Sur, played the backup and tested the whole system first. Everything worked flawlessly. Even Hibernation Mode, and the fan ran quietly.
Sticking the display took about 30min, and you have to be extra careful.
Four hands would probably be better, but it also works with two.
Conclusion:
I don't know why OWC calls the upgrade kit incompatible for the iMac Late 2015. Everything works smoothly.
Was it worth it? Yes, definitely. The speed compared to the Fusion Drive is immense.
Tests with Black Magic showed a write speed of 2250 MB/s and a read speed of 2920 MB/s.
So I can only encourage anyone who is unsure.
[image|2290564]
SATA SSD
[image|2290561]
PCIe SSD