If you feel confortable opening the iMac, that would be the ideal way to go, as it is the cheapest option, but also is one of the fastest options and has TRIM support. If you are not doing RAM, then using a cheap external option would be fine.Ĭlick to expand.If you open the iMac, then I would replace the RAM, but at 8GB and what you listed you do, you might be fine with just a SSD. It is a cheap, easy way to have a huge performance gain on your Mac without having to open it.īTW, if you plan on doing RAM anyways, I would highly recommend swapping the HDD for a SSD. This is a good method, because you can always decide later to install the SSD into your 2012 iMac. The easiest way to start off is just getting a SATA SSD with a SATA/USB3 adapter or enclosure. The price tag of the TB3 NVMe set up wouldn't be so bad if you consider future proofing, and/or have plans to purchase a newer Mac in the next few years to utilize the super fast speeds once you make that purchase. It is possible to have faster drives using striping RAIDs. *EDIT: a TB3 NVMe would be the fastest 'single drive' option for the Late 2012 iMac. You would see speeds up to about 900MBps read.

The upside is that the TB3 NVMe SSD is the fastest option for the 2012 iMac and it supports TRIM*. This is by far the most expensive option, as it requires aa TB3 enclosure, NVMe, TB2 cable, TB2/TB3 bidirectional adapter, and something to power it such as a TB3 dock. Speeds would max out about 400-450MBps for read.Īnother option that I am currently using is a TB3 NVMe SSD. If you get a cheap enclosure, it might cost you $100. In the US, you can get a 1TB SATA SSD and a SATA/USB3 adapter for about $90. The downside of this is that it won't be as fast as other options, and it will not have TRIM support. The next cheapest and easiest way is to use a SSD over USB3. You would get about 600MBps read speeds using this method. You don't necessarily need to open your Mac, but that would be the cheapest way to get a fast SSD with TRIM support. This alone would be a huge upgrade for your, especially if you are currently using Catalina.

Click to expand.Myself and just about anyone with knowledge of Macs will suggest you to use an SSD.

Mac mini late 2012 upgrades