The HD will be the next to go from the desktop iMacs with the cost of SSD coming down so quickly and the much quicker data transfer rate, SSD is the future. Since almost ALL software is delivered via the cloud now, the DVD Superdrive is now a dinosaur. This iMac model (13,1) is really something, and the whole idea behind the “thin-thin” design was to get the optical DVD Superdrive, which failed repeatedly in the previous iMac models when it was internal to the computer, out of the unit and external to the iMac for thermal satiability and easier access.

But upgrading memory? I’ll leave it to the Apple techs at my local Apple Store, so if they break those tiny, tiny runs on the video cable connector between LCD screen and motherboard, they can swallow the $800 cost of a new motherboard. Once you get past the incredible complexity of detaching the glass/LCD screen from the unit (as compared to the small magnets on the front screen in pre-2012 models which was relatively much easier to open), replacing the HD with a SSD should be straight forward. One good point is the separation of the power supply board from the motherboard. Obviously the Apple design team did not want you to do this on this model. But you have to virtually disassemble the entire iMac to upgrade memory.

21.5 late 2013 imac ram kit