iMac EFI Update 1.6 Adds 6 Gb/s SATA Capabilities - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iMac EFI Update 1.6 Adds 6 Gb/s SATA Capabilities

125412 imac 2011 tron

Other World Computing reports that the iMac EFI Update 1.6 released yesterday for Apple's new iMacs brings an unadvertised improvement in SATA performance for the internal hard drive bays.

While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including "fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt," it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA 3.0 capabilities of two of the internal drive bays.

Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

The report notes that Apple also released an EFI update for the current MacBook Pros yesterday, but it is unclear whether that update attempts to address SATA performance issues found in the 17-inch models.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

LEGO imac g31

LEGO Considering Bondi Blue iMac G3 Set

Tuesday July 14, 2026 5:12 pm PDT by
LEGO today said the iMac G3 project submitted for consideration on its "Ideas" site has been moved to Parking Lot status, which means it hasn't been ruled out and could still possibly be turned into an official LEGO set. On its "Ideas" website, LEGO lets fans submit mockups and suggestions for future LEGO sets. Any project that gets at least 10,000 votes goes to the LEGO Review Board and has ...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple to Overhaul Mac Lineup With 11 New Models

Wednesday July 22, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to refresh every Mac it sells over the next two years, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The plans come amid a Mac resurgence, with sales projected to climb for a third consecutive year, partly thanks to a growing following among users who lean on the machines for demanding, agent-based AI workloads. The wave of new Macs will begin this fall with a refreshed...
Apple iMac M4 hero feature

iMac Update Expected This Year, Model With OLED Display Also in Works

Wednesday July 22, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple has finished development of a new iMac that it plans to release later this year, according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The updated iMac is one of 11 new Mac models that Apple plans to release over the next two years or so. The next iMac will unsurprisingly have a newer chip, but the report did not indicate if Apple plans to use the existing M5 chip or the upcoming...

Top Rated Comments

199 months ago
The only thing unfortunate about the optical bay not being 6GB/s is the lack of understanding from the original source.

The Z68 chipset has provisions for 6 SATA ports, 2x 6GB/s, 4x 3GB/s. Its the reason why motherboard manufacturers include marvell and other SATA chips to offer more than the 2x 6GB/s ports you would get relying solely on the Intel chipset.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
This is great news, but Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/imac11.html) reports that installing any third party drive in the 2011 iMac will make its fans run at full speed. Those of you that have installed third party drives, are you seeing this?

If you install a drive that cannot make use of the temperature sensor that the drive you took out did, then yes, the fan will run at full speed. I took out my optical drive and upgraded my iMac to SSD + HDD and now my optical drive fan runs at max speed - UNLESS I tell it otherwise with SMC Fan Control, which is a free utility you can download :p so... I have no problems.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
Some people remove the optical drive and use it as a hard drive bay.

This is unsupported, therefore irrelevant for the purposes of this update...what really matters is that internal SSDs would benefit from it...EXCELLENT news that should silence the whining of some people around here.

GO APPLE!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

What the hell? No optical drive can reach 3GB/s

Some people remove the optical drive and use it as a hard drive bay.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

What the hell? No optical drive can reach 3GB/s
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors