But it is far from silent.įor starters, the ThunderBay has a constantly running fan. Depending on your sensitivity, it may not bother you at all. I would have stuck with this setup except for one thing: noise. This was a fine, albeit still expensive, solution.
In addition, the ThunderBay provided the fastest possible transfer speeds (Thunderbolt 2) with the greatest capacity for future expansion, all via a single compact box that needed only one connection to the iMac.
#Imac fusion drive vs ssd vs hdd mac
With this unit, I could transfer the three drives that had previously lived in my Mac Pro, saving the cost of having to purchase new drives. Initially, I decided to buy an OWC ThunderBay 4 ($400). In other words, I would need at least 2 external drives. Even if I could fit all my data on the internal SSD, I would still need external storage for mirrored backups. To accommodate all my data, external storage was now a requirement. The 512GB SSD was 1/6 the size of the 3TB Fusion Drive I had initially planned to get. With the main dilemma decided, I had one more problem to resolve: What sort of external storage would I use? At the other extreme, the 1TB Flash Storage still wasn’t large enough to hold all my files not worth the extra cost. The lesser, 256GB drive, although twice the size of the SSD portion of the Fusion Drive, was too small to hold my essential files (System and Home Libraries, Applications and Documents). The 512GB option, at only $100 more than a 3TB Fusion, quickly emerged as my preferred choice. The result? Indecision! After mulling things over for a couple of months…and changing my mind numerous times, I finally settled on the Flash Storage. The largest capacity Flash Storage you can get preinstalled in an iMac is only 1TB - and it costs $700 more than a 2TB Fusion Drive. On the other hand, the biggest problem with pure SSDs is that they are much more expensive than Fusion Drives. While such matters might not significantly impact the performance of a Fusion Drive, they still irked me. I also don’t like that, with a Fusion Drive, I have no control over what files are shunted to the SSD portion it is all determined by Apple’s software. Obviously, I would prefer the faster RPM speed. Most internal drives sold today are 7200 RPM. The HDD component of a Fusion Drive spins at 5400 RPM. While not common, this has happened to a few friends of mine. Of special note, the technology that “melds” the SSD and HDD components of a Fusion Drive can fail, even if the separate components are otherwise fine, leaving you with an inaccessible drive. I wanted to go with the future.įurther, Flash Storage, because it has no moving parts, is more reliable than a Fusion Drive. Even the Fusion Drive (which is a combination of SSD and HDD) will likely be gone. Within a few years, I expect HDDs (hard disk drives) to be history. In fact, thanks to design improvements in the 2015 iMacs, Apple claims the iMac’s Flash Storage is “ up to 2.5 times faster” than the SSD in 2014 iMacs.Ī Fusion Drive is quiet, but an SSD is not only quieter, it’s completely silent. So I knew that the drive was adequately fast and very quiet. My wife already had an iMac with 3TB Fusion Drive. I figured I’d be buying a new Mac before I outgrew that much space. While I could have gotten by with a 2TB drive, it was worth a $100 to have the roominess of an extra TB. While I believe there is no single best choice that applies to everyone, after much internal debate, I found the right one for me.Īt first, it seemed so simple. The dilemma? Whether to get a Fusion Drive or Flash (SSD) Storage? And, especially if the latter, what size drive? So much so, that I almost returned the machine. Even after the iMac arrived, my uncertainty remained. It’s the reason it took me several months from the announcement of the new iMacs last October to finally make the purchase a few weeks ago. However, my indecision over one sticking point almost wound up derailing the move. Overall, I couldn’t be more pleased. The display alone has been enough to justify the upgrade.
#Imac fusion drive vs ssd vs hdd pro
Recently, I bid adieu to my 7-year-old Mac Pro and replaced it with a 27-inch 5K Retina display iMac.
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