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1Tb Fusion vs 256g SSD

alexxk said:
Good point..

I think to stay safe 512GB is good. Lightroom Catalog gets bigger overtime and if we can put all our media on USB storage HD or TB2 we are good to go. I think this will be my option..
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Late reply, but I'd just point out that if your primary use case is Lightroom, you may as well stick with USB3 for your external media rather than paying the premium for TB2.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/a...-Core-Performance-649/#ImportingImagesfromUSB

Lightroom exports are CPU-constrained provided your storage is "good enough". In turn, your imports are going to be constrained by your SD/CF media, rather than any "good enough" HD.

Catalog for sure should be on the fastest drive you own - but you already know that. :)
 
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theluggage said:
Look at it this way: is 1-2TB going to be all the storage you'll ever need? If you're doing wordprocessing, email, snapshots and cat videos from your iPhone then, probably, yes, and an iMac with 1TB inside will do you proud (even the 24GB 'Fusion' will probably be enough to give you fast boot and application loaded goodness).

If you're doing serious amateur photography, video that lasts longer than it takes to say "meow!" or build up a substantial movie library then heck, no, you're going to burn through 1TB in a year or less: you're going to need some sort of additional storage, whatever happens.

If you think about it, would you rather have a fixed, limited amount of storage inside your machine, or be able to flexibly mix and match external and network storage as the need arose? Sure, having storage built in to the machine means that all your photos and movies go where your machine goes... unfortunately that includes going with your machine if it has to be repaired. It also means that you have to take your machine anywhere you want to take your data... as opposed to simply grabbing a tiny external HD. Or, if you have several computers in the house, you could also look at a NAS.

In a way, having lots of internal storage is more of an issue for a laptop (which you'll want to carry around) than for a desktop (where having your data transportable by sneakernet is an advantage - never underestimate the bandwidth of a briefcase full of hard drives).

USB 2 and Firewire used to be the bottleneck there - the only way to get really fast transfer was to use an internal drive and hook up via a parallel cable. Now we have USB3 and Thunderbolt - both faster than any single mechanical hard drive. Even Ethernet is now gigabit, and WiFi is far faster than it was, so networked mass storage is feasible for anything short of large video projects.

So, I think with an iMac I'd keep it spinning-rust free and go for a 256 or 512GB SSD - enough for the system, your software and your 'work in progress' projects, and supplement it with external storage as needed. Of course, you'll need an external drive for backup anyhow (ideally 2: one Time Machine backup for accidental deletions, one complete disc image for disaster recovery).
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Sense - You make a lot of it
 
Fishrrman said:
2tb fusion is the best choice.

You will get a 128gb PCIe-based SSD (VERY fast), AND a 2tb HDD.

You can either keep the two drives "fused", or.... split them apart into two standalone drives.

I'm going to -guess- that the latest crop of PCIe "blade drive SSD's" yield speeds that are so fast, that the differences between running the SSD "fused" vis-a-vis running it "standalone" are probably negligible to the user (at least in most cases)...
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I am interested in knowing how to split this. And can it be recombined later if I need to sell it? I am used to SSD but the fusion may be interesting.

I know the advantage of an external is that you have a backup and can send the iMac in for repair and still keep my data. Sometimes, I just want a bunch of movies and music on the iMac, and I'll have a backup of it somewhere else too. It keeps my desk neat.

I will still buy a SSD only then get an external, but I am curious to know how. I am mobile so can't do much.
 
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Cody1992 said:
I am sorry but no, the only reason this is an argument here is because it's an iMac and you can't easily replace the internal drives. I honestly don't know where you store all of your files, but I assume it's on external HDDs.
Shout out to the tens of millions of people who have been using internal HDDs for years. Like I have... on several computers... that are still working today... I understand that SSDs can outlive HDDs, but the other way around could turn out to be true. There are many hard drives that will as previously mentioned, outlast the usefulness of the CPU and GPU itself.
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I don't store it on external HDDs, I store it on my NAS.

Just because the risk of failure is higher with a HDD, it doesn't mean that it WILL fail.
I have internal HDD (+ SSD) in my gaming PC, I got it 4 years ago and both drives are still working fine today.

That doesn't mean that the HDD is as fast as it was on the day I got it, even if it's still alive and kicking.

I still wouldn't recommend getting any storage option that includes a HDD (that's including Fusion Drive, for those that don't know) in this day of age. SSDs are faster, run cooler while being quieter as well as being less likely to fail. On top of that the speed does not degrade every year as is the case with HDDs. Those are the facts.

IMO (and keep in mind that this is MY opinion); all media files you have should never be kept on just one computer. It should either be kept in the cloud or on a NAS. That'll keep them safe from drive failure (because yes, SSDs CAN fail too, even if it's less likely), data corruption as well as enabling them to be viewed from multiple different devices. Having all your media files on a single computer is pure madness from both security as well as convenience perspective.

And as been said earlier, since SSDs are generally smaller (unless you fork up a lot of dough), that workflow might not suit everyone. I still wouldn't recommend anyone to get anything else but a SSD in their iMac 2015.
 
AppleFan360 said:
Exactly!!! Now you get it!
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I get it :) If people want to believe in make-belief "facts", they are absolutely entitled to do so.

Then again, if we're throwing away logic, reason and technically true facts, why do we even have any technical discussions on this forum?
 
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Hi, may I know the latest iMac ssd is that same speed with latest RMBP 15' mid 2015 ?

The latest RMBP 15' mid 2015 is very fast.
 
Toxe said:
Personally I'd say: 512 GB SSD (or Flash, in this case) and a fast external drive for bulk storage.
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Anyone doing a configuration this way would require at least 2 external drives: one for your media files and at least one more for backup. Why not get one of those off the desk and put it in the iMac and save $ and desk space at the same time?

I am leaning to the Fusion drive. The internals can be upgraded at anytime and it is an easy do-it-yourself project.
 
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LVEB said:
Hi, may I know the latest iMac ssd is that same speed with latest RMBP 15' mid 2015 ?

The latest RMBP 15' mid 2015 is very fast.
Click to expand...

My test from yesterday, from the top of the food chain (i7 4GHz, 1 TB SSD, 32 GB RAM, 4 GB VRAM, etc. etc. ...)
Untitled.jpg
 
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Please can someone give me an idea:

  • 3.3GHz QC i7, TB up to 3.8GHz
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
  • 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3 onboard
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Num Kybd+User's Guide-B
  • COUNTRY KIT-B
Are these specs okay for just everyday normal computer use?
I dont do pics or videos or anything
 
Cutiekitty92 said:
Please can someone give me an idea:

  • 3.3GHz QC i7, TB up to 3.8GHz
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
  • 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3 onboard
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Num Kybd+User's Guide-B
  • COUNTRY KIT-B
Are these specs okay for just everyday normal computer use?
I dont do pics or videos or anything
Click to expand...

No, anything less than the i7 1TB SSD M395X and 32GB RAM will be a disaster for you. Actually I recommend getting the Mac Pro with 12 core processor and Dual GPU for your needs. (Joking your setup is perfectly fine. Good call on getting the 16GB RAM as it is un-upgradable. I7 is overkill though).

Regarding fusion drive vs SSD, I asked this question a week or so ago on the differences in real-world performance between Fusion drive and SSD. 8/9 user groups will not find any significant improvement in a pure SSD setup https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...sion-drive-and-ssd-on-latest-imac-27.1934282/

All the complaints regarding HDD noise, heat, and moving parts are way exaggerated. HDDs have been in use for decades. They've been used long enough to be reliable. As the iMac is meant to sit on your desk and not ever move, you don't have to worry about bumps the same way you would worry about a laptop (that being said, I have carried/used my HDD Windows laptop on plenty of bumpy bus and train rides and never had any issues).

In fact, the only time my HDD laptop ever broke down was because I spilled water all over it. Everything, the processor, motherboard, gpu, etc was toast... except for the HDD, which was completely intact. The only time I lost data ever, was a Western Digital external drive (Passport) which the laptop repair crew said the USB outlet had broken down, hence all the data was irrecoverably lost. (Which is why I look with suspicion on anyone who recommends getting a 256 internal SSD + external USB HD setup) So in my book - Internal HDDs/SSDs = good. External HDDs = bad.

In the end I'm a rather messy user when it comes to file management, and one thing I'd rather not think about is having to choose which files to remove from my desktop Hard drive to back up to an external drive, or vice-versa. I work with a lot of small files, and I want them to all be in one place for easy access. Fusion drive with its 4GB buffer is perfect for that purpose. I also only have to think about backing up one hard drive - which is the 3TB fusion drive, and never have to think about whether my main external drive is backed up, which backed up files are in this drive or in that drive, it all gets messy.
 
twilexia said:
No, anything less than the i7 1TB SSD M395X and 32GB RAM will be a disaster for you. Actually I recommend getting the Mac Pro with 12 core processor and Dual GPU for your needs. (Joking your setup is perfectly fine. Good call on getting the 16GB RAM as it is un-upgradable. I7 is overkill though).

Regarding fusion drive vs SSD, I asked this question a week or so ago on the differences in real-world performance between Fusion drive and SSD. 8/9 user groups will not find any significant improvement in a pure SSD setup https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...sion-drive-and-ssd-on-latest-imac-27.1934282/

All the complaints regarding HDD noise, heat, and moving parts are way exaggerated. HDDs have been in use for decades. They've been used long enough to be reliable. As the iMac is meant to sit on your desk and not ever move, you don't have to worry about bumps the same way you would worry about a laptop (that being said, I have carried/used my HDD Windows laptop on plenty of bumpy bus and train rides and never had any issues).

In fact, the only time my HDD laptop ever broke down was because I spilled water all over it. Everything, the processor, motherboard, gpu, etc was toast... except for the HDD, which was completely intact. The only time I lost data ever, was a Western Digital external drive (Passport) which the laptop repair crew said the USB outlet had broken down, hence all the data was irrecoverably lost. (Which is why I look with suspicion on anyone who recommends getting a 256 internal SSD + external USB HD setup) So in my book - Internal HDDs/SSDs = good. External HDDs = bad.

In the end I'm a rather messy user when it comes to file management, and one thing I'd rather not think about is having to choose which files to remove from my desktop Hard drive to back up to an external drive, or vice-versa. I work with a lot of small files, and I want them to all be in one place for easy access. Fusion drive with its 4GB buffer is perfect for that purpose. I also only have to think about backing up one hard drive - which is the 3TB fusion drive, and never have to think about whether my main external drive is backed up, which backed up files are in this drive or in that drive, it all gets messy.
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Thank you for the reply!!! I feel much more at ease now. I'm swapping from a MacBook Pro retina to this iMac 4K. I chose silly / big specs because I got student discount and made the most of it. I do regret not choosing 2TB fusion to begin with as it was only an extra £100 or so for me... Too late now though. Preparing for dispatch
 
With a 36mpixel camera, you're going to blow through the onboard hard drive no matter what you do (i have a 36mpix camera as well). Only viable way to store photos of that size is on external drives.
 
I went 1tb SSD mainly as upgrading the iMac internally is a no-no and I want it to last 5 years +

So far I'm blown away by the thing - best mac ever made imho
 
George Dawes said:
I went 1tb SSD mainly as upgrading the iMac internally is a no-no and I want it to last 5 years +

So far I'm blown away by the thing - best mac ever made imho
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Nice to hear, I'm opting for the 2TB Fusion model, because I want more flash storage to complement that hard drive.
 
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