1TB Fusion vs Fused 250SSD + 1TB 5200rpm?

[Utterchaos23]

Hi All,

For my new (as yet unordered) Mac Mini, which would be quicker?

A 1TB Fusion - an extra £200
or a 240GB SSD Fused with the standard 1TB 5200rpm costing about the same inc. the drive-double kit?

J

 

[opinio]

Hi All,

For my new (as yet unordered) Mac Mini, which would be quicker?

A 1TB Fusion - an extra £200
or a 240GB SSD Fused with the standard 1TB 5200rpm costing about the same inc. the drive-double kit?

J

Depends on the 240GB SSD you fuse with the OEM drive as to whether it is faster than the OEM 128 GB SSD used in the Apple fusion. 240GB sounds like a sandforce controlled SSD like OCZ. If you fused the OEM 1TB with a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro it would be faster than the Apple 1TB Fusion.

It really comes down to the SSD you use because the Apple fusion uses the 5400 rpm 1TB drive anyway.

If you can afford it fuse an 840 Pro SSD with a HGST 1TB 7200 HDD. That would have to be the fastest fusion in my books. That is basically mixing the fastest SSD with the fastest HDD (for a 1TB 2.5" that is).

 

[Utterchaos23]

SSD is http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=5540603BA5CA7304

but the one you mentioned to looks better and not too much more cash.

Idea is to use the one in the machine to keep costs down, which is why I'll be using the (yuk) 5200 drive.

Either way, should be quicker than my 2008 iMac!

Cheers

 

[opinio]

SSD is http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=5540603BA5CA7304

but the one you mentioned to looks better and not too much more cash.

Idea is to use the one in the machine to keep costs down, which is why I'll be using the (yuk) 5200 drive.

Either way, should be quicker than my 2008 iMac!

Cheers

The OEM 5400rpm HDD that comes with the Mac mini is a very good drive. It is faster than a numbner of older 7200rpm drives. That is, if it is the HGST 5400 1TB (I am assuming).

I have both the 5400 and 7200 HGST 1TB's. From memory the 5400 did around 102MB/s read/write on Black Magic while the 7200 did in the 130's.

I wouldn't be concerned at all about the OEM 5400rpm drive in a fusion. It is a very good HDD. Under normal operating conditions it should not show any perceptible difference to the 7200. In fact, it will not even come into play unless you fill the fusion with more than 95% of the SSD's capacity, at which point the HDD starts to play a part (subject of course to the work the OS is doing behind the scenes in moving blocks).

 

[Utterchaos23]

Cheers opinio.

Sounds like a good plan and saves me 80 quid!

Thanks

J

 

[Mike in Kansas]

By creating your own Fusion Drive with a 240GB SSD you get twice the SSD space than the OEM 1.1TB Fusion Drive has. That would be the deciding factor for me...