2019 iMac with external SSD?

[Djenk]

First post here... Thanks for reading. I’m a fan of SSDs and have been using them in my (now ancient) iMacs. I am ready to pony up for a new 2019 iMac, but am not wanting to shell out what they ask for SSDs inside. I’m not afraid to install SSDs inside the machine, but figure I can wait until my warranty expires. My use isn’t crazy heavy — occasionally dip into Final Cut and Logic, but no heavy 3-D stuff or anything. It will be a home computer.

Just had to recycle my 2003 (!) iMac, and pulled out the Crucial MX100 512GB internal SSD that I installed - (forgot how easy it was to do back then!!) which made it run like a prince - and I’m wondering about this:

I have a 2008 iMac now running El Capitain, which I will keep for music studio work (it has a 1TB internal SSD). There is very little on the old Crucial right now - Snow Leopard, some photos etc. I’m considering pulling off whatever is useful onto my 2008 iMac, and then setting it up as a boot disc for a new iMac.

I could then buy a baseline 21.5” 2019 3.6Ghz iMac (8gb RAM, 1TB HDD) and put the Crucial in an enclosure for now, then after the warranty expires go in for internal installation of SSD (and likely RAM at that point).

I’ve never used an enclosure, as I’ve always installed internally, so I’d love your advice about that (and the proper cable to use), and more generally, if this is just a dumb idea...! Just hate forking over more than necessary - and also have equipment on hand that could be of use, I imagine....? Any thoughts on how you would set up/partition the discs would be welcome, as well!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Fishrrman]

Your existing SSDs will be "slow" compared to the factory-installed SSDs in the 2019 iMacs. The internal SSD will be 4-5 times as fast (in benchmark tests).

Just get a modest-sized internal SSD.
512gb if you wish.
But even 256gb will do the job and "do it right".

Keep the internal SSD "lean and clean" -- just the OS, apps, and "basic" accounts.
Leave your "large libraries" on your EXTERNAL drives (see below).
This way the internal SSD will have extra room for swap and temp files.

Then... supplement your internal boot drive with external SSDs for your data and projects.

Do it this way, and I predict you'll be a very VERY happy user.

 

[Djenk]

Gotcha. Sounds good. Haven't really kept up with the progress of SSD speed....
As you can tell, I like to keep them a long time, so I'll probably opt for the 512, then maybe set up my old 1TB SSD to run everything else externally...? Perhaps the smaller 256 internal SSD will suffice if it is super lean (I run Final Cut and music stuff, but probably plenty of space for those...) I'll look at your "methods" below. Thanks so much for your help!