3TB Fusion Mac Mini

[magicMac]

Hi All,

If the fusion drive option from apple is usually 128GB of PCIe flash storage combined with a 1TB HDD and the new mac mini can be ordered with 1TB if PCIe flash storage and a 2.5" 2TB HDD can be self installed, does that mean the fusion drive capacity will be 3TB (1+2) or is the system volume limited by the size of the HDD (2TB)?

I guess if the flash storage is used purely for cache then its the latter, but if it forms part of the file system then i suspect it's the former. I'm guessing someone must have given this a try already!!!

Jonathan

 

[magbarn]

It would be foolish to waste a 1TB PCIE as part of a fusion drive. The mean reason for fusion drive's is to try to make a small 128GB SSD perform as if it were a 1TB SSD (while it does help in bootup and starting apps, it doesn't help much when you're moving around large files).

You're much better off and your data is much safer if you just use a 1TB PCIe as a separate drive and put a 2TB HDD in the there also.

 

[magicMac]

It would be foolish to waste a 1TB PCIE as part of a fusion drive. The mean reason for fusion drive's is to try to make a small 128GB SSD perform as if it were a 1TB SSD (while it does help in bootup and starting apps, it doesn't help much when you're moving around large files).

You're much better off and your data is much safer if you just use a 1TB PCIe as a separate drive and put a 2TB HDD in the there also.

Not if you need a single 3TB volume, hence the question.

 

[paulrbeers]

Hi All,

If the fusion drive option from apple is usually 128GB of PCIe flash storage combined with a 1TB HDD and the new mac mini can be ordered with 1TB if PCIe flash storage and a 2.5" 2TB HDD can be self installed, does that mean the fusion drive capacity will be 3TB (1+2) or is the system volume limited by the size of the HDD (2TB)?

I guess if the flash storage is used purely for cache then its the latter, but if it forms part of the file system then i suspect it's the former. I'm guessing someone must have given this a try already!!!

Jonathan

Why not just use one of the 4 USB 3.0 ports or one of the two TB2 ports and use an external enclosure if you really need 3TB of of storage.

 

[magicMac]

Why not just use one of the 4 USB 3.0 ports or one of the two TB2 ports and use an external enclosure if you really need 3TB of of storage.

I have, quite obviously, considered that. I do have a 4TB USB3.0 bus powered external but I use that for time machine. If I were to put data on a separate one thats a £200+ drive (I don't want a drive which requires a power socket) and I don't get the benefit of higher performance for frequently accessed files - like the fusion brings.

Jonathan

 

[paulrbeers]

I have, quite obviously, considered that. I do have a 4TB USB3.0 bus powered external but I use that for time machine. If I were to put data on a separate one thats a £200+ drive (I don't want a drive which requires a power socket) and I don't get the benefit of higher performance for frequently accessed files - like the fusion brings.

Jonathan

Sooo 1TB SSD from Apple will cost you $800. You can buy 2 - 1TB SSD's for that same cost (Crucial M550 or Samsung 840EVOs)? Add a basic multi bay external enclosure and you have 2TB of SSD for super fast storage for not much more than Apple charges for 1TB! Further, you CAN build an External Fusion setup! It's not really that hard if you really want to a Fusion setup. Remember though, the only "fast" access is in the SSD. Once the SSD is full, it off loads to the spinning hard drive so if you fill your SSD, don't expect older data that has been moved to the spinning hard drive to be accessed quickly.

 

[magicMac]

I can imagine that being quite useful to those who don't know what a fusion drive is. However, I am asking a more specific question about the total volume size when a mechanical and some flash storage is fused together in disk utility. I think I found my answer by looking at a 3TB iMac fusion which had a total volume size of 3.12GB - the 3TB spinner plus 128GB flash.


http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx338/magicMac/ScreenShot2014-10-23at234059.png

Also Paul, the PCIe flash storage is faster than a SATA SSD and there is only the one SATA port in the new Mac mini which would be used by the spinner.

Jonathan