Hard drives?

[wayland1985]

I know it’s been discussed... and I’ve read a few threads about them, but I still have questions...


I’m in the market for a desktop: iMac seems like the clear winner (could change if they announce new products this month). 98% of my computing, though, is done on my phone or iPad.

The desktop will likely serve as a means for backing up my I-devices, and for storing copies of my important documents (I’d like to scan and store bills/policies, etc, rather than keep a disorganized file cabinet full of paper).

Most of my data comes from photos and music.

I’m really leaning towards a refurb machine, but most of them come with fusion drives. I’d lean towards a 2TB fusion, only to take advantage of the larger 128gb flash portion.

I know the Mac SSD options are blazing fast. But, if my usage is for music, photo storage, pdf storage and VERY Occasional video editing (I have a new drone), would I even notice the benefits of a $1000 1tb iMac premium price ($2900 for new 27” iMac with 1tb ssd vs $1900 for identical refurb iMac and 2TB fusion)

I do plan to add an external drive for redundancy either way.,,

 

[Fishrrman]

If you have the money to toss away for a 1tb or 2tb SSD just for "backing up my I-devices", well, more power to ya.

I'd suggest getting the -smallest- SSD possible (256gb, adds $100 to the buy-in price) and then adding USB3 EXTERNAL storage to serve as the "backup media".

 

[ColdCase]

The 1TB SSD is nice, a nice machine, 2TB even nicer. If you are not doing video editing of large video files or using effects like stabilization or transcoding and can't wait, then I doubt you will see performance benefits, although it may be more convenient. The machine may also be more stable. Aren't there folks with tons of issues with the fusion drive concept and try to avoid them for other reasons?

So the suggestion of buying a machine with the smallest internal SSD and add external storage may be a better compromise for you, in the long run. If you run into annoying performance bottle necks, you can always add a TB2 or TB3 disk enclosure with multiple SSDs or a mix of large drives and SSDs. You can get decent 4TB SSDs now days for less than $900. The enclosures perform well and eliminate a bunch of desk clutter.