iMac 2017 with FusionDrive - Best external SSD solution?

[AmselDamsel]

Hi there,

I had to buy a retail version which means that I wasn't able to chose a SSD/CTO-Version and had to stick with the 2 TB Fusion Drive. My new iMac will be delivered in a few days and since I replaced my iMacs (Late 2009) Superdrive with an SSD I'm already questioning the speed of the new device

Therefore, I thought it would be a good solution to install the OS (or/and Bootcamp) on an external SSD via Thunderbolt. The internal fusion drive would serve as data storage for photos, projects and videos.

My questions are:

Is there a different/faster option than a Sandisk Extreme 900 which is using USB 3.1 Gen 2?

I'm wondering if something like a "SSD bay" exist which has the same speed/reliability - it would be nice if I can have multiple SSDs on one TB3-Port because I need the other port for my second monitor. I just found some RAID systems, but I guess that I have to pay for features I don't need. Would be nice to have one SSD for MacOS and one for bootcamp

I already found some 2.5" cases on Amazon Germany which are supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2. Are there any drawbacks when using such a case with a standard SSD in comparison to the extreme 900? It seems to be much cheaper, but the market here is already flooded with china stuff...

 

[EugW]

I would leave the OS on the Fusion drive. That's what the built-in SSD is for after all.

But personally, I went with a 1 TB SSD. If I want extra storage I can put that on an external drive.

 

[theitsage]

If best solution means no constraint on pricing, you can go for Thunderbolt 3 NVMe flash storage. For example, pairing a Samsung 960 EVO with and AKiTiO Thunder3 will surpass 2,000 Mbps read speed. It's also bootable.

The AKiTiO Thunder3 in particular has a second Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy chaining. Its DisplayPort is also useful for Display passthrough.