iMac 27" 5K Late 2015 Drive Option

[freeze1987]

Hello Macrumors,

I'm going to purchase the iMac 27" Retina 5K next month. RAM, CPU e.t.c are settled but I'm still confused/frustrated regarding the storage options. I know there are many threads regarding Flash vs Fusion drive in terms of speed, heat e.t.c. But I haven't found one thread that discuss reliability.

Backblaze and reliability Reports
This is not the only report, only one of many. The results however are the same: The failure rate of Seagate drives is horrible. According to the link below and many other tests following that one I can only read this: The models that Apple use in the iMac 5K basically sucks.

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/best-hard-drive-q4-2014/

1. Which hard drives does Apple use for the 2 TB and the 3 TB Fusion drive in the late 2015 iMac 27" 5K?

2. What's your opinion of the drive that Apple have chosen to pair with the flash part.

3. How much more reliable is the 1 TB Flash storage compared.

Regards,
[doublepost=1456654206][/doublepost]http://arstechnica.com/information-...ned-once-more-hgst-rules-seagate-is-alarming/

 

[maflynn]

1. Which hard drives does Apple use for the 2 TB and the 3 TB Fusion drive in the late 2015 iMac 27" 5K?

I thought they use seagate or samsung

2. What's your opinion of the drive that Apple have chosen to pair with the flash part.

My opinion? I'm happy with my 2TB Fusion drive. Its fast and spacious.

3. How much more reliable is the 1 TB Flash storage compared.

I have no idea. The life span of SSDs are such that we've not gotten a long track record on them, where as hard drives have a long and fairly consistent track record, i.e., solid and stable.

I think the pricing of the 1TB SSD is such that its well outside of my budget and I didn't even consider it.

 

[freeze1987]

I found out that Apple uses the Seagate ST3000DM001 drive as the 3 TB Fusion option. This drive has 28,34% fail rate according to Backblaze.

This is what concerns me.

 

[maflynn]

This drive has 28,34% fail rate according to Backblaze.

You have two options, avoid the 3TB Fusion drive, or if you do take the plunge with it, make sure you include applecare, so if it does fail, its apple's problem.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Hello Macrumors,

I'm going to purchase the iMac 27" Retina 5K next month. RAM, CPU e.t.c are settled but I'm still confused/frustrated regarding the storage options. I know there are many threads regarding Flash vs Fusion drive in terms of speed, heat e.t.c. But I haven't found one thread that discuss reliability.

Backblaze and reliability Reports
This is not the only report, only one of many. The results however are the same: The failure rate of Seagate drives is horrible. According to the link below and many other tests following that one I can only read this: The models that Apple use in the iMac 5K basically sucks.

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/best-hard-drive-q4-2014/

1. Which hard drives does Apple use for the 2 TB and the 3 TB Fusion drive in the late 2015 iMac 27" 5K?

2. What's your opinion of the drive that Apple have chosen to pair with the flash part.

3. How much more reliable is the 1 TB Flash storage compared.

Regards,
[doublepost=1456654206][/doublepost]http://arstechnica.com/information-...ned-once-more-hgst-rules-seagate-is-alarming/

Look, your real world experience is going to be much, much different than any specs. No matter what you get, you need backup. Perhaps the spinning drive has a couple more percentage points chance of failing. But the Flash drives can corrupt data and make it unrecoverable. Anyhow, your best bet is either the 512TB or 1TB NVRAM drive coupled with an external. If you're on a budget, the 2TB Fusion is a solid choice.