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iMac FusionDrive Partioning

M

milomak

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 25, 2010
73
1
I am contemplating getting the 27" iMac with 2TB FusionDrive.

I however want to install Linux and Windows 10 on it as well. Will I be able to partition to install these OS as well?

Let's not go into the merits of why I want to do this.
 
I think Apple only allows a single additional partition on a Fusion drive using the OS X tools. This partition is not part of the Fusion control and exists only on the hard drive.

You can "un-Fuse" the Fusion drive and partition either drive as you wish, then recreate the Fusion drive using DIY instructions using the partitions you select. Unfortunately, the Apple Fusion SSD portion is too small to do much with partitioning it, however DIY installations using larger SSD drives can overcome this limitation.

You can, of course, add additional Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 SSD or hard drives externally to do what you need. Small bus-powered portable drives can be easily hidden velcro mounted on the back of the iMac stand.
 
I have a late 2015 5K iMac with the 2 tb fusion drive. I have installed windows 10. I will only use the HDD drive of the fusion drive for windows. The HDD is a 7200 rpm drive and the I/O is pretty snappy in windows , it's not SSD speeds but great for a HDD. Linux may be another story, bootcamp on the 5K machines is pretty fussy compared to other models. But It has always been a chore to triple boot macs. If you can get away with using OS X and getting ventilation software I will be much easer.
 
I was amazed with the speed of my fusion drive today.

iMac must've booted up in 5 seconds. Turned away for a second and everything was up. Everything opens immediately because the read speeds are very high.

For anything on the HDD you already know it's there, and guess where the only slowdown in my computer comes from, a disgusting, lame, frequently disconnecting external hard drive that has to spin back up every now and then.

I think it's safe to say I made the right choice.

As for Windows, don't know. Hate it. Couldn't pay me to use Windows, but from what I hear you can't install it on the SSD portion of the fusion. Go figure
 
hfg said:
I think Apple only allows a single additional partition on a Fusion drive using the OS X tools. This partition is not part of the Fusion control and exists only on the hard drive.

You can "un-Fuse" the Fusion drive and partition either drive as you wish, then recreate the Fusion drive using DIY instructions using the partitions you select. Unfortunately, the Apple Fusion SSD portion is too small to do much with partitioning it, however DIY installations using larger SSD drives can overcome this limitation.

You can, of course, add additional Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 SSD or hard drives externally to do what you need. Small bus-powered portable drives can be easily hidden velcro mounted on the back of the iMac stand.
Click to expand...
how do you un-fuse?
 
This thread has answered alot of questions I had about installing windows 10 boot camp.

I recently bought imac 5k 2tb fusion drive.

Planning on using Windows for gaming purposes only. Anyone here have experience with this? How is performance?
 
RipeRetina said:
This thread has answered alot of questions I had about installing windows 10 boot camp.

I recently bought imac 5k 2tb fusion drive.

Planning on using Windows for gaming purposes only. Anyone here have experience with this? How is performance?
Click to expand...
I an not a big gamer but I do enjoy playing with MS Flight Simulator. I used to run it on a 2008 MacPro and now I moved to a late 2015 5K iMac with a 2tb fusion drive. The performance is great except for the video. I don't think the drivers for windows have caught up with being optimized for 5K, but I have set the resolution lower and for my needs I am happy.
 
milomak said:
how do you un-fuse?
Click to expand...
Keep in mind, the 2TB Fusion drive only has 128GB Flash storage, so that I think is too small to hold 3 operating systems (OSX, Windows, Linux). I think its a bit tight to even hold 2, I was thinking of doing this, but felt 64GB for Windows in the long run will be too small.
 
maflynn said:
Keep in mind, the 2TB Fusion drive only has 128GB Flash storage, so that I think is too small to hold 3 operating systems (OSX, Windows, Linux). I think its a bit tight to even hold 2, I was thinking of doing this, but felt 64GB for Windows in the long run will be too small.
Click to expand...

i am undecided whether to:
i) have the ssd fully for osx, or
ii) a 40GB linux install and the rest osx

the non-ssd will be partitioned 1GB ntfs and the balance linux partition/hfs+

i think i will go with i) in the end
 
Yes - that article talks about deleting the core storage volume.
"Delete Core-storage volume" = "Remove fusion drive"
The fusion drive is a single core-storage volume, made up of the two devices - SSD, and HDD.
If you delete the core storage volume (removing the fusion drive), then the SSD and the HDD can be used independently.
 
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