Should I return my 2019 Top tier 27inch IMac and get The Base Model with SSD instead?

[Benz63amg]

A lot of users here on the forum gave me buyers remorse and a sour feeling about my 2019 iMac purchase which I got 2 days ago, i got the 2299$ Model that Apple sells in the store, it’s got the 580X graphic card, 9th gen i5, 2TB fusion drive and 8gb ram (which I’m upgrading with OWC ram to a total of 24gb by adding 2 x 8gb sticks)

I now have the fear that the fusion drive will fail due to people’s comments etc and I planned to keep this computer for years to come, my previous computer was a mid 2011 27 inch iMac and it had a standard spinning hard drive and it didn’t give any issues whatsoever, it did become slow after all these years but I don’t know if it’s due to the spinning hard drive or other factors, I had 12GB ram installed in it since day one.

I can obviously return the 2019 iMac that I just got 2 days ago to the Apple store but they don’t stock any models with SSD in stores therefore I need to wait 2 weeks to get it delivered to me. But then again which model do I get, do I get the BASE 27 inch model which has inferior graphics and CPU and add 1tb SSD to that base configuration for a total of 2499$ which is 100$ more than what I paid for my maxed top tier model 27 inch 2019 iMac with the 2tb fusion drive. I could also get the SAME top tier 27 inch iMac that I have now but instead of the 2tb fusion drive I can get a 512gb SSD in there instead by adding $100 for also a total of $2499

What do I do? Is the fusion drive going to fail and become slow and sluggish over the years eventually rendering my iMac useless in need of repair which will cost hundreds of dollars?

 

[mikehalloran]

Since 2015, the Fusion drives have been pretty reliable. As they get filled up, they slow down. Likewise, if you work with large files, they will be slower.

AppleCare adds a 3 year warranty to your purchase.

Word processing, iTunes, web surfing, YouTube videos etc. A Fusion is fine.

If editing anything more complex than the occasional smart phone video for upload to Facebook, you should go SSD only—the larger the better.

Price is not the issue. If you didn't get enough Mac, it won't matter how much you saved. When it's large/fast enough, you won't mind the money spent no matter how much.

Really, it depends on what you do with it. I'm a user who needs an iMac Pro with a 2TB SSD on board. Period. But I'm not you — and neither is anyone else who replies to this thread. You've not given us a clue as to what is best for you.

 

[Benz63amg]

Since 2015, the Fusion drives have been pretty reliable. As they get filled up, they slow down. Likewise, if you work with large files, they will be slower.

AppleCare adds a 3 year warranty to your purchase.

Word processing, iTunes, web surfing, YouTube videos etc. A Fusion is fine.

If editing anything more complex than the occasional smart phone video for upload to Facebook, you should go SSD only—the larger the better.

Price is not the issue. If you didn't get enough Mac, it won't matter how much you saved. When it's large/fast enough, you won't mind the money spent no matter how much.

Really, it depends on what you do with it. I'm a user who needs an iMac Pro with a 2TB SSD on board. Period. But I'm not you — and neither is anyone else who replies to this thread. You've not given us a clue as to what is best for you.

I am a casual user that uses the computer at home. I don’t do video editing or music production for work purposes, it all for home use. I may use photoshop every now and then and I might use GarageBand once in every few months but mostly daily web browsing is what I do on the computer.

 

[dimme]

Fusion drive user (mini and iMac) going strong for 5 and 3 years. I do recommend apple care.

 

[brokeneck]

Yes and no. I don't think you should return your iMac due to failure worries. I think fusion is generally reliable. I had a fusion drive that I hammered for years with zero issues. That's the no part.

The 'yes' part for me is that fusion is slower and noisier. I am picky about performance so I upgrade my Macs every 3 or 4 years and and I have come to prefer silent. I do use an external RAID array that I fire up when working with media (fairly often) and I don't mind the noise on that thing as it gives me great performance (better than fusion) and massive space (6x more than Apple's biggest SSD). But I keep that off when I don't need it and love a fast fast silent computer. So 2 weeks ago I "made the mistake" of getting the higher spec 27" (the one with the 580x video and 2TB Fusion - I think the same you got) only to return it 2 days later when the noise and occasional sluggish drive speed drove me nuts. And I am literally typing this on the brand new custom order I picked up today. When I went custom I added the upgraded i9 and Vega as well as 512GB SSD but that did drive up the price by a lot. I'm not looking back. But I am picky as hell. I didn't do it because I was worried about failure. So if that's the main thing getting you paranoid don't sweat it and enjoy your new rig. Honestly all the models are beasts. Improvements through custom order are only incremental.

 

[throAU]

The fact that apple are still putting fusion drives in iMacs in 2019 is a joke.

The pricing is such that spinning rust should not be a thing in Apple devices any more. A single spinning harddrive is such a massive bottleneck, and SSDs are so relatively cheap vs. the total BOM... Yes, fusion helps, but this is a premium product and hard drives just aren't.


I wouldn't worry too much about failure, but jeez apple. get with the times. If they want to do fusion it should be with a 2TB SATA SSD and some optane...



I'd return it. If you need GPU power, take the money saved and put it towards an eGPU box with a Vega card (or hey, a properly cooled RX580 to begin with). That you can continue to upgrade as you see fit.

 

[adamk77]

 

 

[Benz63amg]

i still can't wrap my head around how i'll be able to fully utilize the computer with 512gb of storage, it just isnt enough, that means ill need to store my iTunes library on an external drive aswell (which i'll need to buy because i don't own an SSD external Drive)

 

[adamk77]

 

 

[Jamers99]

I vote to get the 512 SSD all the way. Much faster and quieter too.

 

[iono11200]

i still can't wrap my head around how i'll be able to fully utilize the computer with 512gb of storage, it just isnt enough, that means ill need to store my iTunes library on an external drive aswell (which i'll need to buy because i don't own an SSD external Drive)

I suspect that I am a very light user. I am currently using less than 100 GB of my 1 TB Hard Drive. Although it is not yet in my hands I ordered a 512 GB SSD in my new machine. I probably read a bit too much into the comments regarding a fusion drive on this forum but they were by and large not favorable. I felt confident with the 512 GB SSD upgrade and figured I'd be safe as I can always add an external HD later if the need arises. Best Wishes to all with their decisions and new machines!

 

[propower]

If it were me
Order the i5/3.7 like what you have with 512G SSD today ($100 more). Use the one you have for the next 10 days - hopefully the ew one will arrive - return the Fusion. Apple cares not!
Get a nice T5 for the rest of your work, 1TB or 2. Shop amazon daily - 2TB are anywhere from $320 to $440 depending on the day !!

 

[mikehalloran]

i still can't wrap my head around how i'll be able to fully utilize the computer with 512gb of storage, it just isnt enough, that means ill need to store my iTunes library on an external drive aswell (which i'll need to buy because i don't own an SSD external Drive)

Mojave makes that very easy.

Any SATA III in a USB 3 dock is plenty fast enough for streaming your iTunes library. Take one of these—take your pick on the size
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-SATA-Internal/dp/B078C515QL/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=860+evo+2tb&qid=1554783886&s=gateway&sr=8-11&th=1
in one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Docking-Station-Support/dp/B0099TX7O4/ref=sr_1_74?crid=35ZB4DZKVAFCM&keywords=usb+3+docking+station&qid=1554783990&s=gateway&sprefix=usb+3+dock,aps,200&sr=8-74

Instant iTunes streaming bay. You can also use it to offload files you aren't using or are done editing.

You really do want active GarageBand files on your boot drive but, when done, offload them to that.

You can get a 2nd dock and stuff it with a large WD Red for Time Machine.
https://www.amazon.com/Red-4TB-NAS-...ywords=wd+red&qid=1554784544&s=gateway&sr=8-2

I really like my TM drives connected via ethernet and in another room where I can't hear them—but that's me and I'm not you. The MY Cloud comes stuffed with a WD Red and Time Machine is one of the default setups.
https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Home-P...s=My+Cloud+WD&qid=1554784646&s=gateway&sr=8-2

As others have said, there are many reasons to dislike fusion drives but reliability over 3–5 years is not one of them.

 

[Abbas]

I've picked up the exact config as you and I DO edit on FCPX for 1080p videos. The Fusion drive is working beautifully for me (with 40GB RAM) and is as fast as my MBP with SSD for daily usage. I am completely fine trading the speed for large capacity. For my daily use, the iMac runs as fast as an SSD would and for my video edits- usually twice or thrice a week, it is good enough.

Again, I work with 1080p videos so file sizes aren't huge- somewhere between 200-500MB but I can imaging 4K videos punishing the drive. IF, down the road, I feel the Fusion drive is holding me back, I'll just buy a Samsung X5 and use it as a boot drive.

A lot of users here on the forum gave me buyers remorse and a sour feeling about my 2019 iMac purchase which I got 2 days ago, i got the 2299$ Model that Apple sells in the store, it’s got the 580X graphic card, 9th gen i5, 2TB fusion drive and 8gb ram (which I’m upgrading with OWC ram to a total of 24gb by adding 2 x 8gb sticks)

I now have the fear that the fusion drive will fail due to people’s comments etc and I planned to keep this computer for years to come, my previous computer was a mid 2011 27 inch iMac and it had a standard spinning hard drive and it didn’t give any issues whatsoever, it did become slow after all these years but I don’t know if it’s due to the spinning hard drive or other factors, I had 12GB ram installed in it since day one.

I can obviously return the 2019 iMac that I just got 2 days ago to the Apple store but they don’t stock any models with SSD in stores therefore I need to wait 2 weeks to get it delivered to me. But then again which model do I get, do I get the BASE 27 inch model which has inferior graphics and CPU and add 1tb SSD to that base configuration for a total of 2499$ which is 100$ more than what I paid for my maxed top tier model 27 inch 2019 iMac with the 2tb fusion drive. I could also get the SAME top tier 27 inch iMac that I have now but instead of the 2tb fusion drive I can get a 512gb SSD in there instead by adding $100 for also a total of $2499

What do I do? Is the fusion drive going to fail and become slow and sluggish over the years eventually rendering my iMac useless in need of repair which will cost hundreds of dollars?

've

 

[Colonel Blimp]

The 'yes' part for me is that fusion is slower and noisier. I am picky about performance so I upgrade my Macs every 3 or 4 years and and I have come to prefer silent.

The Fusion Drive is not silent, but then neither is the fan in an iMac. In my Late 2015 27-inch iMac, the Fusion Drive is much quieter than the fan, even when the fan is idling (and the fan when idling is very quiet).

If you require a silent computer, then you should get an iPad Pro, not a Mac.

I am a casual user that uses the computer at home. I don’t do video editing or music production for work purposes, it all for home use. I may use photoshop every now and then and I might use GarageBand once in every few months but mostly daily web browsing is what I do on the computer.

i still can't wrap my head around how i'll be able to fully utilize the computer with 512gb of storage, it just isnt enough, that means ill need to store my iTunes library on an external drive aswell (which i'll need to buy because i don't own an SSD external Drive)

Benz63amg, based on what you’ve written here, then the 2 or 3 TB Fusion Drive is certainly the right choice for you. For how you’re using your computer, you are not likely to notice any difference in speed.

I’ve been using a 3 TB Fusion Drive for the past three and a half years and have been very happy with it. I had absolutely no hesitation of any kind whatsoever in configuring my 2019 iMac with another 3 TB Fusion Drive.

Be aware that there is a lot of knee-jerk ideological dogmatizing about Fusion Drives on these forums from people who have never used them. There are use cases for which Fusion Drives are not well suited, but yours are not among them.

See this post, this post, and this post, written by persons who have actually used Fusion Drives.

Buy AppleCare for peace of mind for the next three years, and save the US $1,100 that it would cost you to get the same storage in an internal SSD. You can always buy an external SSD later on if your usage changes and you find you need the speed (by which time the prices on SSDs will have dropped even further), or in three or four years you can take that US $1,100 and buy an even more powerful Mac.

 

[mikehalloran]

Benz63amg, based on what you’ve written here, then the 2 or 3 TB Fusion Drive is certainly the right choice for you. For how you’re using your computer, you are not likely to notice any difference in speed.

Despite that it wouldn't be right for me, I have no problem with this at all.

You've not given any compelling reason why you need an SSD based iMac over a Fusion. Ok, we're all guessing but, based on what you've posted...

If, however, you feel the SSD based iMac will make you happier, you should have enough info to make an informed decision.

 

[Sir Ruben]

Hi OP, here’s what I decided to do, which may or may not help you. I ordered mine with a 512ssd which was chosen on cost vs size. In addition I have a 500gb Samsung T5 external ssd for £90 which is tiny and can be hidden away. That’s 1tb of fast storage right off the bat. To finish of I have a 2tb external hdd. That’s 3tb in total and the hdd will also contain a backup of my photos as quite frankly I wouldn’t trust just one backup on an ssd (or any drive for that matter).

Considering the above you could have 1tb of fast storage including faster boot times etc, and 2tb of storage that doesn’t require speed for any particular reason. I think that is a decent compromise.

 

[Benz63amg]

Despite that it wouldn't be right for me, I have no problem with this at all.

You've not given any compelling reason why you need an SSD based iMac over a Fusion. Ok, we're all guessing but, based on what you've posted...

If, however, you feel the SSD based iMac will make you happier, you should have enough info to make an informed decision.

I’m scared that the fusion drive will fail on me and will require an expensive repair after being told how unreliable they are here on the forums and that I should avoid them at all costs and that I should get an SSD iMac. They also said my iMac will get slower and slower over time with the fusion
[doublepost=1554817110][/doublepost]

Despite that it wouldn't be right for me, I have no problem with this at all.

You've not given any compelling reason why you need an SSD based iMac over a Fusion. Ok, we're all guessing but, based on what you've posted...

If, however, you feel the SSD based iMac will make you happier, you should have enough info to make an informed decision.

I’m scared that the fusion drive will fail on me and will require an expensive repair after being told how unreliable they are here on the forums and that I should avoid them at all costs and that I should get an SSD iMac. They also said my iMac with the fusion drive will get slower and slower over time with the fusion

 

[brokeneck]

The Fusion Drive is not silent, but then neither is the fan in an iMac. In my Late 2015 27-inch iMac, the Fusion Drive is much quieter than the fan, even when the fan is idling (and the fan when idling is very quiet).

No, it isn't the constant whirring that annoys me its the clink clank clunks. It's the head that is noisy not the spinning. I agree the spinning is silent enough. The trashing sounds that the disk head makes sounds like when I am at chiropractors. Maybe that is why I quit the chiropractor too. New iMac with SSD is much quieter than the fusion one I returned. Doesn't change my advice to OP. If the clanking isn't a worry then don't return it for quality concerns.

 

[bondavi]

I made the jump from Fusion to SSD from my 2017 to the 2019. Only concern was the downsize, but then I told myself, thats easily fixed with external, for my data that I would want to keep external anyway. I know had I made another Fusion purchase, especially with the i9, I would constantly be second guessing my choice. So the smaller relative SSD does give a degree of satisfaction I'm getting the most out of the new system on the file transfer front.

--another Benz 63 owner (e63)

 

[Benz63amg]

I made the jump from Fusion to SSD from my 2017 to the 2019. Only concern was the downsize, but then I told myself, thats easily fixed with external, for my data that I would want to keep external anyway. I know had I made another Fusion purchase, especially with the i9, I would constantly be second guessing my choice. So the smaller relative SSD does give a degree of satisfaction I'm getting the most out of the new system on the file transfer front.

--another Benz 63 owner (e63)

Besides from the file transfer speed difference, are you noticing any other differences that are worth mentioning?
[doublepost=1554852878][/doublepost]

No, it isn't the constant whirring that annoys me its the clink clank clunks. It's the head that is noisy not the spinning. I agree the spinning is silent enough. The trashing sounds that the disk head makes sounds like when I am at chiropractors. Maybe that is why I quit the chiropractor too. New iMac with SSD is much quieter than the fusion one I returned. Doesn't change my advice to OP. If the clanking isn't a worry then don't return it for quality concerns.

Thank you, quality is what my main concern was. I think I’ll keep the current configuration I have with the 2tb fusion drive. I don’t mind waiting half a minute more to transfer a file through the system.
My new 27 inch 2019 iMac came with 8gb ram and I’m getting a pair of 2 x 8gb ram sticks delivered from OWC tomorrow so I’ll be installing that into the iMac tomorrow alongside the 8GB that was already installed from the factory to increase the total RAM to 24GB which should be a great improvement as well since 8GB simply isn’t enough. I was thinking about adding 2 x 16gb for a total of 40GB ram but that seemed like an overkill and cost twice the price of 2 x 8GB ram sticks.

 

[brokeneck]

Besides from the file transfer speed difference, are you noticing any other differences that are worth mentioning?
[doublepost=1554852878][/doublepost]

No not really. I mean I'm sure the i9 and Vega is faster that the i5 and the 580X but unless you're a gamer on a Mac (why? lol) or a creative professional chances are the prices apple charges for the modest boost for the top end custom order isn't worth it. I think you have it right. 24GB of RAM is a sweet spot in my opinion, it would probably be rare you'd need 40. The only reason I maxed out my rig is I do process H.265 10 bit video fairly often lately because I got a drone that shoots at this level and this does push the envelope. But this is not a normal use case at all. I think you can sleep easy. I think all the 2019 iMacs rock and roll. It's a good update to coffee lake & faster RAM. I think we have nothing to complain about....

 

[Colonel Blimp]

They also said my iMac with the fusion drive will get slower and slower over time with the fusion

For whatever it’s worth, I can remember only one poster saying that, and in three and a half years of very heavy use, I’ve not experienced any slowing over time.

(I do experience slowing if I let my 3 TB Fusion Drive’s free space shrink below about 25 or 30 GB, which is an extreme degree of crowding that I don’t recommend. If you keep at least 100 GB or so free, then I think you’ll find performance quite good.)

 

[brokeneck]

For whatever it’s worth, I can remember only one poster saying that, and in three and a half years of very heavy use, I’ve not experienced any slowing over time.

(I do experience slowing if I let my 3 TB Fusion Drive’s free space shrink below about 25 or 30 GB, which is an extreme degree of crowding that I don’t recommend. If you keep at least 100 GB or so free, then I think you’ll find performance quite good.)

Yeah, people who test this stuff a lot say exactly the same thing about SSD drives! So I can't see why a fusion would be any worse....

 

[insimbi]

Don't let these Fusion haters get to you. I have a Late 2013 iMac and the Fusion drive is still fast and going strong. I have had 0 problems with it for almost 6 years. I am going to be purchasing a 2019 iMac shortly and will be getting the 2TB Fusion Drive as well. From my own experience I can recommend it without hesitation. Good luck!