SSD help for iMac late 2012

[BIGBUCZ]

Happy New Years to you all

And thank god for Mac Rumors


Now down to business, I finally decided to make the plunge and purchase my first IMAC, I decided to grab a 27" 3.2ghz, but not willing to pay an extra $250 for a fusion drive. I've read that it's not upgradable unless you open it up and i'm not willing to do that, and so thats were you come in. Is there a ssd that i can use via usb,

I think I read somewhere that I could use a owc usb 3.0 enclosure with a internal ssd if so then which ssd is best matched with the 3.2 ghz

 

[jamesakano]

Samsung 840 Pro

 

[sounddesigner]

Yeah there are a lot of options out there you can get an enclosure then buy any ssd that fits or get something like the LaCie rugged there.

 

[BIGBUCZ]

Yeah there are a lot of options out there you can get an enclosure then buy any ssd that fits or get something like the LaCie rugged there.

Thanks bud,
would I then be able to use the ssd to boot the imac os and all and other applications

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Yeah there are a lot of options out there you can get an enclosure then buy any ssd that fits or get something like the LaCie rugged there.

you own this one already ?

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Samsung 840 Pro

seems like this one gets pretty good ratings whats your experience with it?

 

[DisMyMac]

How does SSD over TB compare with internal speeds (of either SSD or 7200rpm)?

 

[WilliamG]

How does SSD over TB compare with internal speeds (of either SSD or 7200rpm)?

Not quite as good, if you go via benchmarks. In terms of actual usage, very, VERY good. I'm personally using a Samsung 830 256GB and it's a speed demon over Thunderbolt (360MB/s reads, and 320MB/s writes), and apparently the 840 Pro is a bit faster still. Either way you can't go wrong.

 

[michaelkc]

Not quite as good, if you go via benchmarks. In terms of actual usage, very, VERY good. I'm personally using a Samsung 830 256GB and it's a speed demon over Thunderbolt (360MB/s reads, and 320MB/s writes), and apparently the 840 Pro is a bit faster still. Either way you can't go wrong.

What enclosure are you using for the SSD? I have one ready but I've not seen a TB enclosure anywhere.

 

[WilliamG]

What enclosure are you using for the SSD? I have one ready but I've not seen a TB enclosure anywhere.

Seagate Backup Plus.

 

[michaelkc]

Seagate Backup Plus.

Oh awesome. Did you remove the HDD out of that and put in your own SSD?

 

[Tanax]

You could use a regular USB3 enclosure too. You can reach almost full SSD-speeds with USB3 plus USB3 is cheaper than TB.

 

[BIGBUCZ]

You could use a regular USB3 enclosure too. You can reach almost full SSD-speeds with USB3 plus USB3 is cheaper than TB.

We're making progress here, I guess the next logical question is what's the best 3.0 enclosure ?

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I think I'm going with the Samsung 840 Pro 256gb

 

[kaktus]

Maybe this USB 3.0 enclosure: Thermaltake Silver River 5G case. The performance look very good.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1483374/

When you look for a SSD bigger then 265GB you should get a USB 3 or TB with external power. Bigger SSD`s need more power. Under heavy use you can get some problems.
The reason why you find here:
http://wolfgangtechnology.blogspot.de/2012/06/mac-with-seagate-thunderbolt-adapter.html

 

[WilliamG]

Oh awesome. Did you remove the HDD out of that and put in your own SSD?

Yep. You actually don't need the whole thing. You can just buy the Thunderbolt part and slide a bare SSD/HD into it, if you wanted. Either way, though!

 

[hfg]

Yep. You actually don't need the whole thing. You can just buy the Thunderbolt part and slide a bare SSD/HD into it, if you wanted. Either way, though!

You can also find the plug-on "shell" part on eBay so that you can protect your SSD and have a more finished appearance. Note that most of the ThunderBolt adapters don't come with the $50 Thunderbolt cable, however the disk packaged ones do come with the cable, so you have a spare hard disk plug-in as well for backup.

 

[AT06]

I just tried an external ssd via thunderbolt and it was very good - tempted to invest in the lacie rugged ssd

 

[Apple Corps]

I would suggest you try the search function - this topic is covered in many posts already.

 

[BIGBUCZ]

I just tried an external ssd via thunderbolt and it was very good - tempted to invest in the lacie rugged ssd

Which ssd did you use?

 

[BIGBUCZ]

surely we can get more then 1 recommendation for a usb 3 enclosure

 

[MetalCooper]

surely we can get more then 1 recommendation for a usb 3 enclosure

How about the OWC USB 3 enclosure? http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BU3S/

 

[starscript]

using a USB 3.0 adapter with Samsung's 830 256Gb, reads at 180MB/ps
no as fast as one might assume. it's around the same speed as the internal as shipped hard drive.
if your planning to just use it externally over USB 3.0 (usb 3 can only use speeds up to sata 2 speeds) save your self some money buy a fast USB 3.0 hard disk drive.
if your hart is set on a SSD go thunderbolt you will get the up to 500MB/ps

 

[Tanax]

How about the OWC USB 3 enclosure? http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BU3S/

I've been checking that one out as well. It has the ASMedia controller as well as being USB3 SuperSpeed and having SATA III. Unfortunately, there is always the issue with firmware and I haven't found any reviews of that case yet.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is USB-powered, meaning that if you insert a 512GB SSD in it, you'll encounter troubles when trying to move files larger than 4GB(I think it was something like that).

 

[michaelkc]

Yep. You actually don't need the whole thing. You can just buy the Thunderbolt part and slide a bare SSD/HD into it, if you wanted. Either way, though!

I bought the Backup plus portable for the enclosure to work with the GoFlex adapter.

I've got it now but it looks pretty tightly put together, how did you manage to open the case? Did you follow any instructions?

*Edit* I've managed to pry it open (snapping only a few latches) and put the SSD in. I should've put a little more padding in cause it moves slightly but not enough to annoy me.

 

[AT06]

Which ssd did you use?

Samsung 830 via seagate backup plus. I want to get the lacie because it will allow me to use it as a boot drive or portable drive if circumstances (e.g. I upgrade internal HDD) change.

 

[BIGBUCZ]

using a USB 3.0 adapter with Samsung's 830 256Gb, reads at 180MB/ps
no as fast as one might assume. it's around the same speed as the internal as shipped hard drive.
if your planning to just use it externally over USB 3.0 (usb 3 can only use speeds up to sata 2 speeds) save your self some money buy a fast USB 3.0 hard disk drive.
if your hart is set on a SSD go thunderbolt you will get the up to 500MB/ps

180mb/ps whoa that's pretty disappointing, I haven't come across anyone else that's had that issue......

Can anyone else verify there experiences with ssd external via USB 3

 

[michaelkc]

180mb/ps whoa that's pretty disappointing, I haven't come across anyone else that's had that issue......

Can anyone else verify there experiences with ssd external via USB 3

I'll let you know the speed from my Vertex 3 Max IOPS SSD external through USB 3 when I get home.