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Two methods to have an "SSD Only" iMac

F

flynz4

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 9, 2009
3,242
126
Portland, OR
I have been pretty sure that I will order the 768 GB option for the 27" iMac... and then compliment it with my existing 8TB Pegasus R4 Thunderbolt array.

As I consider it... I think there are actually two ways to go "SSD only" inside the iMac:

  1. Order the $1300 768GB SSD Option
  2. Order the $250 1TB Fusion option... but keep the capacity under 128 GB

If I go option #2... the there are two sub-options:

  • Keep the data on the Fusion drive below the size of the SSD... preventing any data actually reside on the HDD.
  • Spilt the Fusion into independent SSD + HDD... and don't use the HDD.

I would still have the HDD inside (obviously)... but if I selected the option to spin down the HDD when not in use... would it really shut down? It is not a huge deal... but I would prefer to not have it spinning and making noise.

My biggest reason for wanting the "SSD only" option is that I want to keep my entire Aperture 3 library on the SSD. However, I do have the Pegasus R4... and it is actually quite fast with its 4 spindles. I could go that route... save $1K and then eventually buy a Thunderbolt SSD if I want additional IOPs for my A3 library.

In many ways... since the 2011 iMac with Thunderbolt... we actually have much less reason to get into the machine... given that most people do this to upgrade storage. Thunderbolt gives the option to upgrade much more easily and maintain very good performance.

/Jim
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

macrumors 6502a
Dec 25, 2005
951
789
Couldn't you just order the basic 27" with the 1 TB HDD. Then when you get it, bring it in to an Apple service store and ask them to swap out the HDD for an SSD?
 
W

WilliamG

macrumors G3
Mar 29, 2008
9,922
3,800
Seattle
Option 3:

What I'm doing (if I don't open up my new iMac):

Thunderbolt SSD, - bootable. I leave my system running 24/7, so as soon as I boot into OS X I'll be ejecting the internal disk. Tah-dah! No more disk noise!
 
A

All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
Wow, the sound of the disk will be the least of your worries. If you're running anything remotely intensive, think Mac Mini 2012 Thermal issues, you will hear the fan far more than the Hard Drive.

Of course if you purchased the iMac solely to play in iTunes you should be fine and have a whisper quiet system, please don't kid yourself into thinking these machines will stay quiet with any kind of load.
 
Y

yellowsnn0w

macrumors newbie
Apr 14, 2011
11
0
i was considering the same way, but.......

the problem is, that fusion drive algorithmus does shuffle data from the hdd onto ths sad, if u often use these data ( thats clear, thats the new technique)

but additionally fusion moves data FROM the ssd to the hdd, even if the ssd is maybe just 30 percent filled and the hdd is completely empty, when not used "often enough".

so you won´t have this "solid" ssd solution, but an even more weired system algorithms. if you let run system over 2 weeks without doin anything, i think fusion would even move away things like documents downloads....
its just crap...
i really was looking forward to buy new imac 27 maxed out last friday, but i CAN´T live with fusion drive and now i have to find an other setup, i am happy with.




flynz4 said:
I have been pretty sure that I will order the 768 GB option for the 27" iMac... and then compliment it with my existing 8TB Pegasus R4 Thunderbolt array.

As I consider it... I think there are actually two ways to go "SSD only" inside the iMac:

  1. Order the $1300 768GB SSD Option
  2. Order the $250 1TB Fusion option... but keep the capacity under 128 GB

If I go option #2... the there are two sub-options:

  • Keep the data on the Fusion drive below the size of the SSD... preventing any data actually reside on the HDD.
  • Spilt the Fusion into independent SSD + HDD... and don't use the HDD.

I would still have the HDD inside (obviously)... but if I selected the option to spin down the HDD when not in use... would it really shut down? It is not a huge deal... but I would prefer to not have it spinning and making noise.

My biggest reason for wanting the "SSD only" option is that I want to keep my entire Aperture 3 library on the SSD. However, I do have the Pegasus R4... and it is actually quite fast with its 4 spindles. I could go that route... save $1K and then eventually buy a Thunderbolt SSD if I want additional IOPs for my A3 library.

In many ways... since the 2011 iMac with Thunderbolt... we actually have much less reason to get into the machine... given that most people do this to upgrade storage. Thunderbolt gives the option to upgrade much more easily and maintain very good performance.

/Jim
Click to expand...
 
F

flynz4

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 9, 2009
3,242
126
Portland, OR
yellowsnn0w said:
i was considering the same way, but.......

the problem is, that fusion drive algorithmus does shuffle data from the hdd onto ths sad, if u often use these data ( thats clear, thats the new technique)

but additionally fusion moves data FROM the ssd to the hdd, even if the ssd is maybe just 30 percent filled and the hdd is completely empty, when not used "often enough".

so you won´t have this "solid" ssd solution, but an even more weired system algorithms. if you let run system over 2 weeks without doin anything, i think fusion would even move away things like documents downloads....
its just crap...
i really was looking forward to buy new imac 27 maxed out last friday, but i CAN´T live with fusion drive and now i have to find an other setup, i am happy with.
Click to expand...

If this is true... then fusion is a non-starter for me. This leaves the options of splitting the fusion drive into SSD+HDD volumes... or getting the SSD-only configuration.

I am 90% sure that I'll just get the 768GB SSD and use it conjunction with my Pegasus R4. It is the most predictable configuration.

/Jim
 
J

jediDev

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2012
118
0
All Taken said:
Wow, the sound of the disk will be the least of your worries. If you're running anything remotely intensive, think Mac Mini 2012 Thermal issues, you will hear the fan far more than the Hard Drive.

Of course if you purchased the iMac solely to play in iTunes you should be fine and have a whisper quiet system, please don't kid yourself into thinking these machines will stay quiet with any kind of load.
Click to expand...

I can definitely hear a quiet hum, which I believe to be the fan and not the HD (it's pitch is lower than I'd expect for an HD). However, it didn't increase in intensity at all for me today, the first full day workout for the iMac. I am watching two HD video streams all day long and at times editing video. Even while encoding a short video today, the fans didn't kick in. With my mini, they definitely did kick in.

Moreover, the machine was barely warm to the touch. I could definitely feel heat spilling out of the rear vent though when i put my hand behind the case.

When I had the 27 inch iMac (mid-2010, i7 2.93) the fans frequently kicked in and the machine was often scaldingly hot to the touch. Not so with this 2012 i5 2.9.
 
K

kuau

macrumors member
Dec 3, 2012
35
10
Hence the reason why I wanted to disable fusion all together and end up with 2 separate drives which seems to be easy to do as described in another thread with 2 terminal commands. No big deal.
Then you will end up with a SSD Boot drive and you can trash the 1 TB drive or use it.

yellowsnn0w said:
i was considering the same way, but.......

the problem is, that fusion drive algorithmus does shuffle data from the hdd onto ths sad, if u often use these data ( thats clear, thats the new technique)

but additionally fusion moves data FROM the ssd to the hdd, even if the ssd is maybe just 30 percent filled and the hdd is completely empty, when not used "often enough".

so you won´t have this "solid" ssd solution, but an even more weired system algorithms. if you let run system over 2 weeks without doin anything, i think fusion would even move away things like documents downloads....
its just crap...
i really was looking forward to buy new imac 27 maxed out last friday, but i CAN´T live with fusion drive and now i have to find an other setup, i am happy with.
Click to expand...
 
Yeroon

Yeroon

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2012
64
0
I'm in the same boat. I also use a Thunderbolt RAID system for my files (3 TB) and wanted to use an SSD only in the iMac. Though 768 GB is more than I need and far too expensive! And 128 GB is too little... So, I don't know what to do...
 
J

jediDev

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2012
118
0
Yeroon said:
I'm in the same boat. I also use a Thunderbolt RAID system for my files (3 TB) and wanted to use an SSD only in the iMac. Though 768 GB is more than I need and far too expensive! And 128 GB is too little... So, I don't know what to do...
Click to expand...

I'm using a 500GB Samsung 840 in a Buffalo Ministation enclosure attached via thunderbolt. I actually have it set up as a Fusion drive because I'm curious about how Fusion will perform when the drive gets full enough. It's not the fastest SSD in the world to do this with, but it's still tons faster than a hard drive.
 
Gascogne

Gascogne

macrumors member
Sep 16, 2012
80
1
Sweden
Yeroon said:
I'm in the same boat. I also use a Thunderbolt RAID system for my files (3 TB) and wanted to use an SSD only in the iMac. Though 768 GB is more than I need and far too expensive! And 128 GB is too little... So, I don't know what to do...
Click to expand...

LaCie SSD Thunderbolt Little Big Disk that is an option? :)
That is the option I am going with and got it delivered to me today. :D
Now I only need to wait for the imac to arrive..
 
Pressure

Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,040
1,381
Denmark
You could also crack it open and replace the internal mechanical drive with an Solid State Disk if so concerned about a quiet 5,400 RPM mechanical drive.

Isn't the Pegasus unit already noisy with four mechanical drives and it's small fan?
 
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