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What a Difference - SSD + LaCie 2Big Enclosure

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dmw16

macrumors regular
Original poster
For the past few months my computer has been suffering from some serious speed issues that I tracked to the 1TB drive that came in my Mid-2011 iMac. And since I am not one for patience and didn't want to wait for the new iMac I went out and purchased a few items.

I bought a 256GB Samsung 830 and a LaCie 2Big Thunderbolt Enclosure 4TB (2x2TB). I have my system files, application, Aperture library, etc on the SSD and then my videos, music, and Win7 Virtual Machine on the 2Big drives in RAID-0.

The performance of the SSD is awesome but that's pretty well known around the forums. What really surprised me was the performance of the Thunderbolt+RAID-0 combo. I am reading @ ~350MB/s and writing at ~375MB/s which seems pretty good to me. My old drive (which I think was damaged) was reading/writing around 100MB/s.

Just wanted to share with some other iMac fans. This thing has a whole new life.
 
Did you install the SSD inside the machine?

I am going to be following the iFixit guide on this very soon when I gather all the bits. I shall also replace the stock 500gb HDD for a 1TB, and hopefully quieter!!, HDD to compliment the SSD.
 
whodareswins said:
Did you install the SSD inside the machine?

I am going to be following the iFixit guide on this very soon when I gather all the bits. I shall also replace the stock 500gb HDD for a 1TB, and hopefully quieter!!, HDD to compliment the SSD.
Click to expand...

Yes, I removed the original hard drive. It was shot anyhow. The ifixit guide was what I used and with the proper tools it was easy. The hardest part was getting the screws back in due to very limited access. I suggest a small angled set of tweezers.
 
dmw16 said:
Yes, I removed the original hard drive. It was shot anyhow. The ifixit guide was what I used and with the proper tools it was easy. The hardest part was getting the screws back in due to very limited access. I suggest a small angled set of tweezers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I feel it doesn't look to bad providing I take my time and organise the screws correctly. My biggest worry is getting marks or dust on the screen. I will probably buy a can of compressed air and use that get rid of any dust.
 
whodareswins said:
Thanks for the advice. I feel it doesn't look to bad providing I take my time and organise the screws correctly. My biggest worry is getting marks or dust on the screen. I will probably buy a can of compressed air and use that get rid of any dust.
Click to expand...

I used a can of compressed air and that worked fine.

The screws are easy at least for the screen; they are all the same.
 
krravi said:
What did you do about the fan control that has been a pesky problem for 2011 Imac's.
Click to expand...

A program called SSD Fan Contol. You'll have to hear the fan during OS X install but install the fan controller, reboot, and set to "manual".
 
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