Help me decide! (1TB Fusion/256/512GB SSD)

I am good with 256 - no boot camp stuff

Sounds like you need 512

the price difference between the 256 and 512 is pretty steep. i went the 256 path but i don't have a lot of stuff, only filled 120 gigs. give it a good thought, and maybe you could in the future store stuff you don't need so often externally.

I would recommend the 512GB SSD. Remember you need to leave some free space in the Windows partition for it to function correctly and you can't easily resiz ethe partitions once you install Windows into Bootcamp.

SSD would be the way to go I think (as big as you can afford).

I just ordered an almost maxed out 27" iMac (everything maxed except getting RAM elsewhere and got the 512GB SSD). I chose the 512GB SSD as I think realistically over the period I would like this machine to last (4/5 years), 256GB would not be enough but the 1TB was way too pricey.

My existing MBP is now 5 years old and it has a 320GB HDD - currently there's 33GB free but every few weeks this gets to about 5GB and I have to clear crap out.

The Fusion Drive was something I considered but in reality, I think I would rather have an external drive attached for personal files/work files - especially if it was a HDD and not SSD...

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Initially I was considering the 1TB Fusion drive and figured it would be fast enough with the 128GB SSD. But when you get right down to it, it is a HDD and they generate noise. I'd really prefer something that's quiet like my MBP.

So then it comes down to choosing the size of SSD that would be right for me. I have about 200GB of data and that's without the Boot Camp partition. Although I could archive off some of that 200GB it would still leave things tight. The 1TB SSD seems really nice but at $1000 for the upgrade I don't know. I could certainly afford it but it just seems way over the top to spend that much just for storage. I think the price of the 512GB SSD is steep as well but it seems a bit more reasonable. It would also likely be a good fit for my needs.

You didn't say how much data you have. If you have very little you could get away with the 256GB SSD but otherwise I'd advise you go with the 512GB SSD. Of course, if noise doesn't bother you and you don't mind having storage that is fast, but perhaps not the fastest, go for the 1TB Fusion Drive. It's a good option.

I ordered a 1TB Fusion last week but was really on the fence about a 256GB and had considered the 512. I have not reciever it yet but am considering sending it back and getting either the 256 or the 512. I just don't know. I may test it to see how the HDD noise is, but that means loading more than 128GB onto it at first. I do have a TM drive to restore from that has about 227GB on it. But some of that could certainly be offloaded to external.

My Dad just received a 21" with 1TB Fusion Drive and there is no hard drive noise that I can hear without pressing my ear to the chassis, and I am very sensitive to noise.

Ofc the 27" would probably be louder because it uses a 7200 rpm 3.5" spinner instead of the 21"'s 5400rpm 2.5" spinner.

California King said:

I'm having a hard time deciding which storage option to go for, so hopefully you guys can help me out. My choices are between the 1TB Fusion drive, 256GB SSD, or 512GB SSD. I feel like I'm already spending a fortune on the 27 inch iMac alone, so the 512GB option is a bit of a stretch, but still a possibility. What I plan on using it for is basic things (internet browsing, music, movies, no video editing or rendering), but speed is very important to me. I plan on putting at least a 60-80GB partition for bootcamp where I plan on using it to only plays games(Battlefield 4, Crysis 3, etc). I did the math, 256GB is enough, but I really would like to be in the situation where I don't have to think about storage. The fusion drive seems like a good way to go, except for the fact that the bootcamp partition will solely be running on the 7200RPM HDD, and not taking advantage of the SSD portion of the Fusion drive.

Any input or recommendations are greatly appreciated since I tend to have a hard time making up my mind!

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For me with the iMac, I would go for the fusion, especially since inside it has a 256GB SSD (If i remember correctly). Then you will have space for ½ a tb each for Mac OSX and Windows... 7200RPM is fast enough for most things...

I went with 512GB SSD. My iMac just arrived and I felt like a dad watching his son's first game when it turned on in less than 10secs on Montain Lion.

jamesjingyi said:

For me with the iMac, I would go for the fusion, especially since inside it has a 256GB SSD (If i remember correctly). Then you will have space for ½ a tb each for Mac OSX and Windows... 7200RPM is fast enough for most things...

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Fusion Drives have 128GB SSDs

I went with an internal 3 GB HDD. I then bought an OWC 480 GB SSD I will hook up externally and use for my system and applications. That way when I am eventually drooling over another SSD (bigger, cheeper, better, etc) there is not too much pain in swapping it out. In the meantime anything that needs speed goes on the SSD and things like static data go internally. The internal will also have a clone of the SSD so I have two physical boot drives if either goes bad.

I went with a 3TB fusion drive: 2GB for Maverich and 1 Gb for Windows 8.1 pro.
No noise! I'm happy for this choise.

Maziar said:

Fusion Drives have 128GB SSDs

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Ahh so I am wrong... Sorry 'bout that guys

This might be useful

I was one of the first to receive a BTO and post about it here. I ordered a 27" with several upgrades and a 256SSD.

I actually ended up returning it. If i hadn't planned to install windows i would have been fine as i keep most large files (music/movies) externally and on iTunes match.

When i realised i needed windows and planned on doing some gaming in the future i realise i would have fewer than 100GB free. With iOS back ups, scattered applications and updates, a growing Aperture thumb library i don't want to start managing disk space again.

I actually returned it and got the same BTO but with a 512GB SSD.


If any one is interested, screen is the same or very similar, no significant backlight bleeding. A slight yellow cast top left at high brightness and a small amount of bleed bottom left at max brightness. The issues only occur at eyeball hurting brightness And only when you look for it, i.e. black background, higher than use brightness.

1 strange issue, my first iMac had a constant pitch whistle but you had to put your ear very close to the bottom left of the screen. My new iMac doesn't have this but occasionally crackles but only on 1 bar brightness. Odd but clearly related to the screen.

I have had LED TVs that do this but have much worse pitch so i'm not surprised. Just both iMacs behave differently with regards to this whistle, crackle. I can only assume like a TV its the charge being put through the PCB / transformer.

California King said:

Finally made up my mind...looked at the catalog of games on PC...eh, nothing too exciting. So I opted for the 256GB SSD with no intention of using boot camp. As for gaming. I've already pre-ordered the Xbox One and that will definitely take care of my gaming needs. Can't wait!

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If you have an Xbox One coming you certainly don't need to pollute these lovely machines with windows

You keep the microsoft stuff in its own separate black box

Plus some of that extra cost for the 512GB upgrade can be used for the console.

Enjoy