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unknownx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 25, 2011
199
30
If I buy a Fusion Drive for iMac 27"

Will it be SSD + 5400rpm, Or SSD + 7200rpm ?

Will it be different from the 21,5 fusion drive version ?
 

xgman

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2007
5,665
1,378
The standard in the 27" is 7200, so I assume fusions will work with that.
 

unknownx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 25, 2011
199
30
Okay so basically you just buy a 128gb ssd disc..
Should be fun to see what the price will be in Sweden :rolleyes:
 

Designer Dale

macrumors 68040
Mar 25, 2009
3,950
100
Folding space
Someone needs to create a sticky called The Truth About Fusion.

The ssd used in the new iMacs isn't a standard over the counter disk style device that can be had at a discount almost everywhere. It's a "blade" style device like the one used in the Retnia MacBook Pro. It's going to be an easy swap to a larger one if the glass isn't glued on, but you just can't drop a generic ssd in there. Go to macsales.com and click on the SSD tab. Look at the ssd upgrade for the rMBP to see what I'm talking about.

When iFixit does their teardown, this will me more obvious.

Dale
 

hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA
Published info here indicates the 27" iMac has a 7200rpm 3.5" hard disk whereas the 21" iMac has a 5400rpm 2.5" hard disk (there aren't any 7200rpm 2.5" 1TB drives at this time, only 5400rpm). The SSD is a blade type device as used in the laptops and sold by OWC.

Looking forward to a iFixit report on whether either drive is upgradeable, especially if all the parts are there if the iMac wasn't ordered with one or the other drives (i.e. hard disk mounting bracket and cable).

EDIT: there is one 7200rpm drive from HGST Travelstar ... sorry.
 
Last edited:

rw3

macrumors 6502a
May 13, 2008
679
41
DFW, TX
http://www.frys.com/product/7325974?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
http://www.jr.com/hgst/pe/HIT_0S03563/#productTabDetails
http://www.microcenter.com/product/401314/Travelstar_1TB_7200RPM_25_Internal_Drive_Kit

I tested one in a LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt and it is about 20MB/s faster over the 5400RPM equivalent.

ScreenShot2012-10-24at14130PM.png
 

hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA

nice ... none of the links mentioned the height, but I found one feedback comment that indicated it was 9.5mm ... is that correct? I don't think anything taller will fit in my dual drive Mini.
 

drambuie

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2010
751
1
Someone needs to create a sticky called The Truth About Fusion.

The ssd used in the new iMacs isn't a standard over the counter disk style device that can be had at a discount almost everywhere. It's a "blade" style device like the one used in the Retnia MacBook Pro. It's going to be an easy swap to a larger one if the glass isn't glued on, but you just can't drop a generic ssd in there. Go to macsales.com and click on the SSD tab. Look at the ssd upgrade for the rMBP to see what I'm talking about.

When iFixit does their teardown, this will me more obvious.

Dale

If the chassis could be opened, then one could replace the 1TB HDD with a 512GB SSD, or wait until 1TB SSDs are available. If the HDD part of a fusion drive was replaced with a 512GB SSD, then you would have a 640GB, all SSD, fusion drive.

One thing I'm wondering about is, if there would be extra wear on the 128GB SSD with the constant swapping in and out of large application and data segments.
 

drambuie

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2010
751
1
MacBook Air notebooks are totally SSD, ranging from 128GB to 512GB.

There is a difference. The contents of the MBA SSDs are generally location static, and not being swapped to and from an HDD, depending on usage. The only thing that stays on the fusion drive's SSD is the OS itself. Of course, using 100% SSD storage is the best solution. Fusion is only a stopgap measure, until large capacity SSDs come down in price.

It would be better if the user could pin selected apps and files to the SSD.
 
If you use the arguement that there's a danger associated with a lot of data being swapped between the SSD and HDD, then the weak point in that setup will still be the HDD.

Totally SSD would of course be preferable to Fusion, but I don't see this as a stopgap technology. I'm just about to order a 3TB setup and I don't see 3TB SSDs becoming affordable any time soon. ;)
 
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