New iMac Drive Configuration and Backups

Hello,
I am getting ready to order a new iMac and need some help on my drive configuration and then how to manage backups with that as well. This machine will be used for general use along with photo and video editing. (Hobbyist, not professional.)

Here is what I am considering along with my questions...

21.5" iMac
i7 Processor
16GB RAM
256 Flash Drive for OS and Apps
Some sort of External drive for data - NEED HELP HERE

So my questions are...

1. What type of drive should I get for my data drive? Also if you have brand specific, including enclosures, please comment.

2. How do I setup a backup system for both the internal SSD and the external HDD data drive?

Thanks!

Fishrrman said:

You really need TWO external drives.

One for the "primary" data drive, and a second drive to serve as a backup, for both the internal SSD -and- the external "primary data drive".

You MUST keep at least two copies of your data -- or you risk losing it.

I would skip "pre-assembled" drives, and build my own. It's ridiculously easy to do.

You need to decide whether your external drives are going to be 3.5" or 2.5".
These days, I'd suggest 2.5".

I would not rely on high-capacity drives (4tb, etc.). The old saying about "keeping all your eggs in one basket" applies. Spread the data out onto several drives.

Another suggestion:
- On the backup drive, create 2 partitions
- The "first" partition should contain a CarbonCopyCloner "cloned backup" of your internal SSD
- The second partition can be a backup of your data drive.

With a cloned backup of the SSD, if you ever get into an "I can't boot!" moment, it's a matter of connecting the clone and rebooting. You'll be right back up and running, with everything there in front of you.

Without a cloned bootable backup, you're going to be flopping and floundering around, trying to get going again. I see post after post after post after post here in the forums from folks with that problem...

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Thanks. This is helpful. Let me just confirm, for a backup drive, do you recommend spinning or SSD? And then on the primary data drive, My understanding from reading some other posts is that a spinning drive is preferable because constant read / write access of an SSD will cause it to wear quicker. Is this correct or just misinformation?

Nuke61 said:

I suggest getting the 1TB Fusion drive, or paying the additional $300 for the 512GB SSD. Given your stated uses for your computer I don't think you'd notice the difference between the Fusion drive and pure SSD. It simplifies your backups, since the external drives would not be a mixture of data and backup devices.

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Hi, thanks for your reply. I considered the Fusion drive and the 512 SSD and here is my reasoning for deciding on the 256 SSD...

1. My total data is approaching 1 TB (primarily video files and RAW image files) so in the not too distant future, none of these drives will hold all of my data so therefore I believe I need a large HDD to hold my data (maybe RAID but not sure.)

2. On my current machine I am using about 35GB for my Windows Bootcamp installation with apps and then my OSX Applications, System and Library folders total about 35GB so currently I need less than 100GB for OS and Apps I believe. So the 256GB drive should be plenty for OS and Apps and stepping up to a 512 would really be wasted space unless I have some other good use for it as I don't really want to split my data between an SSD and external HDD.

3. I am sure I could make the 3 TB Fusion drive meet my needs for OS, Apps and data but my understanding is that the SSD are significantly faster than Fusion. Is this correct or not? Also, I don't know if I can get that drive in the 21.5" machine. I only see it offered in the 27".

So what are your thoughts on this? Thanks!

yjchua95 said:

I have a 21.5" iMac with the exact same specs (3.1 i7/16/256/750M) and here's how I manage my storage:

Internal SM0256F SSD: OS and apps, plus projects that I'm working on.

External Buffalo HD-PATU3 Thunderbolt with 1TB HDD in it: 256GB partition for Time Machine of the internal SSD, and the rest of it for storing completed projects.

External WD MyPassport 1TB: Identical to the HD-PATU3.

In short, I have two backups of the internal SSD and one backup of my completed projects.

Edit: I also have a Boot Camp partition in my external Buffalo HD-PATU3 Thunderbolt drive, but since it's only used for gaming, I don't make a backup of it.

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Thanks for your reply. This is helpful. I am curious though why you run your bootcamp partition on the external drive? I was going to load my windows partition on the internal SSD.

Also, are you happy with the performance of having your data on the HDD via Thunderbolt? Is the HDD 7200?

Thanks again.