256GB SSD vs 1TB Fusion in custom iMac build

[matreya]

I suspect Apple will at some point have to introduce a repair program for iMacs with those HORRID Seagate 3TB drives... they are garbage.

I opted for 512GB of SSD and have a Thunderbay IV with 4 x 2TB HDDs in RAID0, delivering 720MB/sec reads, mirrored hourly to a RAID5 array.

OP said they have various USB2/FireWire enclosures. I would suggest they invest in a Thunderbay or two Pull the drives out of the old enclosures and put them in the Thunderbay(s).

 

[Alesc]

I suspect Apple will at some point have to introduce a repair program for iMacs with those HORRID Seagate 3TB drives... they are garbage.

I opted for 512GB of SSD and have a Thunderbay IV with 4 x 2TB HDDs in RAID0, delivering 720MB/sec reads, mirrored hourly to a RAID5 array.

OP said they have various USB2/FireWire enclosures. I would suggest they invest in a Thunderbay or two Pull the drives out of the old enclosures and put them in the Thunderbay(s).

Best solution, but expensive:
- 512 SSD option: 300$
- Thunderbay 4 with HDD: 824$
+ the RAID5 array for backup (3 to 500$?)...

1124$ without the back up array...

For 150$, I'm very happy with the 3TB Fusion Drive option. It is a good compromise for me, and I prefer that to a tiny 256GB SSD + a crappy, noisy and slow external HDD.
But if I were rich, of course I would go for the 512 or 1 TB SSD + TB external storage.

 

[ixxx69]

Smaller capacity SSD drives are also getting pretty cheap these days.

Yep - I just purchased a Crucial BX100 500GB SSD & USB3 enclosure for US$200. Obviously not as inexpensive as an HDD, but definitely getting into the range of reasonable.