760SSD & Ext Thunderbolt or Fusion

[flyinghoop]

Any opinions about a new iMac with the 760SSD and an external 3TB Thunderbolt drive as opposed to a new iMac with the Fusion drive?
Having most everything on the internal SSD seems like it would be the fastest, maybe?

 

[MojoRisinSD]

Everything on SSD will always be faster, but the setup you are talking about will probably double the cost of your future iMac. 3TB Fusion would be WAY more economical and still quite fast.
The reason Apple is offering the Fusion drive is because SSD in large capacities is VERY expensive... Fusion drive is a good compromise.

 

[wessew]

I agree with MojoRisinSD's comments. However, one other consideration is the reliability of the software used to manage the two drives under Fusion. It is version 1.0 and it is a black box. If anything goes wrong you are totally reliant on a brand new software scheme. You will have greater speed and potentially greater reliability with the approach you mentioned but at higher cost. Another possible option is to combine a 760SSD with external USB 3 drive(s). You could also RAID two USB 3 drives and get a speed option very close to Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt drives are limited by the speed of the hard drives unless it is SSD based or or you are using a RAID enclosure in which case the cost is very high.

 

[johnnyturbouk]

I agree with MojoRisinSD's comments. However, one other consideration is the reliability of the software used to manage the two drives under Fusion. It is version 1.0 and it is a black box. If anything goes wrong you are totally reliant on a brand new software scheme. You will have greater speed and potentially greater reliability with the approach you mentioned but at higher cost. Another possible option is to combine a 760SSD with external USB 3 drive(s). You could also RAID two USB 3 drives and get a speed option very close to Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt drives are limited by the speed of the hard drives unless it is SSD based or or you are using a RAID enclosure in which case the cost is very high.

indeed!

I only need 250GB for my main hdd,

ideally, i would start of with a 7200 hdd via usb3, then once i recovered from the cost of my new 27 imac - i would then RAID0 two vertex 4 via thunderbolt