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Can someone confirm what model/brand the 3TB Fusion drive is inside the iMac 5k?
- Thread starter zm15
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I don't recall ever seeing a fusion drive that was single-brand.
Fusion drives are not a single device, but are two separate hardware devices, normally a spinning hard drive, and an SSD, combined through software into a single storage volume.
AFAIK, neither Seagate, nor Western Digital offer a pure SSD. So, the SSD, which has the booting system, would be neither Seagate nor W-D.
Fusion drives are not a single device, but are two separate hardware devices, normally a spinning hard drive, and an SSD, combined through software into a single storage volume.
AFAIK, neither Seagate, nor Western Digital offer a pure SSD. So, the SSD, which has the booting system, would be neither Seagate nor W-D.
They may use both. They use what's available in quantity, meeting their specifications, and at their price point when that particular build is taking place. So, just because someone has a Seagate in their iMac doesn't guarantee that all iMacs of that model or build will have a Seagate HDD.
You won't find out, more than a guess, until you get your new iMac. 
If a Seagate is really unacceptable for you, you can choose to replace the hard drive yourself.
Keep in mind that even if you get the (evil) Seagate, and at some point it becomes a service issue (less likely than you might think), Apple will be on your side...
If a Seagate is really unacceptable for you, you can choose to replace the hard drive yourself.
Keep in mind that even if you get the (evil
) Seagate, and at some point it becomes a service issue (less likely than you might think), Apple will be on your side...Sadly, it's more and more likely that Seagate is the only supplier of 3TB HDDs for Apple. Just take a look at the 27" Ivy Bridge 3TB recall.
Every single one of these Macs in my office were affected.
I've yet to see Apple use WD HDDs. So far, I've only seen them use Toshiba, Hitachi HGST and Seagate.
You won't find out, more than a guess, until you get your new iMac.
If a Seagate is really unacceptable for you, you can choose to replace the hard drive yourself.
Keep in mind that even if you get the (evil
Short of dismantling, how do you find out?
Simple if you already own your Mac... look in "About This Mac" > Reports > Hardware > SATA
If you can't tell from the ID number, just google the number to find out exactly what it is. (hint: if it starts with ST, it's a Seagate)
If you can't tell from the ID number, just google the number to find out exactly what it is. (hint: if it starts with ST, it's a Seagate)
I can't tell you what you'll find inside a new Mac - Apple multi-sources when practical. I have a Late 2013 27" iMac with 3TB Fusion. System Report lists the spinner as an "Apple ST3000DM001," however, ST3000DM001 is a Seagate part number, and that particular model number has some "history."
Anyone wondering why the OP is concerned need only look at this: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/3tb-hard-drive-failure Further, it's the same drive covered by Apple's 27" iMac 3TB replacement program. However, we have to remember that these were drives manufactured in 2011 (both those reported on in the Backblaze article, and those involved in Apple's replacement program). Clearly, there was a problem. That does not necessarily mean there is a problem with that model when manufactured in subsequent years (as they say on Wall Street, past performance is not predictive of future results).
Considering matters like warranty costs and company reputation, one hopes that Seagate has addressed the cause(s) of those failures. Other drives they make show reliability rates far closer to industry norms. It would also be against Apple's best interests to continue to source that model if there was reason to believe Seagate had not addressed the problem (Apple does expect to make a profit when it sells those 3-year AppleCare contracts). But those are hopes and suppositions on my part.
Anyone wondering why the OP is concerned need only look at this: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/3tb-hard-drive-failure Further, it's the same drive covered by Apple's 27" iMac 3TB replacement program. However, we have to remember that these were drives manufactured in 2011 (both those reported on in the Backblaze article, and those involved in Apple's replacement program). Clearly, there was a problem. That does not necessarily mean there is a problem with that model when manufactured in subsequent years (as they say on Wall Street, past performance is not predictive of future results).
Considering matters like warranty costs and company reputation, one hopes that Seagate has addressed the cause(s) of those failures. Other drives they make show reliability rates far closer to industry norms. It would also be against Apple's best interests to continue to source that model if there was reason to believe Seagate had not addressed the problem (Apple does expect to make a profit when it sells those 3-year AppleCare contracts). But those are hopes and suppositions on my part.
That backblaze article has been debunked so, so many times, so (I apologize) it's really frustrating to see it continue to keep coming up.
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/6...bility-myth-the-real-story-covered/index.html
Actually, I know a lot of instances where Apple used WD drives, e.g. in 2011 iMacs (WD Caviar Blue WD10EALX).
I'm not so sure that the Tweaktown article "debunks" the Backblaze data, although it does bring up some good points about possible confounders.
In my personal experience (i.e., anecdotal), I had three Seagate Barracuda 3TB drives fail in a Drobo 5n - and one of the warranty replacement drives also failed before the warranty was up. 2 Seagate NAS 4TB drives have soldiered on without a hitch. A Drobo 5n (at home) isn't exactly a high-stress environment - and two of my failures occurred during the RAID rebuild after a single drive failed (much like the Backblaze post). Some light Googling will show many similar stories. Thankfully, the Drobo "dual-drive redundancy" prevented any data loss.
I don't know if it is just a bad design, but I'm a little gun-shy over any Seagate 3TB drive. Let's hope that Apple upgrades the iMac to a 4TB (or 6TB!) Fusion drive this fall.
Anecdotally I've had far more Western Digital drives fail on me in the last ten years than Seagate.