Ext SD Drive for Boot and Applications

[garycurtis]

Two retailers with whom I have credit don't carry any iMacs with Fusion Drive.

Would it be practical for me to buy one with just a 1tb drive and boot from an external SSD? I would also park applications there.

What are the complications and what would I be missing by not having a genuine FD?

Tired of waiting.

 

[Teut]

I am using a thunderbolt adaptor for my SSD to run it external. Its very fast, close to identical to an internal one.

 

[trustever]

Mate pay attention to the size of the SSD, in this forum someone pointed out that a SSD of 512GB drains to much power and often does not work, try searching the forum as your question has been discussed exensively

 

[Dduval]

I have been using an external seagate thunderbolt adapter with a 256gb samsung pro for the last couple months with absolutely no issues.

Just be sure to go with the Samsung Pro SSD's as they use the lowest power of any ssd on the market.

Very happy with these speeds...

 

[garycurtis]

An Apple representative at the Best Buy store informed me that the new iMac won't boot from an external drive. This forum seems to contradict his statement.

If I can boot externally from an SSD, I'm buying a 27" i7 with only a spinning 1tb tomorrow. Will the ext SSD boot? Yes or no?

 

[PavelT]

i wouldnt trust anything the guys at best buy have to say. that much i would say. you definitely could boot externally.

 

[phoenixsan]

You actually.....

can boot from external SSDs via TB. But some enclosures/adapters have presented issues. So, investigate throughfully before make any decission....

 

[Fishrrman]

"An Apple representative at the Best Buy store informed me that the new iMac won't boot from an external drive. This forum seems to contradict his statement."

ANY Mac can be booted externally. The person who spoke to you, quite frankly, didn't know what he was talkin' about!

You can boot quite rapidly via USB3 and an SSD.

An external SSD drive is a good choice.

 

[garycurtis]

One last question. Aside from booting, can an external SSD be used a "scratch drive"? For purposes of digital photo programs such as Lightroom and Aperture?

 

[Nuke61]

One last question. Aside from booting, can an external SSD be used a "scratch drive"? For purposes of digital photo programs such as Lightroom and Aperture?

Yes, an external SSD via TB or USB3 is essentially no different than an internal drive.