FileVault on SSD vs HDD

[Crash Davis]

I haven't previously used FileVault but would like to enable it. My system disk is SSD but the secondary internal disk is HDD. I've read that performance won't be an issue on the SSD but what about the HDD? This is for a mid-2011 iMac.

I was also wondering...if I encrypt the entire drive using FileVault is there any good reason to continue to use encrypted sparse bundles? That's been my previous method for storing sensitive files.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Alrescha]

I've read that performance won't be an issue on the SSD but what about the HDD?

I have never experienced any performance problems as the result of using FileVault, and I have been using it since it was introduced.

if I encrypt the entire drive using FileVault is there any good reason to continue to use encrypted sparse bundles?

Belt and suspenders?

FileVault is unlocked whenever you are logged in, so if someone has access to your machine (or password) they have access to your data.

A.

n.b.: Turning on FileVault will encrypt your boot drive. You will have to encrypt the HDD yourself. It takes about an hour per 256GB on SSD (and considerably longer for the HDD) as it reads/encrypts/writes every data block on the disk.