Fusion or SSD for my new iMac?

[richard13]

So, I think I'm going to get a new iMac to replace my mid-2010. Mostly because WoW frame rates are very low for me after the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Here's my proposed list of options:

• 27" iMac
• 3.4GHz i7 (Not necessary but going from a i7 to a i5 would feel like a downgrade)
• 8GB RAM (Can always upgrade later for less $)
• 1TB Fusion Drive (Seems like it would be kinda cool)
• GTX 680MX 2GB (Because it's the best they offer, I do play games)
• Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad (For non-gaming activities)

The only thing I'm still kind of considering is going with the 768GB Flash Storage option. Since buying my MBP with 128GB flash drive I've always thought that I wouldn't have any more HDDs. But now I don't know. The Fusion Drive seems kind of cool to me and would probably be pretty fast. But on the other hand, that HDD could potentially slow me down and it will be there whirring away all the time. The 768GB Flash Drive would definitely be fast and quiet but also quite expensive and kind of unnecessary considering I'm only using about 180GB on my current iMac.

Anyone care to share their opinion here?

 

[DennisD7]

The configuration you describe is the one I went with, and I've had it for a few months now. I also considered going all SSD, but the Fusion drive has served me very well.

I thought it might be noisy too, but it's very very quiet, and very fast for the things I do most often. I have a 2009 iMac at work and it's much more noisy so I think they've done a great job on that. I also like to have the extra space for films etc. and it feels a bit of a waste to have 50 films I almost never watch on an expensive SSD... so yeah, go Fusion, you won't regret it.

 

[KaraH]

If you play games you might want to reconsider fusion. While fine for most consumer level stuff power are more likely to want control over what goes on the faster SSD and what goes on the HDD.

When you go to a new level do you REALLY want to take a speed hit right then? The current level will be on the SSD and the next level (unless you have been on it recently) on the HDD. How about your game cache?

Remember people, fusion is just a patchwork technology because SSDs are newer and more expensive. Eventually machines will not have HDDs at all and fusion a quaint remembrance.

 

[richard13]

Thank you for your input. I'll definitely consider this.

 

[Arfdog]

If you play games you might want to reconsider fusion. While fine for most consumer level stuff power are more likely to want control over what goes on the faster SSD and what goes on the HDD.

When you go to a new level do you REALLY want to take a speed hit right then? The current level will be on the SSD and the next level (unless you have been on it recently) on the HDD. How about your game cache?

Remember people, fusion is just a patchwork technology because SSDs are newer and more expensive. Eventually machines will not have HDDs at all and fusion a quaint remembrance.

Ok but this is not the future and the economics of mechanical HDD make it hard to beat for capacity.

That said, the fusion drive is just as fast as an SSD, 90% of the time. It's extremely well-sorted.

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But on the other hand, that HDD could potentially slow me down and it will be there whirring away all the time.

Anyone care to share their opinion here?

There is no whirring or barely any noise most of the time, for me it's been like 99% of the time i haven't heard any mechanical HDD noises. It probably delves into the HDD when watching movies or music but for all the operational files, it seems to all be on the SSD.