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iMac 27" late 2012 - boot with internal HDD vs external SSD

Killwin98

Killwin98

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 24, 2013
40
1
I'm using iMac 27" late 2012. I have 1 TB HDD, and I want to boot Yosemite through an external SSD drive. I was thinking about Samsung 850 evo with segate goflex thunderbolt adapter (allowing me to use TRIM and to boot with it).

The question is, how fast is it going to be? Obviously not as fast as an internal SSD, but opening the imac is a big hassle and I'm still under extended apple care warranty.

Are there any benchmarks comparing these two? It's about 250$ upgrade and I want to be sure it's worth it.

If you have other suggestions for HDD or thunderbolt adapters I'll be happy to hear (I guess the thunderbolt cable shouldn't be something special, right?)

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Pieterr said:
You can also put the SSD in a USB3 case with UASP support. Cheaper than Thunderbolt.

http://www.startech.com/HDD/Enclosures/USB-3-SATA-III-Hard-Drive-Enclosure-UASP-Support~S2510BMU33
Click to expand...

And doesn't have TRIM.

----------
Killwin98 said:
I'm using iMac 27" late 2012. I have 1 TB HDD, and I want to boot Yosemite through an external SSD drive. I was thinking about Samsung 850 evo with segate goflex thunderbolt adapter (allowing me to use TRIM and to boot with it).

The question is, how fast is it going to be? Obviously not as fast as an internal SSD, but opening the imac is a big hassle and I'm still under extended apple care warranty.

Are there any benchmarks comparing these two? It's about 250$ upgrade and I want to be sure it's worth it.

If you have other suggestions for HDD or thunderbolt adapters I'll be happy to hear (I guess the thunderbolt cable shouldn't be something special, right?)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Depending on the controller used on the TB adaptor, you should get anywhere between 350MB/s to 500MB/s.
 
Hi KillWin,

I tested on the Mini on the Past using USB 3.0 SSD and you may check the results on this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1750288/ Theres a boring video there with 46 minutes :) that shows all the different testings and comparisons

Also my wifes imac is using the same system for a year now and still works great no performance decrease or anything, you may also check the video with the results here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8I6zQdh4cA this one is only 20 min :) a lot of talk i know but back then that was my way of doing videos hehe!!

Hope it helps to decide on your investement
All the best
RJ
 
Depending on the controller used on the TB adaptor, you should get anywhere between 350MB/s to 500MB/s.
Click to expand...


Could you recommend on the most reliable and fastest TB adapter?

Using blackmagic, currently my internal HDD speed is around 120-130 MB/s for read and write. If I could get to 500 MB/s that would be fantastic!

robertojorge, thanks for your answer. I wasn't able to watch through all your review, but I guess the bottom line is that it's worth it, isn't it?

I want to have TRIM support. It should increases data writing speeds as well as the lifetime of the SSD (hope that's also true with an external SSD).

So I am pretty sure I will buy the Samsung 850 EVO. Which adapter should I buy?
 
No prob :)

The videos are long, short story no Trim on USB 3.0, but don´t notice any performance decrease

Heres a screen shot of the actual speeds

rky61k.jpg


RJ
 
robertojorge said:
No prob :)

The videos are long, short story no Trim on USB 3.0, but don´t notice any performance decrease

Heres a screen shot of the actual speeds

Image

RJ
Click to expand...

Which model of SSD is that? I would still like to have TRIM enabled, so I will which controller should I choose? The Seagate GoFlex is not available on Amazon anymore. Why did it disappear? Is it safe to buy it on eBay? Any other recommended controllers?
 
Killwin98 said:
Which model of SSD is that? I would still like to have TRIM enabled, so I will which controller should I choose? The Seagate GoFlex is not available on Amazon anymore. Why did it disappear? Is it safe to buy it on eBay? Any other recommended controllers?
Click to expand...

This particular one is the Samsung 840 EVO, but i also have tests in the channel with the 850 EVO, Kingstom V300 and PNY Optima, all of them with great results. If you go USB 3.0 dont forget to get a external case with UASP support or you wont get those speeds. On the video i show the cases that i use.

Hope it helps.
RJ
 
robertojorge said:
This particular one is the Samsung 840 EVO, but i also have tests in the channel with the 850 EVO, Kingstom V300 and PNY Optima, all of them with great results. If you go USB 3.0 dont forget to get a external case with UASP support or you wont get those speeds. On the video i show the cases that i use.

Hope it helps.
RJ
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use the Kingston V300 or the PNY Optima if I were you, they were both caught red handed trying to bait and switch customers.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7763/an-update-to-kingston-ssdnow-v300-a-switch-to-slower-micron-nand
 
I'll get the Samsung 850 EVO. Can anyone recommend on a fast, reliable and available thunderbolt adapter?
 
yjchua95 said:
I wouldn't use the Kingston V300 or the PNY Optima if I were you, they were both caught red handed trying to bait and switch customers.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7763/an-update-to-kingston-ssdnow-v300-a-switch-to-slower-micron-nand
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info i wasnt aware of it, i guess i have the old models :) that actually performs great.

On a side note i also prefer the Samsung EVO, i have both 840 and 850 and so far working really well. RJ

@Killwin Regarding Thunderbolt i cant advise on any as i havent tried one.

RJ
 
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That's an absurd! I couldn't find a TB enclosure for under 200$! That's double the price of an actual Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB.
An adapter should be something simple and affordable, I don't get it.
I'm trying to avoid installing and internal SSD, because it looks so brutal, and many things could go wrong (peeling the sticker around the screen??), but it doesn't make sense to pay for a 250 GB SSD + enclosure where for the same price I could get 1 TB Samsung EVO 850.

So the real question, how bad do I need TRIM support for my iMac? Any longevity or performance issues you noticed? I read this article, but I'm still not sure, and would like to hear what you have to say about it (it was published on July 2010).

If it's really not necessary, and I wouldn't find a cheap TB adapter, I guess I would go for the Inateck Tool Free USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure with UASP.
 
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Killwin98 said:
That's an absurd! I couldn't find a TB enclosure for under 200$! That's double the price of an actual Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB.
An adapter should be something simple and affordable, I don't get it.
I'm trying to avoid installing and internal SSD, because it looks so brutal, and many things could go wrong (peeling the sticker around the screen??), but it doesn't make sense to pay for a 250 GB SSD + enclosure where for the same price I could get 1 TB Samsung EVO 850.

So the real question, how bad do I need TRIM support for my iMac? Any longevity or performance issues you noticed? I read this article, but I'm still not sure, and would like to hear what you have to say about it (it was published on July 2010).

If it's really not necessary, and I wouldn't find a cheap TB adapter, I guess I would go for the Inateck Tool Free USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure with UASP.
Click to expand...
There is no such thing as a cheap Thunderbolt peripheral.

The reason is simple. In order to maintain the high bandwidth in the controller and the wires/cables inside the accessory, active electronics have to be implemented to stabilize and condition the signal. While Thunderbolt could maintain connectivity using a cable without such electronics, interference and attenuation of the signal over the distance in the cable would result in degraded performance that would limit bandwidth.

Remember that Thunderbolt is also fibre optic, and they don't come cheap. Thunderbolt itself is a full-blown PCIe port. Also, keep in mind that the licensing fee for TB peripherals that has to be paid to Intel is also high.

Also, keep in mind that USB can never keep up with the versatility of Thunderbolt. You can daisy chain a ton of devices over Thunderbolt, but not over USB. Just look at the stuff that you can chain through a Thunderbolt dock, for instance. Another case is that you can stick an external GPU over Thunderbolt and get about 85-90% of the card's full performance (I've a GTX 780 Ti hooked up to my 15" rMBP this way), but you can never do the same thing over USB.

Also, you can enable TRIM over TB, but not over USB.
 
Last edited:
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Killwin98 wrote above:
"If it's really not necessary, and I wouldn't find a cheap TB adapter, I guess I would go for the Inateck Tool Free USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure with UASP."

This is your best and most cost-effective solution.

Get a USB3 enclosure that specifically supports UASP.
And don't worry about TRIM at all.

I've been booting and running a late-2012 i7 Mini for 2.5 years now, using an HDD in a USB3 dock with UASP.
I have experienced NO slowdowns of ANY kind whatsover.
The computer boots and runs as fast as the day I first installed the SSD this way.
I can post BlackMagic benchmarks if you need proof.

I proffer that unless the demands you place upon the SSD are "more than extraordinary", having TRIM enabled will make no difference in your user experience for as long as you continue to use the iMac.

I predict that if you boot and run using a USB3 enclosure, you'll be a happy camper for a long time...
 
Killwin98 said:
That's an absurd! I couldn't find a TB enclosure for under 200$! That's double the price of an actual Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB.
An adapter should be something simple and affordable, I don't get it.
I'm trying to avoid installing and internal SSD, because it looks so brutal, and many things could go wrong (peeling the sticker around the screen??), but it doesn't make sense to pay for a 250 GB SSD + enclosure where for the same price I could get 1 TB Samsung EVO 850.

So the real question, how bad do I need TRIM support for my iMac? Any longevity or performance issues you noticed? I read this article, but I'm still not sure, and would like to hear what you have to say about it (it was published on July 2010).

If it's really not necessary, and I wouldn't find a cheap TB adapter, I guess I would go for the Inateck Tool Free USB 3.0 HDD Enclosure with UASP.
Click to expand...

At that price you could just pay someone else to install it and have it internally.
 
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Just wanted to update you guys that finally I connected to EVO 850 to LaCie Thunderbolt drive, and using blackmagic my speed is up to x3 times faster than what I used to have. Amazing!
 
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Killwin98 said:
Just wanted to update you guys that finally I connected to EVO 850 to LaCie Thunderbolt drive, and using blackmagic my speed is up to x3 times faster than what I used to have. Amazing!
Click to expand...

Good to hear. I do the same for Windows (left OS X on the internal Fusion). Note that I think you'll only get a max of just over 300MB/s, and not 500MB/s of the SSD, but its still much peppier over a non-Fusion drive. My Fusion drive ends up running almost as fast as the external SSD, so I left it as is and moved Windows to the external.
 
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