iMac external SSD boot drive

[snapdragonx]

Hi all,

Basically I'm wanting to setup an external SSD boot drive (via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0) on a late 2013 iMac (which I've yet to purchase).

Will this result in a loss of performance over an internal SSD?

Thanks for any info

 

[yjchua95]

Hi all,

Basically I'm wanting to setup an external SSD boot drive (via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0) on a late 2013 iMac (which I've yet to purchase).

Will this result in a loss of performance over an internal SSD?

Thanks for any info

In real world usage, no, unless you do heavy video editing or a benchmarker like me.

I have a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB in a Buffalo HD-PATU3 Thunderbolt enclosure and got 400MB/s in both directions.

The internal SSD in my iMac performs at 750MB/s in reads and 720MB/s in writes.

 

[snapdragonx]

In real world usage, no, unless you do heavy video editing or a benchmarker like me.

I have a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB in a Buffalo HD-PATU3 Thunderbolt enclosure and got 400MB/s in both directions.

The internal SSD in my iMac performs at 750MB/s in reads and 720MB/s in writes.

Interesting. The main use of the computer is video editing BUT I use an external RAID 0 as my media drive so the speed of the SSD is fairly irrelevant for that purpose.

I'm basically just wondering if it's worth the extra ~$250 to buy an internal SSD for the iMac, when I already have one lying around that I could put in an enclosure and use instead.

 

[yjchua95]

Interesting. The main use of the computer is video editing BUT I use an external RAID 0 as my media drive so the speed of the SSD is fairly irrelevant for that purpose.

I'm basically just wondering if it's worth the extra ~$250 to buy an internal SSD for the iMac, when I already have one lying around that I could put in an enclosure and use instead.

It's worth it, because the performance increase is quite significant in video editing.

Your external SSD in an enclosure would probably clock in at around 400MB/s, but an internal 512GB SSD in an iMac would perform at around 750MB/s in reads and 720MB/s in writes. For a 256GB, you'll get 720MB/s in reads and 660MB/s in writes (Samsung 256GB), and about 540MB/s in writes if you got a SanDisk 256GB instead.

If you buy a 256GB SSD, you're playing with the Samsung-SanDisk lottery.

For 512GB and 1TB, Samsung is the sole supplier.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you already have a "bare" SSD on-hand, spend just $30 (or less) and put it into a USB3 external enclosure, or a USB3/SATA docking station.

I'll reckon the speed (provided you choose the RIGHT enclosure or dock) will leave you fully satisfied.

Aside:
You want an enclosure or dock with an ASMedia controller chip, and it should EXPLICITLY SAY that it supports "UASP" (USB Attached SCSI Protocol)...

 

[snapdragonx]

Thanks all, appreciate the info.

 

[DerekS]

I boot/run from an external Lacie SSD Thunderbolt drive and it's substantially faster than the internal Fusion drive. Very happy with this setup.

 

[SaSaSushi]

I am doing just that, booting from an external Thunderbolt SSD. See here for a mini-review I did of the $18 Inateck UASP USB3 enclosure. I also compared it to the Delock 42490 Thunderbolt (about $100) enclosure I'm using.

The reason I went with the Thunderbolt enclosure, although it is very slightly slower, is the ability to enable TRIM support.

I see no performance difference from when I was initially booting to the iMac's Fusion drive. If you've already got the SSD, you may as well save your money, pop it into an enclosure and use it.

 

[Blue Sun]

I boot/run from an external Lacie SSD Thunderbolt drive and it's substantially faster than the internal Fusion drive. Very happy with this setup.

Which Lacie external SSD do you have?

Also, does anyone know what make/model of SSD Lacie use in their products (Samsung 840 EVO, SanDisk etc.)?

 

[hfg]

Which Lacie external SSD do you have?

Also, does anyone know what make/model of SSD Lacie use in their products (Samsung 840 EVO, SanDisk etc.)?

I have a 256GB LaCie "Rugged" Thunderbolt/USB3.0 which came with a SanDisk SSD in it. I just got a 500GB "Rugged" which has a 840 EVO in it.

 

[Blue Sun]

I have a 256GB LaCie "Rugged" Thunderbolt/USB3.0 which came with a SanDisk SSD in it. I just got a 512GB "Rugged" which has a 840 EVO in it.

Thanks for the reply. It is interesting that the rugged carries a 512GB Samsung 840 EVO. I've only ever seen the EVO series in the 500GB variety (i.e not 512GB).

Is there anyway to receive a Samsung drive rather than SanDisk?

 

[hfg]

Thanks for the reply. It is interesting that the rugged carries a 512GB Samsung 840 EVO. I've only ever seen the EVO series in the 500GB variety (i.e not 512GB).

Is there anyway to receive a Samsung drive rather than SanDisk?

Sorry ... It is 500GB.

 

[Blue Sun]

Sorry ... It is 500GB.

No problem, how does the 256GB SanDisk Lacie rugged compare in terms of speed to the 500GB variety?

 

[hfg]

No problem, how does the 256GB SanDisk Lacie rugged compare in terms of speed to the 500GB variety?

Here is a DiskSpeedTest comparison (not the best for small random file access):

LaCie Rugged 256GB (SanDisk U100) ---------- LaCie Rugged 500GB (Samsung 840 EVO)

 

[Blue Sun]

Here is a DiskSpeedTest comparison (not the best for small random file access):

LaCie Rugged 256GB (SanDisk U100) ---------- LaCie Rugged 500GB (Samsung 840 EVO)

Wow, thank you very much for that. Much appreciated!

I am thinking about purchasing the Lacie rugged 256GB SSD to use as a Thunderbolt boot drive. Judging by those speeds - I think it should do nicely.

Thanks again.