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madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5
16GB
1TB Fusion Drive

OR

2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5
16GB
512GB Flash Storage
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
I am saying that there are pros and cons and perhaps unnecessary spending :)
Apple says to get the fusion :confused:
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
Re: SSD
Please tell me what exactly will I see that is faster over the fusion .. Thank you ;)
 

JustMartin

macrumors 6502a
Feb 28, 2012
787
271
UK
Re: SSD
Please tell me what exactly will I see that is faster over the fusion .. Thank you ;)

Probably not very much.

Scan a photo - it goes straight to SSD portion of fusion
Edit the same photo - pulled from SSD saved to SSD
Repeat the above two steps with lots of different photos (same thing happens)
Now go back to first photo you scanned and edit. It will take a tiny bit longer to load because it's coming from the hard disk.
 

eecyclone

macrumors regular
Jul 10, 2013
105
0
I have been really happy with the fusion drive in my iMac, but I don't do much besides web browsing with it. The fusion drive sure does open Safari fast though! ;)
 

nylon

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2004
1,393
1,029
I am saying that there are pros and cons and perhaps unnecessary spending :)
Apple says to get the fusion :confused:

I would never choose a fusion drive. If either the ssd portion or the mechanical portion of the drive goes bad you loose the whole drive.
 

mainer4101

macrumors member
Jun 19, 2013
94
33
I would never choose a fusion drive. If either the ssd portion or the mechanical portion of the drive goes bad you loose the whole drive.

They can't operate independently (meaning, if mechanical HD fails you're not just stuck with 125GB of SSD, the whole thing is shot)?
 

firedept

macrumors 603
Jul 8, 2011
6,277
1,130
Somewhere!
I would never choose a fusion drive. If either the ssd portion or the mechanical portion of the drive goes bad you loose the whole drive.


Correct me please if I am wrong. Whether you have a Fusion Drive, SSD or HDD, if something fails with any one of them, you still do not have a drive.
 

Serban

Suspended
Jan 8, 2013
5,159
928
Correct me please if I am wrong. Whether you have a Fusion Drive, SSD or HDD, if something fails with any one of them, you still do not have a drive.

thats correct. And i had an 21.5 late 2012 2.9Ghz iMac with 1T Fusion Drive...now i just receive my BTO 27" haswell and guess what...still 1T Fusion Drive. Why? because after 6-7 months using fusion drive i had no problems with it in terms of flaws or speed compared to my 15" haswell rMBP
 
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yjchua95

macrumors 604
Apr 23, 2011
6,725
233
GVA, KUL, MEL (current), ZQN
In the Fusion drive, when either part, SSD or HDD sector fails, the whole thing goes belly up.

That's why I went for a pure SSD setup, because:
1. I needed as much speed as possible for 4K work.
2. It's reliable.
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
In the Fusion drive, when either part, SSD or HDD sector fails, the whole thing goes belly up.

That's why I went for a pure SSD setup, because:
1. I needed as much speed as possible for 4K work.
2. It's reliable.
I am confused: I am thinking if the pure SSD setup fails the whole thing goes belly up also ??
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
Probably not very much.

Scan a photo - it goes straight to SSD portion of fusion
Edit the same photo - pulled from SSD saved to SSD
Repeat the above two steps with lots of different photos (same thing happens)
Now go back to first photo you scanned and edit. It will take a tiny bit longer to load because it's coming from the hard disk.
I am not a speed FREAK .. I want an easy work life and some quality function so why get SSD or Fusion given the size and cost differences ??
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
Please explain more:
Are you saying the SSD is a lot more stable .. I do not know what the rotational part is .. Thank you.
Yes. If the SSD part fails, the entire drive is totally toast.

Edit: And if the rotational part fails (which is one hell of a lot more likely to fail), the entire drive also becomes toast.
 

yjchua95

macrumors 604
Apr 23, 2011
6,725
233
GVA, KUL, MEL (current), ZQN
Please explain more:
Are you saying the SSD is a lot more stable .. I do not know what the rotational part is .. Thank you.

Let me put it this way:
The Fusion Drive is made up of two sectors, a 128GB SSD and a 1TB 5400rpm traditional HDD (I call this the rotational part).

The SSD is unlikely to break, but the rotational part is one hell of a lot more likely to break.

When the rotational part breaks, the entire drive is toast. You can't just operate off the SSD.
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
I am hoping to purchase tonight and am so undecided on SSD or Fusion !!
I am freaking out !!
 

MacOG728893

macrumors 68000
Sep 10, 2010
1,715
114
Orange County CA
I am hoping to purchase tonight and am so undecided on SSD or Fusion !!
I am freaking out !!

Do not freak out. There's absolutely no reason to. Whether you get the fusion or SSD, just be sure to get an external hard drive for time machine backups and Apple Care. If either storage solutions fail during the life of your warranty, although you will be out of a machine for a couple days while it's in repair, you'll have a full backup to restore from when you pick it up.

I went with full SSD because I prefer not having a less reliable and noisy hard drive disk in my iMac. Furthermore, I also have plenty of external storage for my media and library needs. Either one you choose will be just fine ultimately. It is important to remember. Apple Care and Time Machine backups are your two best friends.
 

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
.. I am finding it really hard to decide on my usage as I am currently sorting though 20 years of back ups (most are trash).

---------

MacOG728893,
I always get the Apple Care :)
Please tell me the system you have .. Thank you :)
 
Last edited:

madele

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2013
78
1
Thank you kindly for responding :)
I am hoping to take advantage of the US sale today .. I already bought my iPads and had a hard time between the 32gb and the 64gb and got both .. I need so much help.
I was kinda thinking the 1TB Fusion because apple said so and because with the 512gb SSD I will also be using an 1TB external HD for storage which is NOT SSD so again I would be back to the mix and I had read that it was better to have the mix inside the computer ??

I am currently looking at my usage by taking off my movies to see if the 512gb will be big enough all by itself ??
I understand the SSD is better but I will be downsizing from two 1TB iMacs and this is a concern and I guess I will be back to ask about storage options later.
I really am happy to spend the money but only if it is not wasted !!
 
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