old.

[cambookpro]

Hi I've never tried an iMac with an SSD before, but I commonly use Macbook Pro's with SSD's. For example, my friend has a 15" retina Macbook Pro (Iris Pro model from 2014)and I really don't tell that much of a difference.

Without a doubt, bouts times are insanely better (another price who just bought a 15" Macbook, I was hoping her set it up and we went to restart it, looked away for a second and it was done ) but when it came to normal tasks such as launching apps, it was not really as big a gap. The Disk Speed Test for example, take the exact same time to open on my iMac with a HDD (not cached in RAM, was after a restart) as a 15" retina Macbook Pro. Larger Pro apps are more noticeable, say a second or two, but this is for opening them the fist time after a reboot. Once an app is cached in RAM (opened before), there was absolutely 0 difference between an SSD Macbook Pro 15" (with a slightly faster CPU and slower GPU but with double the RAM) and my iMac.

I feel that the main selling point of an SSD is its silent running, and its lower failure rates with knocks, as the speed different is only really noticeable when booting up (with Mac OS I only ever restart once in a blue moon, and with my Windows partition for gaming, I just hibernate it so that I can boot into Windows in around 7 seconds).

There is only once main place (apart from booting) that it was noticeable though, and that is when doing multiple disk intensive tasks at the same time (for example, copying a large file as well as trying to open a large app, as well as rendering, will shown the difference much more, but I really don't think that is worth several hundred pounds).

How is a 1TB HDD upgrade from Apple?

To be honest, I don't notice it being any quieter. I'm sure it is quieter, but the fans are usually all I can hear on my laptop (non-retina - think newer ones are even quieter). I don't really restart either - my uptime at the moment is 10 days.

It is most noticeable on boot, but I'd disagree that that's the main place you feel the speed. Day to day, you would notice it. We have a shared iMac at home which has a 5400rpm HDD which used to be roughly the same speed as my MBP. Now, you compare the two and the difference is night and day. I find it hard to use now!

SSDs probably aren't a necessity, but I wouldn't dismiss them without living with one on your main machine for a good week or two. Going back to a spinning drive isn't a pleasurable experience! I was ready to return my SSD as I only bought it as an experiment and it was 512GB compared to my old 1TB drive, but I liked it so much I kept it. Should tide me over until Skylake!

 

[MikeArtworks]

To be honest, I don't notice it being any quieter. I'm sure it is quieter, but the fans are usually all I can hear on my laptop (non-retina - think newer ones are even quieter). I don't really restart either - my uptime at the moment is 10 days.

It is most noticeable on boot, but I'd disagree that that's the main place you feel the speed. Day to day, you would notice it. We have a shared iMac at home which has a 5400rpm HDD which used to be roughly the same speed as my MBP. Now, you compare the two and the difference is night and day. I find it hard to use now!

SSDs probably aren't a necessity, but I wouldn't dismiss them without living with one on your main machine for a good week or two. Going back to a spinning drive isn't a pleasurable experience! I was ready to return my SSD as I only bought it as an experiment and it was 512GB compared to my old 1TB drive, but I liked it so much I kept it. Should tide me over until Skylake!

Hey, they say skylake will improve graphics a little bit, but if I take the gt 750 now due to skylake refresh only coming later this year and only begin next year where I live (Holland), will the iris pro of skylake be better than the dedicated gt 750m?

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Hey, they say skylake will improve graphics a little bit, but if I take the gt 750 now due to skylake refresh only coming later this year and only begin next year where I live (Holland), will the iris pro of skylake be better than the dedicated gt 750m?

I would have to look up to give you a proper answer, but I'm guessing no when it comes to gaming. It would have to be a two fold increase from Iris Pro to get to the 750m in terms of fps.

There is still other disadvantages, even if it were to be close to the 750m, such as much less VRAM (the current Iris Pro only has 128MB of DRAM, where as the 750m has much faster and larger 1024MB GDDR5 VRAM) as well as the advantage of CUDA cores (and such applications as Nvidia Experience...).

 

[MikeArtworks]

I would have to look up to give you a proper answer, but I'm guessing no when it comes to gaming. It would have to be a two fold increase from Iris Pro to get to the 750m in terms of fps.

There is still other disadvantages, even if it were to be close to the 750m, such as much less VRAM (the current Iris Pro only has 128MB of DRAM, where as the 750m has much faster and larger 1024MB GDDR5 VRAM) as well as the advantage of CUDA cores (and such applications as Nvidia Experience...).

Hmm, then I might go with the Gt 750m one. Last problem is the ssd, to get a fusion drive it will cost me around 500 euros more (idk why, but MediaMarkt (biggest electronic shop of Europe) has lower prices than Apple, but doesn't have all the model options like apple's customisation). I don't think 500 euros is worth the fusion drive. I have an external usb3 ssd though. Do you think that would make it faster, if I make it a fusion drive with the external ssd?

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Hmm, then I might go with the Gt 750m one. Last problem is the ssd, to get a fusion drive it will cost me around 500 euros more (idk why, but MediaMarkt (biggest electronic shop of Europe) has lower prices than Apple, but doesn't have all the model options like apple's customisation). I don't think 500 euros is worth the fusion drive. I have an external usb3 ssd though. Do you think that would make it faster, if I make it a fusion drive with the external ssd?

It's defiantly not worth that price to upgrade to the Fusion Drive lol

Having an external SSD for the OS plus some base apps, then use the internal HDD for storage will be your best bet. You could make a custom Fusion Drive I think, but you would be better just having the two different drives separate so that if one fails, the other is still there (you have only lost half, where as if it were fused you would loose everything).

 

[yjchua95]

Hmm, then I might go with the Gt 750m one. Last problem is the ssd, to get a fusion drive it will cost me around 500 euros more (idk why, but MediaMarkt (biggest electronic shop of Europe) has lower prices than Apple, but doesn't have all the model options like apple's customisation). I don't think 500 euros is worth the fusion drive. I have an external usb3 ssd though. Do you think that would make it faster, if I make it a fusion drive with the external ssd?

USB uses a packet structure to transfer data, meaning it requires the sent packets of data to finish transmission before the device can receive more data. (Interfaces like FireWire and Thunderbolt stream data instead.) It's seemingly a minor point, but can impact performance and is why it's preferable not to run the OS off a USB drive.

 

[MikeArtworks]

To be honest, I don't notice it being any quieter. I'm sure it is quieter, but the fans are usually all I can hear on my laptop (non-retina - think newer ones are even quieter). I don't really restart either - my uptime at the moment is 10 days.

It is most noticeable on boot, but I'd disagree that that's the main place you feel the speed. Day to day, you would notice it. We have a shared iMac at home which has a 5400rpm HDD which used to be roughly the same speed as my MBP. Now, you compare the two and the difference is night and day. I find it hard to use now!

SSDs probably aren't a necessity, but I wouldn't dismiss them without living with one on your main machine for a good week or two. Going back to a spinning drive isn't a pleasurable experience! I was ready to return my SSD as I only bought it as an experiment and it was 512GB compared to my old 1TB drive, but I liked it so much I kept it. Should tide me over until Skylake!

It's defiantly not worth that price to upgrade to the Fusion Drive lol

Having an external SSD for the OS plus some base apps, then use the internal HDD for storage will be your best bet. You could make a custom Fusion Drive I think, but you would be better just having the two different drives separate so that if one fails, the other is still there (you have only lost half, where as if it were fused you would loose everything).

USB uses a packet structure to transfer data, meaning it requires the sent packets of data to finish transmission before the device can receive more data. (Interfaces like FireWire and Thunderbolt stream data instead.) It's seemingly a minor point, but can impact performance and is why it's preferable not to run the OS off a USB drive.

I've actually decided to get the 27 inc iMac, as I do graphic design, bigger screen is better. I now have a 24 inch monitor so I don't want to go back to 21.5 inch I think.

The one I'm getting is around 1800 euros:

i5 3.2 ghz --> 3.6 ghz
8 gb ram (upgradeable (will do later this year to 16gb))
Nvidea GT 755m (even better than 750m)
1 tb hdd 7200 rpm (faster than 5400 rpm of 21.5 inch)
128 gb external ssd.

So it's not the retina one, that's very expensive here, and I don't need that.

 

[cambookpro]

I've actually decided to get the 27 inc iMac, as I do graphic design, bigger screen is better. I now have a 24 inch monitor so I don't want to go back to 21.5 inch I think.

The one I'm getting is around 1800 euros:

i5 3.2 ghz --> 3.6 ghz
8 gb ram (upgradeable (will do later this year to 16gb))
Nvidea GT 755m (even better than 750m)
1 tb hdd 7200 rpm (faster than 5400 rpm of 21.5 inch)
128 gb external ssd.

So it's not the retina one, that's very expensive here, and I don't need that.

Sounds like a great machine.

When you get it, plug in the external SSD and run a Blackmagic disk speed test (free in Mac App Store) on your internal HDD and external SSD. Although the tests aren't perfect, they should give a good rough comparison to see which is faster. If the SSD is, while I wouldn't recommend trying to configure it as a Fusion Drive, you could always put larger apps and media on it.

Do you have a backup drive? (I hope you do!) You can configure Time Machine to backup both the internal HDD and any external disks, so you should be able to preserve a copy of your data at all times.

 

[MikeArtworks]

Sounds like a great machine.

When you get it, plug in the external SSD and run a Blackmagic disk speed test (free in Mac App Store) on your internal HDD and external SSD. Although the tests aren't perfect, they should give a good rough comparison to see which is faster. If the SSD is, while I wouldn't recommend trying to configure it as a Fusion Drive, you could always put larger apps and media on it.

Do you have a backup drive? (I hope you do!) You can configure Time Machine to backup both the internal HDD and any external disks, so you should be able to preserve a copy of your data at all times.

Do you think it will be hard to go from a 24 inch to a 27 inch screen? Or will it get normal after some use?

Don't want it to be too big. 24 Inch seems in between small and ok now.

 

[MikeArtworks]

Do you think it will be hard to go from a 24 inch to a 27 inch screen? Or will it get normal after some use?

Don't want it to be too big. 24 Inch seems in between small and ok now.

And also, if I run games at around 1600x900, will it still look good on that size??

 

[ixxx69]

The one I'm getting is around 1800 euros:

i5 3.2 ghz --> 3.6 ghz
8 gb ram (upgradeable (will do later this year to 16gb))
Nvidea GT 755m (even better than 750m)
1 tb hdd 7200 rpm (faster than 5400 rpm of 21.5 inch)
128 gb external ssd.

I wouldn't recommend the internal HDD and I wouldn't recommend the external SSD. That's backwards. Get an internal SSD or the Fusion Drive. Save up for a couple more months if you have to.

p.s. - you likely won't need 16GB of RAM for many years.

 

[MikeArtworks]

I wouldn't recommend the internal HDD and I wouldn't recommend the external SSD. That's backwards. Get an internal SSD or the Fusion Drive. Save up for a couple more months if you have to.

p.s. - you likely won't need 16GB of RAM for many years.

Why is it backwards?

Like I said earlier, to get an ssd upgrade I can't buy it at the biggest electronic store here, but through apple. The price difference would be 529 euros then. 529 euros for an ssd?

 

[ixxx69]

Why is it backwards?

Like I said earlier, to get an ssd upgrade I can't buy it at the biggest electronic store here, but through apple. The price difference would be 529 euros then. 529 euros for an ssd?

You want the OS and apps installed on the SSD. You don't want that to be on an external USB drive. It's technically much more complicated, doesn't offer nearly the same performance, TRIM problems, USB drives are prone to accidental disconnecting. Based on your posts, you don't seem technically inclined to deal with the issues.

I understand the cost savings, but what does that matter if it's not a great computer for you? There's a reason they're selling that model for cheap.

But that's just my advice. I've seen it go both ways - some users are thrilled that it's a better computer than they had; some users are disappointed that it doesn't live up to their expectations. Doesn't mean the compromises aren't worth it to you. Best of luck with whatever you get!

 

[MikeArtworks]

You want the OS and apps installed on the SSD. You don't want that to be on an external USB drive. It's technically much more complicated, doesn't offer nearly the same performance, TRIM problems, USB drives are prone to accidental disconnecting. Based on your posts, you don't seem technically inclined to deal with the issues.

I understand the cost savings, but what does that matter if it's not a great computer for you? There's a reason they're selling that model for cheap.

But that's just my advice. I've seen it go both ways - some users are thrilled that it's a better computer than they had; some users are disappointed that it doesn't live up to their expectations. Doesn't mean the compromises aren't worth it to you. Best of luck with whatever you get!

Well..

I'm just going to try it. Going to order the ssd case tomorrow. I'll buy the iMac in a few days/weeks.

I think it will be better than an 7200 rpm. And I'm just going to stick it under my desk with some sticky paper or whatever, so it stays put.

 

[cambookpro]

Do you think it will be hard to go from a 24 inch to a 27 inch screen? Or will it get normal after some use?

Don't want it to be too big. 24 Inch seems in between small and ok now.

27" screens are great, I use my Thunderbolt Display with my MBP and I think it's the perfect size.

And also, if I run games at around 1600x900, will it still look good on that size??

I'd recommend running them at native resolution. My 2011 MBP can run Portal 2 (not that modern, but probably the newest game I have...) mostly at medium-high settings whilst running both the 1690 x 1050 internal display and the 2560 x 1440 external display and it's fine. Your iMac shouldn't have many problems running at native resolution.

Well..

I'm just going to try it. Going to order the ssd case tomorrow. I'll buy the iMac in a few days/weeks.

I think it will be better than an 7200 rpm. And I'm just going to stick it under my desk with some sticky paper or whatever, so it stays put.

Just to reiterate, I wouldn't recommend putting the OS on the external drive as they simply aren't designed for that and aren't as reliable. If it's faster, maybe putting apps and media on it may work.