Ready to Buy - HDD Question

[RedlegsFan]

I've saved up enough money to buy a an iMac. I'm most likely buying the 2TB fusion drive model. However, since I don't necessarily need this right now, what would be the benefit of saving a little more so that I could get the 512GB flash drive model. I'm not going to be doing anything intensive, I might start getting into minor video editing, etc. so I'm thinking the only benefit would be no moving parts, which would equal less chance of having hardware issues. I'm I correct here?

 

[ivantwilliams]

I say think long term. A few months ago, I bought my first ever Mac, an iMac. With a week, I took back the 1TB model and bought the i5 2TB with the larger SSD. Considering I was paying over $2k, I'll want to keep this for a while and thus would hate to start seeing slowness from lack of the SSD portion of the drive.

Ideally, I would like a 1TB SSD iMac. Alas my funds don't reach that high

 

[tubeexperience]

You could get the one with 256GB SSD which is $100 cheaper instead of the 2TB fusion drive.

If you run out of space, you can add a second SSD.

 

[Carlsbad Rich]

Just returned my 1tb fusion-

Tube and Afc gave great advice-

I have a 2015 how are MP and we'll get by with that until September or Q1 2017 for new Mac...

Can you wait?

I'm a dork and don't know anything but I read on Mac rumors for him that SSD future and I agree...

 

[RedlegsFan]

You could get the one with 256GB SSD which is $100 cheaper instead of the 2TB fusion drive.

If you run out of space, you can add a second SSD.

If I remember correctly, on B&H Photo, the 256GB machine is the same price as the 2TB machine. That's just too big of a drop off, space wise.

 

[maflynn]

If I remember correctly, on B&H Photo, the 256GB machine is the same price as the 2TB machine. That's just too big of a drop off, space wise.

It is, but depending on your needs, you could get an external drive.

I opted for the 2TB Fusion drive, because I was tired of dealing with external drives with my MBP, but its a feasible option.

 

[theluggage]

If I remember correctly, on B&H Photo, the 256GB machine is the same price as the 2TB machine. That's just too big of a drop off, space wise.

I think you need to think of your long-term storage needs. If you're going to need external drives anyway then supplementing a modestly-sized SSD with externals isn't going to be such a big deal - and you keep all that nasty spinning rust outside of your iMac.

For some people, 512GB (maybe even 256GB) is going to be all they ever need (you can get an awful lot of WP documents and spreadsheets in 512GB) - for others, well, if you can fill 1TB, you're probably going to fill 2TB as well. If you're doing serious video you'll probably go through external HDs as if they were floppies...

If you want to store your bulky media collection, then a NAS that can be accessed from set-top-boxes or tablets might make more sense than having to keep your iMac on all the time.

...and, of course, you'll need backups.

I opted for the 2TB Fusion drive, because I was tired of dealing with external drives with my MBP,

Well, a laptop is a slightly different kettle of fish: unless its a totally sessile "desktop replacement" that never leaves the desk, there's a stronger argument for having as much internal storage as possible so you don't have to faff with plugging, unplugging and carrying around external drives.

 

[Fishrrman]

Buy the 2tb fusion model.

Consider:
Even if you "de-fuse" the fusion drive on the 2tb model, you have a 128gb SSD -AND- a 2tb 7200rpm HDD inside. That's a good amount of storage space that should last a LONG time.

If you buy only the 256gb SSD model, you get 128gb "extra" SSD space, and NO additional storage space. That's means that before too long, you'll have to buy more storage.

The issue isn't speed. A "de-fused" 128gb blade SSD from Apple is going to be the near-equal of a 256 SSD from them. If it's "speed" you're after, just de-fuse the fusion drive.
If storage space is a concern, the choice is easy (see above).

 

[RedlegsFan]

What I am after actually is just future proofing, in terms of issues. I am not going to buy the warranty and it comes down to having a moving hard drive (in addition to flash storage) or a flash drive only. I worry about an issue with the hard drive, after my year is up ... if that happens, I am basically screwed, right?

 

[tubeexperience]

What I am after actually is just future proofing, in terms of issues. I am not going to buy the warranty and it comes down to having a moving hard drive (in addition to flash storage) or a flash drive only. I worry about an issue with the hard drive, after my year is up ... if that happens, I am basically screwed, right?

If your hard drive fails, you can replace it with another hard drive or a second SSD.

You can already buy a 1TB SSD for under $200.

A year from now, it will be even cheaper.

 

[RedlegsFan]

That's true. So if it does fail I could get an external hard drive and run the iMac off of that.

Is it simple to install the operating system on a new hard drive? I assume I can download a copy off the OS at some point incase I need to re-install?

 

[tubeexperience]

That's true. So if it does fail I could get an external hard drive and run the iMac off of that.

You could, but I would suggest putting it inside your iMac.

Is it simple to install the operating system on a new hard drive? I assume I can download a copy off the OS at some point incase I need to re-install?

Of cause. You just need an OS X installer files on a flash drive.

 

[RedlegsFan]

You could, but I would suggest putting it inside your iMac.


Of cause. You just need an OS X installer files on a flash drive.

That's the part that scares me, if this were to happen and I had to add a hard drive, I know it's not a simple process to open the machine up. With that said, I guess if it's out of warranty I would not have a choice, if I wanted a working machine.

 

[tubeexperience]

That's the part that scares me, if this were to happen and I had to add a hard drive, I know it's not a simple process to open the machine up. With that said, I guess if it's out of warranty I would not have a choice, if I wanted a working machine.

It's easy. Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/guide-replace-the-hard-drive-in-your-27-imac-slim.1979747/

If you have ever moved around a glass table before without breaking it, then you can perform this upgrade.

 

[RedlegsFan]

Thank you for the reference. This might come in handy one day!

 

[MCAsan]

Likely moving from rMBP to iMac at end of year...depending on configurations and prices of 2016 iMac. Will order 8GB of memory (because you save a significant amount on 3rd party memory), and a 512 SSD. For me the 256GB is not large enough for boot, OS, apps, caches, and other frequently used files. My multi TB library of photos, artwork, movies, and documents would not even fit on a 3TB fusion anyway. So all my data will be as it is today....LaCie RAID set with a LaCie 6TB drive for TM backups.

No matter how kind and size of internal drive, always have at least one external drive for backups of the entire file system.

 

[toddzrx]

If I remember correctly, on B&H Photo, the 256GB machine is the same price as the 2TB machine. That's just too big of a drop off, space wise.

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Apple reduces SSD prices across the board. I hope they do, given how much they've come down in the aftermarket.

 

[tubeexperience]

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Apple reduces SSD prices across the board. I hope they do, given how much they've come down in the aftermarket.

This is Apple we are talking about. The one that still sells non-expandable 16GB iPhone in 2016.

 

[toddzrx]

This is Apple we are talking about. The one that still sells non-expandable 16GB iPhone in 2016.

Yes, I'm well aware of that; hence the finger crossing. They are expected to raise storage to 32GB in iPhone 7, so there's hope.

 

[tubeexperience]

Yes, I'm well aware of that; hence the finger crossing. They are expected to raise storage to 32GB in iPhone 7, so there's hope.

Well, you can always upgrade the SSD yourself.

Some people (because they have never done it) make it sounds like it's difficult when it really isn't.

 

[varian55zx]

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Apple reduces SSD prices across the board. I hope they do, given how much they've come down in the aftermarket.

They're going to decrease them, but it won't be by a lot.

Apple has always operated the same way. We don't need to speculate at this point, SSD prices are sure to go down, sure, but it won't be by any significant amount.

 

[maflynn]

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Apple reduces SSD prices across the board. I hope they do, given how much they've come down in the aftermarket.

I can recall similar comments years ago with regard to how much apple charged for ram. They'll reduce the price of the SSD, to be sure, but it will be very slow over a long period. We'll not be seeing much reduction, especially since they're dealing with margin issues on other products. They want to make sure they're getting the most they can from us.

 

[MCAsan]

They want to make sure they're getting the most they can from us.

Which is their fiduciary duty towards their principals, the stockholders. That is the same with any for-profit company; it exists first and foremost for the benefit of the owners.

 

[tubeexperience]

Which is their fiduciary duty towards their principals, the stockholders. That is the same with any for-profit company; it exists first and foremost for the benefit of the owners.

Well, if more people buy the cheapest storage configuration and upgrade to SSD afterwards, I am sure Apple would respond.

 

[maflynn]

Well, if more people buy the cheapest storage configuration and upgrade to SSD afterwards, I am sure Apple would respond.

That will never happen, as most consumers are not willing to open up their computers.

I know you like to beat the drum of buying low and upgrading, but that's not something that most typical consumers are willing to do. Heck, most of us enthusiasts are not willing to risk the warranty doing such a task.