Sandisk Ultra II 1TB vs Samsung 850 EVO 500gb

[bielen]

I have a late 2012 27" iMac with 1TB fusion drive which I am looking to add an SSD as a startup drive, store applications and use for Parallels VMs. Given the difficultly of opening the iMac, I plan to get an external USB 3.0 enclosure.

I have a Sandisk Ultra II 1TB on backorder from Black Friday. I've also been reading numerous reviews and can purchase a 500GB Samsung EVO for $50-$60 less. I like the larger capacity, but the Samsung SSD consistently have somewhat better performance.

What would you do? Any reason to get the Samsung for day-to-day work versus performance benchmarks? Any thoughts on the Inateck enclosures?

Thanks

 

[torana355]

Both the Sandisk and Samsung drives you listed are great. I recently went with the Samsung EVO for my 2012 fusion drive iMac as the 3TB hdd failed. It was fairly easy to pull the screen off and replace the drive. Just don't drop the screen on the breakfast bar like i did and crack the corner of the bezel. I have no knowledge of inateck enclosures so i cant help you there.

 

[glenthompson]

I had an Apple authorized repair station install the SSD in my wife's iMac. After looking at the iFixIt instructions it was a little more than I felt comfortable taking on. They charged me $140 to make the swap. I provided the drive and had already cloned it. The increased performance was worth the total price.

 

[twilexia]

I had an Apple authorized repair station install the SSD in my wife's iMac. After looking at the iFixIt instructions it was a little more than I felt comfortable taking on. They charged me $140 to make the swap. I provided the drive and had already cloned it. The increased performance was worth the total price.

$140? What year iMac (pre/post anorexia?)

 

[glenthompson]

$140? What year iMac (pre/post anorexia?)

Pre, 2011 21"

 

[twilexia]

Pre, 2011 21"

Ah, ok. I'm curious what they would charge for replacing the SSD in the post-slimming version, where the screen is effectively sealed.

 

[glenthompson]

Ah, ok. I'm curious what they would charge for replacing the SSD in the post-slimming version, where the screen is effectively sealed.

Probably not much different. The newer models with spinning drives look easier on the drive but harder on the display. Compare the iFixIt guides to see the differences. I wouldn't want to replace the SSD in one but the HDD looks fairly easy.

 

[Weaselboy]

I have a late 2012 27" iMac with 1TB fusion drive which I am looking to add an SSD as a startup drive, store applications and use for Parallels VMs. Given the difficultly of opening the iMac, I plan to get an external USB 3.0 enclosure.

I have a Sandisk Ultra II 1TB on backorder from Black Friday. I've also been reading numerous reviews and can purchase a 500GB Samsung EVO for $50-$60 less. I like the larger capacity, but the Samsung SSD consistently have somewhat better performance.

What would you do? Any reason to get the Samsung for day-to-day work versus performance benchmarks? Any thoughts on the Inateck enclosures?

Thanks

I would be shocked if you could tell the difference in speed short of sitting there running benchmark programs or using a stopwatch. I'd just stick with the larger dive you ordered.

I have the Inatech enclosure and use with an SSD for backups and it works great. There are quite a few posts on the forums here from others that have been happy with it also.