Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

robodude666

macrumors member
Original poster
May 12, 2008
43
0
Howdy,

My mid-2011 iMac 27" is starting to show its age. I'm considering getting an external Thunderbolt SSD, using it as my boot drive, and converting my 1TB internal for storage/time machine backup.

I'm leaning towards a LaCie 256GB SSD Rugged. This is mostly due to the fact that it require only the thunderbolt, and no external power. I'm also interested in the buffalo dual ssd and using it with RAID 0 for additional performance, however I'm concerned that it requires external power (I have cats that like to play behind my computer) and from what I've read RAID 0 isn't recommended for a boot disk.

Would the buffalo w/ RAID 0 provide noticeable performance over a single SSD? Are there any other single thunderbolt enclosures that are cheap? I'd rather not give LaCie extra money for an overpriced orange enclosure.

-robodude666
 
You might get more speed with a RAID 0 SSD setup, and they're not as likely to die as platter-based harddrives. On the other hand, I doubt you'll see much difference than if you went with a single SSD, unless you're one of the 2.5% of people where your max read/write speed is of utmost importance.
 
Howdy,

My mid-2011 iMac 27" is starting to show its age. I'm considering getting an external Thunderbolt SSD, using it as my boot drive, and converting my 1TB internal for storage/time machine backup.

I'm leaning towards a LaCie 256GB SSD Rugged. This is mostly due to the fact that it require only the thunderbolt, and no external power. I'm also interested in the buffalo dual ssd and using it with RAID 0 for additional performance, however I'm concerned that it requires external power (I have cats that like to play behind my computer) and from what I've read RAID 0 isn't recommended for a boot disk.

Would the buffalo w/ RAID 0 provide noticeable performance over a single SSD? Are there any other single thunderbolt enclosures that are cheap? I'd rather not give LaCie extra money for an overpriced orange enclosure.

-robodude666
There's no such thing as a cheap Thunderbolt enclosure. The controller and the interface are way more complex than USB.
 
The hard drives with a power source will be faster than the ones without, I know this is true for RAID-0 drives at least.
 
Of course, only you know how fast is "fast enough" for your boot drive, but I was in the same situation (2011 27" iMac, slow stock HD) and I transformed it with an external ssd, and on the cheap. I got a refurb LaCie Thunderbolt bus powered external 2.5" hd from macmall for $90, an OWC 512gb ssd new for $179, and a usb enclosure for $20. Opened up the LaCie, swapped in the ssd, put the hd in USB enclosure, bungeed the LaCie to the stand of the Mac, and plugged in the USB enclosure. Installed osx to the ssd, and now I have a ssd boot drive, an internal 1tb data drive, and an external 1tb backup without having to crack open the Mac.

Other folks here have done similar upgrades; check around for more experiences. I'm loving life now with this setup. It's like a whole new machine to me: :)
 
Are there any other single thunderbolt enclosures that are cheap?

I've been using this Delock for almost a year to boot my Late 2013 iMac (with a Samsung 840 EVO) and it's been flawless. It's a bit hard to find in the states but $98 plus shipping is a good price for it.

If you require bus-power be advised that this one requires AC. Personally, since I never move it and am using it with a desktop computer I prefer to have AC and the comfort of knowing there is no SSD that will cause power issues in it.

It also has no TB pass-through so it will be the end of the line for your TB devices if you're daisy-chaining.
 
Thanks all for the replies!!

I transformed it with an external ssd, and on the cheap. I got a refurb LaCie Thunderbolt bus powered external 2.5" hd from macmall for $90, an OWC 512gb ssd new for $179, and a usb enclosure for $20.

That's incredibly smart! I'd be able to do the SSD upgrade for ~$230 vs $300 for the LaCie SSD 250GB.

Is this the refurb drive you got? Did it come w/ the thunderbolt cable? Were you able to get TRIM support enabled? What kind of read/write/access are you seeing? Any specific reason for getting the OWC drive vs other popular options like OCZ or Samsung?

Is a 250 GB Samsung EVO 850 for $110 a good "enough" SSD? I'm not sure if I really care about the difference between, say, a $100 EVO and a $500 PRO. Is the difference noticeable? Any more noticeable than going from a HDD to *any* SSD?

For reference, all I mostly do is browse youtube/reddit/forums and play World of Warcraft.

-robodude666
 
Thanks all for the replies!!



That's incredibly smart! I'd be able to do the SSD upgrade for ~$230 vs $300 for the LaCie SSD 250GB.

Is this the refurb drive you got? Did it come w/ the thunderbolt cable? Were you able to get TRIM support enabled? What kind of read/write/access are you seeing? Any specific reason for getting the OWC drive vs other popular options like OCZ or Samsung?

Is a 250 GB Samsung EVO 850 for $110 a good "enough" SSD? I'm not sure if I really care about the difference between, say, a $100 EVO and a $500 PRO. Is the difference noticeable? Any more noticeable than going from a HDD to *any* SSD?

For reference, all I mostly do is browse youtube/reddit/forums and play World of Warcraft.

-robodude666

I'm using an 850 EVO 1TB in a bus-powered Thunderbolt enclosure. No issues at all. You do not need an AC powered enclosure for the 850 series. Their power consumption is far less than the previous generation SSDs.

ANY SSD is better than no SSD, even super old SSDs that top out at ~190MB/s read/write. Random reads/writes are where SSDs blow away any hard drive, and that's what you'll likely be doing 99% of the time.

The 850 EVO is not tangibly slower than the Pro, and you'd be quite happy with it. I'm using a Seagate Backup Plus 2.5" Thunderbolt enclosure, fyi. Used it for 2 years on my 2012 iMac, and am continuing to do so on my 2014 model now.
 
I ran my 2012 iMac 27" via external TB SSD, using one of these: http://www.esaitech.com/seagate-stae128-backup-plus-portable-thunderbolt-adapter.html (possibly the same as @WilliamG ?). It's not really an enclosure, it was designed for use with Seagate-specific disk packs but any SSD will slip into it and dangle there :)

These used to be about $99 new (they are discontinued) and if you can find them cheap, they will run any SSD using SATA-I, -II, or -III specs at full speed.
 
I ran my 2012 iMac 27" via external TB SSD, using one of these: http://www.esaitech.com/seagate-stae128-backup-plus-portable-thunderbolt-adapter.html (possibly the same as @WilliamG ?). It's not really an enclosure, it was designed for use with Seagate-specific disk packs but any SSD will slip into it and dangle there :)

These used to be about $99 new (they are discontinued) and if you can find them cheap, they will run any SSD using SATA-I, -II, or -III specs at full speed.

Still using that on my 2014 iMac as my boot SSD with a 1TB Samsung 850 Pro inside. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bplein
I ran my 2012 iMac 27" via external TB SSD, using one of these: http://www.esaitech.com/seagate-stae128-backup-plus-portable-thunderbolt-adapter.html (possibly the same as @WilliamG ?). It's not really an enclosure, it was designed for use with Seagate-specific disk packs but any SSD will slip into it and dangle there :)

Those were the TB connectors for the Seagate GoFlex series of drives. I have the same on my 2011 iMac and it served as the main boot drive until I got sick of the internal HD spinning up and down repeatedly at regular intervals, even when sleeping, so out it came.
 
Usually I like Samsungs stuff, the nvme drives are great but...700 for a 1tb is steep for that kind of drive since it's a one use product. you can get a 1tb 970evo for 300 if you shop right and external tb3 enclosures are under 190 now..with the flexibility to put a new one in when you burn through the chip. Just a thought.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bplein
Usually I like Samsungs stuff, the nvme drives are great but...700 for a 1tb is steep for that kind of drive since it's a one use product. you can get a 1tb 970evo for 300 if you shop right and external tb3 enclosures are under 190 now..with the flexibility to put a new one in when you burn through the chip. Just a thought.

Yes. Competition is good. But like the old TB1 external enclosures, the TB3 ones are few and far between for single m.2 at a reasonable price. Let’s hope that prices on enclosures and complete solutions like Samsung’s come down quickly.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.