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User profile for user: matfromnewarko
matfromnewarko Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Anybody has been using internal SSD with USB adapter as main HD? Tell me more before I decide...

I have late-2013 21.5 iMac I just bought. I'm planning to replace 5,400 RPM HDD with an internal SSD. I was making a post about SSD upgrade other day, someone replied to me, that said he/she has been connecting the internal SSD outside their Mac with USB adapter for three years as main drive and they didn't have to take apart their Mac for replacing HDD, but I'm stuck between two choices (external one for main drive and replacing HDD inside). You don't need to tell me how to replace and I've already seen tons of videos. I'm asking about anybody's experiences with using internal SSD with USB adapter (or enclosure) and I have my external HDDs I'm used to but I wouldn't want to use them as main drive and I've never had internal SSD (except my MacBook Air came with SSD, of course, the speed's pretty good). I'm sure connecting USB adapter is little slower than the inside but still very faster than the old school HDD.


I have some questions-


Is it good idea to use internal SSD with USB adapter than replacing HDD inside? Can it cause any issue with USB adapter as main drive? What about connecting external HDD as just backup and internal SSD with USB adapter as main drive? Is it better off sticking to temporary till right time to replace HDD?


Thanks.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Sep 11, 2019 5:12 AM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
60,380 points

Posted on Sep 11, 2019 1:13 PM

matfromnewarko wrote:

Great, I'll just invest in USB 3.0 enclosure, of course, I figured out I can use empty enclosure for old-school HDD after upgrading especially when I will have to increase more memory for RAM, instead of taking the screen off adhesive twice.

Get an enclosure and USB3 hub which support UASP protocol. This will provide better performance when using USB drives.

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
60,380 points

Sep 11, 2019 1:13 PM in response to matfromnewarko

matfromnewarko wrote:

Great, I'll just invest in USB 3.0 enclosure, of course, I figured out I can use empty enclosure for old-school HDD after upgrading especially when I will have to increase more memory for RAM, instead of taking the screen off adhesive twice.

Get an enclosure and USB3 hub which support UASP protocol. This will provide better performance when using USB drives.

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User profile for user: Old Toad
Old Toad
User level: Level 10
210,539 points

Sep 11, 2019 12:24 PM in response to matfromnewarko

Yes. I use one to run beta system software and the older, High Sierra system:



Booting from it takes about 50 seconds (have 4 other EHDs to mount at boot) whereas the internal SSD boot is approximately 15-20 seconds quicker. This setup is quiet, i.e. no fans required, and generates little or no heat. Once up and running it's as fast as the internal SSD for all practical purposes.


The adaptor is from Amazon and the drive from MacSales.com.


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User profile for user: dwb
dwb
User level: Level 7
33,100 points

Sep 11, 2019 9:54 AM in response to matfromnewarko

The easy answer is this: I am sitting in front of a 2013 iMac with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB rotational hard drive. The day the tech department plopped it on my desk I screamed in the realization that it didn't have the 512GB SSD I'd ordered. I'm a tech and I've opened many iMacs but I didn't have time just then so I threw an SSD into a good USB 3 enclosure and cloned the internal drive. About 90 minutes later I booted up and was pleasantly surprised at how well it ran. That led to a second test - a thunderbolt enclosure which ran even faster but, obviously, much more expensive. About 5 years later the iMac still has its rotational internal drive and a better USB 3 enclosure.


Bottom line: if the iMac wasn't such a pain to take apart and put back together I'd have installed the SSD internally years ago. (If you decide to do the installation be careful when you put the LCD back on, get it off by just a little bit and you'll be buying more double-sided tape for your second attempt.) The USB solution is convenient and fast enough, the TB solution is even faster but more costly. Both are infinitely less cuss-worthy than the internal installation.

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User profile for user: matfromnewarko
matfromnewarko Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Sep 11, 2019 11:25 AM in response to dwb

Great, I'll just invest in USB 3.0 enclosure, of course, I figured out I can use empty enclosure for old-school HDD after upgrading especially when I will have to increase more memory for RAM, instead of taking the screen off adhesive twice.


One question- I do have a few external HDDs and still haven't bought internal SSD/enclosure yet. But when I use external SSD as main drive, I plug in external HDD as secondary drive to just play some video on the computer (I don't want to waste time transferring stuff to external SSD as main drive). It won't affect at all?

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Anybody has been using internal SSD with USB adapter as main HD? Tell me more before I decide...

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