New iMacs - why such small storage options

Thanks for your post.

I am planning on ordering a configured model from Apple. But even with a 1TB SSD I still cannot store the 2.5 TB of data I currently have on my internal 3TB drive (on an iMac 27 late 2013)

So I will need to change the way I store my data and have some stored on external drives. Until now I have only used external drives for backups, but now I need to have files on external drives that I work with on a live basis day by day: home videos / music / and Office data. Even my Dropbox is over 512GB so I won't be able to sync that to my internal drive any more

So how does one manage this - and are the USB3 connection fast enough to manage data like this as live data, vs the internal drive I/O rates?

What set-ups to other people have with spreading out your live data like this across small internal storage and larger external storage. And then how on earth do you make sure it is all backed up properly from all these different sources?

Maybe it is not an issue - but I am just trying to get my head around it...

Thanks very much OT

May I ask follow up questions to you:

1) you say to upgrade the RAM myself. I did this with my late 2013 iMac, as Apple made this possible then with a small door at the back. I believed that the new iMacs are not made to enable user upgrades - is that right? So I would have to take the screen off to access and upgrade the RAM (and so void the warranty) - or pay the premium to Apple to get 16GB RAM from the start. Is that your understanding?

2) I am deciding between an new iMac with a 1TB fusion drive or with a 256GB SDD internal drive. Both will mean I need to actively use additional external storage. I am reluctant to go with the fusion drive as I think it is old technology and has such a small amount of SSD in it (the imac I am upgrading from has 3TB fusion drive which has a lot bigger SSD in it than the 1TB version - so I am worried I will feel I am going backwards to buy a new iMac with a 1TB fusion drive).

But having only 256GB internal storage, even though SSD, also feels a backwards step for me! Rock and hard place!

If I go the route of the 256GB SSD and utilise external storage for all day to day work:

I already have a Drobo 5D3 (with Thunderbolt3 connectivity). I bought it last year even though my current iMac only has Thunderbolt2 - I wanted to future proof. I use it mainly as time machine backup of my 3TB iMac, and to hold some video files I do not access often. Currently, when I do want to work on files stored on the Drobo, I first move them to the iMac HD so I benefit from the speed of internal disk I/O rather than external.

In this new world witha new iMac, I guess I will be storing all files on the Drobo, using them live on the Drobo, and also keeping the time machine backup on the Drobo Timemachine partition. I wonder if all of this being managed by one TB3 connection is going to be OK?

3) My last question is that you imply you use your external SSD as the boot drive, rather than the internal 500GB SSD in your Mac. Why do you do it that way round?

Many thanks for your thoughts

Ah - thanks Malcolm.

This time I was thinking to go 21.5" as the 27" is so expensive now ... I had not realised the 27" still allowed the RAM upgrade...

I will look again at the economics of 21.5 with pricey Apple RAM, vs the 27" with affordable Crucial RAM

And thanks for clarifying the speed of TB3 external SSDs - I am feeling more confident that is the way to go!

Many thanks for you time helping