Storage - SSD vs Fusion Drive

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Level 1

8 points

Storage - SSD vs Fusion Drive

Any insight on SSD vs Fusion? Not a real technical person here but am looking at getting a new iMac. I'm purchasing from the Apple refurbished site and have a choice of a 2019 iMac with a 1 TB Fusion Drive or a 2021 iMac with a 256 or 512 SSD. The older iMac I have (mid-2011) has a 500 GB hard drive so thinking the 256 SSD is not going to be what I want but the 512 obviously is more expensive. Not sure what the functionality difference in SSD and Fusion is or if either is better over the other. Thank you.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Aug 27, 2021 5:43 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

babowa

Level 9

78,429 points

Aug 27, 2021 9:58 PM in response to Beckrich

Additionally, a fusion drive still has a slow hard drive which will be significantly slower than an SSD. Are you looking at 21.5 or 27" models? The 21.5" usually had/has a super slow 5700 rpm drive which will be very slow; the standard 7200 rpm drive in the 27" fusion drive models is better, but an SSD will be a much better investment in my unqualified opinion.

And, as long as you maintain at least one good backup, a hard drive failure will not be a disaster - just some time to restore the data from the backup onto a new drive.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,506 points

Aug 27, 2021 6:55 PM in response to Beckrich

A hard drive will usually wear out sooner than an SSD plus an SSD will also tend to be much faster than a Fusion Drive setup.

It is very difficult to open the iMacs so replacing the internal drive is not something an average user wants to do themselves.

Make sure to have frequent and regular backups. FYI, it is impossible to recover accidentally deleted data from an SSD after the Trash has been emptied plus an SSD can fail at any time without any time even with a brand new SSD.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

60,506 points

Aug 27, 2021 8:13 PM in response to Beckrich

It is not so much that they fail a lot, but that they may fail without any warning signs. At least with a hard drive you could start hearing odd noises and notice the system running slower & slower. With an SSD it is usually either working or not working.

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Answer 4

Aug 27, 2021 8:17 PM in response to Beckrich

I think you misunderstood @HWTech's post regarding SSD fails. They actually stated "a hard drive will usually wear out sooner than an SSD..." I agree with that. I've read several reports that support that. Here's one: Are SSDs More Reliable than HDDs - Backblaze

@HWTech also stated that "SSD can fail without (warning) any time". That is true. An SSD fails differently than a hdd, which often gives some sort of warning.

Your take away should be that an SSD is no more prone to failure than an hdd, but recovering data from a failing hdd is more likely than from a failed ssd.

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Answer 5

Beckrich Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 28, 2021 4:31 AM in response to babowa

Thank you. That helps me understand it more, not a real technical person here so trying to understand the new technology. The computer I'm looking to get is a 24" 2021 iMac which has an M1 chip processor and a 512 GB SSD. We've had our current iMac since 2012 (mid-2011 release), which we purchased through Apple on their refurbished site and it has served us extremely well all these years, but I think it's time to upgrade for OS and security reasons since it isn't compatible with the new upgrades any longer. Thank you again for your insight.

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Answer 6

Jack-19

Level 8

46,014 points

Aug 27, 2021 5:45 PM in response to Beckrich

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

Definitely get the SSD.

Jack

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Answer 7

Beckrich Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 27, 2021 6:04 PM in response to Jack-19

Thank you. I’m assuming the 512 GB SSD would be about the same storage capacity as my 500 GB Hard Drive. Any reason why you feel the SSD is better than the Fusion?

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