3TB Fusion Drive VS 256GB SSD

Question

Level 1

57 points

3TB Fusion Drive VS 256GB SSD

Hi All,

I have a replacement imac (3.4GHz, 8GB, 3TB FD) coming soon but wanted to make sure if I'm making the right move by upgrading to 3TB FD instead of 256GB SSD.

I was originally using the 256GB SSD for OSX and applications, and had all my contents on external HD (2TB) via FW800.

Now that there is no more FW800 (although I can use the Thunderbolt adapter) port on the new iMac, I was thinking of getting a new 4TB thunderbolt external HD. That would be quite costly though. Then I found out about the 3TB FD. I think the 3TB FD made sense because I was using less than 100GB for OSX and applications on the 256SSD and all other contents (mainly large size photos) were stored on external HD. I figured it would be less costly to just pay $100 for upgrading to the fusion drive.

I am now a little worried when I run out of space. I do use alot of space and think 3TB should fill up in about a year and half.

Should I just keep the 256SSD and use the super fast thunderbolt external HDs to store the contents? At least I can daisy chain up to 6 HDs...

Your kind and expeditious advice would be greatly appreciated, as I have to let the Applecare rep know before she actually places the order tomorrow.

Thank you.

Posted on Sep 12, 2013 6:02 PM

Reply

Answer 1

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 12, 2013 6:15 PM in response to Big Joon

Go with the fusion drive. It combines the flash storage and traditional storage into one internal drive. The 3 TB has 128 flash based storage, which is plenty. Essentially, it acts as your disk cache: the drive dynamically allocates data according to what you access most often. The alternative would be more costly and more volitile- you would only be increasing the risk of logical volume failure.

Reply

Answer 2

Big Joon Author

Level 1

57 points

Sep 12, 2013 7:13 PM in response to nbar

Thanks for your reply.

May I ask some additional questions?

1. How does the fusion drive actually show up on the screen? Does it only show 1 hard drive?

2. Does the 128 SSD ever get full? I mean does the SSD only store the OSX and applications like I normally would?

3. What happens when the internal 3TB HD gets full? Do you think we can foresee a larger fusion drives for upgrade (say 256SSD with 6TB) down the line? Or would I just have to get an external drive to accommodate the overflowing contents (and leaving the internal drive pretty full - which I never liked to do...)?

Reply

Answer 3

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 12, 2013 7:33 PM in response to Big Joon

1) Yes, it would show up as one drive.

2/3) The SSD stores data you access the most, and it dynamically changes according to your use. Do not think of these drives as seperate. They are, in effect 'hybrid', though they are physically seperate. It is a combination of Intel's firmware and Apple's software. If it was filled to capacity? The same thing would happen when any 3 TB traditional HDD got full - your system would slow down to a crawl and eventually not boot if you filled it up over a certain tipping point.

Read this article for a great overview:

1TB and 3TB fusion drive: Apple Support Communities

I am sure down the line there will be higher capacity fusion drives, superfast SSDs, and technological advances even Moore couldn't anticipate. An iPad's processor is 6 billion (yes billion) times faster than the first computer ever built (ENIAC), which weighed 30 tons and took up 2000 sq. ft.

Reply

Answer 4

Big Joon Author

Level 1

57 points

Sep 12, 2013 7:52 PM in response to nbar

Hey, thanks for your prompt responses.

May I ask you another question?

Since I have all my contents (mainly photos and music) on my external HD at this time, how should I be transferring the contents onto the internal drive? I have folders like photos, music, video, documents, and etc on the external HD. If I just dump all 1.5TB worth of contents into the internal fusion drive, it would automatically allocate them to the 3TB instead of 128SSD (since I'm assuming only the likes of OSX and applications should be stored in the SSD)?

Thanks again in advance.

Reply

Answer 5

nbar

Level 5

7,019 points

Sep 12, 2013 8:08 PM in response to Big Joon

Here is the most important feature of the fusion: it, in all respects, is/acts as one drive except if you open the machine up and look inside. This is Apple's 'core storage' technology at work (note it will show up as 1.12 TB capacity, the full capacity of volume). Transfer them in the same way you would transfer them to a traditional HDD. Files will be allocated to the SSD dynamically, as you use them often, so it seems like you are using a 3 TB SSD. Think of the SSD drive portion as the 'cache'. A cache is there for you to access files you last accessed more quickly, on any hard drive. That is all you need to think of the SSD as.

"You never have to manage it. The Fusion Drive is set up at the factory; you never have to fiddle with any settings. The drive automatically moves often-used programs and files from the hard drive to the Flash storage and back, depending on how often you use an item. If you ever have to reinstall the operating system, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) and future versions will automatically set up Fusion Drive for you, even if you need to reformat your main drive."

5 Things to Know About the Apple Fusion Drive | PCMag.com

Reply