Damballa

Q: 1 TB Internal SSD/Flash, more room inside?

Howdy Yall,

     I just purchased a 27" iMac and went with a 1 TB internal "Flash" Hard Drive or SSD.  I do realize a "Flash" Hard Drive is not really a "Hard Drive" at least not in the traditional sense.  But...

    My question is... is there room inside the 27 Inch iMac to install another "Flash" drive?  Or would I have to go with an external SSD if I want more storage space?

If I need to go with an external, what is the best style or form factor?  I know that it would be best to be Thunderbolt style rather than USB 3..  Can anyone recommend some current SSD's that would be a good compliment to the 1 TB internal SSD/Flash that I already have?

Thanks,

Damballa

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), It's Silver with Black trim...

Posted on Aug 10, 2016 11:05 PM

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Q: 1 TB Internal SSD/Flash, more room inside?

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  • by theratter,Helpful

    theratter theratter Aug 11, 2016 12:43 AM in response to Damballa
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 11, 2016 12:43 AM in response to Damballa

    You mean you went with a hybrid HDD/SSD or a Fusion Drive? The former is a HDD with a small amount of flash memory used to cache data. Although a bit faster than an HDD it is much slower than a full SSD. The new iMacs do not use standard 2.5 inch SSDs. They use PCIe flash drives of varying size. This flash memory is combined with the internal HDD to make up the Fusion Drive. There is no room inside to add another SSD.

     

    You can have added storage by connecting an external disk of any give size and form factor. For maximum speed use an external SSD connected using Thunderbolt. For somewhat slower speed use USB 3.0. The latter is less expensive.

     

    The best of bare SSDs are Samsung, OWC, and OCZ.

  • by Damballa,

    Damballa Damballa Aug 11, 2016 12:48 AM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 11, 2016 12:48 AM in response to theratter

    No, its not a fusion drive.  It says "1 TB Flash Storage".  I am really loving it too.  I can hit restart to restart the computer and it took just a touch over 20 seconds to completely shutdown and restart back to the desktop. 

    The only problem with it is that I wish I could have done 2 TB of Flash Storage.  But that doesnt come as an option when you order your computer.  Otherwise I would have. 

    Thanks...

  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Aug 11, 2016 1:41 PM in response to Damballa
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 11, 2016 1:41 PM in response to Damballa

    You've got me confused. Sounds like you got a 1TB SSD in lieu of a HDD. The 27" model can be outfitted with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB flash drive in lieu of the HDD. The latter is a $700 option. The models with the HDD are all Fusion Drive models. I think you have the all flash SSD without a HDD.

     

    I have the late 2,015 27" model that came with a 1TB Fusion Drive. It doesn't say "Flash Storage." Wish it did. The flash storage that came with it was a mere 24GBs. I should have ordered it with a 2TB Fusion Drive. That option came with a 256GB flash SSD. What I have is just like a hybrid HDD which includes a small amount of flash storage to buffer data I/O. It is only a tad faster than a straight HDD, and it boots faster.

     

    I ended up putting on an external 480GB SSD using Thunderbolt. That is quite fast. Probably, more like your machine.

  • by Damballa,

    Damballa Damballa Aug 12, 2016 6:06 PM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 12, 2016 6:06 PM in response to theratter

    Sorry to have confused you.  I think the problem lies in the fact that SSD's and "Flash" Storage seem to be interchangeable to most people.  But I have read that they are the same thing. 

    So I can say that I do NOT have a Hard Drive.  Just the 1 TB "Flash" storage or SSD.  From my understanding its just like memory in that it comes in strips or modules.  So thats what got me thinking... if its just like memory, maybe instead of getting an external SSD I could just buy another 512 GB or 1 TB "Flash" Storage dealio and have that installed.  That would be preferable to me.  I dont really want a doo-hicky hanging off the back of my computer unless I need to. 

    On the other hand, I have heard of things like Ransomware.  And even the company I work for recently got hit with the "Locky" virus/trojan.  So maybe it would make better security sense to buy an External SSD that I can keep unplugged unless I need it. 

    Hope I cleared my question up...

  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Aug 12, 2016 10:18 PM in response to Damballa
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 12, 2016 10:18 PM in response to Damballa

    Yes, you did. The reason that the term "flash storage" is used is because the memory used is made up of EEPROM-like or Electically Erasable Programable Read Only Memory chips that can be written to and read from just like a disk drive. The device connects directly to the computer's main bus in order to provide maximum speed. Flash storage is capable of much faster transfer speeds than SSDs connected to the SATA bus. So, a SATA-based SSD is different from flash storage, but technically both are Solid State Disks.

     

    I don't know if Apple is using flash storage capable of read/write speeds nearly ten times that of the flash storage and SSDs they now use, but we might see that in new models not yet on the market.

     

    I would not make a storage decision based on the fear of malware. Rather I would simply take precautions to prevent being attacked by malware. You have less risk with a disconnected storage device, but once connected it is just as risky as ever.