2017 iMac : fusion drive details

I have the entry level 2017 iMac with 32 GB SSD and 1 TB hard drive. If I had known that the 2TB drive would have bumped the SSD up to 128, I would *instantly* have paid the difference.

My philosophy as I bring this iMac into the next 7 years of use is to leave the internals they way they are, and then get external SSDs and other storage devices that use the thunderbolt 3. Like my first *plan for world domination* is to get an M.2 SSD and a thunderbolt 3 enclosure (M.2 SSDs top out at 2 GB so TB2 should be fine with its 10 GB). Then boot the iMac2017 off the M.2 drive. As TB3 comes along, I'm hoping that someone will do direct attach TB3 NAS that performs like this wicked cool Dell internal SSD:

Has anyone booted a 2017 iMac off an external TB2 or TB3 M.2?

Thanks!

Thanks jcsuperstar for the info.

Really? I was eyeing to buy this model:

Apple 21.5" iMac with Retina 4k Display (Mid 2017

But paired with only a meager 32gb or 24gb ssd maybe

for $100 more I'll probably opt for the 256gb ssd. Or wait until October 2017

Apple may announce an update of my favorite model, the lowly Mac mini (late 2014)

pcle/ssd drive only then I will make my final decision.

verified, on the apple site under storage specs, it does state "The 2TB and 3TB Fusion Drives pair a larger hard drive with 128GB of fast SSD storage,"

next, and more important question. What is the speed of the spinning disk portion? is it 7200RPM, or 5400RPM, and its read/write speed?

One question.

I have an iMac top 2013. i7 / 16Gb / 3Tb fusion / GTX 780

I haven´t fusion configure... Have 128SSD separate to 3Tb.

128SSD to 3Tb fusion configuration in my iMac is SSD PCIe x2 (5.0 GT/s), 550mb/s r/w speed more or less... so new iMac 2017 is possible to has ummm PCIe x4? Whats spect?

Thanks

Hi, it can be done and I had to after a repair by Apple left them forgetting to run the process. This link will show you how to do it but; unless you're very confident, take it back to Apple and get them to do it properly as they should have in the beginning.

http://blog.macsales.com/15617-creating-your-own-fusion-drive

Hope this helps, :-)

Why, mac mini (late 2012) 2.6GHz 1tb fusion drive paired a 128gb ssd as follows:

Physical Volumes:

disk0s2:

Device Name: APPLE SSD SM128E

Media Name: APPLE SSD SM128E Media

Size: 120.99 GB (120,988,852,224 bytes)

Medium Type: SSD

Protocol: SATA

Internal: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

Status: Online

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

PV UUID: DA55B080-40DC-421E-9FD6-2CDA3C6573B3

disk1s2:

Device Name: APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662

Media Name: APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 Media

Size: 999.35 GB (999,345,012,736 bytes)

Medium Type: Rotational

Protocol: SATA

Internal: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

Status: Online

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

PV UUID: 3FE810D7-41E2-4FC0-9681-4320B0924627

I understand your thinking and the choice for the 21.5 4K model is really good. just opt for the 2tb fusion drive which leaves more than ample room (128gb) to run your applications and a lot extra to fill up the drive.
this was the option I took but then with the 27 inch.
you can always, later in game, lose the fusion drive for a hefty 750GB or 1T SSD when the prices come down.
G'luck in your choice.

I understand your thinking and the choice for the 21.5 4K model is really good. just opt for the 2tb fusion drive which leaves more than ample room (128gb) to run your applications and a lot extra to fill up the drive.

Is it possible to get a 2TB fusion drive with the 21.5" iMac? I thought the 2TB and 3TB fusion drive options only came with the 27" iMac.

"Has anyone booted a 2017 iMac off an external TB2 or TB3 M.2?"

Not exactly, but I did install Sierra on a 256gb thumb drive and booted an i7 2017 Imac 27 from it with no problems I also have a 1TB ssd external that I can boot from. My internal is the Apple 3TB fusion.

billm wrote:

I have the entry level 2017 iMac with 32 GB SSD and 1 TB hard drive. If I had known that the 2TB drive would have bumped the SSD up to 128, I would *instantly* have paid the difference.

As far as I know it is not a secret, did you 'instantly' look?

I "instantly" jumped to the 2TB machine.

But I spent the 1st 5 days of ownership battling a problem that took all color and images out of my preferred browser, Google Chrome...which made it unusable. In case this happens to anyone else, the solution is not available online (checked MANY places). So, I wiped and reset it, and everything was immediately fine.

I read the specs, but the 32 vs 132 gb SSD between 1 and 2 TB Fusion drive, got by me. Thank you for making fun of the oversight, perhaps, by raising the point, we can save future iMac buyers from making the same mistake. That is what djodjo71 was trying to avoid in starting this thread?

Now, I've been a good sport Csound1. What do you think about the idea of an M.2 SSD in an external Thunderbolt closure as a boot drive? I can use all the help I can get working that angle!

yes, i had opted for the 2tb when i bought but as mentioned, it was a 27 inch model. when ordering direct from the apple site, i noticed that there wasn't the option of any fusion drive larger than the 1tb one.
wierd, as i've seen 2nd hand models being sold with the 2tb fusion drive installed. check at an Apple dealer (but not THE official 'apple store' as they seem to be able to offer more than the default configurations.

The BTO options on the iMac were a bit confussing (or downright broke), in that BTO options varied based on the base mode you chose to start with. If you wanted more ram ir bigger drives and GPU you had to start with the mid or high end models. This caused a lot of confusion for customers and I'm sure Apple is paying for it with returns as customers realized the site itself didn't allow then to BTO.