Fusion drive vs. SSD ?

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Level 3

705 points

Fusion drive vs. SSD ?

I am considering buying a new iMac 27 with 2tb drive.

However I would like to know what the warranty and reliability is of the fusion drive as opposed to an SSD.

I know an SSD can last up to 100 years and has no moving parts.

Since the "fusion" drive is a hybrid of a rotational drive and ssd combo is would appear to be limited to the reliability of the hard-drive.

Most hard-drives are only warrantied to last 4 years.

I would like to know if I purchase an iMac with "fusion" drive what is the warranty on the fusion drive?

Also if it is not under warranty how much does it cost to replace the fusion drive?

Posted on Jun 7, 2017 5:06 AM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

92,986 points

Jun 7, 2017 7:42 AM in response to alex7375

Hi Alex

A Fusion Drive is not the same as a hybrid drive. It is an SSD and HDD.

check out > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_Drive

Which way to go, really depends on your needs.

check out > https://www.google.com/search?fusion+drive+vs+ssd

At this point, you should place more concerned on Speed and Space requirements than warranty.

If you need pure Speed with less Space, then go SSD

If you need good Speed with more Space, then go Fusion

Apple's warranty is 1 year.

With Apple Care it is 3 years.

check out > AppleCare - Apple

Dennis

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,624 points

Jun 7, 2017 7:34 AM in response to alex7375

Fusion drives have moving parts, these can and do wear out. SSD technology does not have moving parts, however as with all electronics it will eventually fail, the question is when. I would recommend going with SSD technology if you can afford it.

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Answer 3

alex7375 Author

Level 3

705 points

Jun 8, 2017 8:37 PM in response to den.thed

The Fusion drive is just a standard hard drive setup in a logical volume ( using logical volume manager ) with a Samsung SSD.

See this teardown video

2017 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display Unboxing and Teardown - YouTube

How to make your own Fusion drive:

http://www.macworld.com/article/2014011/storage-drives/how-to-make-your-own-fusi on-drive.html

A standard hard-drive has a warranty of 5 years.

Does anyone have any numbers / statistics as to Fusion drive breakdown and repair.

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Answer 4

Jun 9, 2017 4:11 AM in response to alex7375

FWIW, the HDD being mechanical can fail within days of being put

into service or last for years and anywhere in between.

That said, the reliability of any system is only as reliable as its least

reliable component.

Also, the vast majority of HDD only have 2-3 year warranties. 5 year

is typical for "enterprise grade" drives (Seagate, WD, HGST, Toshiba).

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