Is booting from external FireWire 800 SSD faster than internal HDD on old iMac?

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Is booting from external FireWire 800 SSD faster than internal HDD on old iMac?

Just an FYI, I'm running OS X El Capitan version 10.11.6 on an iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) using a 1 TB Samsung SSD as the Startup Disk in an external Oyen Digital Mini Pro RAID V2 2.5 inch drive enclosure -- externally via the FireWire 800 port -- and despite being an external SSD boot drive the speed / performance increase is very significant over the internal HDD. The boot up time is significantly faster than the internal HDD, and once booted the system overall is even more dramatically faster in speed / performance than the internal HDD. Easy and quick upgrade without even needing to open up the iMac case. I cloned the internal system HDD onto the external FireWire 800 SSD (solid state drive) and it has been working great for about 6 months so far. Note: I also tested booting from an external system SSD via a USB 2.0 port and it also worked okay -- but of course much slower than running via the FireWire 800 port. At some point I may get around to actually opening up the iMac and installing the Samsung SSD system drive internally in either the HDD or DVD bay to take better advantage of maximum potential speed / performance via the internal connection -- but no rush as booting / running the system and software via the SSD off the external FireWire 800 port was such a quick and easy upgrade and is still such a very significant and dramatic speed / performance boost. Could not be happier.

Posted on Apr 29, 2018 11:29 AM

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Answer 1

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MichelPM

Level 10

80,958 points

Apr 29, 2018 3:16 PM in response to Golden1743

I think I can address this better than anyone else here.

I have been running my late 2009, 27 inch sreen iMac from an external FW800 OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini enclosed 500 GBs SSD for about a year, now, using this power adapter.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ME6UM6EG480/

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MOTGPWR/

At the time, OWC had a FW800 option for this drive. You could contact them to see if they still provide an FW800 enclosure, OR NOT, for this SSD drive.

Otherwise, this is the only available OWC SSD drive available drive here, now.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

Get this drive with the optional power adapter

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MOTGPWR/

It definitely feels much faster and snappier to me.

The response time is the most noticeable thing as well as a much quicker boot up time.

I am pretty impressed with the speed of my older iMac from the external SSD from FW800.

I feel it was money well spent.

Get an external SSD that can use a separate power supply. DO NOT purchase a bus powered only drive.

Good Luck to You!

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Answer 2

MadisonP

Level 5

4,832 points

Apr 30, 2018 4:24 PM in response to Golden1743

Hi Golden,

Firewire 800 theoretical speed cap = 5GB/s

SATA bus in your model of iMac theoretical speed cap = 6GB/s

You'd likely see a speed increase installing the drive internally. Not the easiest install ever, but it can be done: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-faq/imac-intel-aluminum-ho w-to-upgrade-hard-drive.html

Hope that helps!

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Apr 30, 2018 4:26 PM in response to MadisonP

A FireWire 800 bus transfers up to 800 Mb/s or 100MB/sec which is the typical interface speed of an HDD. The SATA bus has an interface speed of 6Gb/s or about 750GB/s. USB 3.0 has an interface rate of up to 10Gb/s which is the same capability of Thunderbolt 2.

You are confusing bitrates with byte rates. The lowercase 'b' is for bits; the uppercase 'B' is for bytes.

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Answer 4

Golden1743 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 30, 2018 4:30 PM in response to MadisonP

Hi MadisonP,

Yes, thanks, I would definitely see a speed / performance increase over the external FireWire 800 SSD if I later install it internally. This older model would not take full advantage of the maximum possible speed of this SSD even if installed internally, but an internal install would give me the fastest option on this older model for sure. I may install it internally at some point. But in the meantime it has been a worthwhile compromise and very easy upgrade to boot the system from the external FireWire 800 SSD, much much faster than the internal HDD. Really brought the old iMac back to life as a useful and responsive machine.

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Answer 5

Golden1743 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 30, 2018 4:56 PM in response to MichelPM

Thanks MichelPM,

Totally agree. My early 2009 iMac is much faster running off the external FireWire 800 SSD compared to the internal HDD. My boot up times are better as well. But the most significant speed up is after booting up and I'm up and running, that's when it's really noticeable, like getting a new machine. Lol. Very impressive. Last time I checked Amazon still had the OWC FireWire 800 enclosures as of a couple months ago and they were still available direct I believe. In my case I purchased a Samsung SSD and an external Oyen Digital Mini Pro RAID V2 2.5 inch drive enclosure, that accepts two drives which can be configured via a hardware switch choosing between a couple different types of hardware based RAID (circuit board / chip inside) or you can turn off RAID. It has eSATA, USB 3.0 and two FireWire 800 ports as well as cable for each; RAID configuration switches; on / off switch and a separate power adapter. In my case it has been working great with just the FireWire 800 bus for power.

Thanks for your feedback!

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Answer 6

Apr 30, 2018 6:46 PM in response to Golden1743

I think the 2009 iMac has the older, slower SATA 3Gb/s interface (not 6Gb/s)...and also only has USB 2.0 (not the faster USB 3.0)

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-3.06-24-inch-alumi num-early-2009-specs.html

The SSD in an external enclosure will be faster than the original RPM-type drive internally. Not sure if the SSD internal will feel that much different from the SSD external on the FW800 you are using now. OWC sells DIY kits with all the tools you need to perform an internal hard drive installation yourself, and installation videos of the process on their website, if you feel like you are up to the task. I installed one in my 2010 model, hardware is very similar from the 2009 and 2010, not too tough if you have worked inside a computer before, a little daunting if your first time.

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Answer 7

Golden1743 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2018 9:05 AM in response to Glen Doggett

Thanks Glen Doggett,

Yes it only has USB 2.0, and it will boot from USB 2.0 but it's too slow. But booting and running the system from the external FireWire 800 enclosure with an SSD is much faster and more responsive than the internal HDD -- so it's an easy upgrade option to give new life to this old iMac. I'm very happy with the improved performance now. I'm not feeling any urgency to open up the iMac and install the SSD internally because it's now so fast already with the external SSD system drive. But I may install it internally at some point and those DIY kits are a great idea. Thanks for the info.

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Is booting from external FireWire 800 SSD faster than internal HDD on old iMac?

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