Storage options late 2015

[Tobor]

Hi,

I have a feeling that one of my external VI drives is starting to fail....sometimes slow to start up and load samples, etc. It's a good few years old now.

My iMac is also a few years old, a 2011 with two Thunderbolt (1) ports, firewire, and USB 2.0. It's still performing very well. I have FW drives hooked up in chain and to the TB ports via adaptors, farming out audio and VI and backup duties, not to mention storing vast amounts of downloads.

Investigating my (cheapest) options it looks like FW drives, alone or paired with USB, are almost nonexistent new and I wouldn't really trust a refurb. Therefore I need to find a new solution, hopefully one that can interface with my current iMac while I try to coax another year or two out of her, but can also plug and play with the next generation. I would love SSD across the board, but way too pricey to hold all the data, photos, VIs that I've collected. eSata has always baffled me a bit. Anybody using USB3 for audio and VIs? Can USB3 connect to my iMac via Thunderbolt? Probably not is my guess if I'm on my 2011. Most 'My Book' drives and the like are now USB3 and/or Thunderbolt 2.

I know there's been some storage threads lately but curious which 2015 solutions can interface with my 2011 iMac.

Thanks!

[mikehalloran]

Installing an SSD or two (!) into your 2011 iMac is easy, I can do it one-handed (my left arm is crippled so I'm not kidding). Changing the NV RAM battery adds 5-10 minutes to the job. Plan an hour the first time you do one.

The OWC video and iFixIt instructions are way more complicated than they need to be and involve steps that can cause problems. I can write a set of instructions that will walk anyone through the task.

Besides the drives, you will need a few tools, a $10 adapter, a $27 heat sensor (not absolutely necessary as there is freeware to control the fans but recommended), There's another cable to buy if you are going to install two.

This can all be reversed should you decide to sell your machine later.

For eSATA on your iMac, you would need to send it to OWC for their Turnkey program. I wouldn't since you can install two SSDs internally and take advantage of SATA III for less (not counting the cost of the drives).

With 1T SSDs in the $300 range, a 2T under $700 and 500G around $160, I wouldn't be looking at external except for Time Machine and you can do that via wireless or ethernet.

[Tobor]

Wow, Mike, as usual comprehensive and spot on. I'll try to wrap my head around this.

It's time to thin my data a bit anyway so plan to repurpose my current disks and reallocate the data. One hassle will be cloning or copying my main drive which has bloated to around 1.2T. But I really need to get a tidy boot drive together which could be cloned onto a new laptop, for example, so guess it's time to bite the bullet and make decisions.

I wish there was a way Migration Assistant could avoid dumping everything at once.

[mikehalloran]

I was going through that same agony when Samsung came out with a 2T version of the 850 EVO and it broke the $700 price point.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B010QD6W9I

I picked mine up on eBay for $645.

I was running a 1T SSD via eSATA and using my internal HD for libraries before then. I had OWC install the port when I bought mine in 2010. Back then it made sense.

[Tobor]

Well, in researching SSD drives at OWC I found a USB3/FW800/eSATA 3T for $199 so pulled the trigger on that for the short/long term. Figured it would be useful to clone my main boot drive in case I need to pull it for an SSD, and could also swap in for the crumbling VI drive to keep the flow going for the moment.

Assuming I could swap in two SSDs in my iMac, one for the boot drive and one for whatever, how would you configure boot, audio, and VIs? Could/should anything run on the boot? Would the other SSD house the VIs? Would audio/projects be the choice to run from a legacy FW drive, or could it share space on one of the SSDs? Also assume that the SSDs can hook up to my 2011 with (e)SATA III?

Great to see the SSDs getting cheaper, although when I started adding up a couple 2T SSD drives I started thinking hmmm..... almost halfway towards just getting a new iMac i7 5k tricked out a bit.

[mikehalloran]

Also assume that the SSDs can hook up to my 2011 with (e)SATA III?

Internally, yes.
Technically, it is possible to run up to four SSDs inside a 2009-2012 iMac if you remove the optical drive but I don't know if you have the physical space to do so. Most stop at two SSDs leaving the DVD player installed or three if you replace it.

The 2011/12 uses different cabling and supports SATA III.

The wiring is a bit different for the 2009-2010 and the buss is SATA II.

I have everything on my 2T and have no issues. If I started choking, I'd get a 1T and put my VIs on it. As far as I am concerned, spinners are now for Time Machine only.

As far as configuration, there are many threads regarding what works best in a multi-drive setup. I am probably not the best person to ask as my uses are lighter than many others.

[mikehalloran]

If you buy an external, make certain that it also supports USB. Although FW800 is faster than USB 2 for data transfer, it is not supported as a boot drive on an intel Mac. Option-Boot probably won't work if you ever have to try it from FireWire.

[Tobor]

If you buy an external, make certain that it also supports USB. Although FW800 is faster than USB 2 for data transfer, it is not supported as a boot drive on an intel Mac. Option-Boot probably won't work if you ever have to try it from FireWire.

Thanks again, highly informative! Yes, the drive I just grabbed also supports USB 3.0, so can use it that way with my next computer. My current system runs pretty smoothly most of the time so perhaps this band aid will work.

Curious that EZ drummer2 suddenly running glacially slow and crashing DP started this, although Omnisphere and Stylus are running fine from the same VI drive. I transferred the EZ Dr2 files to another VI drive and it seems to be running fine now. Now back to DP....

[williemyers]

Anyone have any experience with SanDisk SSD's? @ <$200 for approx. 1TB, they're pretty hard to pass up?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820173013