Internal storage choices for the new iMacs

[midilance]

Back in the day when I bought my Mac Pro 3,1(2008) the prevailing wisdom said, “With four internal drives use Drive 1 for your boot drive and applications. Use another drive for your samples. Another drive for whatever and so forth.

Now we have come to a time when, for many of us, we’re finding a good computer choice to be a 27” iMac with an i7 processor which only has one internal drive.

With the new speeds from processors and SSD’s what has changed? Is it just as good to run everything on one internal (2 TB?) SSD in the iMac? Boot, apps, samples, projects, etc. on the one internal drive? Do things get a little tangled with this arrangement? Or do you order the iMac with a 512 GB internal SSD for booting and applications and have an external 2+ TB SSD that is attached through Thunderbolt 3 and is used for Sample Libraries, Video and Audio Projects?

It’s costs $1400 extra to order a 2 TB SSD for a new iMac. You can buy a Crucial MX-500 2 TB SSD for $450. However, I’ve been told that user changing out the drive in the new iMacs is no longer an available option.

Any opinions?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'm sure others will have strategies to share. Here's mine...

I have a 1TB internal SSD in my trashcan. Upgrading that to 2TB is (as you noted) is about $1400. Clearly not worth it, IMO. I thought it was OK to just keep my VI's and SFX library on that drive, and it was for a while. Projects and large movie (work) files, and backups were on external spinners in docks and enclosures (FW, TB, USB3). Then about a month ago I started to notice the internal drive was filling. I did a scan and found that my iTunes and iPhoto files consumed about half the internal drive!

I offloaded those to an external spinner and redirected the apps to those drives.

As far as whether or not to keep "everything" on the SSD, I always found that to be dangerous. Like many here, deadlines are not negotiable. If a production opens or gets broadcast on a certain date, the client doesn't want to hear about my computer problems.

If the SSD of the machine goes South, I'd be sunk. With external drives holding important data and backups, even the most devastating SSD or machine issues are not a show stopper.

I also suspect (and this is where nerd-heads will want to contribute - or not) having VIs and project files, as well as movies if you use those) on separate drives should eliminate throughput issues, such as head access and bottlenecks in the data stream from a particular drive.

I don't know if that answers your question, but it felt good saying it.

Before typing that, I had a hangnail and filed it...

[HCMarkus]

PCIe SSDs are waaaay faster than our old spinning HDs. If money is no object, you should be well-served by the iMac's 2TB internal storage. Otherwise, an external Thunderbolt PCIe SSD enclosure will allow you to avoid the Apple tax on storage.

MLC is right about backups. You can boot from an external TB SSD in the event of disaster as long as you have the required backup available.

[FMiguelez]

What MLC said!

It's almost never a good idea to put all your eggs in the same basket. This is where organization granularity is very important.

I was just about to get a 2 TB SSD for my samples, but they're still too expensive and not large enough, so I'll wait a little more.

So for now, for my music master computer, I really like the OS in a 250 GB SSD, my DP projects in an internal fast spinner, and all samples on external fast spinners via TB or USB 3 (and even FW for some of the slaves).
All my large files, like ITunes and Photo libraries live in the "office" computer, which doubles as one of the slaves as well. Since all computers are connected via ethernet, it's a piece of cake listening to my iTunes libraries on the master computer via computer sharing from the Finder or iTunes sharing. Same for all other files.

Like MLC noted, you can never ever miss a deadline. If disaster strikes, with such granularity, replacing any disk with a backup clone is a matter of seconds and you're back in business.
I've gone as far as having a clone computer (identical specs and installed software) of my music master computer. The clone normally serves as a slave, but if my main computer failed, I would only have to externally reconnect a few drives and cables, and I'd be back to composing in under 5 minutes, as if nothing ever happened.

When SSDs become larger and cheaper, I'll port all my samples to external SSDs in the same configuration that I currently have. The apparent convenience of having everything on just one drive seems very dangerous and really not worth it. I really see NO advantage of that at all.
System and file granularity are your friends!

[bayswater]

For me a big difference between older and new Macs is USB 2 versus USB 3. USB 3 seems fast enough for most of what I need to do. Much faster than the Firewire 800 I've used for a while, and comparable to the first Thunderbolt version. USB 3.1 is twice as fast as USB 3.

So I'm looking at a basic internal 250G or 500G SSD for system and application files with everything else on external drives via USB 3. Some apps and VIs want to see their content on the startup partition, and that can make a 1G drive the minimum, but I've found Symbolic Links will let you put these files anyway you like. So with that, you can keep a very small and inexpensive startup volume.

Maybe USB 3 isn't fast enough for what you need, but if it is, a USB 3 housing can be pretty cheap, and you can put whatever you like in it, according to the capacity you want and the amount you want to pay for it.

[midilance]

Thanks for the quick replies. You've been a big help.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

USB 3 seems fast enough for most of what I need to do. Much faster than the Firewire 800 I've used for a while, and comparable to the first Thunderbolt version. USB 3.1 is twice as fast as USB 3.

My USB3 connection seems faster than my TBolt. I guess at some point, fast is fast enough.

[mikehalloran]

I run an internal 2T with an external 2T SSD via eSATA. That’s the fastest available for me. My system is now 8 years old and I’m looking at new Macs, too.

With the new iMacs, I won’t consider anything less. The difference between a 1T and a 2T internal SSD is $800, not $1,400, BTW. I won’t consider a Fusion drive—way slower and won’t run APFS plus it involves the added heat and fan noise of a spinner which is considerable—no thanks, not in my new machine. Heat kills components over time. I’m pretty certain this will be the last new computer I am likely to buy for quite awhile.

The new iMacs have 4 USB 3 ports and 2 USB C/Thunderbolt 3 ports. Set up the way I want with an i7 4 core and 32G RAM is $4,549. With a 1T SSD, it’s $3,849.

The new iMac Pro has 4 USB C/TB 3 ports. Fusion drives are not an option. 8 core processor, better graphics and 32G minimum. With an internal 2T, it’s $5,799. A 1T is $4,999.

$treet on an adequate 2T SSD (WD Blue 3D, Sandisk 3D, Crucial MX500) is now $500 ($650 for an 860 EVO) and a USB 3 dock to put it in is around $50. You will hit the speed cap of USB 3 but that’s a lot faster than any spinner is capable of. I will save the USB C ports for additional monitors.

The best spinners are not the fastest and even they have a working life expectancy of 5 years. Fast HHDs generate far more heat. I use mechanical hard drives for Time Machine and archival storage only and no longer consider them for any other use. The WD Red is slow (5,400 RPM) but built like a tank with extra heavy bearings.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

To upgrade to a 2TB SSD in a trash can remains at $1400, Mike.

[mikehalloran]

To upgrade to a 2TB SSD in a trash can remains at $1400, Mike.

A little more including labor and but Lance was asking about an iMac.

If buying the current Mac Pro from Apple, I’d buy the base version with minimal RAM and 256K SSD and not pay the $600 upgrade to a 1T. Then I’d have it shipped to OWC for the RAM and SSD upgrade. By doing so, you get an SSD option unavailable from Apple. Non IL residents also save state sales tax. I did something similar when I bought my iMac and the sales tax savings paid for most of my upgrade.

In my case, I’d buy a current Mac Pro from the Refurb store or one of the many refurbished that OWC has in stock.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Good advice. In my case, my cheese grater died on Dec 31. My score was due on Jan 2. I was 'forced" to buy the trash can on short notice. Melrose Mac (great outfit) had a 1TB in stock and added the 32GB of RAM within hours. Still kickin' it!

[mikehalloran]

Good advice. In my case, my cheese grater died on Dec 31. My score was due on Jan 2. I was 'forced" to buy the trash can on short notice. Melrose Mac (great outfit) had a 1TB in stock and added the 32GB of RAM within hours. Still kickin' it!

I remember. You did what had to be done (feel free to substitute any sports metaphor you like). I would have done something similar in a crunch. Money well spent and no reason to regret it. Heck, I never regretted the $7,700 I spent in 1986 on a Mac Plus system to run my new business.

I make my living on my iMac. Were it to die unexpectedly, I'd be in line at an Apple Store (Silicon Valley—we have 5!) hoping to find my replacement in stock so I could boot from my external and be back at work the same day (cue the next sports metaphor). Then I would restore my main drive from Time Machine.

Right now, I have the luxury of trying to choose among the Mac Pro, iMac Pro and a late iMac but if I was under the gun? Unh unh...

[HCMarkus]

With the inexpensive price of used Cheesgraters, it is not burdensome to keep a spare hex core on hand.

Just sayin'.

But I'm sure those new iMacs and iMac Pros will scream with DP.

Since my studio is set up with a machine room, I can't really justify an iMac... it just wouldn't be right to hide that beautiful 27" 5k monitor away, would it?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Yep. My 8-core sits in storage just in case...

[HCMarkus]

Yep. My 8-core sits in storage just in case...