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I just got a new iMac 27, with 7200 rpm I GB internal drive.

Was planning to get a USB 3.0 enclosure for my samples drive.

Looking at this Sans Digital w USB 3/firewire/e-sata [so I can also use w 2008 Mac Pro]

TowerSTOR TS1CT+ - 1 Bay SATA to USB 3.0 / eSATA / 1394b Single Bay Enclosure
http://store.sansdigital-shop.com/tots1baysato7.html

Should I also get a second enclosure for projects?

Or is internal drive ok? I generally don't use that many audio tracks in my projects. 5 or 6 typically

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Another option is their 4 bay JBOD USB 3.0 tower, but I wonder if I would have a problem accessing both drives at the same time thru a single USB 3 interface.

TowerRAID TR4U+ - 4 Bay SATA to USB 3.0 JBOD Enclosure (Silver)
http://store.sansdigital-shop.com/totr4baysato10.html

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

I have the older iMac with USB 2 and FW. I have a FW 800 drive for audio, and keep the samples on a partition on the internal drive. My use of recorded audio files is heavier than the use of VIs. I don't get problems with that arrangement as long as I make as much use of RAM for VIs as I can.

With USB 3, I'd expect you'll be fine. Why not try it with just the one drive and see what happens, and if you get congestion, it's easy to get another one. IIRC, you can also add a second internal drive to that iMac? Or put in an SSD?

bayswater:

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

Trying out a single drive and seeing how it works is a great suggestion! Then if I get into trouble with it, will add a second.

bayswater wrote:I have a FW 800 drive for audio, and keep the samples on a partition on the internal drive.

Interesting, it hadn't occurred to me to partition the iMac internal 1gb drive.

What are the advantages of that, and how many partitions did you set up?

bayswater wrote:IIRC, you can also add a second internal drive to that iMac? Or put in an SSD?

AFAIK you can't add a second internal, but you could swap in an SSD or hybrid. It is a late 2013, so pretty difficult to get into compared to 2011 and earlier.

emulatorloo wrote:

bayswater wrote:I have a FW 800 drive for audio, and keep the samples on a partition on the internal drive.

Interesting, it hadn't occurred to me to partition the iMac internal 1gb drive.

What are the advantages of that, and how many partitions did you set up?

bayswater wrote:IIRC, you can also add a second internal drive to that iMac? Or put in an SSD?

AFAIK you can't add a second internal, but you could swap in an SSD or hybrid. It is a late 2013, so pretty difficult to get into compared to 2011 and earlier.

I partitioned so I could have multiple OS versions to start up from. I had a SL partition so I could use old apps that need Rosetta. That's gone, and I'm using that partition to test 10.9 while I continue using 10.8 for most things. I have third partition where I have data files that never change, like samples, manuals, etc. That can be backed up once, and then ignored when it comes to backups, defrags, etc.

I guess the iMacs that took a second drive were those where you could replace a DVD drive with a hard drive or SSL. Those came after mine, and maybe before yours.

It is possible to upgrade the drives on the Late 2012/2013 27" iMac. These have a blade PCIe slot in addition to a hard drive bay. Apple uses one or the other when they build your iMac but you can use both.

If you replace a mechanical drive with the same on a 2011-2013 iMac, you must buy a special connector with a heat sensor. OWC has it.
http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/?Ntk=P ... grade+imac

Apple OE drives have an internal heat sensor and, though made by WD etc, the Apple version is not offered for sale. This connection is shorted when an SSD is used - Apple does it, too.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/i ... -2013.html

bayswater: so Mountain Lion | Mavericks | Samples etc. Makes a lot of sense in terms of testing and back-ups. Appreciate the info.

Mike: great stuff, I appreciate the info and the product links. Been going thru the ifixit guides, looks like this iMac is not that much harder to get into. Can see a couple of things I might do in a couple years or so.

iMac Intel 27" EMC 2639 Repair
Model A1419 / Late 2013 / 3.2 & 3.4 GHz Core i5 or 3.5 GHz Core i7 Processor
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel_27%22_EMC_2639

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I ended up getting a single drive enclosure, one with USB 3.0 and eSATA

Will use USB 3.0 with the iMac, and eSATA w the Mac Pro 2008.

SANS DIGITAL TowerSTOR TS1UT+B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6816111216

Will post when I get this going and how it is working for me.