NZDavid Posted January 16, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anybody here tried Mac's Fusion Drive (available for iMac and top model Mac Mini)? It is similar to a Solid State Drive (SSD) but unique for Mac. Basically, it runs the apps you use most and the normal hard disk kicks in when needed. Reviewers say it results in substantially faster write times and opens apps much faster. This could make it very useful for imaging programs like LR, PS, or Aperture and for copying files. You can also, apparently, install a separate SSD but it looks fiddly. My Mac Mini and Macbook will need updating sometime, so I wonder if this would be a good idea? Of course, Fusion Drive is new but I'd expect it to become mainstream in future models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Hi NZDavid, Take a look here Mac Fusion Drive. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Garrett Lynch Posted January 16, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 16, 2013 Hi David, I would say the fusion drive is well worth the upgrade. I had purchased my first Mac this past Christmas, 27" with Fusion and I've been using solid state drives since '08 and I will say its a nice "middle" between mechanical and solid state disk drives. The read/write and access times aren't as fast as an SSD but Apple doesn't give much option other than its 768GB SSD which is insanely overpriced. iMacs of the current gen are a pain in the neck to disassemble or I would have opted to put an SSD in. I'd say if you have a Mac mini, I'd say buy an SSD and use that. The fusion drive is good is you need the space and can't afford/justify the high prices of a dedicated SSD. On the Mac, LR and CS 6 load almost instantly and writing to the Mac is instantaneous. Hope this helps a little . LOVE my first Mac Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted January 16, 2013 Thanks, good stuff. I don't think the Fusion Drive is "insanely overpriced", considering the extra speed. It does sound like something out of Star Trek! I'd expect prices to come down though, so I may wait a bit. Even the base model is not exactly a slouch these days. The consumer is the winner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted January 16, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 16, 2013 Hi David,... I had purchased my first Mac this past Christmas, 27" with Fusion Hi Garret, may I ask if is it one of the new "slim" i.mac? In case I'm curious to know how do you find the screen when using for photo application. For what I read the Fusion Drive is an interesting feature for people who spend a lot of time in front of a computer, as photographers working on post production. robert, tired to wait for a new mac pro... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyedward Posted January 16, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 16, 2013 There are some good youtube DIY videos on upgrading the ram and drive on various macs, including the mini and macbook. The imac does appear to require a fair amount of disassembly to get to the drive, though. Macsales has such videos and sells ram and ssd upgrades, though there are many other suppliers out there. Check compatibility before you buy. At the moment I'm looking at buying a basic specification mac pro, for which both ram and drive upgrades are easy. There's no way I'll pay apple prices for these Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 16, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 16, 2013 The current Mac Mini makes it very easy to upgrade the RAM. Remove a plastic cover and unclip the RAM. Even I could do it! The hard drive seems trickier as there's no way to access it directly with just the cover off. I bought my RAM from Crucial - 16 gig for 60 something pounds. Apple wanted £240 for the same RAM as a factory fitted option. Although I think the Fusion Drive is a transitional product - I expect drives to be solid state before too long - it offers the best bang per buck, regarding performance, at the moment. If I were replacing my desktop system I'd order one without a second's thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobitybob Posted January 16, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Took delivery of my new iMac with Fusion drive on Monday. Haven't had a lot of chance to use it yet but from what I have seen its very quick. If you have an older Mac then increasing the RAM and adding a SSD will significantly improve performance. However unless you have a Mac Pro you won't be able to upgrade the video card and this will have an effect on screen rendering etc. As such applications like PSP & LR that rely on this won't see such an improvement. Unfortunately, the only way to get a better video card in most Macs is to get a new one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Lynch Posted January 16, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 16, 2013 Hi Garret, may I ask if is it one of the new "slim" i.mac? In case I'm curious to know how do you find the screen when using for photo application. For what I read the Fusion Drive is an interesting feature for people who spend a lot of time in front of a computer, as photographers working on post production. robert, tired to wait for a new mac pro... Hi Robert, It is one of the new slim iMacs with the laminated screen. I have to say I'm really impressed by it and the primary reason I waited for the new iMacs versus a Cinema Display was because of the "new" screen. Color accuracy, contrast, and vibrancy is light years a head of my Dell IPS UltraSharp and its so incredibly nice to see my M9 photos correctly for post processing. There is a significant glare reduction too which bugged me a little when looking at older generations at the apple stores. Best, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted January 16, 2013 Here are some links to installing an SSD drive. For techies only though!! See: and Macintosh How To - How to speed up your mac with a Solid State SSD Drive These are both for the Mac Mini only. I wouldn't be keen to do this myself. Installing RAM looks petty straightforward. The Fusion Drive does look different; it works seamlessly and in practice you wouldn't know it's there; apps just open faster. I'd expect it to become mainstream and prices to come down -- probably midyear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyedward Posted January 16, 2013 Share #10 Posted January 16, 2013 Here are some links to installing an SSD drive. For techies only though!! See: and Macintosh How To - How to speed up your mac with a Solid State SSD Drive These are both for the Mac Mini only. I wouldn't be keen to do this myself. Installing RAM looks petty straightforward. The Fusion Drive does look different; it works seamlessly and in practice you wouldn't know it's there; apps just open faster. I'd expect it to become mainstream and prices to come down -- probably midyear. Many Thanks for the second link, David. I'd be reasonably confident in doing the hardware side of the ssd upgrade, but its the software side that I would have more difficulty with: I still have bad childhood memories of "syntax error" on my Commodore C64. What a dissapointing christmas that was! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted January 19, 2013 Share #11 Posted January 19, 2013 I've recently upgraded from an iMac 24 with a 500 GB SSD drive I installed in it to the new 27" iMac with fusion drive. In the Apple store it is only offered in two configurations, the base model and the top end model with 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion drive and high end processor and video card. I then purchased 32 GB RAM from crucial and upgraded the RAM to 32 GB. The beast is fast, much faster than the 24" iMac with a full SSD drive. Applications open very fast and LR, Aperture and C1 images and previews are much quicker. The screen is just gorgeous. I haven't calibrated it yet but it looks pretty good right out of the box. The reduction in glare is really good too. The funny thing is the 27" seems huge compared to the 24". I wish it were easier to get into the guts. The 24" takes a fair amount of effort but as on old Navy ET, nothing I couldn't handle. I suspect this one may take more effort than I am willing to try. Changing memory was a cake walk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.