USB3 SSD External Boot Disk (OS X)

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tardtasticx

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#185386 20-Nov-2015 15:31

Hi all,

I've been thinking a lot about replacing the hard disk in my late 2013 iMac with an external disk, since replacing the internal one isn't something I'm willing to do at home.

Has anyone done this before and able to give some insight to performance before and after? Getting it setup is no issue I'm just not 100% sure if it's right for me. All I know is that the 5400RPM drive inside is SOOOOOOOOO SLOWWWWWW, I've posted before about it but after trying a few things it's not working out.

Cheers!

Dynamic

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#1431800 20-Nov-2015 15:45

I bought a kit from these guys to upgrade the HDD in my 2010 iMac. Installed my own SSD and the thing runs better than new.

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/

Note - if you are going from a 3.5" to a 2/5" hard drive you'll need an adapter plate so you can use the original mounting points in the iMac.

Note 2 - be more careful than I was with the internal connections. I nearly broke the internal display connector by being impatient.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

tardtasticx

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#1431803 20-Nov-2015 15:51

Dynamic: I bought a kit from these guys to upgrade the HDD in my 2010 iMac. Installed my own SSD and the thing runs better than new.

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/

Note - if you are going from a 3.5" to a 2/5" hard drive you'll need an adapter plate so you can use the original mounting points in the iMac.

Note 2 - be more careful than I was with the internal connections. I nearly broke the internal display connector by being impatient.

That was my original choice, but after watching those videos some time ago I got put off since this model holds the screen down using some adhesive. I believe the 2010 model was just using magnets. This would be a prettier solution tho I do agree.

jtan

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#1431807 20-Nov-2015 15:58

Slightly off topic but +1 for replacing your main system/OS drive with an SSD. I originally had a 7200RPM drive in my old Mac Pro 1,1, but then proceeded to upgrade it to an SSD years ago and it's been the single biggest upgrade (performance wise) since - Still running strong. It takes less than 30sec typically to boot up as opposed to minutes with a spinning drive.. I can imagine how slow it would be with a 5400RPM drive.

I've bought some gear from OWC in the past and their products are great for tweaks big and small - The mount I got worked a treat to install an additional 2x SATA drives near the disk drive in the old machine.

Dynamic

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#1431809 20-Nov-2015 16:00

If you get no feedback from someone who has tried it, I would say give the external solution a go. I like that Macs can boot from USB. You are unlikely to get the full SATA performance, but there will be a worthwhile improvement. I don't like the additional risk of the USB connection being bump-able so I would not do this on a machine that you rely on for your income.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Dynamic

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#1431815 20-Nov-2015 16:09

Just as a side note, I used one of the Western Digital Black Dual Drives for my 2010 iMac. 128Gb SSD + 1Tb spinning disk in one 2.5" package (not as fast as an SSD but more than acceptable performance compared to spinning disk). Was pleasantly surprised to learn the iMac will shuffle files between the SSD and the HDD portions to adjust its own performance. Smart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_Drive

I think these Dual Drives are out of production now - not enough people willing to pay the premium price I think. The newer SSHD's aren't bad but I think the 8Gb SSD cache on these drives is a bit stingy. I would rather pay more and get 32Gb of cache or more for the best possible OS and application loading speed (and perhaps search index files being cached etc as well).

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

tardtasticx

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#1431819 20-Nov-2015 16:13

Dynamic: Just as a side note, I used one of the Western Digital Black Dual Drives for my 2010 iMac. 128Gb SSD + 1Tb spinning disk in one 2.5" package (not as fast as an SSD but more than acceptable performance compared to spinning disk). Was pleasantly surprised to learn the iMac will shuffle files between the SSD and the HDD portions to adjust its own performance. Smart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_Drive

I think these Dual Drives are out of production now - not enough people willing to pay the premium price I think. The newer SSHD's aren't bad but I think the 8Gb SSD cache on these drives is a bit stingy. I would rather pay more and get 32Gb of cache or more for the best possible OS and application loading speed (and perhaps search index files being cached etc as well).

I think the fusion drive would be a great option, and wishing I went for that option when I got the iMac originally.

When you done the upgrade, did you replace your old drive or did you replace the DVD drive? I've seen many guides where people replaced just the DVD drive with an SSD and used that for boot, and had the old HDD as storage. (Mine doesn't have a DVD drive tho :( But curious anyway)

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Dynamic

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#1431822 20-Nov-2015 16:16

tardtasticx: When you done the upgrade, did you replace your old drive or did you replace the DVD drive? I've seen many guides where people replaced just the DVD drive with an SSD and used that for boot, and had the old HDD as storage. (Mine doesn't have a DVD drive tho :( But curious anyway)

Because of the generous 1Tb of space on the Dual Drive, I just replaced the old hard drive in the Mac and kept the DVD drive. Can't remember the last time I used the DVD drive though.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams