After 4+ years the 1TB HDD of the Fusion Drive of my 2012 27-inch iMac has failed. I know this because I was able split the logical drive into its SSD and HDD and install on macOS on the SSD but not the HDD. I knew my HDD was damaged as it clicks like mad and before I split the Fusion Drive I kept getting a Spinng Wait Cursor. My working budget is restricted to P25,000 Option 1 - Replace Fusion Drive’s SSD & HDD with two 525GB Crucial MX300 with 3 year warranty - Reads and writes of 1,000MB/s respectively - Faster boot times and faster access to apps and data - Same storage size as my 1TB Fusion Drive but its really fast. - Chances of fan noise reduced to nil Option 2 - Keep the original Fusion Drive’s 128GB SSD and replace broken HDD with a 10TB Seagate HDD with 5 year warranty for a 10TB Fusion Drive - Reads & writes of between 250-400MB/s - 10TB Fusion Drive will be slightly faster than the original 1TB Fusion Drive with 10x more storage space. Option 3 - Do not open the iMac and keep the built-in 128GB SSD & buy an external HDD with Thunderbolt 2 or USB 3. - No more need to open things up and risk of damage. - Chance of fan noise reduced to nil I mostly use my iMac to edit 50MP images. If you were in my place which would you do?
25000 budget? I'd go for a Samsung EVO 850 1TB (18k) + the largest mechanical drive that I can get for 7k. Although this is me speaking from a PC user perspective, as I have no idea how a Fusion Drive looks like and how it fits in a 2012 iMac.
Fusion Drives is software that creates a logical drive from SSD and HDD. It works this way. It's raid0 with two different drives instead of identical drives. macOS manages where files are stored whether it be on the ssd or hdd based on frequency of use. Most frequently used files like those used to boot the Mac is stored on the ssd while files you use once a year/month are placed in the hdd. Your suggestion is appealing.
i see, thanks for the explanation! Seagate has a product similar to that called Firecuda, but it's SSD cache is a measly 8gb, and still a 5400 rpm drive at its core. i'm also not sure if it comes in sizes larger than 2tb, but that's a cheap option that you can consider. you might find performance lacking though, but maybe you can pair it with the surviving SSD of your fusion drive? if it was me, i'd spend the least possible amount to keep the iMac functional while still meeting my needs, (i.e. sufficient performance if iMac is mission critical), then keep the difference towards an upgrade/new machine. best wait for an iMac lineup refresh though. another alternative is to just get the largest SSD you can get your hands on. a 2tb Samsung 850 EVO costs around 37k, if that's something that floats your boat. haha the 1tb + mechanical drive sounds like a more cost-effective solution though.
Your 1TB SSD + 7,000 HDD would be done this way. https://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=401
If you need more storage (which I suppose you do) - I would go for Option 2. You got the read/write speeds (250-400MB/s) from the brochure of the HDDs... but once they're working as one with the SSD. You'll be surprised with their speed readings.
Option 2 for me. Although you might find it lacking having a 128GB space to store your installed apps.
Option 3 would work like forever. Promise. Keep your OSX and apps on the SSD and use the external storage (Raid 1 4tb or its equivalent Raid 0 8tb WD Thunderbolt Duo) as your home folder. Daisy chain 'em if you need more storage. No surgeries, no autopsies, no noise, instant PnP solution, stackable, expandable and fits the budget like a tee.
I agree with v8designstudio. Just go for Option 3. You can even use the external drive for other purposes. Leo
Not really. There's no such hardware as a "fusion drive", but it's a software that Apple employs which treats and manages two physical drives (usually an an SSD and a HDD) as one logical drive. In the TS's case, I'm guessing his 1TB HDD simply croaked after over 4 years of intensive use.
And if you're going for option 3, you can get a mutlti drive enclosure like this one: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/External-Drive/OWC/ThunderBay-4 You can add up to 4 HDDs (add more as your appetite for storage increases). They have an enclosure for a) 3.5 HD and b) 2.5 HD and SSD. You can daisy chain it coz it has thunderbolt connection.
I would just get a 1tb ssd. If you are worried about the installation just get it installed in an authorized service center like Beyond the Box. Its around 1,500 php and I have done this with over 30 iMacs throughout the years, (from relatives, for my office, etc) never had a problem
