iMac, Fusion Drive, Flash Storage

[JustGotPaid]

I am considering a new 27" iMac, 32 gb, with a 4.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz. I'd like to know which of the Fusion Drives (1 TB, 2 TB,or 3 TB) or Flash Storage (256 gb, 512 gb, or 1 TB) I need to have all of the upgrades comparable. I spoke with the Apple sales people but none of them had suggestions when it came to running Pro Tools. I'm not sure if I even need both the Fusion Drive and the Flash Storage.

Other than PT, the only other program I'll be using that might need extra power will be all the Adobe products. I only want a reasonable amount of storage on the iMac since I save most everything to an external hard drive. The Apple sales people tried to explain how a beefed up Fusion Drive and/or the Flash Storage helped free up storage and make the machine run better. But I never really understand exactly how that worked.

Thanks for your time and I'd appreciate any info or suggestions on this.

JustGotPaid

[Cutlerbri]

Most everyone on the DUC forum will tell you flash storage is much, much better for PT than the Fusion drive.

I got the 512g flash drive with my new 27" iMac. That's really all you need if you're using external drives (make sure they are 7200 RPM) for sessions and VIs.

[JustGotPaid]

Thank you Brian. I'm not a true Apple person and don't really know all the lingo. But it seems that I have no choice but to get at least a 1 TB Fusion Drive. Correct? And then add however much Flash Storage after that?

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by JustGotPaid

Thank you Brian. I'm not a true Apple person and don't really know all the lingo. But it seems that I have no choice but to get at least a 1 TB Fusion Drive. Correct? And then add however much Flash Storage after that?

Stay FAR FAR away from any Fusion drive as they will kill your shstemnif you use VI and Plugins with PT.

#justsayno

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by JustGotPaid

Thank you Brian. I'm not a true Apple person and don't really know all the lingo. But it seems that I have no choice but to get at least a 1 TB Fusion Drive. Correct? And then add however much Flash Storage after that?

You may have to fight for it but you are not stuck with getting a Fusion drive; this depends on the exact model iMac you're looking at. I'd suggest taking a look through the online configurator. You can get either a Fusion drive OR flash storage. Doesn't look like you can have both in the same machine.

[PMF Media]

As long as you get a 27" iMac you can upgrade the ram with 3rd party stuff and avoid the Apple tax Flash storage is a little more of an issue, as already stated, stay clear of Fusion drives and go for Flash Storage, an FD WILL cause you problems, it's only a matter of when rather than if.

AFAIK, the Apple Flash memory is soldered to the mother board and can't be "easily" (if at all) upgraded, you can replace the FD/HDD with an SSD after market but this requires opening up the iMac which will void your warranty

Sadly, it's best to pay the extra and get the largest Flash storage you can afford when you order the machine.

[cmbourget]

I bought this iMAC and this is my biggest mistake. The Fusion drive is rotten for Pro tools, because it places what it wants on the SSD part, without user management. It takes a full SSD, at least. But the idea of a single disc is the opposite of the needs of Pro Tools (or other DAW). Moreover, the Thunderbold, very expensive, is less fast than the PCIe, or at least equal. So stay away from this purchase! I must also say that the fan makes a hell of noise, right in the middle of the pan because behind the screen. I recycled this IMac for the needs of the house and I got an old Mac Pro, all in SSD. Things are going well. My next one is a Hackintosh, unless Apple releases a real Mac Pro, but we will wait a long time yet (2018,2019).

[JustGotPaid]

Maybe I'm overlooking it, but I can't find a way to configure a new iMac on the Apple site without getting some kind of Fusion Drive. The best I can do is get the 1 TB Fusion Drive and add the 1 TB of Flash Storage. I can't find a way to totally eliminate the Fusion Drive.

Is a new machine only configurable with the Fusion Drive?

Thanks again.
DS

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JustGotPaid

Maybe I'm overlooking it, but I can't find a way to configure a new iMac on the Apple site without getting some kind of Fusion Drive. The best I can do is get the 1 TB Fusion Drive and add the 1 TB of Flash Storage. I can't find a way to totally eliminate the Fusion Drive.

Is a new machine only configurable with the Fusion Drive?

Thanks again.
DS

No. Or else what everybody here is telling you would not make any sense would it? Just go onto the Apple web site and click on the buy option for an iMac and then configure what you need. Don't actually look at specs for baseline models you need to configuring it as if you were purchasing it. If you can't work that out call your local Apple store and they will walk you though configuring the Mac on the phone. Amazingly they'll even sell it to you.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by PMF Media

it's best to pay the extra and get the largest Flash storage you can afford when you order the machine.

This. And make sure you have at least 8GB memory. If you plan using that computer for longer period of time, I'd say 16GB is a wise choice, even though you would have to stretch your budget