The enormous 22TB fusion drive that was mentioned, would certainly work as a fusion drive, and the idea that large libraries could be kept on that single volume internal drive, without using external storage, is certainly an interesting idea. Apps and files also may be on the SSD, if there is enough space for that. The system typically operates solely from the SSD, with the speed advantage of the SSD.

Both drives are used, but neither are directly accessible by the user. You don't manually choose where data is stored. The Fusion drive is a hybrid virtual volume, using both the SSD and the HDD. Part of your opinion about the fusion drive is inaccurate. Are there any others that would also work well and be similarly performant? Say, something from Samsung, like what's pictured below? And is there much difference in speed between these new drives, and the ones that came stock with the machine in 2019? The iMac with the Fusion drive might have a slower interface than those that come with SSD's.Īlso, any recommendations on SSD upgrades (I'll be doing 1 or 2 TB)? Form what I've read, it seems to take an M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe SSD. Thus it may not have a standard SSD slot, making the upgrade trickier.ī) When it comes to SSD's, the speed of the interface matters. However, either of these seem possible:Ī) The Fusion Drive doesn't have a standard SSD (it has a 'blade'). Since I'm replacing the drive anyways, naively it seems better to start with Fusion Drive, since those are a few hundred dollars cheaper.

But when it comes to the SSD upgrade, is it better to start with a base config that has an SSD than to start with a Fusion Drive? I'm thinking of buying a 2019 iMac and upgrading the SSD and RAM as needed.

I need a 27' iMac to tide myself over for a year or so.

Best ssd for imac 2019