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Fusion Drive Now Available as Option for Low End 21.5" iMac

Saturday January 5, 2013 12:48 am PST by Arnold Kim
As noted by MacGeneration and in our MacRumors Forums, Apple is now allowing the entry level 21.5" iMac to be configured with a 1TB Fusion Drive.


The Fusion Drive is a built-to-order option for the iMac and Mac mini that combines SSD and traditional hard drives into a single logical volume.
With Fusion Drive in your iMac, disk-intensive tasks — from booting up to launching apps to importing photos — are faster and more efficient. That’s because frequently used items are kept at the ready on speedy flash storage, while infrequently accessed items go to the hard drive. The file transfers take place in the background, so you won’t even notice.
The 1TB Fusion Drive add-on is a $250 option and was previously only offered on the high end 21.5" iMac, high end Mac mini and 27" iMacs.
[ 365 comments ]


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haruhiko
76 months ago

Why wasn't it an option in the first place?


Early adopters are screwed again.
Rating: 59 Votes
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NutsNGum
76 months ago
Why wasn't it an option in the first place?
Rating: 39 Votes
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Santabean2000
76 months ago
Should be standard in my opinion. Option to go fully SSD.
Rating: 27 Votes
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Jibbajabba
76 months ago

Why wasn't it an option in the first place?


Maybe because the high end ones didn't sell.
Rating: 16 Votes
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hlfway2anywhere
76 months ago
how generous.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Mac32
76 months ago
The iMac storage options are pure BS. What about offering a couple of SSD-options instead, like 256GB and 512GB (in all iMac models)? I for one am not gonna get any fusion drive ever in an iMac. I want SSD. It's safer, cooler, less noisy, faster/always fast etc., pretty much completely superior to HDs in every way expect storage size, but a lot of people don't need 1-3 GBs of internal data in their iMacs!!
Rating: 9 Votes
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azentropy
76 months ago

Early adopters are screwed again.


Great news, but yeah kinda ticked now. Would have changed how I ordered.

Still wish there was just a SSD or Flash Drive option. Some people don't require 1TB and don't want ANY mechanical HDD and the noise, heat and higher failure time that come along with them.

----------

The next question is, is the connector standard on all Logic boards so that you can D.I.Y. ?


I remember reading in one of the first base teardowns that it did not have the socket connector.
Rating: 8 Votes
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SDAVE
76 months ago
"Fusion drive" is just a gimmick. Very transparent to the user, but it's pretty much an mSATA SSD and HDD combo. That will go away once SSD's are more affordable.

Your iMac has a 2.5" HDD slot, so if you just have an SSD in there, you can upgrade it yourself and make it into a "fusion drive". There are plenty of tools out there and people have made it work on systems that didn't come with it by default.
Rating: 8 Votes
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gnasher729
76 months ago

Are you for real? Before you had to pick the high end 21.5'' to have the option to add the Fusion drive. Now you don't need to. Buying the low end + Fusion drive is cheaper than buying high end + Fusion drive.

See, very easy to explain. Now you go think about it.


You didn't explain a thing. Before, you paid the money for an iMac without Fusion drive and got an iMac without Fusion drive. You got exactly what you paid for. Today, you get exactly the same computer for exactly the same money.

Even if the Fusion drive was added for free, and new customers would get more for the same price, you still wouldn't be screwed, because you still got exactly what you paid for. Which was more than you got for the same money with the previous model.

Claiming that someone is "screwed" because Apple offers an improved product or more choice is just idiotic.


I think it's only Apple, so it's looks to be software driven... as I understand it, but no doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong; which I don't mind :)


That was the point. It is stupid to rant about the price that Apple charges for a Fusion drive, when nobody else offers it at all.
Rating: 8 Votes
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FuNGi
76 months ago
Man there is so much disinformation on this thread. People, please go read over some posts in the iMac forum before spreading more FUD.

The imac's don't ship with a 128 GB SSD alone - it also includes the HDD.
The fusion drive is not dangerous, it is fast, big, and as reliable as any HDD.
The new imac's are not that hard to upgrade yourself and require no heat gun.
5200 rpm HDD are not necessarily slower than 7200 rpm HDD's because revolutions per minute belays no information about disk density.
Rating: 7 Votes

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