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Resolved 2017 iMac 27" external SSD as boot drive?
- Thread starter -Ryan-
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Yes i upgrade it , got one issue i cannot remote using realvnc ..I'm not sure what file system unless i can remote access it .Installation take 1 hour + time. Dam pretty sad for 2018 in external 3.1 gen 2 ssd and imac 2017
dam i forget to repy here.. Yup it convert to APFS also . Original disk inside still Mac Os Extended Journal.
1 time crash mouse work and other don't not sure because it was sleep mode. When i restart back, it take long time blank and suddenly apple icon appear.I really scare that time.
Sorry ..
1 time crash mouse work and other don't not sure because it was sleep mode. When i restart back, it take long time blank and suddenly apple icon appear.I really scare that time.
Sorry ..
I'm running Mojave. I just bought a Samsung external SSD, which connects via USB. I set it up as Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted). It wasn't converted to APFS. My internal SSD shows APFS (Encrypted). If I boot from the external drive, it is slower but I just assumed that this was because it was an external drive.
Edit: I use the external drive as a cloned drive with SuperDuper if that makes a difference.
Edit: I use the external drive as a cloned drive with SuperDuper if that makes a difference.
I've been reading through this because I am looking for options too. I have a 2017 27" iMac base. I've upgraded to 64gb of RAM and now looking at ssd drives. I use adobe lightroom and photoshop a lot, would an external boot SSD show improvement for me?
There is an Apple Certified center here in Indy, The Mac Experience, that will install an ssd for $160, would you guys recommend spending the extra $160, or using an external ssd?
There is an Apple Certified center here in Indy, The Mac Experience, that will install an ssd for $160, would you guys recommend spending the extra $160, or using an external ssd?
#61
I also use Lightroom and Photoshop a lot and found a huge improvement with installing an SSD boot disk (the internal drive on my Mac is not SSD). The improvement was much more than the improvement I got from adding more RAM. I use the external SSD as my boot disk and have my apps there too. Loading is now super fast and Lightroom is very responsive. Internal or external is a $ and personal decision. If you are going to be moving your Mac around a bit then internal is probably safer. But if it stays put then external should be fine. I use Velcro to secure the SSD to the back of the Mac (on the stand).
I also use Lightroom and Photoshop a lot and found a huge improvement with installing an SSD boot disk (the internal drive on my Mac is not SSD). The improvement was much more than the improvement I got from adding more RAM. I use the external SSD as my boot disk and have my apps there too. Loading is now super fast and Lightroom is very responsive. Internal or external is a $ and personal decision. If you are going to be moving your Mac around a bit then internal is probably safer. But if it stays put then external should be fine. I use Velcro to secure the SSD to the back of the Mac (on the stand).
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I also use Lightroom and Photoshop a lot and found a huge improvement with installing an SSD boot disk (the internal drive on my Mac is not SSD). The improvement was much more than the improvement I got from adding more RAM. I use the external SSD as my boot disk and have my apps there too. Loading is now super fast and Lightroom is very responsive. Internal or external is a $ and personal decision. If you are going to be moving your Mac around a bit then internal is probably safer. But if it stays put then external should be fine. I use Velcro to secure the SSD to the back of the Mac (on the stand).
Thank you both! I'm going to try external before I shell out the extra money!
[doublepost=1540927987][/doublepost]Oh, one more question, are you using USB 3 or USB C?
[doublepost=1540927987][/doublepost]Oh, one more question, are you using USB 3 or USB C?
I've been having the same issues on my 6 month old 21' iMac with only 8 GB Ram and 1 TB SATA drive. The machine was practically unusable out of the box - after 4 years with my MacBook Pro. I live in Antalya, Turkey and when my dog spilled a glass of water on my laptop, I bought the iMac from an Apple Reseller here. Their inventory was very poor, but if I'd known what a dog this computer would be, I'd have spent more to get something that could run more than 3 apps at a time.
Finally, I ordered a Samsung T5 and began using it as my main start-up disk. Big improvement until I moved up to Mojave. That's when the thing started freezing regularly, and if I left it on overnight, it would always go into deep sleep and then shut down. I've had to shut it down manually every night to avoid the crashes..
Today, I downloaded the Samsung Portable SSD app from their website, and I updated the firmware on the T5 drive. I'm hoping that will help. I'll report back if it does.
Finally, I ordered a Samsung T5 and began using it as my main start-up disk. Big improvement until I moved up to Mojave. That's when the thing started freezing regularly, and if I left it on overnight, it would always go into deep sleep and then shut down. I've had to shut it down manually every night to avoid the crashes..
Today, I downloaded the Samsung Portable SSD app from their website, and I updated the firmware on the T5 drive. I'm hoping that will help. I'll report back if it does.
ShotByTom wrote in #58 above:
"There is an Apple Certified center here in Indy, The Mac Experience, that will install an ssd for $160, would you guys recommend spending the extra $160, or using an external ssd?"
There are pros and cons of doing it either way.
You have to "weigh them" and decide.
It's really up to you.
I reckon using an external USB3 SSD (such as a Samsung t5 or Sandisk Extreme) will give you about 80-85% or so of the speeds you would see if the drive was internally-installed.
Is that 15% or so worth the extra $$$ to you?
Also, when it's time to move on to another Mac, it's simple to disconnect the USB3 drive, and just "take it with you" -- no prying apart the iMac a second time to "get at it".
Tom also asked:
"one more question, are you using USB 3 or USB C?"
USB-c -IS- USB3 (well, actually, it's USB3.1 gen2).
Again, either a Samsung t5 or Sandisk Extreme will "plug right in", just like that.
Then -- erase them (MAKE SURE you get any factory-installed software GONE).
Then -- either install a copy of the OS, or "clone one over" from your internal drive (either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper will do this, both are free to download and use for 30 days).
I suggest CCC because it should also clone over the recovery partition.
"There is an Apple Certified center here in Indy, The Mac Experience, that will install an ssd for $160, would you guys recommend spending the extra $160, or using an external ssd?"
There are pros and cons of doing it either way.
You have to "weigh them" and decide.
It's really up to you.
I reckon using an external USB3 SSD (such as a Samsung t5 or Sandisk Extreme) will give you about 80-85% or so of the speeds you would see if the drive was internally-installed.
Is that 15% or so worth the extra $$$ to you?
Also, when it's time to move on to another Mac, it's simple to disconnect the USB3 drive, and just "take it with you" -- no prying apart the iMac a second time to "get at it".
Tom also asked:
"one more question, are you using USB 3 or USB C?"
USB-c -IS- USB3 (well, actually, it's USB3.1 gen2).
Again, either a Samsung t5 or Sandisk Extreme will "plug right in", just like that.
Then -- erase them (MAKE SURE you get any factory-installed software GONE).
Then -- either install a copy of the OS, or "clone one over" from your internal drive (either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper will do this, both are free to download and use for 30 days).
I suggest CCC because it should also clone over the recovery partition.
I have a 2017 iMac base model with 40 GB RAM and 1 TB Fusion Drive. I want to install Mojave on an external 1.0 TB Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe (PCIe 3.0) drive interface. Claims speed of 1800 MB/s access times. I did not want to spend more than $1,400 for Mac Computer so went with Fusion drive which I knew was not desirable but read that these M.2 NVMe drives with Thunderbolt 3 would perform similar to internal SSD. I don't plan on chaining any Thunderbolt 3 drives with the SSD. Any issues anyone can see with doing this? Will I see similar performance from this drive with an internal Apple stock SSD?
The drive is on sale for $298 as of this week so I want to jump on this quickly if this is a good idea.
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ENVPRC10/
I would go for it rsdavis1234.
Used an external 240GB TB drive on an 15 2011 iMac and it was just great running at just on the speed advertised and TB3 is faster. Still use the SP as one of two external SSDs for backups.
Used an external 240GB TB drive on an 15 2011 iMac and it was just great running at just on the speed advertised and TB3 is faster. Still use the SP as one of two external SSDs for backups.
Banda I am having the same issue and used Super Duper to clone on my Samsung T5. I can reboot and hold option.. But can't set as default boot drive in startup disk as it does not show up...
Any news on this? Did it improve the stability?
How did you install mojave? Update from HS or clean install?
"Hi, has anyone used the Samsung x5?"
I'll guess that whether or not this would yield additional speed, depends on which Mac you're connecting it to.
Perhaps with a 2017 iMac (which has thunderbolt3) it would work well.
But with 2015 and earlier iMacs, I'm thinking that the speeds obtained wouldn't justify the greater expense of the x5.
My estimation: probably not worth it.
The t5 offers the best "bang for the buck".
I'll guess that whether or not this would yield additional speed, depends on which Mac you're connecting it to.
Perhaps with a 2017 iMac (which has thunderbolt3) it would work well.
But with 2015 and earlier iMacs, I'm thinking that the speeds obtained wouldn't justify the greater expense of the x5.
My estimation: probably not worth it.
The t5 offers the best "bang for the buck".
[doublepost=1545080182][/doublepost]Hi,
I have 2017 with the Thunderbolt 3. I have the T5 and just thought the x5 would be quicker.
ondert wrote in 73:
"X5 500gb version costs 250$ at amazon. Does it worth for iMac 27 2017 with 2tb fusion drive?"
2017 iMac has Tbolt3, so it should work fine.
If you get one, please come back to the thread and give us a report on how it works, drive speeds, etc...
"X5 500gb version costs 250$ at amazon. Does it worth for iMac 27 2017 with 2tb fusion drive?"
2017 iMac has Tbolt3, so it should work fine.
If you get one, please come back to the thread and give us a report on how it works, drive speeds, etc...
I still wonder if it worths passing to external tb3 ssd. I have read some users had have problems during macOS major updates like from high sierra to mojave afps. I had 15” mbp w/ 512gb ssd and then moved to this iMac w/ 2tb fusion drive. Although I liked the vast capacity of fusion drive, I miss the speed of nvme ssd.