09-13-2019, 01:54 PM
RAM,
A standard 2.5" SSD in a USB-C box connected to a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 port isn't going to be an improvement on the fusion drives in the current models. Apparently, Apple has improved its fusion drives to a such a degree, the only way to do better is to go with a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 connected external NVME SSD. JDC can go into more details since he's the one who provided the info on it to me prior to my purchase of a refurb 2019 iMac 27".
That said, I have a 1TB Inland Pro NVME M.2 SSD in a USB-C Gen 2 enclosure as the boot drive of my iMac. It's connected via USB 3.1 Gen 2 to a Thunderbolt 3 port. It's wicked fast and faster than the internal 2TB fusion drive. The frankendrive would be significant faster if the same stick was in an actual Thunderbolt 3 box. Configuring my machine this way saved me a significant amount of bucks over buying an Apple SSD.
At some point, I may take the stick and drop it in a Thunderbolt 3 box. There are some boxes for $175 or less and it's an easy swap. Or, if I need more storage, it's easy enough to move to a higher capacity stick in the same enclosure. NVME M.2 stick SSDs are a little bit more expensive than a 2.5" SSD but they are _much_ faster. The boxes for the sticks are also more expensive. Despite that, it's still a bargain compared to getting the internal SSD from Apple or going through the agita and expense of replacing the internal platter or fusion drive with an SSD.
I was so pleased with the results, that I took a spare Mushkin Source 1TB SSD, dropped it into a USB 3.1 Gen 2 box and am now using it as the boot drive for my office's 2014 iMac 27" 5K. It's connected to a USB 3 port. Again, faster than the internal 1TB fusion drive. Not as fast as the frankendrive I'm using at home but still so fast that I can't tell that I'm running off an external drive.
These days, with the advent of USB-C Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3, a properly configured external SSD is going to be faster than any fusion drive and, depending on the drive and box, so fast that you're not going to want to invest in a stock Apple SSD or replace the original internal platter or fusion drive of an iMac with an SSD.
All this is based on my current experiences working off SSDs on the '14 iMac and the '19 iMac.
And, to confirm what others have said, upgrading the RAM in a '19 iMac 27" is incredibly easy. Takes less than five minutes.
Robert
A standard 2.5" SSD in a USB-C box connected to a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 port isn't going to be an improvement on the fusion drives in the current models. Apparently, Apple has improved its fusion drives to a such a degree, the only way to do better is to go with a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 connected external NVME SSD. JDC can go into more details since he's the one who provided the info on it to me prior to my purchase of a refurb 2019 iMac 27".
That said, I have a 1TB Inland Pro NVME M.2 SSD in a USB-C Gen 2 enclosure as the boot drive of my iMac. It's connected via USB 3.1 Gen 2 to a Thunderbolt 3 port. It's wicked fast and faster than the internal 2TB fusion drive. The frankendrive would be significant faster if the same stick was in an actual Thunderbolt 3 box. Configuring my machine this way saved me a significant amount of bucks over buying an Apple SSD.
At some point, I may take the stick and drop it in a Thunderbolt 3 box. There are some boxes for $175 or less and it's an easy swap. Or, if I need more storage, it's easy enough to move to a higher capacity stick in the same enclosure. NVME M.2 stick SSDs are a little bit more expensive than a 2.5" SSD but they are _much_ faster. The boxes for the sticks are also more expensive. Despite that, it's still a bargain compared to getting the internal SSD from Apple or going through the agita and expense of replacing the internal platter or fusion drive with an SSD.
I was so pleased with the results, that I took a spare Mushkin Source 1TB SSD, dropped it into a USB 3.1 Gen 2 box and am now using it as the boot drive for my office's 2014 iMac 27" 5K. It's connected to a USB 3 port. Again, faster than the internal 1TB fusion drive. Not as fast as the frankendrive I'm using at home but still so fast that I can't tell that I'm running off an external drive.
These days, with the advent of USB-C Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3, a properly configured external SSD is going to be faster than any fusion drive and, depending on the drive and box, so fast that you're not going to want to invest in a stock Apple SSD or replace the original internal platter or fusion drive of an iMac with an SSD.
All this is based on my current experiences working off SSDs on the '14 iMac and the '19 iMac.
And, to confirm what others have said, upgrading the RAM in a '19 iMac 27" is incredibly easy. Takes less than five minutes.
Robert