IMac SSD external Boot

passey89 · 4 Apr 2013 at 19:45

I'm looking at getting either a 120gb or 240gb samsung 840 to use as an os drive.

Im not taking my imac appart so im going to get an external enclosure but don't know if i should go thunderbolt or usb 3.0

The tunderbolt will cost around £90 + £30 for thunderbolt cable

USB3.0 will cost around £15 - £25

Is thunderbolt worth the extra or not?

Will I have any problems booting from usb 3.0?

passey89 · 4 Apr 2013 at 20:46

uniQ said:
You shouldn't see any problems but the USB enclosure will certainly be the main bottleneck. My Samsung 830 came with a transfer kit which included a USB cable, check the 840's don't as well as then you could try it over USB before shelling out for TB.

Good idea actually is it usb 3.0?

passey89 · 4 Apr 2013 at 21:38

Ordered a Samsung 840 from ocuk and a Thermaltake Silver River 5G enclosure for it as it had good reviews with the mac booting off it.

passey89 · 4 Apr 2013 at 22:38

Skyboat said:
Do you mean this one?

Looks like it's designed for 3.5" HDDs and requires mains power

No they do a 2.5" one that's is powered by usb

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 07:11

bloodiedathame said:
Thunderbolt is stupid fast with an external SSD, mate of mine gets 500Mb/s R/W on it. Won't get that on usb3.

confirmed speeds from a 840 with screenshot proof from an 840 are

Read - 427
write - 321

Not going to notice anything faster than that tbh for a boot and applications drive.

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 09:36

ninja2000 said:
problem with usb3 though is bootcamp won't work (if you need it!). People have managed to get bootcamp to work with thunderbolt with a bit of trickery

leaving boot camp on my 1tb only use it to play bf3 or blops 2 and its not that often.

I'll find the link to the enclosure

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 09:38

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/ttWWW/Product.aspx?C=1289&ID=2093

Thats the one.

It has a power adapter but is using usb 3.0 you dont need it.

also benchmarks for it on mac

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1483374

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 15:46

ninja2000 said:
Benefits of external is you don't have to open the mac.

Downsides are:
performance isn't quite as good (though you probably wouldn't notice in anything other than benchmarks)
if you disconnect the cable the OS would lock up
you have to have the OS disk hanging out the back of you computer.
Bootcamp can be difficult to install and crashes from sleep over thunderbolt.

I plan on doing it until my replacement tape arrives then I am going to crack mine open.
Once I have done mine I will happily help others in the dorset area.

exactly the above.

Im going to get the back mounting plate that goes on the stand so you cant even see the ssd or cable.

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 17:16

ninja2000 said:
Yeah, I was planning on using velcro to attach the drive to the back to keep it out of site.
My 500gb samsung 840 has just arrived

Mine doesn't arrive till Monday only ordered it last night

only ordered the 250gb as well. I might try Velcro instead of a £30 metal plate lol.

Are u doing USB or thunderbolt?

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 18:21

ninja2000 said:
Usb3 as it is only temporary. I have replacement tape on its way from the states so will put it inside when that arrives

Ok let me know how it goes setting it up.

passey89 · 5 Apr 2013 at 19:30

just noticed the twelve south backpack 2 is not compatable with 2012 imacs.

looks like it will be velcrow

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 09:35

ninja2000 said:
Update, had issues with my seagate goflex usb3. Instead I just ripped my mac open and now have the SSD inside and the 1tb hdd as an external

What problems did you have?

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 10:47

Raymond Lin said:
I take it this is the early 2012 iMac models without Fusion?

I want to do this with my old 2009 iMac but obviously the fastest thing is Firewire.

mines a late 2012 model you can do it with usb 2 it will be lots slower though

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 11:00

ninja2000 said:
it didn't like my samsung 840 500gb SSD. I think it might have drawn too much power. I didn't have any other drives on hand

I'll post how my thermaltake usb 3.0 enclosure goes with my 250GB Samsung 840 if it ever bloody arrives

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 12:01

Raymond Lin said:
I see, I take it you didn't spec a Fushion/SSD in the first place?

I don't think External USB 2 SSD will be any faster than internal HDD tbh. The USB will be a huge bottleneck.

yeh wasnt going to pay £200 just to have a fusion when i got a 250gb SSD for £100

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 12:21

caddy has arrived so will set it up tonight

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 16:05

deaglecat said:
I'm interested to see how this one works out. I don't fancy cracking open my Mac Mini for 45minutes of open heart surgery to fit and internal SSD. Well at least not until the warranty runs out.

4 USB 3.0 ports offer plenty of possibilities for an external boot...

I'll do it tonight and video boot before and after ssd to show.

passey89 · 10 Apr 2013 at 19:45

all done and up and running perfectly first time.

Have viedoed before and after will post once its done.

used carbon copy clone to make an exact replica of my mac's HDD

passey89 · 11 Apr 2013 at 07:09

ninja2000 said:
Nice work. I bet aside from benchmarks you wouldn't notice a difference if it was internal!

probably not. Im waiting for the twelve south backpack new version thats compatable with late 2012 imacs to get over here now.

passey89 · 11 Apr 2013 at 12:15

This was the enclosure I got.

SSD from OCUK

contents of the enclosure

SSD going into Enclosure

and setup with my ipad holder