What storage(ssd vs hdd) do you guys use in your computers?

[mikoh4792]

I will be buying an Imac and am wondering whether to get a hdd or an ssd. Is one better than the other in terms of longevity/durability when used for editing photos and video? I hear that ssd's break down or die faster than hdd's.

I will be using this computer for several hours a day, everyday. Just wondering what you photographers use for your computers.

Note: Speed and amount of storage(1 tb, 256gb...etc) is not a concern for me. I am only interested in the longevity of the type of storage.

 

[runnah]

I just built a new for work, well the it folk did. I ended up putting the OS and programs on a SSD and use a 3tb platter drive for storage.

It's very fast and boots up right away.

 

[mikoh4792]

Is there a way to do that with the fusion drive on Apple's Imac?

 

[W.Fovall]

ssd is NOT recommended for storage!!! there is NO way to recover a SSD. if a chip goes bad you loose everything. A mechanical Drive is recoverable 99% of the time if it crashes.
SSD should only be used for the Operating System.

 

[elemental]

SSDs for personal and work computers, never going back. Having seen the performance difference on some very performance-intensive processes at work, I'm sold.

Is there a way to do that with the fusion drive on Apple's Imac?

It was possible to run two internal drives on the older iMacs, not sure if there's room in the current cases. If it were me, I'd get the biggest SSD that's financially reasonable, and keep everything else on a second (external) drive. But if you're willing to crack the case and get your hands dirty, there might be a way.

It sounds like it's also possible for a "highly-skilled daredevil" to upgrade the hard drive, so if that's you, you could also possibly spec the cheapest drive and swap in an SSD of your own. I did this with my pre-unibody MacBook Pro: Cheapsest spec in the size I wanted, then added more RAM and a bigger, faster drive for much less.

 

[mikoh4792]

Thanks for the replies, I'm not very tech saavy when it comes to computers so I probably shouldn't mess with the insides of a computer.

 

[Village Idiot]

The iMac shouldn't be used for long term storage so an SSD should be fine for the performance gains. You should use external drives or media for backing up and the internal drive for working copies or short term storage.

 

[greybeard]

My laptop I use for my photos has a 1 TB drive and it is all I have needed. I have found that getting the most RAM you can speeds things up more than anything.