New iMacs have dual hard drive option?
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From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 27 Jul 2010 17:49 In the config for the i5/i7 27" iMac: # 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �600.00] Realllly? Well, well! Can't wait to see a teardown. There's also a # 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �480.00] option which is what I went looking for. Cheers - Jaimie -- He has a woman's name and wears makeup. How original. -- Alice Cooper on Marilyn Manson
From: Chris Ridd on 28 Jul 2010 01:26 On 2010-07-27 22:49:10 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh said: > In the config for the i5/i7 27" iMac: > > # 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �600.00] > > Realllly? Well, well! Can't wait to see a teardown. > > There's also a > # 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �480.00] > option which is what I went looking for. Presuming the second slot can take an identical drive to the first one, can OS X boot off a software mirror? -- Chris
From: David Empson on 28 Jul 2010 02:26 Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > On 2010-07-27 22:49:10 +0100, Jaimie Vandenbergh said: > > > In the config for the i5/i7 27" iMac: > > > > # 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �600.00] > > > > Realllly? Well, well! Can't wait to see a teardown. > > > > There's also a > > # 256GB Solid State Drive [+ �480.00] > > option which is what I went looking for. > > Presuming the second slot can take an identical drive to the first one, > can OS X boot off a software mirror? The SSD option probably works like the Xserve, with a special mount position for a standard form factor 2.5" SSD, connected via SATA. (Apple might have used a proprietary variant and connectors, but I hope not.) The hard drive is a 3.5" mechanism. If you buy the custom build variant with SSD and no hard drive, the 3.5" drive bay will be empty. If you then installed your own 256 GB SSD in that drive bay (probably via a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket), you could set up a mirrored RAID configuration using Disk Utility, and Mac OS X can boot from that. You can already do this on the Mac Mini Server, Mac Pro, Xserve, or earlier models which support multiple internal drives. -- David Empson dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
From: Chris Ridd on 28 Jul 2010 03:41 On 2010-07-28 07:26:49 +0100, David Empson said: > Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > >> Presuming the second slot can take an identical drive to the first one, >> can OS X boot off a software mirror? > > The SSD option probably works like the Xserve, with a special mount > position for a standard form factor 2.5" SSD, connected via SATA. (Apple > might have used a proprietary variant and connectors, but I hope not.) > > The hard drive is a 3.5" mechanism. If you buy the custom build variant > with SSD and no hard drive, the 3.5" drive bay will be empty. Apple don't actually say if the drives are 3.5" or not, all they state is the SATA drives are 7200rpm. However the 2TB capacity does suggest they're 3.5". TBH that surprises me - 2.5" drives would be slimmer, lower power and the same rpm as the drives Apple's selling. There's an option for a second real disk, so I guess the second slot isn't too proprietary. There was something funny about the WD drives (temperature sensors?) Apple recently started using though. We'll have to wait and see for the teardowns. > If you then installed your own 256 GB SSD in that drive bay (probably > via a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket), you could set up a mirrored RAID > configuration using Disk Utility, and Mac OS X can boot from that. Apple's EFI can cope? Cool. > You can already do this on the Mac Mini Server, Mac Pro, Xserve, or > earlier models which support multiple internal drives. -- Chris
From: David Empson on 28 Jul 2010 04:46
Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > On 2010-07-28 07:26:49 +0100, David Empson said: > > > Chris Ridd <chrisridd(a)mac.com> wrote: > > > >> Presuming the second slot can take an identical drive to the first one, > >> can OS X boot off a software mirror? > > > > The SSD option probably works like the Xserve, with a special mount > > position for a standard form factor 2.5" SSD, connected via SATA. (Apple > > might have used a proprietary variant and connectors, but I hope not.) > > > > The hard drive is a 3.5" mechanism. If you buy the custom build variant > > with SSD and no hard drive, the 3.5" drive bay will be empty. > > Apple don't actually say if the drives are 3.5" or not, all they state > is the SATA drives are 7200rpm. However the 2TB capacity does suggest > they're 3.5". That's guaranteed. Western Digital makes a 1 TB 2.5" drive (12mm) but it is only 5400 rpm. I haven't seen any others that capacity yet. Apple isn't supplying anything larger than 500 GB for laptops, presumably because they can only get them from one source. An interesting point with the entry level 21.5" iMac is that you can't customize its 500 GB hard drive. That might be a 2.5" mechanism, but I doubt it (for cost reasons). > TBH that surprises me - 2.5" drives would be slimmer, > lower power and the same rpm as the drives Apple's selling. iMacs have always used 3.5" mechanisms, so a change now doesn't seem likely. > There's an option for a second real disk Only a hard disk plus solid state disk. No configurations give you two drives of the same type (e.g. two hard drives). > so I guess the second slot isn't too proprietary. There was something > funny about the WD drives (temperature sensors?) Apple recently started > using though. All drive manufacturers have different connectors for the temperature sensor, so if you change drives in some Mac models you either need the same brand of drive or a modified cable. This is probably limited to Mac models for which Apple doesn't support end user hard drive replacement. There is no mention of this in the official instructions for replacing drives in laptops, for example. > We'll have to wait and see for the teardowns. Indeed. > > If you then installed your own 256 GB SSD in that drive bay (probably > > via a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket), you could set up a mirrored RAID > > configuration using Disk Utility, and Mac OS X can boot from that. > > Apple's EFI can cope? Cool. A web search revealed a few confirmations, e.g. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2101 mentions booting Mac OS X 10.4.8 from a software RAID on a Mac Pro. I've done this on PowerPC Macs, but not yet on an Intel Mac. -- David Empson dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz |