Apple’s Fusion Drive – I want it!

The reviews are out on the latest Apple hardware (iMac’s and Mac Mini) and one feature they are touting as a nice addition is Apple’s Fusion Drive Technology.  What Fusion Drive does is combine the benefits off SSD’s with the capacity of a standard spinning harddrives at a price that meets them somewhere in the middle. It literally combines a SSD with a standard platter harddrive into a single virtual volume though software that learns where your data should be stored for faster access or archival (SSD or HDD). The concept isn’t new (I had a Seagate Hybrid drive in my MacBook Pro for a while) but it seems like Apple’s approach is going to bring real value to the end user until larger capacity SSD’s catch up on pricing. This technology is a $250 option when buying a new iMac or Mac Mini (Late 2012 Models).

I am currently running an upgraded Mid 2011 27″ iMac with 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, and A 1TB 10K Velociraptor HDD. I have no need to upgrade to the latest iMac but the Fusion Drive technology would be an ideal configuration for my current SSD and HDD. A little googling revealed that Tumblr user Patrick Stein has successfully created his own Fusion Drive using non-apple parts. I am hacker/tinkerer and I would love to be running this setup on my machine to do away with having to manage multiple volumes.  He notes in his instructions however that it is not a completely stable and reliable system, which has scared me away from trying it so far.  It still sounds like a great option and maybe someone will create a nice utility that helps you create your own Fusion Drive in a more user-friendly way. If you have given this a shot let me know your results!

Fusion Drive on Older Macs Screenshot

 

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