iMac external ssd

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Hello, I have a 2013 iMac 2.7 1tb 21.5in model. I was looking for an external hard drive to boot my Mac from and also enhance performance. Anyone have any suggestions? Is 128gb enough. I'm gonna use the 1tb hard drive to store all my documents/movies/music/pictures.
 

chscag

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That's a bad idea. Why would you want to boot your iMac with an external hard drive? Even if you were to buy the fastest SSD to use as an external hard drive, it will only be as fast as the USB 3 bus which is a great deal slower than your internal hard drive.
 
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Well 128GB may be barely sufficient, but mounted externally it will be extremely slow as chscag points out, and a waste of your hard earned. I think your best option is contact your local Apple Reseller or Store and ask for a price to supply and install an SSD, if possible. Be aware the basic model does not have connectors for the SSD so it may not be even possible. The best option would have been the 27" model with Fusion.
 
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That's a bad idea. Why would you want to boot your iMac with an external hard drive? Even if you were to buy the fastest SSD to use as an external hard drive, it will only be as fast as the USB 3 bus which is a great deal slower than your internal hard drive.

Yes I know what you mean, I was looking towards the thunderbolt SSD models instead of the USB 3.
 

chscag

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A Thunderbolt drive connected to your thunderbolt port is as fast (and sometimes faster) than the internal hard drive. But I still don't understand why you would want to boot from an external drive, fast or not?
 
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A Thunderbolt drive connected to your thunderbolt port is as fast (and sometimes faster) than the internal hard drive. But I still don't understand why you would want to boot from an external drive, fast or not?

Forgive me if i'm wrong, but I was told that it would not only give me a way faster boot time, but also better overall performance if going from the standard hard drive to a SSD.
 

chscag

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Well yes, that statement is true. However, it's primarily referring to an internal SSD not one attached externally.
 

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