which drive for my data

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I have had my new 27" iMac for a week now and I'm getting used to it, having been a pc user for many years up till now.

so i have transferred all my music from my old machine, and iTunes on the iMac seems to be automatically storing the music library on the 250Gb SSD. right now i have about 70 GB of music on there. should i move that music library to the 2TB HD2? i see the 2TB HD2 as the big storage barn where i really want everything stacked. should i be keeping the ssd as free as possible? how much data can i afford to store on these drives before it all affects the performance? or does it not matter how full they get as its the 16GB Ram that takes care of actual performance?
any and all help very much appreciated.
 

chscag

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Things like your iTunes media folder, iPhoto library, Movies, large graphics, etc, could probably be on the 2 TB drive without any performance hit. I would try to keep the SSD free for programs and any games that you wish to play. That's where the speed really counts.
 
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thanks for the fast reply chscag. so i can just copy and paste the iTunes folder and drag it to the 2 TB drive? will iTunes know where its gone automatically or will i have to point it to the new library location?

also if you could please clarify exactly *why* its best to keep the ssd free for programs just so i can get a better understanding. thanks for taking the time.
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
You'll need to tell iTunes and iPhoto (if applicable) where its new folder or library is located otherwise you'll wind up with a new media folder or library. See this Apple support article about moving the iTunes media folder: LINK

Keeping the SSD free of unnecessary files and folders is important because you want the best possible performance for programs. Say for example you're crunching data with Microsoft Excel or iWork Numbers. Or, perhaps you're working with a program like Maya, Photoshop, or CAD. More speed, less cuss and muss. :)

Besides, your SSD is 250 GB and nowadays folks have iTunes media folders that are huge. And as you know, SSD's are not cheap.

Have fun.
 

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