Rep: 13
1
1
How does the Apple Fusion drive (500 GB), which is a $200 upgrade on the Mac Mini, compare in performance to the Seagate Hybrid Drive (500 GB) which is part of the iFixit upgrade package (at about $110 including the logic board tool.)
Is this a good question?
Rep: 479.2k
35
329
971
An Apple Fusion Drive is the fusion of two physical drives (HD & SSD) into one logical drive. Apple uses an algorithm within the OS to locate more used files onto the SSD and less used files on the HD.
Basically a Seagate SSHD is very similar to an Apple Fusion drive setup. The biggest difference is the size of the SSD cache on the Seagate drive is smaller and the firmware within the drive handles the more accessed files on the deep cache SSD.
Both offer improved performance over a standard HD. We use both depending on the age of the system.
It sounds like you are about to buy a Mac Mini and are trying to figure out which way to go. The newest model of the Mini does not offer a dual SATA drive config, instead the new Mini has a single SATA port and a M.2 Blade SSD port. Depending on the model you buy you may find your options limited. So far Apple does not offer the custom SSD cable & Blade SSD so if you are thinking on upgrading later it may not be possible,
I would recommend you get the SSD or the Fusion Drive model.
Was this answer helpful?
Rep: 25
3
I have used the Seagate Hybrids in a lot of different Macs they are fast, and also have capacity. The speed difference is marginal unless you are a very high end video editor etc.
Was this answer helpful?
Past 24 Hours: 0
Past 7 Days: 0
Past 30 Days: 2
All Time: 4,470
6 Comments
Has anybody tried a hybrid drive in a 2014 mini?
by Steve Cenick
The Seagate Hybrid is going to be much faster than a standard drive, I would say that you would be looking at 17 seconds from "Bong" to desktop (or faster), and once trained everything else will rocket as well.
by Fryedfrog
@Steve - If you have a HD only unit then swapping out the HD for a SSHD would be a good direction to gain performance for you. If you have a SSD model and want to add more storage a standard HD fused with the SSD (Fusion drive config) would be a good direction as well. If you don't set up a Fusion Drive set then the SSHD will also be beneficial. I would not recommend setting up the Fusion Drive with the SSHD as you would have dueling systems trying to either cache or migrate to the SSD. A very confused system!
by Dan
Thanks for your comments, I have bought a 2nd hand 2014 2.6 with a mechanical 500gb HD and was wondering whether to get the parts to use a Macbook PCIe flash blade leaving the 500gb drive attached. I think I would need to get the cables to go with that.
I will see how it goes and maybe just buy a 240gb SSD drive which sounds to be a lot simpler!
Thanks
Steve
by Steve Cenick
@Steve - I've corrected your system choice to the correct unit. Please review the IFIXIT guides before you do anything. At this time Apple is not offering the needed parts to add in a second drive (SSD) in model so your only choice here is a swap out of the HD. Here's the SSD guide as reference: Mac Mini Late 2014 SSD Replacement as you can see its a custom blade type SSD.
by Dan
Show 1 more comment