Apple Announces Fusion Drive

**Anthony Bouchard** · 10-23-2012, 11:47 AM

Apple has just announced their new Fusion Drive for the next generation iMac that will offer a combination of hard disk drive storage and flash storage in a single drive. Call it a hybrid.

The Fusion Drive offers nearly the same performance as a flash storage drive, and OS X Mountain Lion already comes with the software necessary to support it. The operating system will automatically recognize it as a single, fused volume.

The Fusion Drive comes with up to 128GB of flash storage, with the option to choose between 1TB or 3TB hard disk drive storage as your secondary storage option – all in one single drive.

The Fusion Drive will actually come loaded with the OS X Mountain Lion operating system and the pre-loaded software applications. Everything else you put on the storage drive will be managed by the operating system. The drive will move applications to and from the flash storage depending on how often you use them. For example if you use Aperture more than iPhoto, iPhoto will get moved to the hard disk drive storage and Aperture will get moved to the flash storage.

Being that it’s a hybrid drive, you get the best of both worlds – flash for performance and hard disk for storage space, but with the operating system’s intelligent control over the storage, it will feel just like a solid state drive.

Source: Apple

**GmAz** · 10-23-2012, 12:09 PM

Quite a bit late to the party again eh Apple? I've been able to do this for the past two years. I tried it way back when with a 120gb SSD and a 1TB HD and it works fine. It was quite faster, but if one drive fails, you are screwed so I just remapped My Documents folders to the 1TB and saving stuff normally results in stuff getting saved to the 1TB and the SSD used for programs and Windows. But hey...Apple has to catch up sometime right. Gotta have those new features somehow.

**kyphur** · 10-23-2012, 12:15 PM

Next comes the lawsuits claiming hybrid SSD/HDD Drives are copied from apple Fusion Drive design...

**dboone21** · 10-23-2012, 12:19 PM

Fusion drive FTW! My Mac Mini is running a 256ssd and 500gb hard drive (doing the same thing) but Apple doing it themselves is nice for the layman.

**hitman10** · 10-23-2012, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by GmAz

Quite a bit late to the party again eh Apple? I've been able to do this for the past two years. I tried it way back when with a 120gb SSD and a 1TB HD and it works fine. It was quite faster, but if one drive fails, you are screwed so I just remapped My Documents folders to the 1TB and saving stuff normally results in stuff getting saved to the 1TB and the SSD used for programs and Windows. But hey...Apple has to catch up sometime right. Gotta have those new features somehow.

Where have you been hiding? We all get that apple brings stuff to the table late. Why always state the obvious. Congrads no one cares that you have been doing this for years.

**Anthony Bouchard** · 10-23-2012, 01:26 PM

This is another example of Apple's software improving upon existing hardware.

The iPad wasn't the first tablet in the world, but iOS made it great.

The Fusion Drive isn't the first hybrid storage drive, but OS X Mountain Lion's automatic configuration will make it great.

No, they weren't first. It doesn't really matter. Now the market has more competition to choose from. Consumers will be benefiting from this release.

**subywrex** · 10-23-2012, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by Anthony Bouchard

This is another example of Apple's software improving upon existing hardware.

The iPad wasn't the first tablet in the world, but iOS made it great.

The Fusion Drive isn't the first hybrid storage drive, but OS X Mountain Lion's automatic configuration will make it great.

No, they weren't first. It doesn't really matter. Now the market has more competition to choose from. Consumers will be benefiting from this release.

People are just silly. And if we are taking score Mac vs pc, wasn't windows a rip off from apple? So everyone needs to ask themselves. Where would technology be with out apple??

And visa versa.

**kyphur** · 10-23-2012, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by subywrex

wasn't windows a rip off from apple?

Umm, no...

MS didn't adopt GUI as early as Apple but both Mac OS & Windows have roots in Xerox PARC.

**JoeStorm** · 10-23-2012, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by GmAz

Quite a bit late to the party again eh Apple? I've been able to do this for the past two years. I tried it way back when with a 120gb SSD and a 1TB HD and it works fine. It was quite faster, but if one drive fails, you are screwed so I just remapped My Documents folders to the 1TB and saving stuff normally results in stuff getting saved to the 1TB and the SSD used for programs and Windows. But hey...Apple has to catch up sometime right. Gotta have those new features somehow.

It isn't a separate 120 GB and 1 TB drive like you had. It is a single drive like the Seagate Momentus. Instead of the 8GB cache of the Seagate, the Fusion drive has 128GB of cache. Huge difference. BTW, yes, this is new. No one else has it.

Oh, if a single drive fails then you're screwed as well so not sure why you're pointing that out.

**Mrteacup** · 10-23-2012, 03:54 PM

Basically what im doing, I have a 2 tb external drive and 120 gigs on my ssd. Plus my time machine

**bry2k2** · 10-23-2012, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by JoeStorm

It isn't a separate 120 GB and 1 TB drive like you had. It is a single drive like the Seagate Momentus. Instead of the 8GB cache of the Seagate, the Fusion drive has 128GB of cache. Huge difference. BTW, yes, this is new. No one else has it.

Oh, if a single drive fails then you're screwed as well so not sure why you're pointing that out.

Nonethless however much flash storage is onboard its still a copied idea and still not as good as a ssd, its just a bridge between mechanical drives and ssd's. Apple is still late to the party and calling it revolutionary as usual

**Cer0** · 10-23-2012, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by bry2k2

Nonethless however much flash storage is onboard its still a copied idea and still not as good as a ssd, its just a bridge between mechanical drives and ssd's. Apple is still late to the party and calling it revolutionary as usual

Think the idea is not more towards the hardware but towards an OS taking use of this hardware configuration. Before neither OS had built in use to use both. The user handled what was what. This is more about OSX taking the reins of this configuration and using it wisely without user interaction at all.

It's not always about the hardware but what drives the hardware.

Originally Posted by kyphur

Umm, no...

MS didn't adopt GUI as early as Apple but both Mac OS & Windows have roots in Xerox PARC.

True but MS did use Apple to push software for awhile. They have helped bump each other up over the course of their history.

**AKCHRIS** · 10-23-2012, 08:13 PM

All i care is that it's better then One i currently have which is a 500GB HD.

**fleurya** · 10-24-2012, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by GmAz

Quite a bit late to the party again eh Apple? I've been able to do this for the past two years. I tried it way back when with a 120gb SSD and a 1TB HD and it works fine. It was quite faster, but if one drive fails, you are screwed so I just remapped My Documents folders to the 1TB and saving stuff normally results in stuff getting saved to the 1TB and the SSD used for programs and Windows. But hey...Apple has to catch up sometime right. Gotta have those new features somehow.

Not late at all! How many Pc makers are designing their own hybrid drives that work semmlessly with their OS software?

That's right, none!

Of course you can buy and install your own hybrid drives. Nobody is debating that they are already on the market. But using them requires some technical skill, add-on software and active management that 95% of the population can't do and don't have the time to learn. This is just another example of Apple taking a great idea and making it more seamless and user-friendly for the majority of consumers that are computer users but not tech-savvy.

Of course, this won't be a good choice for everyone. I'm sure some people would rather actively manage what is on the SSD and the HDD. For them they can still install a secondary SSD and managing as they like. This product, however, isn't for them. But I'm sure that won't stop you, I mean, them, from complaining about it like it is a personal insult directed at them.

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Thread: Apple Announces Fusion Drive

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Apple has just announced their new Fusion Drive for the next generation iMac that will offer a combination of hard disk drive storage and flash storage in a single drive.