Server Version#: currently for latest macOS
Player Version#: up to date
Just bought 2013 21.5 iMac, it came with 5400 RPM HDD, which it’s really painfully slow and I can’t use Plex Server without slowing down other apps at the same time. When I connect my external HDD to the iMac (even or iMac’s internal HDD), it plays perfect on Roku but at the same time, it makes iMac slower or Google Chrome loads slow. I’ve never had experience before with that internal HDD. I’ve been using my 5-year-old MacBook Air, which it does have internal SSD and it’s connected with the external HDD and it runs smooth despite it has only 4GB RAM, but it doesn’t eat a lot while it’s being played on my Roku.
Right now, I’m planning to replace my iMac’s HDD with SSD, but I’m thinking about using USB enclosure for new internal SSD instead of taking apart my iMac. I haven’t bought internal SSD and enclosure/USB adapter yet and I have to choose between using extension SSD as main drive (or primary drive) and taking apart iMac.
I have external HDD (like MyPassport) full of videos and I don’t want to have to download videos into the SSD. I’m trying to find out if I can connect external SSD as main drive AND external HDD as secondary drive/backup.
I want to ask (for both Mac or PC users)- have you used external SSD as main drive AND connected external HDD at the same time? Any experiences with external SSD as main drive? Anything?
Your iMac has an internal 2.5" hard drive (according to the tech specs I saw online). You would be much better served by replacing it with a 2.5" SSD.
Apple supports booting Macs from external drives. The problem you will potentially encounter is I/O contention while reading/writing to other USB attached devices. It won’t make things unusable, cause a crash, etc. Just that you won’t be getting the maximum benefit from the SSD.
You would be much better served by installing the SSD internally so it can fully utilize the SATA interface. You can put the current internal HD in an external enclosure and attach it to one of the USB ports.
You can always try the SSD as an external drive, then move it to an internal drive if you do not like the results. You won’t be wasting any parts, etc, since you would use the external enclosure for the current internal drive.
Make sure you buy an SSD that can fully utilize the SATA interface, i.e. read/write speeds ~500 MBytes/sec. Some lower cost SSDs have slower controllers, etc and cannot fully utilize the SATA interface. Check reviews at places such as Tom’s Hardware & Anandtech which perform detailed reviews & comparison tests.
Make sure you’re not transcoding the video when playing a movie (Plex Web → Activity → Dashboard).
If transcoding video, your CPU is probably close to 100%. An SSD won’t help that situation (but still a good idea for many other reasons).
@mmp2751 OWC is my go to for this kind of stuff, pop over and check them out! I think you might be using a couple drives here: an SSD for the os boot drive & external / regular hard drive for the library. I didn’t see you mention which 2013 iMac (they had an early '13 & a late '13, so you’d want to pick the exact one you have.) If you have an early 2013, it can actually take 2 drives inside (one 2.5, the other is the PCIe stick iirc). They got full install kits with new parts and tools you’ll need to DIY the upgrades. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/imac & also look up the ram there too. Since it’s open and being upgraded, might as well get both done at the same time so you’re not buying the kit twice. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac
Unlike the other posters I’ve actually done what you’re talking about. I boot my 2015 iMac from an SSD in external USB3 case connected directly to USB port on my 2015 iMac. I’ve been running like this since about a week after I got this Mac in 2015, so about 4 years now.
Boot speed is much faster than the default 5400rpm HD. Boot time is around 20 seconds, instead of 90.
Plex operates off this drive. Everything works normally.
I’ve replaced the internal drive in iMacs previously. It’s was much easier on the earlier thicker models when the screen glass was magnetically attached. The new slim body ones (like your 2013 model) the screen glass is glued on and a bit of a hassle to remove. Wouldn’t really recommend it.
Keep in mind that if you use Plex’s Video Preview Thumbnails they will take up tons of space on your SSD. It’s about 75GB on my setup. At one point it was about 250GB, I ended up disabling Previews on all TV shows to get it down to 75GB.
I wanted to give the update on external SSD as main drive for my iMac, Last month, I bought 1TB Crucial MX500 and Ugreen external hard enclosure USB 3.0 to SATA adaptor. I plugged in USB and had to install macOS on external SSD and followed the instruction on how to make external SSD primary drive. After more than an hour, for final step, I started to boot Mac on external SSD and I was very nervous. But I was surprised that went well. Now, iMac is much faster with SSD than its own internal HDD and opening apps are pretty quick. I plugged external HDD along for just movies and I played Plex on my Roku without any problem. iMac can boot with external SSD within only 20 seconds and internal HDD takes like a minute and half to boot alone. It has been a month and it paid off. I don’t have to worry about taking apart down iMac’s screen and upgrading hard drive inside but what sucks is I still need to upgrade RAM (I have only 8GB RAM). When the time is right, I have to decide between paying for professional help and saving it by doing the upgrade myself but must be extremely careful. If you have outdated internal HDD for Mac or Windows computer (even if internal SSD doesn’t have enough room), I recommend you to buy high-quality internal SSD and good 3.0 USB hard drive enclosure unless you want to take apart down your computer for just upgrade. I’m positive any external HDD (or SSD) device full of videos that works with the computer plugged with bootable external SSD, I have learned so far.
