Instead, I took a calculated risk and installed it on my main work machine, a 2019 27-inch iMac. Early reports indicated that it would be supported, but unfortunately, it’s not compatible. To make sure I didn’t miss any speed issues, I tried to install the new operating system on my oldest computer, a mid-2012 MacBook Air.

That leads us to an important question: is speed an issue with Big Sur, and if so, how do you handle it? They’re designed for the specs of the current year’s Mac, which means it will almost always run slower on your Mac than the previous version. I’m really enjoying it so far.Įach operating system update adds features and requires more system resources than the previous version, including memory and storage space. Safari has received a speed boost and extensions, and other apps have been updated, too. Although, you could alway use it on your next Mac.I just installed the public beta of macOS Big Sur (update: the public version is now available to download). A TB3 SSD would be much faster than the USB SSD, but a lot more expensive. There are other external options for your iMac that are faster, but probably not worth the investment.

Not a big deal if this was just to get your by for a few years til your next Mac or until you got around to installing it internally. This could lead to slower speeds later on and shorter lifespan for the SSD. The biggest downside of using USB versus internal SATA besides the slightly lower speed is that there is no TRIM support for USB drives on MacOS. Overpriced when you can get a SATA SSD and enclosure for much cheaper, and have the flexibility to use that SATA SSD internally if you wanted. I wouldn't do something like the T5 unless you already had one sitting around. It is cheap, faster than your HDD, and gives you the option to one day swap it with the HDD. That is one good thing about just using a SATA SSD and a USB enclosure. Click to expand.If you end up removing the internal HDD, you might as well just up a SATA SSD in it.

Imac 27 late 2013 big sur