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SSD for MacBook or iMac???

S

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
Opinions needed please!

I have a mid-2012 Macbook Pro (non-retina) that I purchased in 2012. I upgraded to 8gb ram, HD glossy screen and have a 750gb 7200rpm HD. The HD seems to be failing or at least is now dinosaur slow. I have iMacs at my office (my personal is a late 2013 21inch 2.7 i5 with fusion drive) that is SOOOO much faster than my Macbook Pro. I had a spare iMac at home that I was using but when I hired another assistant I had to bring it to the office. Now the thought of doing work at home on my slow macbook makes me cringe. I am not sure if it is more the size of the screen or the slowness (which is becoming a huge problem). So, my options now are:
1. Buy a SSD drive for the macbook for a few hundred dollars and watch it speed up considerably (much cheaper option);
2. Buy a new iMac 21" with a fusion drive and upgraded ram for approx. $1699; or
3. Buy a 2013 gently used iMac 27" 3.4 processor with 32g ram, with 1tb fusion drive for $1700.

Keep in mind, I do like the portability of the MacBook if I need it and I do have the iMac's at work where I spend 75% of my time. However, my wife does have a 13" macbook should I ever HAVE to have a portable computer I guess...

So which should I go with?
 
M

magbarn

macrumors 68030
Oct 25, 2008
2,964
2,267
SmithLaw said:
Opinions needed please!

I have a mid-2012 Macbook Pro (non-retina) that I purchased in 2012. I upgraded to 8gb ram, HD glossy screen and have a 750gb 7200rpm HD. The HD seems to be failing or at least is now dinosaur slow. I have iMacs at my office (my personal is a late 2013 21inch 2.7 i5 with fusion drive) that is SOOOO much faster than my Macbook Pro. I had a spare iMac at home that I was using but when I hired another assistant I had to bring it to the office. Now the thought of doing work at home on my slow macbook makes me cringe. I am not sure if it is more the size of the screen or the slowness (which is becoming a huge problem). So, my options now are:
1. Buy a SSD drive for the macbook for a few hundred dollars and watch it speed up considerably (much cheaper option);
2. Buy a new iMac 21" with a fusion drive and upgraded ram for approx. $1699; or
3. Buy a 2013 gently used iMac 27" 3.4 processor with 32g ram, with 1tb fusion drive for $1700.

Keep in mind, I do like the portability of the MacBook if I need it and I do have the iMac's at work where I spend 75% of my time. However, my wife does have a 13" macbook should I ever HAVE to have a portable computer I guess...

So which should I go with?
Click to expand...

How full is your 750gb hdd? If it's not,I'd go with a 480-512gb ssd which are around $200 or so. If you want the best performance, I'd go with a 1tb ssd
Take advantage of the fact that you have an upgradable machine.
I'd recommend Sandisk extreme pro or Samsung 840/850 drives.
 
phpmaven

phpmaven

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2009
3,466
522
San Clemente, CA USA
magbarn said:
How full is your 750gb hdd? If it's not,I'd go with a 480-512gb ssd which are around $200 or so. If you want the best performance, I'd go with a 1tb ssd
Take advantage of the fact that you have an upgradable machine.
I'd recommend Sandisk extreme pro or Samsung 840/850 drives.
Click to expand...

What makes you think that a 1TB SSD is going to be faster than a 512GB one?
 
S

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
If I keep the MacBook Pro, I will be going with a 1 TB SSD drive. I don't believe it will give anymore performance then a smaller drive but it will just give more storage. I am simply on the fence between the MacBook Pro or the iMac. If I got the iMac, I would then sell the MacBook Pro.
 
Fishrrman

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,416
12,542
The "sweet spot" in SSD pricing is in the 240-480gb range right now. Generally around $200+/-.
Above that, you will pay a hefty premium.

My advice:
Put a mid-size 480gb SSD into the 2012 MBPro -- it's a VERY easy procedure (if it's anything like installing into a 2010 model was).

If you current internal HDD is getting full (or even if it's pushing 300-350gb), I suggest you "move off" some of your data (usually movies, music, pics) to an external drive. The existing 750gb HDD might do in this regard.
 
S

SmithLaw

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2014
8
0
I really expected to get more people pushing for the iMac in the iMac board. Surprising to say the least.
 
T

twoehr

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2013
96
12
East Coast US
SmithLaw said:
I really expected to get more people pushing for the iMac in the iMac board. Surprising to say the least.
Click to expand...

I think only you can decide between a laptop and desktop. My experience is the hard core people have MacBooks (or both!) and lean that way.

I have an iMac, 27". I couldn't afford a MacBook and a big screen, and big screen sells me. That said, upgrading your MBP is probably the most cost effective option too. It isn't that old either. If you do happen to go the other way, definitely get a Fusion or SSD drive. To me the 27" wins over the 21.5" at the same price.

Good Luck.
 
Conutz

Conutz

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2014
358
250
Joburg
I have a mid-2012 15" MBP and just replaced the 750GB 7200 with a 512GB Crucial MX100. Very happy with it, really fast and the MX100 is not even a high-end, performance SSD.

Depending on how intensive your work is, you should be able to get at least another 3 years out of it. Plus, that MBP can take up to 16GB of RAM. The MBP is the best option by a long, long way...
 
Fishrrman

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,416
12,542
SmithLaw wrote above:
[[ I really expected to get more people pushing for the iMac in the iMac board. Surprising to say the least. ]]

Upgrading the MBPro is easy and relatively cheap ($200 for a 480gb SSD).

It will feel “like a new machine” with an SSD.

You’ll still have money left over for a “home desktop”, if you want one.

Perhaps the new “mid-level” Mini might be worth investigating…
 
S

sharon22

macrumors regular
Oct 19, 2014
194
0
You will be SO happy with an i7 processor. Me? I would get the i7 3.4ghz (make sure to get one of the last ones with a DVD drive inside), and either fusion or SSD. Anything i7. i7 All the way!
 
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