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128GB SSD too small?

N

nicolele

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
2
0
Hey.

I'm about to buy a MacBook Pro 15-inch, but I can't decide wether to go with a 750 GB Serial ATA-HDD or a 128 GB SSD.

The MacBook will be used mainly for video editing in After Effects as well as some games, so I feel like 128 GB is way too small, and I can't afford the 256 GB SSD either.
But I really wan't the computer to be fast and easy to work with, so an SSD would be ideal but I just can't afford a bigger one.

Are there any options to this or should I just go with the 750 Serial ATA-HDD?
Also, how exactly does the Time Capsule work and could this be an option to go with?
Thanks for any input.
 
Definitely too small for video. Do the 750 HDD and put in an aftermarket 256-512 GB SSD when you can afford it. Easy and does not void the warantee in many (or all?) countries.

Time machine takes backups of your stuff, so you still have your files if you harddrive fails. It stores them in the Cloud...it is not an external drive.
 
Video editing?

I'd say the 128gb will be too small. I don't do that but I find the 256gb that comes with the rMBP is nicely sized for my needs but even so I need to becareful of my space. My point is that video editing has the potential of chewing up space and 128gb will be too small imo.
 
I've been going back and forth with the MBA/cMPB/mini for a while now. I think the thing that you have to figure out... what's your primary reason to get a laptop? Are you going to use it alot "as a desktop" with a bigger monitor for your editing? Are you going to be editing alot on a train/bus?

If you're going the more "desktop" route, go with the SSD and use a USB3/thunderbolt hard drive for all your editing. If you think you're going to be more mobile, I think an extra few seconds of load time/rendering is worth the piece of mind that you're going to have the space available with the ATA-style drive.

Just my 2cents...

--rob
 
Buy the 15" MBP with the specs you want, but disregarding the HDD and SSD and RAM capacity, as the HDD can be replaced with an SSD for much less than what Apple wants (150 USD for a 256 GB SSD can be had via Newegg or Amazon) and RAM can be had for less than 50 USD (8 GB RAM) or less than 100 USD (16 GB RAM).

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:
  • 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
  • 1. Getting a new HDD
  • 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
  • 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
  • 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)
​


And if you get the HDD model and replace the HDD with an SSD, you can then get an Optibay adapter (above HDD guide has more details) and put both the HDD and SSD in the MBP (I Have it that way, 256 GB SSD for applications and such, 500 GB HDD for scratch files).
 
nicolele said:
Hey.

I'm about to buy a MacBook Pro 15-inch, but I can't decide wether to go with a 750 GB Serial ATA-HDD or a 128 GB SSD.

The MacBook will be used mainly for video editing in After Effects as well as some games, so I feel like 128 GB is way too small, and I can't afford the 256 GB SSD either.
But I really wan't the computer to be fast and easy to work with, so an SSD would be ideal but I just can't afford a bigger one.
Click to expand...
You could afford a MBP that is in the $1800+ range but you can't afford to put in another $50 to "splurge" on a 256GB SSD that would be crucial your video editing/gaming needs?! I have a cMBP and upgrading to a 256GB SSD cost $160 (Crucial M4 @ Amazon) and it took 10 minutes to install.

Anyway, if you're really hurting over $100 then there's a lot of ways to save a few bucks on a MBP.

1) Buy somewhere online that doesn't charge tax

2) Refurbs. Check out Apples site or their EBay store and you'll save 10-30%

3) Best Buy Open Box. A lot of people sneer at Open Box but if you're on a budget then there's tons of bargains to be found if you have the time to look.

4) MBP13 + Monitor. If you really don't have money then the MBP13 is a solid machine for its price tag and with the money you save then buy a decent monitor for when doing your video work.

5) Sales / 2011 Models. New MBPs arent far away and were seeing sales on Macs everywhere. Plus, The difference between the 2012 and 2011 models isn't that huge so if you don't need usb3 then save a lot by finding a 2011 MBP.

6) Wait. IF you can't afford the specs you want then maybe its not the right time to buy and you should just wait until you can. It seems silly to invest so much money and then cut corners on places where it would actually matter.

nicolele said:
Are there any options to this or should I just go with the 750 Serial ATA-HDD?
Also, how exactly does the Time Capsule work and could this be an option to go with?
Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...
Time Capsule is slow, outdated and overpriced. Ive been using them for years and, while they work as advertised, they are terrible as file servers due to their slow speeds (both wireless and disk access) and outdated price tag ($300 for 2TB).

For me, the reason I picked the cMBP over the rMBP is because I am able to replace the optical bay with a 2nd HDD giving me a mix of SSD and HDD storage at very little cost. But if you can't do that yourself then just grab an external portable HDD.
 
never get an ssd from apple, it's overpriced. get the 750 hdd. then get an optibay, replace the superdrive with the 750 and get a 128-160-180-240 or 256 ssd.
 
nicolele said:
Hey.

I'm about to buy a MacBook Pro 15-inch, but I can't decide wether to go with a 750 GB Serial ATA-HDD or a 128 GB SSD.

The MacBook will be used mainly for video editing in After Effects as well as some games, so I feel like 128 GB is way too small, and I can't afford the 256 GB SSD either.
But I really wan't the computer to be fast and easy to work with, so an SSD would be ideal but I just can't afford a bigger one.

Are there any options to this or should I just go with the 750 Serial ATA-HDD?
Also, how exactly does the Time Capsule work and could this be an option to go with?
Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...

Get the stock HDD and then put an aftermarket drive in.
 
Thanks for all the input guys.

From what I can see here, I think the best choice for me is to go with the 750GB HDD and get an Optibay with a SSD later.
I will also upgrade the RAM to 16GB.
I am going to start studying again next year so it won't be just a desktop computer, it will be my main computer.

Does anyone have any experiences in buying SSD's and can recommend me a site to buy it from? I live in Europe(Norway).

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.
 
Amazon. Get either the Crucial m4 or Samsung 840. For the latter for 512 GB, it is about $320 USD.
 
get a samsung 840 PRO. the rest are not as good.

i buy at alternate.nl, but maybe there is alternate norway already.

good luck. optibay is the way to go. you can get one really cheap on ebay.
 
nicolele said:
Does anyone have any experiences in buying SSD's and can recommend me a site to buy it from? I live in Europe(Norway).
Click to expand...


Check out http://www.komplett.no/ - It's one of the largest online resellers of hardware in Denmark, and I bet Norway too, as it's a Norwegian company.

Go check them out, I've bought lot's of stuff from their Danish site.
 
You can get an external USB 3 hard drive for $80-100 and use that as a scratch drive?
 
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