I'm about to pull the trigger on a current generation non-retina 15" MacBook Pro that I'll be customizing to have the 2.7GHz/8MB Cache i7. Given that, my question is as follows:
On the Mac mini that I currently use (the one listed in my signature, which I will either sell or repurpose as a server upon buying this machine) I have 2x500GB drives in a software RAID 0 (I've been backing up with Time Machine, so it's all good). I don't use it as a server despite it being a server model. I'd prefer to not put my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on a different or external drive. Everything else, I've offloaded to my NAS. What I'm left with is around 750GB used on the drive and 250GB free. The best hard drive options available on this MacBook Pro (let alone on any 2.5" SATA bay on any computer) is either a 750GB 7200 RPM drive or a 1TB 5400 RPM drive.
Given that I will be doing some gaming and light work in Final Cut Pro, Motion and the Adobe apps (but certainly not all day every day) will the 1TB 5400 RPM drive be fine for me? Or will it be too slow? I get the feeling that my choice is pretty much have faster drive that is constantly full or have slower drive and free space. It's an annoying dilema. Though I suppose I could always get an aftermarket drive down the road. Though I'd rather avoid having to do that within the first few years of owning this puppy; I'd like to make this sucker last me five years before I get the upgrade itch again. What say you all?
On the Mac mini that I currently use (the one listed in my signature, which I will either sell or repurpose as a server upon buying this machine) I have 2x500GB drives in a software RAID 0 (I've been backing up with Time Machine, so it's all good). I don't use it as a server despite it being a server model. I'd prefer to not put my iTunes and iPhoto libraries on a different or external drive. Everything else, I've offloaded to my NAS. What I'm left with is around 750GB used on the drive and 250GB free. The best hard drive options available on this MacBook Pro (let alone on any 2.5" SATA bay on any computer) is either a 750GB 7200 RPM drive or a 1TB 5400 RPM drive.
Given that I will be doing some gaming and light work in Final Cut Pro, Motion and the Adobe apps (but certainly not all day every day) will the 1TB 5400 RPM drive be fine for me? Or will it be too slow? I get the feeling that my choice is pretty much have faster drive that is constantly full or have slower drive and free space. It's an annoying dilema. Though I suppose I could always get an aftermarket drive down the road. Though I'd rather avoid having to do that within the first few years of owning this puppy; I'd like to make this sucker last me five years before I get the upgrade itch again. What say you all?