15" Macbook Pro SSD or 17" Macbook Pro Non-SSD

[Twowildman21]

So I am going back and forth between two configurations I have made. I have the student discount, so the prices below are with that discount. Also one question is it worth the extra bump to 2.88 GHz? or will the SSD boost it enough? The work I do with my computer is heavily video and graphic intensive. I use Final Cut, Color, Motion, and much more of the Final Cut Suite. I also use Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, etc. And games is also something I do once in a while. Programming is also something I do as well.

One is:

Macbook Pro 15" 2.66 GHz i7 Processor
8GB of RAM
256 GB SSD
Hi-Res Antiglare
Total: $3,079

Two is:

Macbook Pro 17" 2.66 GHz i7 Processor
8GB of RAM
500GB 7200 RPM HD
Hi-Res Antiglare
Total: $2,729

So is the SSD worth the extra $350? Thanks for the help

 

[Hellhammer]

One option is to get 17" and then buy SSD from aftermarket and put it in the place of SuperDrive. That way you would have both, HD and SSD. Otherwise, I would get the 17" and get SSD from aftermarket later on. Extra pixels really help in video editing and stuff

 

[steviec]

I would go 17" and then add the Seagate Momentus XT - I add that drive to my 15" Macbook Pro - Granted it won't be as fast as all SSD but as the previous answer said, you then get the best of both worlds and still under the 3k price of the 15" with SSD.

 

[Panch0]

Yes. No question, the SSD is worth $350.

I paid $450 for a 160GB Intel XM25 Gen2 to put into my 15" MBP, and after 6 months, there's no way I would ever own a laptop with a spinning drive again.

Now, you might want to consider that you can get a 3rd party SSDs and upgrade the MBP yourself. The SSDs Apple uses are not the fastest on the market, nor are they the cheapest.

 

[JasonR]

What kind of work are you doing? I think you should figure out what screen size you want, and go from there.

Personally, if I were to get a laptop again for my main PC, I'd get the 15" Hi-res Macbook Pro, get the 500 GB hard drive, and then get an optibay and swap in a SSD in place of the optical drive.

FYI: I just bought a 27" iMac and am going to get a 13" Macbook Air for portability. I just sold a 17" Macbook Pro that I've had over for a year and has been my only PC for that period of time.

 

[Twowildman21]

Hey guys,

So I am set on getting the 15" now its a matter of the SSD or not. I am not the biggest fan of the optibay or of replacing the hard drive, I don't want to take apart my Macbook Pro whatsover. So basically it's either SSD or not..

Thank you for your input on the Optibay, I would do that, but not this time around.

 

[Twowildman21]

Anyone there?

Still on the fence, any input is appreciated!

 

[toxic]

don't waste your money on the 2.8.

if there's only one drive, I would stick with an HDD, unless you really like working off of externals all the time.... get the standard hard disk and install your own 1TB.

 

[rnelan7]

Before you make a decision try to check them both out in person. It could be possible that that 17" is too big for your liking. There is no way to be sure unless you check them both out.

 

[Twowildman21]

don't waste your money on the 2.8.

if there's only one drive, I would stick with an HDD, unless you really like working off of externals all the time.... get the standard hard disk and install your own 1TB.

Well when I run Final Cut I am always on external's. My scratch disk and everything is set to it.

I have tried both and the 17" is huge, but space is not an issue really. So its mostly whats inside for the price that matters most.

 

[slowtraveler]

Once you go SSD you never go back. The real choice is whether to take one of Apple's SSD offerings or get a third-party drive.

Even though you are set up to use external HD for scratch and project storage purposes, you'll probably want at least a 200GB SSD to have enough working room on your boot drive. These things are pricy but well worth it, IMO, considering the speed, reduced power consumption, and freedom from spinning-platter paranoia

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I ordered my Hi-Res 15" 2010 MBP i7 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD.

I use this machine for work and the SSD ended up being just a bit too small in capacity. So I just finished replacing the OEM SSD with one of the new 256GB Samsung 470 Series SSD's. While I did my research, read the reviews and expected this to be a good upgrade, I had no idea how fast it would be.

The OEM SSD took 15 to 17 seconds to boot to the desktop.

The new Samsung takes just 8 seconds!

It's so fast, I timed it five different times, as I sat in total disbelief. My new 13" MBA takes 17 seconds, funny how a person gets used to something like that... the MBA seems slow now...


The latest rocket: http://goo.gl/0TYZr

 

[rnelan7]

I ordered my Hi-Res 15" 2010 MBP i7 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD.

I use this machine for work and the SSD ended up being just a bit too small in capacity. So I just finished replacing the OEM SSD with one of the new 256GB Samsung 470 Series SSD's. While I did my research, read the reviews and expected this to be a good upgrade, I had no idea how fast it would be.

The OEM SSD took 15 to 17 seconds to boot to the desktop.

The new Samsung takes just 8 seconds!

It's so fast, I timed it five different times, as I sat in total disbelief. My new 13" MBA takes 17 seconds, funny how a person gets used to something like that... the MBA seems slow now...


The latest rocket: http://goo.gl/0TYZr

Now that's a suped up mbp.

 

[chaoticbear]

Another vote for aftermarket SSD - there are guides all over the internet, and that's just a plug-and-play kind of swap.

 

[Qusus]

Cost:benefit

Is an SSD an major performance upgrade, especially in terms of startup time? Yes.

However, there's no SSD worth 350 dollars unless it provides over 256 gigs of storage. 90GB OCZ Agilitys (2nd gen) were something like 120 dollars after rebate last week, and the Samsung SSD's that Apple ships with are slower in benchmarks.

SSD prices have dropped considerably,making it absurd to pay 350 for an SSD from Apple.

If you go the SSD route, I think aftermarket is the obvious choice.

 

[gnasher729]

I ordered my Hi-Res 15" 2010 MBP i7 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD.

I use this machine for work and the SSD ended up being just a bit too small in capacity. So I just finished replacing the OEM SSD with one of the new 256GB Samsung 470 Series SSD's. While I did my research, read the reviews and expected this to be a good upgrade, I had no idea how fast it would be.

The OEM SSD took 15 to 17 seconds to boot to the desktop.

The new Samsung takes just 8 seconds!

The only problem is that good SSD drives keep their speed for a long time, while especially the write speed on a less good drive goes down quite a lot when the drive is used for a while. You'll need to post again in two or three months time.

 

[rocknblogger]

I ordered my Hi-Res 15" 2010 MBP i7 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD.

I use this machine for work and the SSD ended up being just a bit too small in capacity. So I just finished replacing the OEM SSD with one of the new 256GB Samsung 470 Series SSD's. While I did my research, read the reviews and expected this to be a good upgrade, I had no idea how fast it would be.

The OEM SSD took 15 to 17 seconds to boot to the desktop.

The new Samsung takes just 8 seconds!

It's so fast, I timed it five different times, as I sat in total disbelief. My new 13" MBA takes 17 seconds, funny how a person gets used to something like that... the MBA seems slow now...


The latest rocket: http://goo.gl/0TYZr

I'm researching SSD drives for my Mackbook Pro 15" and I like everything I have read about it. I read that for operating systems that don't support TRIM it comes with software to handle that feature. But did your drive come with Mac software or is that just for earlier versions of Windows?

I also have Windows 7 installed using Parallels, does that still support TRIM or does Windows have to be installed normally to support TRIM?

Now that you've had the drive for a while is the performance still the same and would you still recommend it and buy it again yourself?

Thanks in advance,
Cheers!!!