Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

160 v 250 Drive - will I REALLY notice a performance difference?

I

Incendo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2007
6
0
Vancouver, Canada
Hi

Here is my dilemma . . .

I am about to purchase a new 17” MacBook pro but am undecided about which hard drive option to choose, the faster 160 GB drive or the slower, but more capacious, 250 GB model.

I'm a graphic design currently using a 17" Powerbook G4 (167 MHz, 2 GB RAM, 100 GB hard drive). I work with the Adobe suite of products (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.), primarily designing for print (logos, brochures, posters, ads, etc.) and DO NOT work with any large video or audio files.

I know that the 160 drive will be faster than the 250 but what I don’t know is how much faster it will be with the applications that I use? If the performance between the two drives were negligible, I’d rather opt for the larger capacity 250. However, if the performance differentiation will be very noticeable, I’d rather choose the 160. One other factor working in favor of the 250 is that the Apple site quotes a 1-3 DAY turnaround whereas the 160 is listed with a 3-4 WEEK turnaround.

Can anyone tell me if the speed difference between the two drives would really be noticeable given the type of work I do? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers
 
Stick with one of the 160GB hard drives. That 250GB drive is going to be painfully slow. If you really want a 250GB drive, buy a after-market Fujitsu or Western Digital drive running at 5400rpm. Newegg has the Fujitsu one, I believe.

Pay an authorized repair center to install it for you and you'll still be fine with your warranty and whatnot.
 
Yes, you're right, that's a very good idea. I could get the standard 160 right now and then upgrade at a later date when the faster ones are available. I'd be willing to pay the addition cost of the extra drive in order to get the MBP four weeks earlier than apple is quoting

Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back