160GB HDD in MacBook w/ Bootcamp

[davidg4781]

I was wondering if a 160GB HDD in my MacBook will be enough. I plan on installing Windows XP via Bootcamp to play some games (I'm not a big gamer) and to use some software that's not available for the Mac. I also plan on keeping all my media (music, photos) on the Mac side, and maybe get an external for any movies I may buy.

Does this seem like it will be enough? I'm used to having a 120-160GB HDD in my Windows PC, but usually have about 80GB laying around with nothing on them. Right now, with my 60GB HDD, I have about 3GB left in XP and 10GB in OS X, but with nothing installed on the XP side.

I guess I'm just a little paranoid about running out of room. I'd love to get something bigger than 160, but that's the largest Seagate makes, and I'd like to stay with them, since I haven't had any problems at all.

Also, if someone can recommend a great enclosure for the 60GB I'm going to pull out, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like one that doesn't look too out of this world. Just something subtle, such as the Free Agents or the WD Passports. Connection type really isn't an issue, as long as it will plug into my MacBook.

 

[dal20402]

More disk space is always a good thing. I have 160GB in my MBP. Even though I have no Boot Camp partition (I run Vista Business through VMWare Fusion) I'm uncomfortably close to running out of space, with about 20GB left.

But when you're planning a purchase the real question is how you use your space. Do you use it for music and video, and constantly get or make more music and video? Then you need as much as you can get. But do you always need all of it on the road? If not, you might be able to keep a lot of it on cheaper external drives.

On the other hand, if your disks are just full of applications and ordinary documents, your needs might not grow as fast.

Another factor is performance. The currently available 250GB drives are 4200 rpm only (from Apple) or 5400 rpm (an expensive WD drive you can get online). There is a 7200 rpm 200GB drive from Hitachi, which costs an arm and a leg but is the best-performing laptop drive out there right now. 7200rpm 160GB drives or 5400rpm 200GB drives will perform acceptably at much lower cost.

 

[davidg4781]

I'm fine with 5400rpm drives, 160GB just seems like it's a bit too small. I wonder why Seagate doesn't make anything bigger. I could just be getting excited over nothing. My PC always seems like it's taking up a lot, but I just found out my brother has about 23GB worth of media on it. As far as what I'll be using it for, I'll probably just keep music and photos on the internal, and get an external for backups and movies. I had a few movies on my internal, but at 4GB, that's a bit too costly for me. Although, I did rip them at TV quality, but I'd rather do that then have to redo it later on.

I was planning on waiting until Leopard comes out, but I may just do it now, since I need something new to play with .

 

[johantheolive]

I think it really depends on how much you're looking to store, and how much you have to spend. Remember, the HD can always be upgraded later.

I just got my MB with the 120gb drive and have a 15GB partition for XP. My only real intent was to test it, and see how CS 1.6 would run (which, btw, was rather dissapointing. Was playable, but hovered around 30fps).

You mention about using most of your space on a Windows machine. The question is, are you planning to use your MB as a replacement for this? The other thing to consider is usable space. My 120GB has 111 usable, and at the same ratio a 160 would have about 148 to work with. A difference of 37GB, which isn't a whole lot to me. Again, if you wanted to upgrade later the drive is about $100 and then you'd have a 120GB spare/external.


About an external enclosure. What kind of drive is it? Need to know form factor (2.5" vs 3.5") and connection type (SATA, PATA). Here's Newegg's selection.