Hi! I need to make a decision by tomorrow morning (it's night where I am) and I'm hoping you guys can help, 'cause I've been at this all week and can't decide.
I'm going to keep this simple cause I have a tendency to write too much. I can't decide between updating my computer or just making a small change now and buying a new one later...
Specs: Mid 2007 MBP 2.4ghz 4gb RAM
Storage
Options
One (or two) 1TB HDD
SSD (64, 128 or 256)+1TB HDD
Uses
OSX: Diablo 3, SC2, everything else.
W7: Banking, specific work related programs.
Questions
1. Since I mainly want the SDD for boot times and the snappiness people talk about, would 64gb or even 32gb be enough for each partition? I could very well put SC2 and D3 on the HDD.
2. Is it counterproductive to have itunes on the SSD but my library on an HDD. Same with Mail and other such programs.
3. Regarding the Applications folder, are there things that *must* be in the Apps folder? For instance, I have Chess/Paragon/D3 in the Apps folder. If I try and drag it out, it just creates a shortcut. Does this limit me to one "Application" folder and is it the determining factor for the size I want to use? My Apps folder currently uses 38gb.
4. Will I need to download that Trimm program since I'll be using a Samsung 830 SSD (if I get one).
5. Can I use a 7mm SSD without any problems (since it's smaller than my 9.5mm drive).
6. WD has a "shockguard" thing with their WD Blues right? The listings here show it as having shockguard, but I didn't notice anything related to that on their website...
Battery
I've had a lot of battery related issues. I get by most of the time but probably the most or second most important issue is battery life.
Battery calibration is this right? Keep it fully charged for 2 hours, disconnected power supply and let it die. Wait 5 hours or longer before connecting the adapter back in and charging. I did this but as soon as I plugged in the charger my computer woke up as if it had closed the lid (which I didn't). Did this mess with the calibration? Right now it says I have 40 cyclesa 5000mah.... I just can't imagine how I'd get 3+ hours of playback while watching a DVD as reviewed when this computer was launched. I can barely get 1.5 hours just using Chrome, Adium and Wi-fi.
Optibay
I can't get that official one here in China. I can get Chinese enclosures. I was just wondering what to do regarding my DVD player. Would I need their enclosure to use their firmware so that I can use my DVD drive as a USB drive when needed?
General
Can't decide what to do. Upgrade what I have or get a new computer. Ideally I would have loved to get a nice SSD now and then use it a new MBA/MBP later. Though it seems like the new MBA and Retinas already have SSDs that connect a little differently. Buying a SSD would pretty much press me into using this computer for as long as I can. I'm a little worried too because I seem to replace things pretty frequently. My I/O board was replaced recently. My display once, video card once, battery twice, magsafe twice, keyboard 3 times, fan once. The only thing I would kick myself over is if I can't play any future SC2 or D3 expansions because of a need for a stronger GPU... though I would hate to "waste" this computer because of that.
I'd also love to save as much money as I can, which is part of the reason I'd get a very small SSD if I'd still have a large performance increase anyway. It's not like buying this SSD will make it so I can't eat tmorrow, but I do want to finish paying off a debt to a friend and sooner would be better.
Lastly I always figure I could use the SSD in a gaming rig if I ever decide to make one as the OS drive (though once I determine if I will stay in China or not, and when I finish paying off my debt). So with that in mind, it'd be 100x smarter to have a faster SSD regardless because by the time I'm ready to do that, it might be the lower end of things... because the 64gb models look slow compared with their 256gb brothers.
Thanks for any help... I know it's a lot but it's a decision I haven't been able to make and has been eating away at my time for the last week.
I'm going to keep this simple cause I have a tendency to write too much. I can't decide between updating my computer or just making a small change now and buying a new one later...
Specs: Mid 2007 MBP 2.4ghz 4gb RAM
Storage
Options
One (or two) 1TB HDD
SSD (64, 128 or 256)+1TB HDD
Uses
OSX: Diablo 3, SC2, everything else.
W7: Banking, specific work related programs.
Questions
1. Since I mainly want the SDD for boot times and the snappiness people talk about, would 64gb or even 32gb be enough for each partition? I could very well put SC2 and D3 on the HDD.
2. Is it counterproductive to have itunes on the SSD but my library on an HDD. Same with Mail and other such programs.
3. Regarding the Applications folder, are there things that *must* be in the Apps folder? For instance, I have Chess/Paragon/D3 in the Apps folder. If I try and drag it out, it just creates a shortcut. Does this limit me to one "Application" folder and is it the determining factor for the size I want to use? My Apps folder currently uses 38gb.
4. Will I need to download that Trimm program since I'll be using a Samsung 830 SSD (if I get one).
5. Can I use a 7mm SSD without any problems (since it's smaller than my 9.5mm drive).
6. WD has a "shockguard" thing with their WD Blues right? The listings here show it as having shockguard, but I didn't notice anything related to that on their website...
Battery
I've had a lot of battery related issues. I get by most of the time but probably the most or second most important issue is battery life.
Battery calibration is this right? Keep it fully charged for 2 hours, disconnected power supply and let it die. Wait 5 hours or longer before connecting the adapter back in and charging. I did this but as soon as I plugged in the charger my computer woke up as if it had closed the lid (which I didn't). Did this mess with the calibration? Right now it says I have 40 cyclesa 5000mah.... I just can't imagine how I'd get 3+ hours of playback while watching a DVD as reviewed when this computer was launched. I can barely get 1.5 hours just using Chrome, Adium and Wi-fi.
Optibay
I can't get that official one here in China. I can get Chinese enclosures. I was just wondering what to do regarding my DVD player. Would I need their enclosure to use their firmware so that I can use my DVD drive as a USB drive when needed?
General
Can't decide what to do. Upgrade what I have or get a new computer. Ideally I would have loved to get a nice SSD now and then use it a new MBA/MBP later. Though it seems like the new MBA and Retinas already have SSDs that connect a little differently. Buying a SSD would pretty much press me into using this computer for as long as I can. I'm a little worried too because I seem to replace things pretty frequently. My I/O board was replaced recently. My display once, video card once, battery twice, magsafe twice, keyboard 3 times, fan once. The only thing I would kick myself over is if I can't play any future SC2 or D3 expansions because of a need for a stronger GPU... though I would hate to "waste" this computer because of that.
I'd also love to save as much money as I can, which is part of the reason I'd get a very small SSD if I'd still have a large performance increase anyway. It's not like buying this SSD will make it so I can't eat tmorrow, but I do want to finish paying off a debt to a friend and sooner would be better.
Lastly I always figure I could use the SSD in a gaming rig if I ever decide to make one as the OS drive (though once I determine if I will stay in China or not, and when I finish paying off my debt). So with that in mind, it'd be 100x smarter to have a faster SSD regardless because by the time I'm ready to do that, it might be the lower end of things... because the 64gb models look slow compared with their 256gb brothers.
Thanks for any help... I know it's a lot but it's a decision I haven't been able to make and has been eating away at my time for the last week.
). Hitachi builds great harddisks with a gorgeous lifespan.