256GB Enough for Incoming College Student?

[DrJames]

Hi There

I really want a rMBP for college in the fall and I'm wondering (in your opinion) would 256GB be enough for approximately four years.

Do you think we will be able to upgrade these drives eventually?

I mainly would be using my computer for Internet/Email, iWork (Plus other office suites), light gaming, and music (creating and downloading).

My biggest concern is my music collection. It's at about 50GB but still growing. I know I can use an external HDD but I'm looking for other opinions.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[charlieegan3]

I think that would be fine, like you say you can always get an external hard drive/ssd down the line.

 

[Trey M]

Hi There

I really want a rMBP for college in the fall and I'm wondering (in your opinion) would 256GB be enough for approximately four years.

Do you think we will be able to upgrade these drives eventually?

I mainly would be using my computer for Internet/Email, iWork (Plus other office suites), light gaming, and music (creating and downloading).

My biggest concern is my music collection. It's at about 50GB but still growing. I know I can use an external HDD but I'm looking for other opinions.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Yes I do think it'll be enough and yes in 6-8 months there will probably be a user-installable SSD option just like the MBA had.

I often see people who have large amounts of music hold back from getting SSD's because of their collection, but there is no way you can even listen to 20% in a day, so obviously you don't need all your music with you at all times. If it's that concerning then I'd suggest getting a 512GB SSD if that luxury is important to you.

 

[Fortimir]

I really want a rMBP for college in the fall and I'm wondering (in your opinion) would 256GB be enough for approximately four years.

Do you think we will be able to upgrade these drives eventually?

Yes and yes.

I think something to keep in mind is that we now have Thunderbolt and USB 3.0. This makes external drives a much better and easier solution to manage than ever before. I think we, in general, just need to break the habit of scoffing at storing stuff we don't need with us every second externally. And I haven't even touched on the cloud. I have to admit that Spotify has reduced my iTunes library usage significantly.

And the drive is on a removable daughterboard, and companies like OWC have already pledged to produce replacements. They won't be cheap, but it will be able to be done. Not sure if you'll need to during the life of the device, though.

 

[Slivortal]

Hi There

I really want a rMBP for college in the fall and I'm wondering (in your opinion) would 256GB be enough for approximately four years.

Do you think we will be able to upgrade these drives eventually?

I mainly would be using my computer for Internet/Email, iWork (Plus other office suites), light gaming, and music (creating and downloading).

My biggest concern is my music collection. It's at about 50GB but still growing. I know I can use an external HDD but I'm looking for other opinions.

Thanks in advance for your help!

It's really a personal decision, but I think that should be fine... I barely use any memory whatsoever. And if your music collection gets TOO large, you can just starting getting externals.

Make sure you make the right decision now, though. Even though they may be coming out with compatible SSD expansions soon, it looks like they'll be no more cheaper than upgrading now. Not to mention if you upgrade now you don't have to deal with the hassle of replacement AND you get a "free" 2.6GHz hard drive (even if it doesn't do that much extra, it would still free for what it does).

 

[ECUpirate44]

It all depends on your habits and media collection. My iTunes library is 160 gb alone so I need at least 512 GB. I'll wait for RevB RMBP and see what it has to offer.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

No and No. As a college student, you won't be able to afford an SSD unless your parents help, and it won't be large enough if your computing habits ever change. Are you willing to stake your portability that your belief that you won't get into a few games or video editing is correct?

 

[Fortimir]

No and No. As a college student, you won't be able to afford an SSD unless your parents help, and it won't be large enough if your computing habits ever change. Are you willing to stake your portability that your belief that you won't get into a few games or video editing is correct?

I said yes and yes, but you aren't wrong. While I think 256GB is, by definition, enough if you factor in using externals for non-prioritized data, I'd still say go with the largest you can afford. I did.

And you are definitely right that third-party SSDs will be prohibitively expensive and that is definitely something to consider.

 

[Idefix]

If an incoming freshman is getting a RMBP, does this mean the parental units are paying?

If so, of course you need a bigger HD than 256! This is going to last you for 4 years after all!

Or at least until somebody spills beer on it...

 

[aaronw1986]

It may not be enough eventually, but you'd be better off paying $100 for an external rather than shelling out $600 more to get the 512, if that is what you are considering. For what you've stated 256 should be ok, but you may likely start using it for more than you intend!