64GB Kingston SSDNow, external HDD or surprise?

[kernkraft]

I have a choice to make:

from work, I can select either a Kingston 64GB SSDNow drive or an external HDD with similar value. Currently, I use 7200rpm in two unibody MBPs and I have a pair or eMacs with their original drives. Here are my options:

1. SSD in 13" MBP with Windows running on Parallels. I worry that by allocating half of the storage for both OS, I wouldn't have enough space for anything in terms of working with files. Removing the optical drive is not an option here. Also, I need to switch off a few options in Windows, like the disc fragmentation and so on. What are they? Can TRIM support under Parallels be taken advantage of? I'm still not sure about using SSDs. I don't mind waiting for applications to launch or to boot up.

2. SSD in external HDD enclosure with USB, so I can boot from it on both MBPs. In this scenario, it would only run Snow Leopard. But wouldn't a USB2 port impose a bottleneck, almost defeating the point of using an SSD?

3. SSD in eMac with or without an additional HDD. I have a few unused IDE HDD drives, so if I start upgrading my old eMacs, I can put the SSD in an optibay with Tiger or Leopard and put media files on a newly installed HDD. But the joy of having these old eMacs is that they are not worth anything but provide some basic use. I realise that even a 32GB SSD might be an overkill for these computers. Maybe I should just install one of my 7200rpm IDE HDDs and increase the RAM from 1GB.

4. I can choose an external HDD. I already have two with media files and a few backups, but they are messy. I could get a new drive and keep that for Time Machine, slowly organising media files on the other ones.

5. I can just sell the SSD or external HDD on Ebay and live my life as I have been. I might surprise myself with something else from the money. I could get a second-hand Teac or Denon micro Hifi for my office. The current separate system sounds wonderful, but I hate the cable mess and I'd rather enjoy good sound when I'm not working.

What would you do? What would Jesus do?

 

[Hellhammer]

1. 64GB ain't enough for both OSs because you do not want to fill the SSD or the performance will decrease. Sounds like you're not too fussed about SSD anyway so I would just keep it as it is, 64GB SSD as only storage is pretty problematic.

2. SSD speeds: +200MB/s - USB 2.0: ~35MB/s, so yes, USB would be a major bottleneck

3. Does eMac even have a SATA port? Sounds a bit of waste IMO

4. What size external? What ports does it have?

5. Same as #4. 64GB Kingston was about 100 bucks in NewEgg so you might get something like 80 bucks off it. If the external is high capacity meaning that it has better value, then get it and sell it.

Personally, I would get either #4 or #5 because there can never be too much storage. On the other hand, the money can be better spent so unless you need the ext HD, just sell it and grab a dinner with family or surprise yourself with something nice

 

[Covart]

While I have an SSD installed on my MBP and a WD Scorpio 7200rpm 320GB HDD in another MBP, I really think your best option is to get a 500GB 7200rpm HDD (I'm favorable to either the Scorpio Blue or Black - both are incredibly fast and produce no more vibration than a stock HDD.)

The main difference between SSD and 7200rpm HDD is boot up times (10-16 seconds boot times with SSD and around 25-30 seconds on 7200rpm HDD) and booting apps is only slightly faster on the SSD (i.e. about .5 of a second difference when loading Google Earth.)

TRIM support is great, but there seems to be conflicting data about whether it is needed on a MBP (something to do with the controller.) I'm no expert on this, so I'll let an expert explain it better.

However, after using my SSD now for several months doing everything as I normally would, I have noticed no slow down or degredation. And truth be told, I'll probably upgrade my 128GB SSD in a year anyway to a larger version as the prices come down.

And if you are going Kingston, you want one like this:
Kingston SSDNow V+ Series SNVP325-S2B/128GB 2.5" 128GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[J&JPolangin]

...if they are getting you the standard "V" version the power consumption is ~ double and speed are much slower than the "V+" version... I'd try and get the "V+" version if you do it.

Also, do you need win(any version) on your mac or is it just a "nice to have"?

If the mac will only be a single OS system 64Gb isn't too bad to have (I use a large flash drive also for most data as its encrypted).

I use my 64Gb WD Scorpio Blue SSD, in my eeePC but its getting switched to my win7 desktop as a boot only drive and a 128Gb Crucial SSD will be going into the eeePC (mainly for the 5 year warranty of the Crucial unit and faster read/write speeds)...

Good luck with your decision!

 

[kernkraft]

1. 64GB ain't enough for both OSs because you do not want to fill the SSD or the performance will decrease. Sounds like you're not too fussed about SSD anyway so I would just keep it as it is, 64GB SSD as only storage is pretty problematic.

2. SSD speeds: +200MB/s - USB 2.0: ~35MB/s, so yes, USB would be a major bottleneck

3. Does eMac even have a SATA port? Sounds a bit of waste IMO

4. What size external? What ports does it have?

5. Same as #4. 64GB Kingston was about 100 bucks in NewEgg so you might get something like 80 bucks off it. If the external is high capacity meaning that it has better value, then get it and sell it.

Personally, I would get either #4 or #5 because there can never be too much storage. On the other hand, the money can be better spent so unless you need the ext HD, just sell it and grab a dinner with family or surprise yourself with something nice

1.) Don't get me wrong, I think SSDs have their place. But I'm skeptical, whether it's for me. I am curious about the 25nm ones coming out in Q4 and if I had the option of 128GB or more, I might have tried the OS X/Windows version.

3.) I will need an IDE-SATA adaptor, but I just thought that it wouldn't be a problem.

Again, you are probably right. SSD in an eMac with the current SSD prices and the value of these computers sounds a bit of a waste. I'll just leave the eMacs as they are and increase the RAM or use one of my IDE HDDs with a Firewire enclosure as an external storage or booting drive.

4.) For this price (Kingston is listed as £100, which is probably the list price), I can get a 500GB external drive with Firewire or a 1.5TB USB 2.0 drive. Hmm... comparing these storage figures with the 64GB of the SSD certainly makes the decision slightly easier.

5.) I think this SSD giveaway will get me a micro Hifi unit for my office (or bedroom, if my girlfriend likes it). Or maybe an external storage.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[kernkraft]

Thanks for the replies to the others too. A small update:

there was a mistake processing my selection...


They are SOOO going to be sold!

 

[steviem]

I'd love to use 2x64GB SSDs in RAID 0 for my boot drive.

Just £200 is a little too much for me for that at the moment...

 

[J&JPolangin]

Thanks for the replies to the others too. A small update:

there was a mistake processing my selection...


They are SOOO going to be sold!

...sweet deal if they don't charge you...