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Dilemma: Base model Retina MBP only 256gb SSD

Hustler1337

Hustler1337

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 23, 2010
1,856
1,612
London, UK
Hi,

as the title suggests, I'm currently facing a dilemma in which I can only try to afford the base model Retina MBP which comes with a mere 256 gb of flash storage, which quite frankly isn't enough for me. Am I right in believing that it would not be possible to add a standard optical hard drive to supplement the 256gb already installed on the MBP?

This is a real deal breaker, and I guess others will also be put off buying the new Retina MBP for similar reasons. I don't need a higher processor speed, but do need the extra storage and don't feel happy in being forced to cough up an extra £400 for the privilege of wanting a 'normal' amount of storage space.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks.
 
Is there somewhere that states the ssd is non swappable?

I would assume they are using a typical ssd... not soldered on flash chips. But I could be wrong.
 
Do you really need more than 256GB of data on the MBP itself at all times? You can get an external USB 3.0 or even Thunderbolt hard drives with all the storage you ever want and there is also iCloud which you could use to store some things online.
 
I'm also really bummed because I was waiting a few months to plan my purchase and I was expecting a HDD option so I would have space for all my iTunes stuff. 256GB, especially with all the retina display graphics, is really miserly! Why can't they at least offer an upgrade like the more expensive version has?

I don't want to carry around an external drive all the time, and I don't want to use iCloud and deal with my ISP's bandwidth caps any more than I have to, and I don't want to pay $3k for a laptop, but I really want this sweet retina display! Argh!
 
Don't pay $600-1000 just for 512-700gb ssd. It ain't worth it.

Just order the 256gb. its probably user replaceable so down the line you might be able to get a bigger ssd. Otherwise don't fret. I am going from my 1tb MBP13 (early 2011) to this new 256gb MBP15. I lose a butt load of storage.
 
surjavarman said:
Don't pay $600-1000 just for 512-700gb ssd. It ain't worth it.

Just order the 256gb. its probably user replaceable so down the line you might be able to get a bigger ssd. Otherwise don't fret. I am going from my 1tb MBP13 (early 2011) to this new 256gb MBP15. I lose a butt load of storage.
Click to expand...

How much do you use now? What do you use it for? And what are you going to do to handle it? I planned on filling close to 256 if not more with music and videos for iTunes, and this machine was going to be my iTunes server, among other things. Are you going to keep an external around? How would that work, anyway?
 
surjavarman said:
Don't pay $600-1000 just for 512-700gb ssd. It ain't worth it.

Just order the 256gb. its probably user replaceable so down the line you might be able to get a bigger ssd. Otherwise don't fret. I am going from my 1tb MBP13 (early 2011) to this new 256gb MBP15. I lose a butt load of storage.
Click to expand...
If one needs more than 256 GB in the long term, it seems foolish to bank on an upgrade that may not happen, and even if it does, may end up being nearly as expensive as the buying it from the start, plus you get a faster processor. (Stipulation for this post is really needing more than 256 GB.)
 

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Hustler1337 said:
Hi,

as the title suggests, I'm currently facing a dilemma in which I can only try to afford the base model Retina MBP which comes with a mere 256 gb of flash storage, which quite frankly isn't enough for me. Am I right in believing that it would not be possible to add a standard optical hard drive to supplement the 256gb already installed on the MBP?

This is a real deal breaker, and I guess others will also be put off buying the new Retina MBP for similar reasons. I don't need a higher processor speed, but do need the extra storage and don't feel happy in being forced to cough up an extra £400 for the privilege of wanting a 'normal' amount of storage space.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
The SSD component is replaceable.

Quite frankly, I am glad Apple did away with the internal SuperDrive. Under the previous gen you must have the internal ODD to install other OSes e.g. Windows 7, there is no option to install from a USB drive without using other programs on top due to BS software/firmware restrictions.
 
unamused said:
Is there somewhere that states the ssd is non swappable?

I would assume they are using a typical ssd... not soldered on flash chips. But I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

undies1993 said:
Looks replaceable.
Click to expand...

jcpb said:
The SSD component is replaceable.

Quite frankly, I am glad Apple did away with the internal SuperDrive. Under the previous gen you must have the internal ODD to install other OSes e.g. Windows 7, there is no option to install from a USB drive without using other programs on top due to BS software/firmware restrictions.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know for a certainty if it is replaceable? Or perhaps I should wait for the iTearDown page for it to show up?

Can't wait to jump onboard for this, but don't want to be stuck with a soldered-together system.
 
guspasho said:
How much do you use now? What do you use it for? And what are you going to do to handle it? I planned on filling close to 256 if not more with music and videos for iTunes, and this machine was going to be my iTunes server, among other things. Are you going to keep an external around? How would that work, anyway?
Click to expand...

Everything. Its filled to the brim with stuff. Mostly movies and tv series. But I also got a large collection of music and photos, a few large games and a few gigs of apps.

I am going to keep some of my favorite movies on my harddrive. The rest is going on an external hdd. I am looking into a NAS, htpc, airport extreme or apple TV solutions too for accessing and streaming my files over wifi.

The other stuff is not that important. My collection of music/photos is probably only 30gb. That will fit on a 256gb. Apps will certainly fit
 
surjavarman said:
I am going to keep some of my favorite movies on my harddrive. The rest is going on an external hdd.
Click to expand...
I've been using a 256GB SSD (Air) for the last two years, and that was my game plan (and it's worked well). I didn't bother trying to find a streaming solution though, I just plug in the external HDD when I need it.
 
It's really best to just eat the cost of the SSD with the initial purchase.

$2799 for this beast with the insane retina display and 512GB of solid state storage sounds better to the wallet than a $2199 machine and a $650 upgrade later on.
 
d00d said:
If one needs more than 256 GB in the long term, it seems foolish to bank on an upgrade that may not happen, and even if it does, may end up being nearly as expensive as the buying it from the start, plus you get a faster processor. (Stipulation for this post is really needing more than 256 GB.)
Click to expand...

Could someone explains to me the logic of "foolish to bank on an upgrade that may not happen... may end up being nearly as expensive as buying it from the start"?

For example, even if a user-replaceable 750GB SSD drive costs more (at $1000) than the $500 that Apple asks for, I would only have to spend $750 or $1000.. more (or whatever price an after-market stick of 750GB SSD would cost) instead of spending another $2-3k next year to get a 2013 MBP that has 750GB SSD.

Not to mention if I purchased an after-market 750GB SSD for let's say $1000, I will end up with an additional 500GB stock SSD that I could for other purposes, which means the "real cost" of new 750GB SSD is actually less than the $1000 "price"? Am I making sense?
 
MacRumoren said:
For example, even if a user-replaceable 750GB SSD drive costs more (at $1000) than the $500 that Apple asks for, I would only have to spend $750 or $1000.. more (or whatever price an after-market stick of 750GB SSD would cost) instead of spending another $2-3k next year to get a 2013 MBP that has 750GB SSD.

Not to mention if I purchased an after-market 750GB SSD for let's say $1000, I will end up with an additional 500GB stock SSD that I could for other purposes, which means the "real cost" of new 750GB SSD is actually less than the $1000 "price"? Am I making sense?
Click to expand...
In either case, it seems like you end up spending more than the $400 it would have cost you to have purchased a RMBP with a stock 750GB. :confused:
 
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