On my desktop PCs, I always had at least 2 HDDs, one (fast) for system & apps (typically a raptor), and one (large) for data.
When I bought my MacBook, I never thought it would become my main machine (I do serious photo processing), but it rapidly became, as its CPU was much faster than in my old PC. But of course the HDD sucked (in comparison).
After a few hesitations, I went ahead and modified my MacBook:
1 - I ordered an HDD adapter tray that takes the place of the optical drive (which I put in an external USB enclosure).
2 - I moved a largish 7200rpm HDD to that adapter.
3 - I installed an Intel X25-M 80GB SSD as the system disk.
I now have a VERY responsive machine. Most apps launch instantly
. Backup, cloning and data disk upgrades are also more easily dealt with.
A few caveats, though:
- the removal of the optical drive and installation of the adapter requires a lot of care and time, and is not risk-free, see http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Core-2-Duo-Optical-Drive-Replacement/518/1
- the whole upgrade is not very cost-effective considering how little storage has been added, but at least this will cool down my Mac Pro lust for a little while
- I moved my users' directory to the data drive. This seems to have caused some issues at startup (data drive not being mounted in time?), but things have improved since I made this config change:
http://neuro.me.uk/2009/05/21/automatically-mount-a-usb-drive-before-login-on-mac-os-x/
Next step: upping to memory to 6GB (the max the SR MacBooks support), when the 4GB DIMMS are cheap enough. Praying for large & fast 2.5" HDD to appear in standard 9.5mm thickness (the current 750GB and 1TB 2.5" HDDs are 12.5mm thick).
When I bought my MacBook, I never thought it would become my main machine (I do serious photo processing), but it rapidly became, as its CPU was much faster than in my old PC. But of course the HDD sucked (in comparison).
After a few hesitations, I went ahead and modified my MacBook:
1 - I ordered an HDD adapter tray that takes the place of the optical drive (which I put in an external USB enclosure).
2 - I moved a largish 7200rpm HDD to that adapter.
3 - I installed an Intel X25-M 80GB SSD as the system disk.
I now have a VERY responsive machine. Most apps launch instantly
. Backup, cloning and data disk upgrades are also more easily dealt with.A few caveats, though:
- the removal of the optical drive and installation of the adapter requires a lot of care and time, and is not risk-free, see http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Core-2-Duo-Optical-Drive-Replacement/518/1
- the whole upgrade is not very cost-effective considering how little storage has been added, but at least this will cool down my Mac Pro lust for a little while
- I moved my users' directory to the data drive. This seems to have caused some issues at startup (data drive not being mounted in time?), but things have improved since I made this config change:
http://neuro.me.uk/2009/05/21/automatically-mount-a-usb-drive-before-login-on-mac-os-x/
Next step: upping to memory to 6GB (the max the SR MacBooks support), when the 4GB DIMMS are cheap enough. Praying for large & fast 2.5" HDD to appear in standard 9.5mm thickness (the current 750GB and 1TB 2.5" HDDs are 12.5mm thick).