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Getting second SSD for data files (movies, music, downloads etc) a waste of money??

T

Tamasi

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 18, 2010
68
1
Hi guys,

I am about to purchase a MacBook Pro but am doubting whether to put in 1 SSD in the optibay, and keep a HDD in it's original place, or just get 2 SSDs instead (1 for the optibay, and 1 at the HDD's original location.

Using SSDs solely obviously implies that I will also use an SSD for storing my downloads, movies, music, etc. Here is why I am in doubt; because of the lack of TRIM in OS/X, I am concerned that using an SSD for this 'data purpose' will eventually make the performance of the SSD hardly any better than that of a HDD.

What should I do? I obviously prefer a totally silent, fast computer, but is getting 2 SSDs the best choice?

(ps. For my 'data SSD' something like 160 or 180gb will be just fine, I'll backup stuff to an external drive regularly, so the SSD won't have to be huge and thus hugely expensive;-)
 
Generally speaking, people tend to use a hdd and an ssd. I'd suggest installing the OS/Apps onto your ssd and using a hdd (500gb+) to store your data. But if you have the money for two ssd's, then go for it :D
 
Do I understand correctly that any SSD used for storing downloads, movies, music and other files, will also in the long-term still considerably outperform any HDD, even under OS/X, without TRIM support??
 
For the average user that is using the HDD to hold movie files the access time will not be enough of a change to warrant the extra expense. However using the SSD as the boot drive will give better results.
 
Where is slot for this second ssd?

I feel like a newb here, but where can you access the slot for the 2nd ssd?
I looked at the ifixit teardown and could not see anything like that.
I'm sorry if this question has already been answered somewhere else in the forum.
 
sjp5317 said:
I feel like a newb here, but where can you access the slot for the 2nd ssd?
I looked at the ifixit teardown and could not see anything like that.
I'm sorry if this question has already been answered somewhere else in the forum.
Click to expand...

to put a second harddrive or ssd in the macbooks (and pros), you have to remove the optical disk drive.
 
It might be easier just to rock a 256 or 360GB SSD...especially with Intel and Crucial's 25nm forthcoming SSDs which are supposedly gonna drop the price a good bit.
 
Just keep the HD. Most SSDs still cost about 2$ per GB so storing a high quality movie with size of 4GB for example will cost you 8$. The benefit of storing files in an SSD is almost non-existent as your movie and music will play just fine from the HD.
 
How about an SSD in the regular HD space, and then a Harddrive in the optibay?

The other way around seems like a waste of money. When you are just using it for data storage, SSD is a massive waste of money, since speed isn't important - space is.
 
Hi guys,

The main reason I am considering taking a second SSD actually is not related to speed, but to noise. I would love to have a totally silent computer. How silent is a MacBook Pro with 1 SSD for the OS, programs and apps, and one HDD for data storage? When I would watch a movie stored on the HDD, would I constantly be able to hear the HDD? Would it be noticeably more silent with a SSD for the data storage?


Edit. @ TobiasKM;
When going with one SSD and one HDD the best choice is putting the SSD with the OS in the optibay, and keeping the HDD for the data storage at it's original location. That 'original' spot namely is better shock-proof and noise-isolating, something relevant to HDDs but not really to SSDs.
 
Tamasi said:
Hi guys,

The main reason I am considering taking a second SSD actually is not related to speed, but to noise. I would love to have a totally silent computer.
Click to expand...

Strange. I've never heard any noise from my macbook... I mean: truly nothing, even when watching videos... What kind of apps are you guys running to get your MBP screaming? :confused::confused:
 
Definitely not worth it from a performance per dollar standpoint. If you really want two and have the money for it, why not put 2 in RAID 0 and then get a performance boost across the board. This way the overall performance of your drive setup exceeds that of your boot drive.
 
Tamasi said:
Hi guys,

The main reason I am considering taking a second SSD actually is not related to speed, but to noise. I would love to have a totally silent computer. How silent is a MacBook Pro with 1 SSD for the OS, programs and apps, and one HDD for data storage? When I would watch a movie stored on the HDD, would I constantly be able to hear the HDD? Would it be noticeably more silent with a SSD for the data storage?


Edit. @ TobiasKM;
When going with one SSD and one HDD the best choice is putting the SSD with the OS in the optibay, and keeping the HDD for the data storage at it's original location. That 'original' spot namely is better shock-proof and noise-isolating, something relevant to HDDs but not really to SSDs.
Click to expand...

the computer fan is going to make way more noise than any hard drive
 
I fitted my SSD yesterday :D

Lightning fast now, but the stock 5400HDD was pretty much silent as well so noise-wise I can`t tell any difference.

I personally would not bother with SSD for data-storage at the moment, too pricey as yet and no great advantage especially for video/music files where the extra speed is pretty much irrelevant (your movies don`t play any faster!)
If money is no object then by all means go for it though, it`ll be super fast transferring files between them and a rock solid set up.

12 second boot-up is amazing...loving it.
 
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