Hard Drive Question-7200/5400/128

[nowstime]

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About to pull the trigger for the high-end 15 inch with AG but having a hard time deciding on the HD.

Option #1 - 750gb / 5400 rpm
Great capacity & low noise but slow speed.

Option #2 - 500gb / 7200 rpm
Ok size with speed but louder noise level

Option #3 - 128gb SSD (by Apple)
Super fast but low capacity and SATA II connection.

I plan to upgrade to 256 SSD (which I think is what I really need for adequet work space) when the SATA III hits the market and lowers the price.

If I eventually upgrade to 256SSD which hard drive do you think gives me the best residual value?

And if I go 128ssd I plan to buy a external HD with FireWire and connect it while at home. Is the access speed OK? Never used FW before. And do you think it will be tidious to plug and unplug to access files?

Any good enclosures for SSDs? If I go 128ssd and get the 256ssd later, planning to use the 128ssd in an enclosure or sell it.

So my main concern is;
Is 128gb and external hard drive combination too much pain to use?
Is $90 upgrade for the 128gb good invest for resale of my MacBook in the future? Or since 128gb is not much it will be a turn off for people?
Or just get stock 750 or 500 gb hds and upgrade later with the SATA IIIs? If this case, is the noise level too much of a concern for 7200rpm drives?

Thank you so much~~~

 

[Whitelightning]

Obviously its better to have all your data on the machine. 128gb is really small... especially if you want to use windows wtih it too. If you can, wait till higher capacity SSDs get cheaper.

500gb/7200rpm is best choice for speed, not as fast as SSD, but fastest possible for notebook drive, there really isnt much of a noise issue between 5400rpm vs 7200pm, just depends on brand.

750gb/5400rpm is kinda slow, despite higher capacity, speed is better than storage space in this case.

So, my advice is to get the 500gb/7200rpm, then when 256SSD higher capacity SSD becomes cheaper, pick up one of those for best value.

 

[Cantisama]

I went with the 500GB @ 7200rpm. Imho 5400rpm drives these days are too slow to act as your main disk (although they are fine for other purposes like storage). I love the speed of ssd (use one in my Shuttle XS35GT) but that isn't enough storage for me. I have over 100GB just for my iTunes media, plus high-end games that take up at least 5-10GB each, and boot camp Windows 7 that is a minimum of 20-30GB.

I recommend Option #2, then upgrade to a high capacity ssd after a year or so when the prices have dropped.

Also, I haven't noticed my 7200rpm drive being too loud. The only time I notice my mbp being loud is when the 6750M kicks in and the fans go nuts

 

[bcaslis]

I think it's going to be a while before the SATA III SSDs hit the market and actually work at those speeds. Someone in another thread reported they installed a new Intel 510 (which has SATA III) but it's only connecting like a SATA II device.

I'd get the Apple 256GB SSD (or larger if you can afford it) and call it a day. The reality is that a SATA II SSD is going to be almost indistinguishable from a SATA III unless you are benchmarking or doing huge copies on the SSD. And you will get Apple compatibility. Those who have one are reporting that TRIM is supported on the new MBP Apple SSDs.

 

[bcaslis]

I went with the 500GB @ 7200rpm. Imho 5400rpm drives these days are too slow to act as your main disk (although they are fine for other purposes like storage). I love the speed of ssd (use one in my Shuttle XS35GT) but that isn't enough storage for me. I have over 100GB just for my iTunes media, plus high-end games that take up at least 5-10GB each, and boot camp Windows 7 that is a minimum of 20-30GB.

I recommend Option #2, then upgrade to a high capacity ssd after a year or so when the prices have dropped.

Also, I haven't noticed my 7200rpm drive being too loud. The only time I notice my mbp being loud is when the 6750M kicks in and the fans go nuts

You have the Apple 500GB 7200rpm? Which drive is it? I've heard the Hitachi 500GB 7200rpm is pretty quiet.

 

[adnoh]

Since you will be upgrading to ssd anyway, go with 750gb so you have a massive hd you can use with your ssd down the line.