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How I plan to overcome rMBP 256gb SSD

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01mggt

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 23, 2010
309
11
So for the time being I think I have figured out my personal solution to my limited storage.

I bought a netgear n600 Mac version wireless router. It works with USB hubs, so I plan to use a USB 3.0 enclosure with 750gb Segate Hybrid Momentus XT hdd 7200 rpm(8GB ssd cache) and a couple other 250gb external hdds I have laying around. I plan to use one of the 250gb hdd's with the routers built in Time Machine compatibility. The other I will just use for housing my downloads folder that normally would be left on my Mac. The 750gb drive will contain my iTunes library, iPhoto and Lightroom 4 libraries and house all my Windows game installs mainly using steam.

I know the USB 2.0 will make things a little slower but when I really need speed the USB 3.0 enclosure can plug right into my rmbp. As for access from away from home, I can either take the 750gb drive with me, or the router allows access to the drives from anywhere on the net. Plus with the dual band wireless N the local access to files will be really fast for what I am using it for.

On the Mac itself I will have OS X and Windows 7 with only about 60 gb or less given to Windows 7. I plan to remove the swap file in Windows 7 and disable hibernate to save a bunch of space. In the OS X side I will be disabling Time Machine local backups to save space (not needed with my use).

Sounds expensive but I already had everything but the router (bought new on ebay for less than $70 vs over $100 retail) and the USB 3.0 enclosure.
 
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Glad you realized that exernal HDD's are a good option....so many people are closed minded to SSD's because of the storage limitation but in reality I think most people would be surprised how well they can utilize 256GB. Some people have like 1,000 videos so they think they can never survive with 256GB, but when you really think about it, do you really NEED to have 1,000 videos with you at all times? Using externals makes the process painless and allows for a slimmer-designed laptop while getting the best of both worlds.

Just a thought: though you can access your HDD's online through your router, be aware that any access will be very, very slow. Remote HDD access, through routers at least, is very unusable IMO because of how slow it will read. Some Remote Access programs allow for much more integration and quicker transfer times, but unfortunately all router transfers I have seen thus far have been extremely slow.
 
I agree for sure! And yeah I figure I will hardly ever need the online access. I can always take the 750gb drive anywhere I need it :)
 
My plan is:
1) Synology 411j to act as my TM hub for all the macs in the house
2) Buffalo ministation thunderbolt 1TB drive for my business software.
3) External enclosure w/ 2x3TB drives as a raid-1 drive to hold all the software/documents/aperture library/itunes library

On the rmbp I plan to have a small aperture and itunes library for trips.

For the Buffalo ministation, I plan on using it for a windows/office/sap and other business software and documents.

Is it possible to install parallels on the rmbp drive and windows on the Buffalo ministation thunderbolt drive or have them both on the Buffalo ministation?
 
With thunderbolt, you can actually install Windows to a partition and boot it. At least from what I have been reading. Great solutions :) I wish thunderbolt would come down in price. My main goal was to move as much storage as I could off my Mac while still not having to physically plug in drives when I need to do stuff :)
 
If you don't use your optical drive much, put the 750GB drive in there so you have both drives internal. Then just carry your now-external optical drive with you for the few times you need it.
 
awer25 said:
If you don't use your optical drive much, put the 750GB drive in there so you have both drives internal. Then just carry your now-external optical drive with you for the few times you need it.
Click to expand...

Sorry forgot to post that this was on a rMBP. I updated the thread title :)
 
awer25 said:
If you don't use your optical drive much, put the 750GB drive in there so you have both drives internal. Then just carry your now-external optical drive with you for the few times you need it.
Click to expand...

Their talking about the retina that doesn't have an optical drive.
 
I am already using that exact solution with my 2006 MBP 1.1 and my Airport Extreme base Station.

My MBP only has an 80 GB internal drive so I have a 500 GB USB drive connected to my router for all my important files as well as my iTunes library. Any time I want to travel with my laptop I just copy the files I want locally onto my hard drive or just use my iPad for things like a few movies etc.

Has been working great for me so far so I am not worried about when I finally save up the money for the rMBP because moving from 80 GB to 256 GB will be like me getting 3 times the space for things and still have my USB solution for all my big files and such.

I dont really see the need to have a 1 TB drive in my laptop at all. Large drive storage should be kept external for the most part if for no other reason than it is far easier to replace an external enclosure drive than it is to open up any laptop, retina or otherwise, and replace the drive anyways.
 
I think part of scoffing at external storage was a pre-usb3/thunderbolt world. Now that fast-as-internal storage is actually easy, I think it's a matter of breaking habit.
 
Glad to see some positive outlook form everyone. I agree about USB 3 and TB being big advantages. It will for sure only get better now :)
 
I am really hoping that the time capsule/ Airport Extreme gets a USB or Thunderbolt update at some point. That would make using NAS with a hub the perfect solution for my home network needs and all I would need for travel would be a slim external drive in my bag for any major storage needs on the road.

I am planning to get the base model rMBP with ram upgrade for my next machine. I love my 2006 but she is showing her age lately and I need something for my eventual semi pro photography needs.

Portable USB storage and TB storage at home is a win win at least for me with this machine
 
I would love to see T/B or USB 3 on wilreless routers. But aren't current wireless N speeds limiting access to basically USB 2.0 speeds any way? I'm behind in the latest wireless tech. I am just now replacing my Linksys wrt54g lol
 
Arcsylver said:
I am really hoping that the time capsule/ Airport Extreme gets a USB or Thunderbolt update at some point. That would make using NAS with a hub the perfect solution for my home network needs and all I would need for travel would be a slim external drive in my bag for any major storage needs on the road.

I am planning to get the base model rMBP with ram upgrade for my next machine. I love my 2006 but she is showing her age lately and I need something for my eventual semi pro photography needs.

Portable USB storage and TB storage at home is a win win at least for me with this machine
Click to expand...

The Airport Extreme actually does have a USB input.
 
01mggt said:
Glad to see some positive outlook form everyone. I agree about USB 3 and TB being big advantages. It will for sure only get better now :)
Click to expand...

I've used both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt over the past week for moving photo shoot catalogs to and from my main system... and while USB 3.0 is tolerable... Thunderbolt SMOKES it.
 
Fortimir said:
I've used both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt over the past week for moving photo shoot catalogs to and from my main system... and while USB 3.0 is tolerable... Thunderbolt SMOKES it.
Click to expand...

ca't wait to see t/b compatible flash drives that actually have fast write speeds and in small form factors. T/B is amazing tech, it jsut sucks it still takes up so much space :( . It will come one of these days!
 
Okay, so what do you plan on doing when you leave your house? Unplug your external drive and drag it with you and have it dangling off your nice thin laptop every time you want to listen to music or look at your photos?
 
GoreVidal said:
Okay, so what do you plan on doing when you leave your house? Unplug your external drive and drag it with you and have it dangling off your nice thin laptop every time you want to listen to music or look at your photos?
Click to expand...

My Current Itunes Library is only 11GB. I can easily transfer that to my internal HDD. But honestly, if I want to listen to my music on the road I also have an iphone 32gb with all my Music I own on it as well.

My photo Library is over 80GB so far with all the raw files. I can count only one time when I needed to look at my photos outside my home. That was when I went on leave to visit my parents and I was showing them on a TV so hooking up a tiny sleek aluminum USB 3 hdd (2.5" mind you) would have been no issue at all.

I am not saying this will work for everyone. Just saying that It fits my needs personally. I don't see how you can bash me because something that works for me doesn't work for you?
 
GoreVidal said:
Okay, so what do you plan on doing when you leave your house? Unplug your external drive and drag it with you and have it dangling off your nice thin laptop every time you want to listen to music or look at your photos?
Click to expand...

Personally, I have no problem unplugging my external drive and bringing it with me. external drives in a size I would need arent much bigger than you average wireless phone these days (not including the iPhone and similar), so I dont see an issue with carrying a bus powered USB drive and a short cord for it. If a few ounces are too much for you to carry or you are concerned about how it looks if you have it "dangling off your nice thin laptop every time you want to listen to music or look at your photos" then you shouldnt have bought the super slim laptop to begin with.

The point of these slim machines is portability. Not the ability to replace a larger laptop or even a home desktop. It is a game of compromises that you have to play if you want a razor thin machine with the specs you want in a portable machine. If you want something that you can carry around all your music, photo's etc. there is either external storage devices, or cloud based solutions.
 
GoreVidal said:
Okay, so what do you plan on doing when you leave your house? Unplug your external drive and drag it with you and have it dangling off your nice thin laptop every time you want to listen to music or look at your photos?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't mean to rain on the OP's parade but doesn't dragging an external drive around negate the design and portability of the MBPr? I thought the sacrifice of the ODD, Ethernet port, FW port, Kensington slot, IR port, sleep indicator, and upgradability/repairability was to live the nirvana of portability.


-P
 
I would recommend 1 tb 7200rpm drive instead of the momentus xt. For media you won't see any speed boost. If you were going to install some programs however......

I've got a 4 shot RAID plugged into my time machine and a Mac mini double cutting as a server and plex player.

Honestly 256 turned out to me more than enough.
 
NOT an rMbp, but i also have 256G on my macbook pro (crucial M4 SSD).
what i did...moved all non-essential or not-current work and files to an external usb drive. i also moved a lot of music i want to keep but almost never listen to.

then i cleaned out a lot of system stuff: unused garageband files, voices (which i never use).

i backup my mac (of course) and the external drive regularly (to another external). i have all my current work on my mac, a lot of music... and 168 gigs available right now.

one nice bonus for this: NOT a lot of ***** to sort thru to find files, anything...
and if i need an older project accessible, i copy it back onto my mac.

works for me...
 
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