how much space does the operating system use?

[MinnesotaMini]

Working on deciding what HD to go with when ordering my new mini next week. Curious as to how much space on the HD the operating system takes up and how much is left for the user.

 

[GGJstudios]

Working on deciding what HD to go with when ordering my new mini next week. Curious as to how much space on the HD the operating system takes up and how much is left for the user.

Apple specifies a minimum of 8GB for Yosemite, but you're safer budgeting about 20GB, including iWork and some space for caches, etc. Also, remember that a formatted drive has less space available than the claimed size, so a 128GB drive doesn't have 128GB available. It's always a good idea to order more space than you think you'll need, within your budget, as your storage needs will likely grow in the future.

 

[MinnesotaMini]

I had planned on ordering a 2014 mini with the 2.6ghz i5 with 16gb RAM & the 1TB Fusion from B&H for $1, 069. But as of today, the are selling the same setup with a 256gb SSD instead of the Fusion for $1, 099 (same processor and 16gb RAM). Thinking this might be a better way to go since I will be adding an external drive for storage anyways. Thoughts??

 

[GGJstudios]

I had planned on ordering a 2014 mini with the 2.6ghz i5 with 16gb RAM & the 1TB Fusion from B&H for $1, 069. But as of today, the are selling the same setup with a 256gb SSD instead of the Fusion for $1, 099 (same processor and 16gb RAM). Thinking this might be a better way to go since I will be adding an external drive for storage anyways. Thoughts??

I like performance, so I would go with the SSD and use an external drive for excess storage. YMMV

 

[Joelburman]

Agreed with SSD rather than a hybrid.