Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is 120GB enough?

G

Gabbelito

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 11, 2011
25
0
Hello MacRumors!
I'm a long time lurker but first time poster and I'd like to know your opinion on a SSD setup for the Macbook Pro.

I'd prefer a 120GB SSD because of the price, but will it be enough for OS X with approx. 5GB of music, a couple of movies and maybe some TV series?

And if that's enough, will I still be able to install Windows 7 with maybe 30GB of games or is it possible to run Windows 7 from an external drive or something?


Let me know what you think and/or tell me about your setup!
 
Last edited:
it depends on "a couple of movies and TV series". You need, say, 50 GB for the Windows partition as you described it (30GB + Win7) and 10GB for OSX. That's basically half the drive. You don't want to fill it up completely, so count on about 50GB for your media AND OSX applications.

Personally, I'd do the 2nd HDD instead of the DVD burner, and pick up a case for your Superdrive (it's the $24.95 option on the scroll down list).
 
I'd suggest you pick up a 160 GB drive instead. First, it allows for space for unforeseen growth. Second, you can have one for only a small premium over a 120.

I just bought a 160 GB Intel 320 for about $250. This is only a smal increase from the typical price for a 120 GB drive. Watch Amazon for specials or other sellers.
 
I have a 115GB OSX partition which currently fits everything except my picture library. It is 20-30gigs music. Movie and Download folders vary but there is enough space for them to grow up to 30 GB.
Windows got 64GB which works but really all it is used for currently is games.
A slightly shrunken Win7 64bit with Steam and MW2 takes about 40GB and you need some extra 5-10GB free at all times for everything such as installs to work properly.
If I removed all media from OSX I could shrink it enough to fit both partitions but really you do need some media. 120GB works imo only if you need only OSX or have a media drive.
I run a 180 GB vertex 2 (real 170GB) which works well with the 320GB hdd as a data storage which I didn't use much yet.
120GB can work but it is very close and constantly running an almost full drive doesn't work too well and is quite annoying. I would recommend at least 160GB for Win and OSX.

That is only my experience. I don't have any really huge application like the Adobe suite on my OSX partition but it still takes quite a bit of space without the media stuff.
 
If you're not going to run virtualization, I'd suggest that you install an inexpensive 500GB Momentus XT yourself instead.
 
My Macbook Pro came with a 120gb hard drive, 5 years ago. I only upgraded it because Final Cut Studio + Hi-def video + World of Warcraft + Windows left me with about 6gb free. If you're not doing all that, it should be plenty.
 
I just downgraded from a C3 128Gb SSD, to the original 750Gb HD that came with my MPB. I was getting really tired of always being mindful of what I'm downloading/installing, having to off-load any movies I've worked on, etc. My SSD was at 85Gb full, and there is just no point. I didn't buy a $2,700 laptop to have to worry about space. Yes, the 750Gb 5,400rpm Toshiba HD is slower, but I am happy with the downgrade - I don't reboot often, and I usually keep programs open for a while.

Once I can get 500GB+ SSD for reasonable price, I'll be glad to spend money. Right now, IMHO, SSDs are fine for desktop machines that can have a boot/app drive as SSD, and data storage on cheap HDs.

Polbit
 
It all depends on what your usage is. The 128 GB SSD in my wife's Air is fine for her. But I have 160 GBs in music, 160 GBs in photos so 120 GB SSD wouldn't suffice. I know people will say put it on an external drive, but do you really want to carry around a hard drive? A laptop is about mobility.
 
Im buying a macbook pro soon and going for 128GB

You say movies and TV series, but do you need them on the move? Couldnt you put big media files like that on an ext. HDD? Thats what I plan on doing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back