Is SSD 128GB right for me?

[Brock Landers]

Hi MacRumors Community,

I am planning on purchasing a MBP 13" i5 this week and am torn between going with the baseline 320GB hard drive or the 128GB SSD (at a cost of $250 for the student pricing). My computing "needs" include basic browsing, email, word processing, watching videos on youtube, etc. In other words, I am a very light user. No games, etc. I have about 20GB of music, but otherwise no excessive storage requirements.

My questions are:

1) Is 128GB enough? I am currently using a Powerbook G4 and occupying about 50GB of approximately 90GB.
2) Long term reliability of the Apple SSD? Will this thing hold up?
3) Will the SSD provide a big difference in terms of speed?
4) I've heard the new MBP is loud, which is a turn-off. Can I expect a more quieter with the SSD?

No, I don't want a MBA. No, I don't want to upgrade the SSD myself even if it simple because (1) I don't know how, and (2) money is not a problem.

Thanks in advance.

Your friend,

Brock Landers

 

[satirev]

based on what you use your computer for, why would you not want a MBA?

 

[orangepeel]

1. You answered your own question.

2. Yes. It also has no moving parts, unlike a hard drive.

3. Yes

4. Unlike a hard drive it's silent. The biggest culprit for the noise is the fans anyway. Since you are a light user the fans shouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[alust2013]

Sounds like the SSD would be good for you. It's faster, has enough space, is reliable, and will be a little quieter. Most of the noise it will make is fan noise, but you would only notice that slightly when playing youtube videos, etc. Otherwise it should be all but silent.

 

[Brock Landers]

based on what you use your computer for, why would you not want a MBA?

That's a reasonable question. Based on the specs alone, the MBA is probably suitable for me, but I stopped at the Apple store to compare and it just felt a little too thin and small. I was much more comfortable with the overall dimensions and feel of the 13" MBP.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments.