Mid-2012 with Samsung 830 SSD

[mf22]

I'm about to make a major purchase and would appreciate some input. I'm about to buy a new mid-2012 13" mbp and going to get an ssd (most likely samsung 830) to replace my hdd. This is my first time upgrading to an ssd so I'm not quite sure the setup I want. Options:

1) Get a 128 (or 256) gb ssd and move the 500 gb hdd to the optibay

2) Get a 512 gb ssd and keep the optical drive

3) Should I upgrade with apple to 8 gb RAM or should I go out of market to 16 gb? What is the most reliable RAM I can throw in?

I kind of like having the optical drive so I'm not quite sure the advantage of the double drives (besides the obvious of more memory, which could be solved by going with the 512 gb ssd).

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[MarkCooz]

I'm about to make a major purchase and would appreciate some input. I'm about to buy a new mid-2012 13" mbp and going to get an ssd (most likely samsung 830) to replace my hdd. This is my first time upgrading to an ssd so I'm not quite sure the setup I want. Options:

1) Get a 128 (or 256) gb ssd and move the 500 gb hdd to the optibay

2) Get a 512 gb ssd and keep the optical drive

3) Should I upgrade with apple to 8 gb RAM or should I go out of market to 16 gb? What is the most reliable RAM I can throw in?

I kind of like having the optical drive so I'm not quite sure the advantage of the double drives (besides the obvious of more memory, which could be solved by going with the 512 gb ssd).

Thanks in advance for your help.

For me I'd get at least a 256GB SSD, and replace your Optical drive with that.
If you have a 500GB/750GB 7200RPM keep that for media files/games/videos etc.. If you really need the Disk Drive, get a 512GB SSD. You'll be set i suppose.

It's gonna be a great combo
Also don't wasted your money on 8GB with Apple. Look on Amazon. I bought my girlfriend a 16GB KIT for her MBP for about $60 shipping included (I'm a prime member)

 

[clyde2801]

RAM and HDD are both user serviceable parts, (meaning replacing them does not void your Applecare warranty as long as you don't break something else in the install) the optical drive is not. Applecare doesn't cover any 3rd party components themselves or any problems caused by them.

The conventional wisdom is that you should place your notebook back to stock configuration before taking it in for repair to prevent the genius from blaming any problem on the user replaced parts.

If you're going to crack open the case anyway, you may as well get 16gb of ram since you can buy that cheaper than what Apple charges for 8gb.

Going SSD + HDD is an cost effective way to max out onboard storage if you don't regularly use you optical drive and don't mind potentially having to mess with another component to bring your system back to stock configuration. Put your OS, Apps and data that you need fast access to on the SSD (I'd go with at least 256 gb for that reason.), and data that you don't access regularly and need fast access to on the HDD.

The nice thing about USB3 is that you can put any component you don't regularly use in an external enclosure and still have relatively speedy access to it. If you rarely use your optical drive, put it in an enclosure and throw that in your notebook drive.

There's a whole bunch of options available, the best choice depends on your needs, preferences and how much you want to pay.

 

[Dark Void]

You could also get the 128GB SSD, keep your optical drive, and simply use an external hard drive for most of your data.

 

[mf22]

Thank you for the sage advice!

So basically I'm looking at toting around either my optical drive or an external hd regardless, which means I need to figure out which is more important to me. I'm kind of leaning toward going 512 gb ssd in the hdd slot, keeping the optical drive, and then just keeping all my photos on an external hd. I have a ton of music as well but I use that frequently so I'd like to have it on board. Thoughts?

Again, thanks in advance for the help!

 

[gngan]

Thank you for the sage advice!

So basically I'm looking at toting around either my optical drive or an external hd regardless, which means I need to figure out which is more important to me. I'm kind of leaning toward going 512 gb ssd in the hdd slot, keeping the optical drive, and then just keeping all my photos on an external hd. I have a ton of music as well but I use that frequently so I'd like to have it on board. Thoughts?

Again, thanks in advance for the help!

There are no correct answers. People have given you choices and no one knows better than what you want. I went with 128gb + 32gb hdd cause i never used the optical bay and i save a lot of money for buying 128gb. Is that the best? Yes for me but maybe no for you.

 

[Orlandoech]

DO NOT pay apple for 8GB ram, upgrade with aftermarket 16GB 1600MHZ DDR3 for less than $100.