New MBP setup questions

[carbonfly]

I'm going to be picking up a new MBP 13" and wanted to bounce some ideas around.

1. I was planning on choosing the 2.4 over the 2.66 model so that I could use the saved money on a SSD. 260mhz doesn't seem worth it for $300.

2. I'm going to get an Intel x25m G2 SSD for it. But Should I get an 80gb or 160gb? My personal thought is to get the 80GB now and use it until i need more space. By then hopefully the SSD price will have come down so I can upgrade to a larger drive for cheaper.

3. Finally, I will get the SSD and install it when the MBP arrives. So I haven't used the MBP yet. Should use Super Duper to clone the stock drive? or can I just install the SSD and do a full clean install of Snow Leopard on the SSD? Would there be any measurable difference?

Thanks guys and gals.

 

[Gorilla Power]

I'm going to be picking up a new MBP 13" and wanted to bounce some ideas around.

1. I was planning on choosing the 2.4 over the 2.66 model so that I could use the saved money on a SSD. 260mhz doesn't seem worth it for $300.

Depending on the type of work you'd do on your MBP, the performance difference may be negligible given that you've chosen an SSD.

2. I'm going to get an Intel x25m G2 SSD for it. But Should I get an 80gb or 160gb? My personal thought is to get the 80GB now and use it until i need more space. By then hopefully the SSD price will have come down so I can upgrade to a larger drive for cheaper.

I'm going for an 80GB Intel G2 myself. However, I'll be placing my (500 GB 7200 RPM) HDD in the Superdrive place with the help of a caddy. I guess I'll have enough space but would you ? You'll lose some formatting space, the OS takes about 10GB, and you'd want to keep some empty space to maintain performance, so you're probably looking at something around 40GB actual free space. If that's enough for you, do it.

3. Finally, I will get the SSD and install it when the MBP arrives. So I haven't used the MBP yet. Should use Super Duper to clone the stock drive? or can I just install the SSD and do a full clean install of Snow Leopard on the SSD? Would there be any measurable difference?

I'd prefer doing a clean install to cloning a drive. I guess there won't be a perceptible difference but to my ears, "building from the ground" sounds better than "copying and pasting something over" 🙂

Good luck !

 

[oHai]

1. I was planning on choosing the 2.4 over the 2.66 model so that I could use the saved money on a SSD. 260mhz doesn't seem worth it for $300.

I'd agree with you - the performance bump you'll get from an SSD will blow away anything you'd get from the slightly faster processor.

I picked up a stock 2.4 the other day, and will definitely throw an SSD in when they get a little more affordable. Booting and program launching is almost instantaneous, which I would never get tired of. 🙂

 

[carbonfly]

I'm just so back and forth on if I should get the 80gb or spend more for the 160gb. I would think that removing the superdrive to place a 2nd hard drive would cause issues with apple's warranty should anything happen.

 

[gatorfan787]

I'm just so back and forth on if I should get the 80gb or spend more for the 160gb. I would think that removing the superdrive to place a 2nd hard drive would cause issues with apple's warranty should anything happen.

IMHO Definitely go for the 160GB. You said you're thinking of going with the 80GB then upgrading when you fill it up, thus in the long run you will spend more...prices may go down but not that much. Also, from what I've read SSD's slow down considerably as you approach their capacity limits, even if you recondition them to improve the internal fragmentation. A 160GB that's 1/3rd to a half full will be faster than a 80GB that's 2/3 - 3/4 full.

You can get an Intel X-25M G2 160GB from Tigerdirect for ~$405 shipped after Bing Cashback, or a new on eBay as I did 2 nights ago for $367 shipped after Bing Cashback (ends up being 2.25/GB, a steal for an Intel SSD).