It was stretching myself. What are the down falls if I return it when I get it and go with the 256 and an external SSD or HD? There's a 500gb SSD alone for 200! That's as much as upgrading the internal by 256 to 512!
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Ordered the 512gb BUT.
- Thread starter Jayjew
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Dun waste time with 256gb. You cannot even full backup a iphone 8/8 plus/x 256gb with it.
And if you have planned to get external storage, it means 256gb is not going to be enough now or future. totally no point to 'cheap' out on storage and try to buy something else later since you already spent the premium on the laptop itself.
Most importantly, the external storage performance is way way slower than the macbook one. So the extra to pay for 512gb is worth it than buying something worse later.
How much storage size are you currently using?
Do you expect this to change significantly over the next few years?
Do you do any work where a superfast SSD has a benefit over a fast SSD?
Do you mind carrying an external drive with you and plugging it into the system when using?
The internal SSD is much faster than external SATA SSDs, and external ThunderBolt PCIe SSDs cost as much (or more) than the upgraded size does from Apple. The performance and longevity of a 512 is usually superior to a 256, but in this instance the insanely high speeds and exceptional durability of all sizes makes this a relatively insignificant point.
Do you expect this to change significantly over the next few years?
Do you do any work where a superfast SSD has a benefit over a fast SSD?
Do you mind carrying an external drive with you and plugging it into the system when using?
The internal SSD is much faster than external SATA SSDs, and external ThunderBolt PCIe SSDs cost as much (or more) than the upgraded size does from Apple. The performance and longevity of a 512 is usually superior to a 256, but in this instance the insanely high speeds and exceptional durability of all sizes makes this a relatively insignificant point.
Who honestly fills all 256gb of their iPhone though...
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I actually don't mind carrying one. My other thing is I'm currently only using 30gigs. However I bought logic and all the pro apps. That'll be like 100gigs right out of the box. I filter my photos and only keep my "mastered ones". Hmm. Well Sh**... maybe I download everything and see what's left? I might not even use Logic Pro though to be honest. But with school and work (clients) documents and emails could fill it pretty fast? No?
I also want to get rollercoaster tycoon on this beast. (Lol, childish I know).
Anywho, I want this computer to be my baby and last me a long time, but I also don't mind carrying around a drive. I do tend to keep my computers very clean, but maybe this way I could have photos and videos and movies directly with me? I don't know.... it's just 210$ (counting tax) is a lot for 256gb. Right?
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I mean, 4k60 video takes up a hell of a lot of space.
I set up a hard link on my internal SSD so I can back up all of my iDevices to an external drive. Certainly don’t need backups taking internal SSD space.
Do a search for the instructions online. It’s a single Terminal command to create the link. You’ll need the external connected any time you want to backup an iDevice but that’s the only difference.
Do a search for the instructions online. It’s a single Terminal command to create the link. You’ll need the external connected any time you want to backup an iDevice but that’s the only difference.
I recently picked up a 4TB external drive for $109 on sale. Split it into two partitions. One for data, and another for Time Machine backups.
That's smart. I'm not that much of a heavy user, and anything important is saved in a cloud somewhere - like uni work etc - so I don't need much space. But separating Time Machine backups from other stuff is smart!
The only problem I have now is that I have tons of things in my hard drive that just isn't necessary, but there's so much I just don't know how to organise it all!
I 100% will recommend to anyone who isn't that tech savvy re: speeds and whatever to get an external harddrive rather than pay hundreds more for bigger internal storage. It just makes so much sense. I even got a 32GB iPhone cos I knew I could store things I didn't need on hand (like pictures) on my hard drive or a cloud!
Who votes to return and buy an external? And who votes for keeping it and just maybe doing a side job or two to afford it?
extra money means maybe buying a cool new bag too!
extra money means maybe buying a cool new bag too!
It sounds like 256 will meet your needs for now, but in the long term it may get tight. Given it's only about $100 more than buying a 256 GB external SSD, I think the 512 is probably the better size for your needs.
(And RCT rocks!)
256 is pretty lean nowadays, just keep the 512 imo - the hassle of returning and rebuying alone should be sufficient reason...
It sounds like you have pretty much made up your mind.
Another thing to think about is that if you use an external drive as a backup and it fails, which they quite often do, all you will have lost is your backup. You will still have your files on your Mac. So, if you do use an external drive, you would be wise to back it up as well.
Kim
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I tried to use the same method but its seems like the cloud storage i use (apple music, one drive, drop box, iCloud drive etc) all seem to take up storage as they build a cache or store things locally that you need. I have this issue on my MacBook and work iPhone and its quite annoying. I wish you could just have everything in the cloud and nothing sorted locally. It would mean i can use a 256gb MacBook and a 32 or now 64gb iPhone and save on that front.
I tried to use the same method but its seems like the cloud storage i use (apple music, one drive, drop box, iCloud drive etc) all seem to take up storage as they build a cache or store things locally that you need. I have this issue on my MacBook and work iPhone and its quite annoying. I wish you could just have everything in the cloud and nothing sorted locally. It would mean i can use a 256gb MacBook and a 32 or now 64gb iPhone and save on that front.
All of your iCloud Drive files are kept locally somewhere under ~/Library/Application Support/ . Just letting you know in case you were wondering where they were hiding.
Thanks for that, i had found it but when i delete them they all eventually come back. On my mac it actually ends up taking way more space than the size of my iCloud drive which is quite frustrating. i wish all these cloud services had an option for not available offline. Im always connected to the internet and don't need it all stored locally for offline viewing.
yes keep the 512 , you will never regret having more storage
I know I'm late to the discussion, but......
As far as the SSD in your MBP, I'll put it this way: if you have extra space for the rest of the MBP's lifetime, you'll always be happy; however, slimming down internal storage is typically the precursor to "damn it, now I need an external drive to carry all of my X files around." 5 years of me constantly monitoring hard drives, running out of space, and being forced to put my entire digital life on hold while I moved things around just sucked. I'm still pretty much stuck with that to this day. I hate it. Or to sum it up in one sentence: you don't know how nice excessive storage is until you've run out of it on a daily basis.
Best to steer clear of that potential problem. I'd say try to keep your internal storage about double the size of whatever you want to store on it from the start. At the minimum. The only exception I'd make is if you're like my dad; that guy could still live on a 50GB HDD and have room to store the backup of a BluRay movie. Most modern people require a lot of digital storage, though.
Let me reference Silicon Valley real quick: "People don't delete apps." While this is extremely true, it also can very easily be said for images, video, and just about anything else you can download onto your smartphone. Why? People are lazy with their data. Most people don't have the patience to handle all of that, and are happier to just dump everything to a bigger drive to "solve" their problem. Combine all that with a 4k 60p camera (which loads of people will use because it's hot new tech), don't forget the new camera yields larger image files, and you kind of have a recipe for filling up 256GB before Apple so much as thinks about the next iPhone.
As far as the SSD in your MBP, I'll put it this way: if you have extra space for the rest of the MBP's lifetime, you'll always be happy; however, slimming down internal storage is typically the precursor to "damn it, now I need an external drive to carry all of my X files around." 5 years of me constantly monitoring hard drives, running out of space, and being forced to put my entire digital life on hold while I moved things around just sucked. I'm still pretty much stuck with that to this day. I hate it. Or to sum it up in one sentence: you don't know how nice excessive storage is until you've run out of it on a daily basis.
Best to steer clear of that potential problem. I'd say try to keep your internal storage about double the size of whatever you want to store on it from the start. At the minimum. The only exception I'd make is if you're like my dad; that guy could still live on a 50GB HDD and have room to store the backup of a BluRay movie. Most modern people require a lot of digital storage, though.
well said. a lot of ppl just do not foresee this point and want to save the little but in the end create hassles or worries for own self.
If you already have it, might as well keep it. I’ve been going by with 256Gb and a 1TB external, plus multiple 64-128Gb flash drives but I also don’t need to store a ton of data on my laptop. I would lean towards 512Gb if I were in the market today.
Thanks, mate.
I'm currently looking at the 13" MBP TB model, and debating if I really am going to be okay with the 512GB SSD. I think I'll be fine, considering I intend to use external storage for just about everything. If I can score the loan for the equipment, the 128GB iPhone will easily kill my storage on that MBP within a month, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this lol. I immediately thought of my situation when I saw the comment about the 256GB iPhone, so I figured I'd chime in
sometimes we overlook the simpler details...... which I'm trying to learn from haha. Cheers guys, and hopefully the OP ends up happy with his new MBP. Definitely interested in how fast that SSD fills up.