Resolved rMBP 128gb or 256gb?

[baconegg]

Help!!

I am looking to purchase my very first rMBP and I don't know which one to purchase: the 128gb or 256gb?
I have a couple of songs in my itunes, but I don't think it'll take up too much space. I also don't have any movies/videos stored in my current desktop. Also, I don't keep a lot of photos on my current desktop. Although I will be keeping a lot of documents because of school- I am currently in high school and I wish to use the rMBP for my post-secondary education, which is not until 2018. (I want to take up marine biology or virology- if that means anything in regards to my purchase of a rMBP)

As of the moment, I am leaning towards the 128gb, but I am very indecisive! What do you think?

 

[Queen6]

256, 128 will become burdensome fast, with the 256 upwards models having far greater longevity.

Q-6

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Just be aware that you can't upgrade the SSD on these Macs as easy as you can on older machines. You can't just drop in a standard SATA-based SSD; instead you have to replace it with another Apple blade SSD that was pulled from another machine. So be sure that you are comfortable with 128GB in the long haul -OR- be prepared to upgrade to a new MBP once you fill the SSD.

 

[Striker-UMB]

OR- be prepared to upgrade to a new MBP once you fill the SSD.

Or he/she could simply delete old files, or transfer the not so important files to an external drive. You are never going to need 100+ gig's on any given day so it is definitely manageable for the average consumer. A lot of people tend to buy the bigger hard drive option, but what usually happens is they'll fill 75% of the drive's capacity and only actually use 25% of it. Everything else is just wasted space that will probably hardly, or never be used again.

 

[T5BRICK]

I'd go with the 256GB SSD. 128GB just isn't enough.

 

[maflynn]

I had an old laptop with 128GB a few years ago, and that was a royal pain. I can only imagine the issue has amplified over the years. I'd definitely go with the 256GB storage option.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Or he/she could simply delete old files, or transfer the not so important files to an external drive. You are never going to need 100+ gig's on any given day so it is definitely manageable for the average consumer. A lot of people tend to buy the bigger hard drive option, but what usually happens is they'll fill 75% of the drive's capacity and only actually use 25% of it. Everything else is just wasted space that will probably hardly, or never be used again.

I put a 128GB SSD into a 2008 iMac some years ago, as at the time that was all I was willing to spend on an SSD. I couldn't bring myself to spend so much more compared to the cheap spinning platter disks it was replacing. Plus, I told myself, I had TBs of external storage so why did I need an internal drive larger than 126GB?

Well, it didn't take me too long to realize that I enjoyed the speed that the SSD provided, not just for applications but in accessing files, images, etc. I was spending more time constantly keeping that drive clean, as well as moving stuff back and forth trying to optimize my storage. It got replaced with a 256GB drive in less than a year.

OP - heed most people's advice, and go larger than what you think you'll need. This is especially true in a laptop, where you don't always want to carry an extra drive along with you AND even more so in an Apple laptop that currently has a very poor upgrade path.