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rMBP users, how do you store your media library?

gdourado

gdourado

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 22, 2010
468
66
Hello,

How are you?
I was wondering, since the rMBPros come with 128 or 256 gb of SSD storage that is not expandable, I was wondering how do you store and manage your photo library and iTunes media library.
Do you have a practical solution for it? Please share.

Thank you.
Regards.
 
USB stick? External self powered drive? SD card? Cloud storage? There are plenty of options out there for expandability. However, I couldn't live without at least 256GB.
 
external hard drive

another option is to plug a bunch of hard drives into an old computer and use it as a wireless media/storage hub
 
I have nothing big to store, music & films are available in the cloud and streamed to my client (Spotify, iTunes,...); backups of documents & pics are stored online (DropBox & CrashPlan)
 
gdourado said:
I was wondering, since the rMBPros come with 128 or 256 gb of SSD storage that is not expandable
Click to expand...

You are seemingly misinformed. All rMBP models can be upgraded on the official Apple store / website to have an SSD with a maximum capacity of 768GB. It is true that the rMBPs have no user-serviceable parts, but then again, on your own risk, you can buy SSD sticks from OWC for example and upgrade the storage yourself when needed ( voiding warranty in the process though ).

That being said, I keep all my files on the SSD ( I of course don't store tons of video, audio files or photos since I'm neither a professional photographer, nor a singer or a movie director or editor or someone passionately gathering such files for no real reason / benefit )... if you need more storage space than what a SSD can offer or your money can buy, then definitely look for external HDDs on USB 3.0 ( they are quite cheap and you can buy as many as you wish / can afford ).
 
I keep my music and image files on my SSD since I have plenty room for them. Movies on my external SSD connected to my router.
 
My iTunes, photos, movies, documents folders are on thunderbolt drives. This leaves my SSD empty to collect photos during a field trip. Both the SSD and external drives are backed up on a 3TB time capsule.
 
I have the 512GB SSD so space isn't a huge concern. However I store my media on Apple's servers (i.e. iTunes/iTunes Match).

You can also use an SD card to store media too.
 
I have a large media library which I keep on an external 2TB hard drive. I use Chronosync to keep a backup copy updated on a second drive. Since 2TB drives only cost about $100, it's not a big investment (much cheaper and simpler than Raid or NAS solutions).
 
Movies are on my media center computer that I can stream from anywhere. Music is on my google music account.
 
gdourado said:
Hello,

How are you?
I was wondering, since the rMBPros come with 128 or 256 gb of SSD storage that is not expandable, I was wondering how do you store and manage your photo library and iTunes media library.
Do you have a practical solution for it? Please share.

Thank you.
Regards.
Click to expand...

iTunes Match might be a good solution for your music.
 
This is the reason I splurged on the 768. I keep all my music on the internal (about 150gb) then relegate pretty much anything that isn't needed to run the computer to an external.
 
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