So I need a lot of storage...

[End User Onizuka]

Hi guys,

I've decided that I want to get the new 13" MBP, but I am not sure how much storage I should go for. I had been expecting to go for the 1TB option, but now that I see it will cost me $600 more, I am wondering if I should just go for the 512gb and get acquainted with an external drive, even though I hate the idea of having something extra to have plugged in to work on things. I have a ton of pictures and they take up a lot of space, and I am wondering if it will only be a matter of time for me to outgrow the 1TB anyway.

I know I can't be the only person who's dealt with this, so I was hoping someone might share how they've managed. Are you happy with how everything's worked out? Or would you just pony up the extra cash to avoid the headache of having the extra drive?

I guess one of my biggest questions is whether or not the Photos app can work with two drives at the same time without having to close and reopen the app. I'd be happy if I can store the new photos locally and then move them over to an external drive when I'm done editing them, but I'm not sure if I can do that without having to create multiple libraries that can't be opened at the same time. I know this worked in the old version of iMovie that I have, but obviously Photos is a different program.

 

[duervo]

These pictures ... are you carrying them around because they are stock images you might need for something like Web Dev or something else, and you don't have internet access where you work?

Just wondering, because if not, then I think you can realize a lot of benefit from investing in a small NAS. Nothing fancy. Just something like a 2bay unit, or even one of those little 4x2.5" bay units. That would be a much better use of that $600 cost diff, IMO.

One possible caveat with your use would be that you would need to have two different photo libraries. One library located on the NAS, and one locally, and you'd need to export/import between them probably. I suppose one possible solution to that would be something like Amazon. If you have Amazon Prime, you can store unlimited photos on Amazon. These are full-sized images too, not lower quality copies that I hear Google makes you store on their service. or ... Synology NAS can be setup as your own personal cloud server. Instead of storing your photos on Amazon, Google, or Apple, you store them in the DS Photo app, and then download locally to edit, and upload back to it when done.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Do you realize how tiny those little pocket storage drives with 3TB are? Its not that inconvenient.

Get a 512 and then organize your collections of things you dont often use on your drive and archive them there to maintain space.

 

[boast]

I use my NAS to store all the photos and rely on Lightroom with Smart Previews to do "offline" editing that will then sync back to the RAW/Original file when the NAS is accessible.

 

[End User Onizuka]

These pictures ... are you carrying them around because they are stock images you might need for something like Web Dev or something else, and you don't have internet access where you work?

Just wondering, because if not, then I think you can realize a lot of benefit from investing in a small NAS. Nothing fancy. Just something like a 2bay unit, or even one of those little 4x2.5" bay units. That would be a much better use of that $600 cost diff, IMO.

It's pretty much personal - family/hobby. I'm just never home and like to work on my pictures during lunch at work or anywhere else I have the time. I have a NAS set up at home where I offload a copy of everything, but it comes in handy to have everything local without needing an internet connection. Plus I like having everything in one place to for when I back things up.

It'd be great if I could have stuff stored locally while I edited them and then moved them out to an external drive once I was done doing that. That way I wouldn't have to plug in the external drive every time I wanted to edit my photos.

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Do you realize how tiny those little pocket storage drives with 3TB are? Its not that inconvenient.

Get a 512 and then organize your collections of things you dont often use on your drive and archive them there to maintain space.

Yeah, I know they are small and am open to using one. I just figure it would be annoying to have to plug one in every time that I work on my photos. I also don't know if the Photos app could manage having more than one disk at a time. From what I've read, the iPhoto app would make only be able work with one library at a time, so you would have to close the program and reopen it to go between pictures stored locally and externally.

I also didn't know if there would be a performance hit when going through your photos stored on an external drive as compared to having them locally.

 

[MareLuce]

Even when small, those external hard drives are a PITA to need to use, especially if you're traveling.

My perspective...
1) I effectively increase the size of my laptop by the size of the drive
2) It's another thing to leave behind - either the drive or the connector
3) When I think I won't need it, I end out needing it.
4) Difficult to juggle that + a laptop on an airplane seatback tray

In these days of massively improved cost / GB, it's disappointing that Apple would add such a hugely high markup on storage.

 

[duervo]

Funny thing about storage. When I bought my very first computer, back in 1990, I was told that the 120MB hard drive was more than I needed, and I would never need anymore than that. Before that system was replaced, I had upgraded that drive 3 times because I needed the extra space. If I had just gotten the largest I could get when I originally bought the system I would have actually spent less over time then I did on spending money on those upgrades.

So, since you don't even have the option to upgrade here even in the future from used SSDs (rumors are saying the SSD's on these things are soldered onto the logic board,) you're probably going to need to either pay the extra $600 for 1TB, or change your habits, because the first time you forget the drive or its cable at home, you'll be kicking yourself.

 

[End User Onizuka]

Even when small, those external hard drives are a PITA to need to use, especially if you're traveling.

My perspective...
1) I effectively increase the size of my laptop by the size of the drive
2) It's another thing to leave behind - either the drive or the connector
3) When I think I won't need it, I end out needing it.
4) Difficult to juggle that + a laptop on an airplane seatback tray

In these days of massively improved cost / GB, it's disappointing that Apple would add such a hugely high markup on storage.

My thoughts exactly...I didn't expect 256 to be the standard option, considering how they've even bumped up the iPhone capacity at this point. I knew I'd have to pay more, but with it being so much more I am just trying to decide if I should rethink my approach. (and learn to cut back on how much I save lol)

 

[jerryk]

Look at the Samsung T3. It is a small SSD. About the size of 2 thumb drives. Even has a USB-C port.

I love mine. I regularly see peaks of over 500 GB/sec.

 

[Howard2k]

I use my NAS to store all the photos and rely on Lightroom with Smart Previews to do "offline" editing that will then sync back to the RAW/Original file when the NAS is accessible.

Ditto. I keep my main Lightroom library and my iTunes library on my NAS.
I can VPN to them if I'm remote and REALLY need them.

 

[End User Onizuka]

Look at the Samsung T3. It is a small SSD. About the size of 2 thumb drives. Even has a USB-C port.

I love mine. I regularly see peaks of over 500 GB/sec.

Just curious, but is it slower accessing the files using the T3 as compared to having the pics stored locally? I just looked that up on Amazon and am shocked at how small it is. It doesn't seem like that would be a pain to have hooked up while I have the computer sitting on my lap on the floor.

I'm tempted to go pick up a base 256 tomorrow because I'm not sure if I need the touchpad.

I'm coming from a 2009 non-retina MBP, so it isn't going to take much to amaze me performance-wise lol. I also only tend to work on one program at a time and don't run VMs, games or anything like that, so I don't know if I have to worry about having 16gb of RAM.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Here are two great solutions:

1) Samsung T3 1 TB
2) OWC Thunderbay RAID 5

Cheers,
Bryan