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Somebody please stop me from buying a SSD ...

L

lars666

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
1,217
1,412
Hi everybody,

is anybody else also tempted to already upgrade his/her MacBook (Pro) from HDD to SSD because of the incredible speed increase? I really think that the effect of e.g. opening applications so much quicker is simply wow, but I have to say to myself all the time: SSD is still too expensive and will get MUCH cheaper in VERY short time ... This is a real hard fight, believe me ...
 
lars666 said:
Hi everybody,

is anybody else also tempted to already upgrade his/her MacBook (Pro) from HDD to SSD because of the incredible speed increase? I really think that the effect of e.g. opening applications so much quicker is simply wow, but I have to say to myself all the time: SSD is still too expensive and will get MUCH cheaper in VERY short time ... This is a real hard fight, believe me ...
Click to expand...

gimme your credit card number and i will max it out on stuff so you cant order it.

What hard drive do you have now and what SSD are you wanting to upgrade to?
 
lars666 said:
Hi everybody,

is anybody else also tempted to already upgrade his/her MacBook (Pro) from HDD to SSD because of the incredible speed increase? I really think that the effect of e.g. opening applications so much quicker is simply wow, but I have to say to myself all the time: SSD is still too expensive and will get MUCH cheaper in VERY short time ... This is a real hard fight, believe me ...
Click to expand...

too little of hard drive space for me, i need atleast 500gb and i heard ssd's are coming with that soon.. by then the prices mite not be as outlandish either.
 
If you can wait, wait.. I'm also tempted, but the price is just too much..especially for the intel x25m which is the one I'm waiting for. I'm probably going to wait till it drops a little under $300.. you know the price will drop.
 
I have the stock 250GB with 5200 rpm. I know that a 7200 rpm version probably already would make a difference, but to me, the next step is SSD - now or later. As to what SSD I'd like to get: One moment, I'm thinking about getting a quite cheap, but still quite fast model with low capacity (64 GB) and to make content sacrifices on my notebook, the other moment I'm thinking about putting the 700-900 dollar on the table for the high-end 256 GB Samsung drive. Both directions are irrational, I'm afraid and just "wanting, wanting, wanting!" I think I have to force myself to wait until the 256GB versions become reasonable priced ... Other than amitdoc2b, 256GB would definitely be enough for me in this notebook and a perfect size.
 
We all know you didn't post this thread so we can convince you not to. You've already made the decision, and you want reassurance :p We know how this thread will end. Enjoy your new drive!
 
lars666 said:
I have the stock 250GB with 5200 rpm. I know that a 7200 rpm version probably already would make a difference, but to me, the next step is SSD - now or later. As to what SSD I'd like to get: One moment, I'm thinking about getting a quite cheap, but still quite fast model with low capacity (64 GB) and to make content sacrifices on my notebook, the other moment I'm thinking about putting the 700-900 dollar on the table for the high-end 256 GB Samsung drive. Both directions are irrational, I'm afraid and just "wanting, wanting, wanting!" I think I have to force myself to wait until the 256GB versions become reasonable priced ... Other than amitdoc2b, 256GB would definitely be enough for me in this notebook and a perfect size.
Click to expand...

i'm fighting the temptation myself. i keep saying, final cut studio 2 would alone take up 60-75 gb. add cs4 and a 256gb ssd is almost gone. so, i think i'm going to wait it out and see what the prices of the 500gb ssd's look like. for now i'll stick with my 7200rpm 500gb seagate. hope that helped. :)
 
lars666 said:
I have the stock 250GB with 5200 rpm. I know that a 7200 rpm version probably already would make a difference, but to me, the next step is SSD - now or later. As to what SSD I'd like to get: One moment, I'm thinking about getting a quite cheap, but still quite fast model with low capacity (64 GB) and to make content sacrifices on my notebook, the other moment I'm thinking about putting the 700-900 dollar on the table for the high-end 256 GB Samsung drive. Both directions are irrational, I'm afraid and just "wanting, wanting, wanting!" I think I have to force myself to wait until the 256GB versions become reasonable priced ... Other than amitdoc2b, 256GB would definitely be enough for me in this notebook and a perfect size.
Click to expand...
:apple:I would get the 7200RPM and wait at least till this fall and maybe upgrade your ram etc.:apple:
 
As long as these threads continue to make SSD that something special, the price will remain high. You want it, you'll pay for it. When that stops, the price will fall. Nobody needs SSD.
 
mrkgoo said:
We all know you didn't post this thread so we can convince you not to. You've already made the decision, and you want reassurance :p We know how this thread will end. Enjoy your new drive!
Click to expand...

Haha! Got me! No - I'll show you and the world that I can keep strong ... sometimes ... mabye ... Man, simply going to Amazon.com and reading all the buyer reviews of the Intel SSD is TORTURE!!

"An amazing improvement in computer speed"

"Most compelling upgrade ever"

"My laptop now feels like it's 3 generations newer.... The only sad part is that I know I can now NEVER go back to rotating storage... just like you can't go back to dailup after having used DSL for a while."

"I have to say that this is undoubtably the most amazing improvement that I've made in my system in as long as I can remember. The only thing that I can remember like this is the time that I bought a 3Dfx Voodoo 3D card and used it to play my first 3D accelerated game."

etc.

pp.

Who can resist that???

mbradyrn said:
50 bucks for a 320gb/7200 drive is a lot cheaper than a SSD. Unless you just have to have it, it would be hard to honestly a better bang for your buck than this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-DealNews&cm_mmc=AFC-DealNews-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

good luck,Mike
Click to expand...

These drives are THAT cheap today?? Well, for 50 bucks I'll mabye change my mind and make a (short?) extra step between 5200rpm and SSD ...

dubhe said:
As long as these threads continue to make SSD that something special, the price will remain high. You want it, you'll pay for it. When that stops, the price will fall. Nobody needs SSD.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it isn't the other way around? The more people buy and the more can be produced, the cheaper new technology gets ...?

EDIT: Well, now that I have a second thought on this, it surely isn't very logical what I wrote ... New technology still gets cheaper to produce in higher amounts, though, and this can also benifit to the retail price at the end - even if the companys will still sell it to the higher price, of course, as long as enough people are willing to pay it ...
 
lars666 said:
Are you sure it isn't the other way around? The more people buy and the more can be produced, the cheaper new technology gets ...?
Click to expand...

Of course, for the manufacturer, but the marketing guy will keep the price as high as people will be prepared to pay for it.
 
I have ordered myself 17" with 256GB SSD... But I have some money to burn at the moment.

Main reason for me was to have a system which runs cool.

Otherwise, Apple's SSD offering all over the net is claimed to be very bad at price/performance ratio. I'd say, if you really consider buying an SSD for its performance/power saving, I would suggest to wait about one year when prices would fall down. At the moment you can get plain HDD and then later simply upgrade to SSD. That is IMO most price efficient way.

Otherwise, if you like me have some money to burn, then why not?
 
i was having the same issue of needing someone to stop me from buying the SSD. my wife helped with that. i was on the put in the credit card information screen. i grabbed my wallet, pulled out my card, and my wife said what are you buying? i said ssd for the mac. she said what is it? i told her

she said no

i am allowed to buy it, but only when our tax refund comes in. i am hoping the 256gb samsung is out by then.
 
Don't buy an SSD now. Wait for the capacities to increase the prices to fall the speeds to normalises between models and the long-term reliability testing to be concluded.

It is no secret that they cost a lot of money even for a 128GB or 256GB SSD
The speeds between models vary wildly but the prices mostly do not.
A few recent 'Super Fast' SSD drives from Intel especially have shown to degrade in performance over time sometimes as much as 40% or more. Buyer beware.

If these are not all good reasons not to buy one yet then I don't know what is. HOWEVER if you really want the fastest drive money can buy and use an External for some of your content (Music, Videos etc) and you don't mind paying a very high premium or doing extensive homework on which one to buy then by all means, pull the trigger.
 
I like the performance of the SSD
I think I'll just wait for my next machine and order it with ssd, hopefully, ssd will be good enough to be the standard by then
 
lars666 said:
Hi everybody,

is anybody else also tempted to already upgrade his/her MacBook (Pro) from HDD to SSD because of the incredible speed increase? I really think that the effect of e.g. opening applications so much quicker is simply wow, but I have to say to myself all the time: SSD is still too expensive and will get MUCH cheaper in VERY short time ... This is a real hard fight, believe me ...
Click to expand...

OK, I'll try. Stop!

Did that work?

Seriously I think the 256GB Samsung SSD looks great. BUT keep in mind the only place to find it right now (that I've seen) is in a system (like the 17" MBP) or ebay. And if you get it from ebay, kiss any hope of a warranty goodbye. Samsung doesn't sell it to individuals so don't expect anything from them. Ever gotten bad memory? Think about what happens if your new SSD gets a fault. If you got it in a system from Apple they would take care of you. But an ebay purchase? Good luck...

So did I stop you yet? :)
 
Not only you, but also Quu and some other folks here. I think I'm healed - at least for the moment ... The temptation will stay however, like a dry SSD drunk ... ;) I hope I will stay strong untill prices get better. Thanks for the moment to all of you!! :D
 
youpey said:
she said no
Click to expand...

Why do wives have to spoil all of our fun?
When I bought my MBA I knew I would get into trouble, so I bought her a MB Alu at the same time, gave her that first, then slipped mine into the conversation when she was happy :D
 
Wait for a high capacity one to become more mainstream and lower in price. In about a year or so I think the hubbub will calm down and prices should be a little more reasonable. At the moment they're sorta like a specialty item, so, just wait it out. That's what I'm trying to do :p. I really want speed but I can't live with a 80GB drive, that's just way too small.
 
Ah yes, I had to deal with this same thing. When I got my MacBook Pro like 3 weeks ago, I went to NewEgg and a couple times put the G.Skill 256GB SSD into my shopping cart, but never managed to press they "buy" button :p I ended up with a 5400RPM 500GB WD (7200RPM Seagate was out of stock :() and now I'm waiting for a good company to come out with a 512GB (maybe more? :p) SSD by the end of the year at the price of the current 256 GB ones (around 500$ - 700$). I have been following the prices and storage increases for a while, and the 512 seems quite realistic by the end of the year.
 
Only if you know what you're putting in your MBP...

I'm an owner of a late 2008 MBP. I got burnt on a ssd and won't bother with one until it's better proven reliable. The story goes:
I replaced my stock Hitachi 5400 rpm with a Patriot Warp V2 128G, and was really happy for the first 2 days. The boot time and application loading times were ridiculously short, and thought money well spent.
WRONG! I started to get endless beach balls waking up from sleep or just quitting MS word for mac forcing me to cold boot. In 5 days, boot failure. Within a week from the day of purchase I got it exchanged for Seagate 7200 rpm and I'm relieved from all that crap. And guess what, my user experience is that the 7200 rpm is not much slower than the SSD's, and are MUCH CHEAPER AND RELIABLE.

I'm not sure if you've heard the news that JMicron controller is the culprit. Well, besides Intel and Samsung and only recently released Corsair SSD's, pretty much all other SSD's in the market use the craptacular JMicron controller. OCZ's Vertex is known to have ditched JMicron but is yet to be released.

Yes, SSDs are expensive but that's not my point here. If you got money to burn, why not. My point is that there is not much of a pool to choose RELIABLE SSDs from, just yet. There are many angry SSD users out there (including myself) who were tempted at suddenly attractive prices and took the plunge. I say wait.
 
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