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Amnesiac1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 11, 2010
412
0
Hello,

I have my OS and apps (including Word) installed on the SSD. Should I save all Word documents to my HD, then?

Thanks.
 
Well word documents are only couple KB...
Even with pictures its like couple MB.
Def not GB but yeah I would put it into the 2TB.

Make your SSD free of space as boot drive
 
Usually the rule of thumb is to use the SSD for the OS and applications, then store your other files (docs, pics, videos, music, et cetera) on the HDD.
 
Usually the rule of thumb is to use the SSD for the OS and applications, then store your other files (docs, pics, videos, music, et cetera) on the HDD.

since we are on this topic i'm planning on installing an additional ssd on my optical drive and keep the 1tb hdd where is at right now..

if i do this how would i go into using both hdd? do i just drag the "download-pictures-music-documents" folders into the other hdd i'm a bit confused about this part and i wanna be ready when i install my ssd.

I also have a 1tb external hdd thru FW800, Would the 1tb internal hdd show like my external hdd shows up on finder?
 
Will it really do much harm if I save my .docs and whatnot on my SSD? My User folder is on my SSD and I was considering moving it over to my HD, but maybe I shouldn't...? I mean, is there really an advantage?

I mean, consider what was said here in another discussion:

Yes this is what i am suggesting... moving the user directories to the HDD will not take full advantage of the SSD speed. the important user subdirectory is the library this contains lots of small caches and preference files that are used by apps. These files can be read faster and due to their number and size also accessed faster, therefore they should remain on the SSD as it will be a great benefit to general operation (any Mac OS admin who has set up networked user accounts will tell you this about the user directory). generally the library does not take up much space, although some apps do put media resources in there (many people end up moving them out if they are set up with a small fast disk / slow large disk - be it a HDD RAID or SSD).
 
since we are on this topic i'm planning on installing an additional ssd on my optical drive and keep the 1tb hdd where is at right now..

if i do this how would i go into using both hdd? do i just drag the "download-pictures-music-documents" folders into the other hdd i'm a bit confused about this part and i wanna be ready when i install my ssd.

I also have a 1tb external hdd thru FW800, Would the 1tb internal hdd show like my external hdd shows up on finder?

I would not use the SSD in the Optical bay and the HDD in the primary bay slot. Many have experienced slow boot performance. The object of having the SSD is to facilitate faster boot times. I have two SSD's and the boot drive resides in the primary slot with the other drive in the optical bay. The new drive will show up as an internal drive while the external will show up as an external drive in Finder. However do what you want.

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Will it really do much harm if I save my .docs and whatnot on my SSD? My User folder is on my SSD and I was considering moving it over to my HD, but maybe I shouldn't...? I mean, is there really an advantage?

I mean, consider what was said here in another discussion:

Without going into massive detail, simply leave the OS and its folders on the SSD which should be in the primary bay. Don't make it complicated. You can put your files on the other drive.
 
Hello,

I have my OS and apps (including Word) installed on the SSD. Should I save all Word documents to my HD, then?

Thanks.

Short answer is:

- OS + Apps on the SSD (accessing/reading from it is much faster);

- Your Home folder with all docs, media etc. on the HD (since these are normally much bigger and take many more writes);

- for those using Steam, it's good to put the SteamApps folder on the SSD as well and use a symlink to connect it with your main Steam folder on your User>Library>Application Support folder - this way, Steam will load games much faster and recognize all your custom maps without a hiccup.
 
Will it really do much harm if I save my .docs and whatnot on my SSD? My User folder is on my SSD and I was considering moving it over to my HD, but maybe I shouldn't...? I mean, is there really an advantage?

I mean, consider what was said here in another discussion:

It will do zero harm. Use your drive and enjoy it.
 
Good question.
I have SSD + 1TB HD and have been saving pictures etc to the HDD. While the pictures don't take up that much space, I'd rather save the SSD for the faster boot. Putting documents, pictures etc on the SSD will defeat the benefits.
 
Good question.
I have SSD + 1TB HD and have been saving pictures etc to the HDD. While the pictures don't take up that much space, I'd rather save the SSD for the faster boot. Putting documents, pictures etc on the SSD will defeat the benefits.

But adding data to the SSD doesn't make it slower. Speed is not dependent on how much free space there is on the drive. Put the stuff you're using on the SSD and put the stuff you're infrequently using on the mechanical drive.
 
I have the OP's exact setup. The general rule I follow is what some have offered in this thread: applications and OS on the SSD, home folder entirely moved to the HDD. Yes, there may be some minor speed gains by selectively having parts of the home folder on the SSD but some of the general rule is keeping it reasonably simple.

The driver of this general rule is the wealth of information online that suggests the goal of using an SSD is to minimize writes to it. In other words, you want to write infrequently to it to maximize it's useful life. Reads from it are no problem (and you will read from it much more quickly than an HDD).

My system set up this way boots really quickly and apps load really quickly (all reads from the SSD). Home folder files like music, photos, etc are all relatively small and seem to load very quickly even though they are all on the HDD.

There is an option in Preferences:Accounts where you can easily move your whole home folder (drag & drop) to another drive and then point the system to the new location with only one change. It's in a (right click) "Advanced" option. I've been using a Mac this way since late summer 2010. It works great.

I wouldn't get hung up much in where .doc files are written. Those will be really tiny files and I bet you won't be able to feel a difference in how fast they read from SSD vs. HDD if you try to subjectively compare the two. If you move the home folder to the HDD, you'll still be storing them in "documents" just like before (only now "documents" will be on the HDD).

I hope this helps. Obviously, I believe it is THE answer to this question. If speed is paramount, obviously using the SSD as much as possible should rule. If SSD longevity matters much, this split seems to be an excellent balance of speed with the desire to write to the SSD as infrequently as possible.
 
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You can actually change the location of you home directory. Go to the users preference pane and unlock it. Right click on your user name and go to advanced options. Change the location of your directory to the HDD and restart. Now it will point your home directory to your HDD and still store all of the programs and OS on the SSD. I did this with my Macbook Pro when I added a 60GB SSD and put a 1TB HDD in my optibay. Works perfectly.
 
You can actually change the location of you home directory. Go to the users preference pane and unlock it. Right click on your user name and go to advanced options. Change the location of your directory to the HDD and restart. Now it will point your home directory to your HDD and still store all of the programs and OS on the SSD. I did this with my Macbook Pro when I added a 60GB SSD and put a 1TB HDD in my optibay. Works perfectly.

I have a similar setup on my Mac Pro and iMac and moved my "Users" directory to the hard disk. It has been working perfectly for quite some time for me on both systems. I am about to do the same thing to my SSD Macbook Pro by adding a conventional HD to the optibay to accommodate my large photo and music libraries.


-howard
 
I have kept my home folder on the SSD for ease and also to have the setup look the same as other computers, however I use symlinks to point to music, pictures, movies folders located in a directory on my HDD. This way I still have the neat little icons on the sidebar and it appears as if everything's on the SSD. Took a little getting used to but now I'm addicted to symbolic links.
 
One advantage of relocating your "User" directory to the rotating disk is that everything continues to work normally as you use your computer (i.e. documents go to the "documents" folder, music, photos, etc. all reside in their proper locations naturally. They are just located on the larger disk drive where large libraries not needing expensive SSD speed can be stored. No user installed symbolic links are required.




-howard
 
I'm still wondering if moving my Home folder to the HDD is the best decision. Since videos, documents, etc. are on the home folder, and I access those frequently, shouldn't they stay on the SSD?

I've had my iMac for a few months now and I've kept everything on my SSD. My HDD is empty. Is this fine? Can I continue going on as I have been without harming my iMac? Yes, paranoid question, but I want to be careful...
 
I'm still wondering if moving my Home folder to the HDD is the best decision. Since videos, documents, etc. are on the home folder, and I access those frequently, shouldn't they stay on the SSD?

I've had my iMac for a few months now and I've kept everything on my SSD. My HDD is empty. Is this fine? Can I continue going on as I have been without harming my iMac? Yes, paranoid question, but I want to be careful...

The advantage of having a HDD in addition to the SSD is for storing huge photo, music, video, data etc. libraries which don't benefit from the speed of the SSD and can thus avoid the high $$$ cost of SSD space to store them.

You will not harm your computer by having those items on your SSD if they fit, and of course that is the preferred method if your SSD is large enough (then you really don't need the HDD at all and can probably remove it and the heat it produces). :)



-howard
 
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