SSD + HDD in next-gen MBP?

[redaxe]

So, with the whole SSD craze going around lately, I've been thinking a lot. I don't trust SSDs as my primary HD in my laptop simply because if they fail, they fail and nothing can be recovered. That said, the performance shatters anything conventional HDDs can do. This lead me to think that a hybrid solution is what the world needs. What do you guys think is the possibility of us seeing a hybrid SSD/HDD MBP? My idea is to have a 16GB SSD along with your usual 320GB/500GB 7200RPM HDD. The SSD would house the OS and any apps you needed lightning fast performance from, while the HDD would handle all conventional data (movies, music, documents etc). I definitely think that this should be the next goal for the Macbook Pro. I was actually anticipating this for the Late 2008 ones, but instead we got dual graphics cards.

This would be so sweet.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Or get an SSD in your MBP and a Time Capsule on the side... y'know??
No point in cluttering up an already full laptop enclosure..

 

[fuzzielitlpanda]

some netbook are already doing this. it's a great idea, but i don't think apple will implement it as they've already started selling ssd based configurations (which means they think ssds are reliable enough for both a boot drive and storage drive).

 

[redaxe]

In response to the clutter comment, couldn't Apple opt to use smaller-sized SSDs? Or what about NAND flash? Those are relatively fast too.

 

[Michael CM1]

In response to the clutter comment, couldn't Apple opt to use smaller-sized SSDs? Or what about NAND flash? Those are relatively fast too.

SSDs are made from NAND flash.

As for why Apple doesn't use smaller ones, it's because nobody wants a 16GB drive. That leaves room for the OS and two documents. OK, not really, but that's not much room at all, even for an iPhone.

As for your original question, HDDs are easily capable of failing. I've had one go kerplunk before and it's not fun. That's why any professional will tell you to back up your data. The likelihood of two drives failing at the same time is much slimmer.

As one person pointed out, get a computer with an SSD and back it up to a HDD using Time Machine. SSDs aren't as bad as you think, but HDDs aren't as good as you think. Both are highly inferior in data loss to optical media, which is why you should back up photos to CDs or DVDs every now and then.

 

[Scottsdale]

I have read and experienced positive things about SSD. Mostly, that SSDs are far less prone to failure or data loss than HDD. Not only that, the SSD works like ten times as long with super low failure rate.

Where have you read negative about SSDs? And why do you think less stable? SSDs are newer technology and the controller seems to be only major issue. I would trust my data on an SSD long before a HDD. Maybe I am wrong.

Anyone has had or read differently that the SSDs are less stable and more prone to data loss and failure??? Seems odd.

I think advantage of small SSD along with HDD is SSD for OS and apps, and an HDD for file storage. The SSD is like 10x faster and most benefit from SSD on primary drive for OS X and apps by fast boots and fast response with apps and OS X.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

I am waiting for the price of intel's SSDs to become acceptable before buying, then I will put it into my new mac pro.

The secret is to back up well. TC with TM is very good, but not enough for me. I maintain clones of my drives.

The SSD look amazing and I can't wait to be able to afford one. I don't need a huge drive in my laptop as all music/video/photos is stored externally and accessable from anywhere.