SSD Upgrade worth 800 bucks?

[svalentine]

Is the the $800 dollar upgrade from 320GB 7200RPM to 256GB SSD worth it? I understand boot times, load times and reading/writing to the drive will be a lot quicker, but how about performance during High Def Movies or Gaming (actually being in the game)?

Do any of you see prices dropping in the near future and space increased by a 3rd party SSD drive?

Thanks for the help! This the last thing I'm deciding on before I place my order for the new 17" MBP!

 

[Niiro13]

I think you should wait until the first people get it and benchmark it.

I've ordered a $499 256GB SSD that has the same theoretical claim as the Samsung which some people are thinking is the one Apple is going to use.

So if you can wait for the 17" SSD benchmarks and I'll get some benchmarks when it comes in next week (stupid rush processing isn't really rushing).

Other than that, the performance in games depends on the game and how they programmed it. Generally, SSDs only help loading times. But if you are playing something like Fallout 3 or Oblivion where I believe they load the outside map as you walk, then you'll notice (not like it lagged in the first place with a 5400, though).

Movies depend on the GPU, which there seems to be reports that the 9600GT drivers on the Mac side are really bad. (though Apple issued an update recently which should have fixed it)

 

[nippyjun]

Is the the $800 dollar upgrade from 320GB 7200RPM to 256GB SSD worth it? I understand boot times, load times and reading/writing to the drive will be a lot quicker, but how about performance during High Def Movies or Gaming (actually being in the game)?

Do any of you see prices dropping in the near future and space increased by a 3rd party SSD drive?

Thanks for the help! This the last thing I'm deciding on before I place my order for the new 17" MBP!

Load time for games, levels in games, programs will be faster. Anandtech has a good review of ssd's. Weather it's worth it is another question.

I want to get one as well, but in my opinion now is not the time unless price is not an issue for your. The technology is just coming into bloom and prices and quality will improve quickly. We've already seen new models recently and prices falling. You can always upgrade later. I'm waiting at least a few months to see what's available then.

 

[spaceballl]

I just ordered the G. Skill 256GB SSD. This is the one w/ the internal RAID controller and I will definitely post my report after I install it.

 

[8767092]

Is the upgrade to an SSD worth it? Yes.

Is it worth it at an $800 price tag? No

SSDs are great for many uses, but the current price tags are just too high. Note: I own a 128GB SSD that is built into my Macbook Pro. I'm not just saying that without experience.

The various manufacturers are building them better and cheaper every day with the prices falling for bigger sizes every day. 6 months to 1 year from now they will be much larger and much cheaper. My view is the price still outweighs the benefit for now unless you have a very specific non-performance related reason to buy one.