I can't decide whether I should get the 500gb 7200 rpm hdd or the 128 gb ssd. I'm a bit apprehensive about the amount of space on the ssd, but in my old macbook I've only used 96 gb/ 256 gb. Will 128 gb be enough space for college, or am I just better off going the big hdd and possibly upgrading later on?
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SSD vs. HDD for college student
- Thread starter zsobes
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Get both. I'm in college and have 6 Tb worth of data spread over a number of drives i've obtained over the years. SSD is 80 GBs but only for OS files. Think about it; do you really need high speed access to MP3s or large movies on your person all the time? Plop it on an external or leave it at home; better yet store it on 'the cloud'.
Even if you want to upgrade to an SSD, do it after you purchased the MBP, as it will be cheaper than buying the SSD from Apple.
And if you do that, you can then use the 500GB HDD in an external FW800 or USB 2.0 or even Thunderbolt enclosure for backup/storage purposes.
And if you do that, you can then use the 500GB HDD in an external FW800 or USB 2.0 or even Thunderbolt enclosure for backup/storage purposes.
If you are really a college student, you're probably on a budget. That said, unless you rely on your laptop for business (which you don't, because you're in college), a mechanical/non-SSD hard drive is fine. While HDD may not compare to SSD in terms of speed, with modern OS like Lion, HDD are very usable and still quite fast IMO. Plus, you are probably going to be more concerned with Gb/$, which you won't get from an SSD.
You can use optibay if you want for a HDD+SSD, but I would think you're better off just getting the HDD. If you can afford it and REALLY need the SSD, buy it but be prepared to have a large external for your movies and other large media since you won't have space on the SSD, and for TimeMachine backups.
You can use optibay if you want for a HDD+SSD, but I would think you're better off just getting the HDD. If you can afford it and REALLY need the SSD, buy it but be prepared to have a large external for your movies and other large media since you won't have space on the SSD, and for TimeMachine backups.
In theory a SSD will be safer. You carry your laptops around a lot and shakes the drive. Sometimes before the laptop has fully gone to sleep and is still writing. An SSD will be safer in a laptop that could be dropped or shaken. That said the failure rate of a HDD today is very low. An SSD would just remove a slim chance of 'death by shake.'
I personally would go with a rather decently priced 120GB SSD and put the 500GB HDD in a $50 USB case from newegg and leave it at your dorm for storage/time machine.
I personally would go with a rather decently priced 120GB SSD and put the 500GB HDD in a $50 USB case from newegg and leave it at your dorm for storage/time machine.
It is safer but the cost to GB ratio is too high for a college student. I'm a college student myself but I'm not saying I am broke
I would suggest getting a 750GB 7200RPM and use the cash I save to get books instead. OR you can use the money to get a nice external monitor too! I carry my laptops a lot and occasionally throw it on my bed or shake it when I am walking. Not a single issue and I am pretty rough on my laptops. But, you know what I did OP? I wouldn't suggest it to everybody but if you have the money to spend go for it. I bought a 250GB Intel 510 SSD and it works beautifully. I also went for a 1TB external for backups. Really, you do not need 250GB, but 120GB will be great for you or even smaller like an 80GB. Make sure you get an external though.
In your case, especially since you don't need that much space, a 128GB SSD is perfect. Make sure you get an SSD that's SATA III, as it's speed is double that of Apple's. Just go on Youtube and see how fast programs and OSX loads up and you'll want one. In the end, no one ever "needs" an SSD, just like no one ever needs a Porsche...