Is the SSD really worth the 999?For that money you can get a whole bunch of other stuff:upgrade processor,external superdrive,applecare....
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SSD worth it?
- Thread starter MacSamurai
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It will be worlds faster than the very very VERY slow 1.8" 4200RPM drive, but for $1000 you could buy a Macbook to go with your Air.
Why would you drop $1000 on 64GB?? The technology is too new and expensive. I would rather wait 2 years for the prices to fall.
Thats a good point. The prices will decrease in the time to come. But even the base MBA is ridiculously priced.
By the time I end up buying one of these, (or something similar depending what Apple do in the meantime), SSD will be cheap enough to replace like for like. Take 2GB RAM a few years back at $2000 a stick compared to $50 in some places now. SSD will eventually take over and in 12 months I would expect the same options to be about $100 more, if not standard by then.
What amazes me though is not only are Apple giving us 80GB as standard when we know they have stock of 160GB drives shipping in every week, and they are 4200rpm, (which is understandable for the size), but they are Parallel ATA. Not even SATA for this price. Speed will be significantly better if you pay the premium. For now though, $999 is a big premium.
I'd hold out maybe 6 months to see if BTO options give us more bang for our buck. If you can't wait, decide what you will use the machine for and if it's tasks where writing to the drive at high speeds is important or constant reading/writing is involved, go for the SSD. If it's going to be largely typing, web based stuff and say photos and music, less important. Importing video through FireWire would be drive intensive, as is most editing. Since there is no FW and most would consider this too small/restricted for everyday editing, I can't see it an issue.
What amazes me though is not only are Apple giving us 80GB as standard when we know they have stock of 160GB drives shipping in every week, and they are 4200rpm, (which is understandable for the size), but they are Parallel ATA. Not even SATA for this price. Speed will be significantly better if you pay the premium. For now though, $999 is a big premium.
I'd hold out maybe 6 months to see if BTO options give us more bang for our buck. If you can't wait, decide what you will use the machine for and if it's tasks where writing to the drive at high speeds is important or constant reading/writing is involved, go for the SSD. If it's going to be largely typing, web based stuff and say photos and music, less important. Importing video through FireWire would be drive intensive, as is most editing. Since there is no FW and most would consider this too small/restricted for everyday editing, I can't see it an issue.
It's as if they couldn't make their minds up concerning the target market. They didn't want it to compete with the MB so they priced it high. They didn't want it to compete with the MBP so they priced it low. Then they seemed to say, 'what the hell', and tacked on an SSD for a thousand dollars, making this their most expensive notebook with their *slowest* processor, all at once. They didn't think this through at all. In four years, a 17" MBP will still be an impressive, capable machine. In four years, a Rev. A MBA will be little more than a testament to reasons against early adoption.
I couldn't agree more. I feel the same way about the MacBook I just bought. It will suit my needs several years from now.
I also think the Air is a bit confusing. But I am sure Apple will sell quite a few of them. I do not think it will be "the Cube 2" as some people are labeling it. I am also quite sure that Apple has plenty of margin built into this first offering. The early adopters are going to be paying for a lot of the R&D that went into this thing.
This is identical with anything new...heck look at RAM, the iPhone, PS3, SSD...anything!! I do remember RAM was extremely expensive, now its extremely cheap!! Prices drop soon...months after a product is released usually. SSD prices will drop eventually...I say by this summer or fall prices should be lower.
If you want to, Apple will happily still help you do this. $700 extra to increase any MBP from 2GB to 4GB. IIRC in the UK store they charge £450 for the same, (about $900, but VAT included, without, about $729). Checking crucial out regularly, for the same you are looking about £110. Elsewhere I have seen it as low as £75 without VAT. Either way, that a premium of about 4 times if you buy and fit it yourself, not to mention you'd have two 1GB sticks spare to boot.
Apple need to lower their prices on BTO hard drives and RAM anyway. I can't see people standing for $999 for too long as prices tumble. Just a ploy to say that they have a machine with SSD.
