What size SSD?

[Gixene]

Hello MacRumors community!

I currently have a MacBook 7,1 (13-inch, Mid 2010) with a 250 GB SATA, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 memory and NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB graphics.

As you can imagine, the notebook is quite underpowered which is why I plan on purchasing a new notebook when the new MacBook Air and/or MacBook Pro is released.

I come here today because I feel I have unique computing needs that may differ from the average MacRumor community.

Out of the 250 GB SATA, I have 214.44 GB available meaning I have only used 31.76 GB. I have Google Chrome, Adobe Flash Player (every once in a while I'm asked to download, not by choice), Malwarebytes and Hazel.

I use the MacBook mainly for general use along with college studies. The most intensive task is Leage of Legends occasionally with friends. I do plan to download Microsoft 360 as it's free through college enrollment and necessary when submitting coursework.

I'm someone who has everything on the MacBook and iPhone 6 Plus on iCloud which accounts for 4 GB in iCloud. I do not currently use Storeage Optimization, but not opposed to using it to save GBs. As you can see, I'm not your typical Apple user.

Depending on Apple's release, I would purchase a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. I do plan to spend no more than $1,250 before taxes not including education discount, so theoretically $1,350 more or less.

I know this is premature, but I was allowed to take a half day (12 PM) this Thursday in the event the MacBooks are available to purchase immediately and would prefer to purchase that same day. So I would like to have my decision set in stone in regards to hardware before purchasing to be sure the purchase isn't delayed.

I don't believe the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro will be available in a 128 GB SSD seeing as the MacBook's SSD begins at 256. Though it could be a possibility with Apple keeping the MacBook Pro in a certain price range.

If this is true and considering the unique needs I have. If the MacBook Pro has features the MacBook Air does not have (retina, touchbar, etc.) and I opt for the 128 GB SSD with the MacBook Pro instead of the 256 GB SSD MacBook Air, could this be advisable? Furthermore, if I do opt for the MacBook Air. Would purchasing the 128 GB SSD and upgrading the processor for $150 instead of the 256 GB be advisable, for performance increase?

Just want to get your opinion and have my ducks in a row depending on the outcome.

Thank you!

Gixene

 

[Spink10]

Based on your needs if there is a 128GB go for it! You don't need 256.

 

[Flynnstone]

I've got one of those MacBooks. Added a SSD drive (240G I think) and its like a new machine. I think I also upgraded to 6 or 8G of memory.

 

[Gixene]

I've got one of those MacBooks. Added a SSD drive (240G I think) and its like a new machine. I think I also upgraded to 6 or 8G of memory.

If it were 2013, I would certainly agree with you. However, the battery has shown "Replace Soon" (I don't remember the exact words) for the past year. This including a SSD, would cost $450. I'm not as tech savvy as others here and upgrading/repairing a MacBook is the equivalent of open heart surgery. I don't have the tools, so I would be paying for someone to do this. Sure, I may be fine doing this if I had a secondary MacBook, but I simply don't have this luxury and I definitely don't believe this MacBook is worth investing in.

 

[Quad5Ny]

How long do you plan on owning the laptop? I would strongly suggest getting the most RAM and storage you can afford (even if that means waiting a extra month or two to buy it).

There is a good chance new models will have a soldered on SSD, in the past you could buy buy a larger used (Apple OEM) SSD on eBay (or one from OWC). If they move to the soldered route you will never be able to get more storage.

Not only will low storage capacity (and RAM) hurt resale value but smaller SSD's are actually a bit slower these days because they don't have as many flash chips to parallelize the workload to.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll love the upgrade from the 2010 MacBook.

 

[Gixene]

How long do you plan on owning the laptop? I would strongly suggest getting the most RAM and storage you can afford (even if that means waiting a extra month or two to buy it).

There is a good chance new models will have a soldered on SSD, in the past you could buy buy a larger used (Apple OEM) SSD on eBay (or one from OWC). If they move to the soldered route you will never be able to get more storage.

Not only will low storage capacity (and RAM) hurt resale value but smaller SSD's are actually a bit slower these days because they don't have as many flash chips to parallelize the workload to.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll love the upgrade from the 2010 MacBook.

I hope to own it for as long as this current MacBook (6 years). I could afford to spend $2,150 (after taxes and education discount) or the equivalent of the MacBook Pro with 15.4" Display, Intel Core i7, 16GB Memory and 256GB Flash Storage. There's no need to 'save' for a couple of months. Though the intention I had was to purchase the next MacBook that would be slightly higher in terms of price range from the bottom shelf MacBook I had bought in 2010.

This is simply the only logic (if you want to call it that) I had behind this. I do the best I can to be responsible fiscally and not overspend. I would absolutely love a 15.4" but I don't believe I could take advantage of the full abilities of this notebook. Think of it as a grandpa driving a Lamborghini (composed to my current MacBook).

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I hope to own it for as long as this current MacBook (6 years). I could afford to spend $2,150 (after taxes and education discount) or the equivalent of the MacBook Pro with 15.4" Display, Intel Core i7, 16GB Memory and 256GB Flash Storage. There's no need to 'save' for a couple of months. Though the intention I had was to purchase the next MacBook that would be slightly higher in terms of price range from the bottom shelf MacBook I had bought in 2010.

This is simply the only logic (if you want to call it that) I had behind this. I do the best I can to be responsible fiscally and not overspend. I would absolutely love a 15.4" but I don't believe I could take advantage of the full abilities of this notebook. Think of it as a grandpa driving a Lamborghini (composed to my current MacBook).

Just buy the base model, whatever that is it will do all your needs just fine by the sounds of it. If in the future you need more space a NAS would probably be your best bet.

 

[Gixene]

Just buy the base model, whatever that is it will do all your needs just fine by the sounds of it. If in the future you need more space a NAS would probably be your best bet.

Would a 128 GB with an upgraded processor (as I mentioned in the original post) preform better than a 256 GB with a baseline processor?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Would a 128 GB with an upgraded processor (as I mentioned in the original post) preform better than a 256 GB with a baseline processor?

Probably not, yes a bit in benchmarks but in everyday use you'll never notice the difference on the rMBP. It will make a bit more of a difference in the air due to the difference in percentage of the speed increase but again with what you do you wouldn't be able to tell with them side by side.

Also the 128gb SSD is slower to write to disk than the 256gb version that's just a quirk of flash storage.

As I said it's really not going to make much difference for you but the screen and the increased specs on the pro are worth it so only go for the air if it's about price, I wouldn't be buying a computer with the current air screen at the moment though.

You might even want to look at the current MacBook it will probably fit your needs quite well.

 

[loby]

I've got one of those MacBooks. Added a SSD drive (240G I think) and its like a new machine. I think I also upgraded to 6 or 8G of memory.

Agree, I was able to put 16 GB of memory into my MacBook Pro 2010 with a Samsung Evo 240 GB and it seems like a new laptop!

 

[McScooby]

If it were 2013, I would certainly agree with you. However, the battery has shown "Replace Soon" (I don't remember the exact words) for the past year. This including a SSD, would cost $450. I'm not as tech savvy as others here and upgrading/repairing a MacBook is the equivalent of open heart surgery. I don't have the tools, so I would be paying for someone to do this. Sure, I may be fine doing this if I had a secondary MacBook, but I simply don't have this luxury and I definitely don't believe this MacBook is worth investing in.

There's nothing to it, remember 2010 was in the good ol' days of when expected common folk to be able to do it and it was designed that way;
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165

 

[Gixene]

Probably not, yes a bit in benchmarks but in everyday use you'll never notice the difference on the rMBP. It will make a bit more of a difference in the air due to the difference in percentage of the speed increase but again with what you do you wouldn't be able to tell with them side by side.

Also the 128gb SSD is slower to write to disk than the 256gb version that's just a quirk of flash storage.

As I said it's really not going to make much difference for you but the screen and the increased specs on the pro are worth it so only go for the air if it's about price, I wouldn't be buying a computer with the current air screen at the moment though.

You might even want to look at the current MacBook it will probably fit your needs quite well.

I have been waiting to purchase a new MacBook since May of this year. When I had begun researching the MacBooks, I had learned that the current MacBook is a 12". I refuse to upgrade to a smaller screen. Then I had learned that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro were outdated and I was not comfortable paying for any of these machines. Of course, I was required to squeeze more life out of this MacBook which I did not mention, has a failing SATA. So, I've waited 6 months and definitely plan to purchase a MacBook that is released tomorrow.

I appreciate the knowledge you have shared. As I mentioned above, I'm not savvy in regards to this. I was not aware that SSD GB increases the performance of any computing system. I thought this was what a processor & ram does. With this in mind, then perhaps I should upgrade to the 256 SSD if I want an increase in performance.

Regardless, I plan to purchase the best MacBook $1,350 will allow. However, Quad5Ny may have convinced me to purchase a 15.4", though I imagine this won't be available at $1,999 as I would love a larger display.

Nevertheless, I'm glad everyone feels comfortable with me purchasing a 126 SSD if it's available and I'm glad I have learned that spending $150 on a processor upgrade would not be beneficial for me.

You all are truely helpful.
[doublepost=1477508885][/doublepost]

Agree, I was able to put 16 GB of memory into my MacBook Pro 2010 with a Samsung Evo 240 GB and it seems like a new laptop!

There's nothing to it, remember 2010 was in the good ol' days of when expected common folk to be able to do it and it was designed that way;
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165

Good points from each. However, I really don't feel it's the best investment at this time. If it wasn't currently in school, then I may be more likely to do so. Though I need this MacBook almost every day of the week for the past 8 weeks and for the next 8 weeks.

 

[kschendel]

I suggest putting as much RAM into the new laptop as you can afford. If 128 Gb SSD is on offer, that is probably enough for you, otherwise go for 256. Any CPU upgrade is likely to be hard to notice unless you do very CPU-intensive work. Likewise, I suspect that the incremental performance gain by going from 128 Gb to 256 Gb SSD will not be noticeable most of the time for the general user.

 

[Gixene]

I suggest putting as much RAM into the new laptop as you can afford. If 128 Gb SSD is on offer, that is probably enough for you, otherwise go for 256. Any CPU upgrade is likely to be hard to notice unless you do very CPU-intensive work. Likewise, I suspect that the incremental performance gain by going from 128 Gb to 256 Gb SSD will not be noticeable most of the time for the general user.

Understood, thank you.

When I had bought the current MacBook (first MacBook purchase) I bought it from Best Buy using College discount. I believe it was $100 off. Either Apple did not have a location in our city at the time or it never dawned on me because I hadn't planned on purchasing a MacBook when choosing a notebook.

With that said, is there any difference between Apple's college discount compared to Best Buy's? I know Best Buy also offers points when purchasing on the basic membership. I think it was $30 at the time.

I had planned on purchasing using a Discover card. Discover offers 5% Cash Back when purchasing through them. However, I spoke to a representative and she said that this offer cannot be combined with the college discount. I have a Chase card, but I imagine they're the same. So it appears I'll use Capital One for 1.5% cash back.

Any advise on where to purchase? Apple or Best Buy in general (points, cash back, stock availability)? Credit card will be paid off of course. Though 5% is only $67.50, much less than the college discount. Location not a concern, Best Buy 10 minutes away and Apple 20 minutes away.

 

[Gixene]

I suggest putting as much RAM into the new laptop as you can afford. If 128 Gb SSD is on offer, that is probably enough for you, otherwise go for 256. Any CPU upgrade is likely to be hard to notice unless you do very CPU-intensive work. Likewise, I suspect that the incremental performance gain by going from 128 Gb to 256 Gb SSD will not be noticeable most of the time for the general user.

If the 15-inch is priced at $1,999, I honestly believe I would buy. Anyone want to talk me in or out of it? I typically enroll in online classes the majority of the time. When I do go to campus, I almost never take the MacBook with me. Just the iPhone and a flash drive if needed. So it rarely leaves the house.

 

[Gixene]

Man, now I really don't know what to do. 13" with touch bar or 13" stock, can't decide.
[doublepost=1477595716][/doublepost]I chose the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID. I spent $450 more than I had originally planned on. However, the MacBook Air was discontinued. So I was forced to either purchase a MacBook Pro with or without Touch Bar and Touch ID. With the Touch Bar and Touch ID, I really wanted this. I don't know if I will love or hate it, but I would never know if I didn't buy it. You also receive slightly better processor and graphics, which helps with the decision. I also bought Touch Bar and Touch ID because I believe it will have tremendous resale value. Regardless, this is a powerful machine for someone such as myself. I was forced to purchase 256GB SSD, but it will only add to the power.

Thank you everyone!