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Where do you think SSD prices are headed in the near future?

bartenderonduty

bartenderonduty

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 21, 2010
31
0
I am looking a purchasing my first MacBook Pro and am very interested in getting a model with an SSD drive. Unfortunately, a 500 GB is an additional $1300 at the Mac Store.

My questions are...

Do you think SSD prices will significantly decrease in the next few months?
Should I wait to purchase a MacBook pro until prices on SSDs drop?
When do you think SSDs will be close in price to standard HDDs?

I really want to buy a Mac but I'm afraid that once I do, I'll be able to buy one with an SSD in the near future for the same price as an HDD model.

I know there are a lot of experenced Mac buyers and I'm hoping someone can help.

Thanks guys!
 
Intel is releasing a new generation of SSDs this year, in their fourth quarter: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2928

I'm planning on waiting at least that long, since support for SSDs on OSX still seems to be a bit shaky.

According to the article, it's possible that capacity will double for the same price.

And by all accounts, if you can deal with a lower capacity the intel SSDs are a better option than the standard ones if you're comfortable with replacing the hard drive yourself.
 
SSD's are relatively new to the personal computing domain. I suspect they won't be affordable* for another year or two.



*relative to standard disk drives
 
2 observations as someone who owns 4:

1) SSDs, though very fast (and some models, like OCZ and Intel, with firmware updates fixing most speed problem) are built for use durability and, on paper, longevity. The longevity remains to be seen, but the main point is no moving parts and solid performance. Do your homework; many SSDs currently available on the market aren't much faster than their MUCH larger counterparts (especially 1TB-2TB platter drives); again I point to OCZ for speed and Intel for reliability.

2) SATA III is just beginning to enter the mainstream. As such, NewEgg only stocks 2 SATA III SSD drives. I expect that SIII will overtake SII in the next 6-12 months, at which point SII SSD drives may drop in price as they become discontinued. Possibly not considering how many SII systems are out there, but since SSDs are a high-end item at the moment, and high-end buyers will definitely migrate to SIII...

Just my 2 cents. Also note that, in most cases, you only really need 64gb or 128gb (I am typing this on a hackintosh notebook with a 64gb drive in it). An external case with a cheap, much larger drive, especially via eSata or USB, will work fine for non-active files. All of this depends of course on what you do with your computer, but I am quite content with the performance of my drives (64gb Kingston V in my netbook [on the slower end but much faster than the stock drive and WAYYYY more reliable], 32gb Patriot S-100 in my server [all I need, boot OS and linking my drives to the network, wicked fast after the firmware update], and 2 32gb OCZ turbos in my G5 striped, INSANELY fast, used for graphic design and audio/video editing). I plan on picking up two more 32gb OCZt drives when I upgrade to a 2010 Mac Pro, whenever they come out.

So my shpiel aside, the answers to your questions:

SIgnificantly decrease? No. Even the next gen of intels won't drop them much, and with SSDs you get what you pay for, so be wary of things TOO cheap.

As for waiting to purchase a macbook pro, no. Buy it if you need it, it will be much cheaper (and you'll end up with a much higher end drive) if you buy it now and swap in an SSD when you can afford it. Apple's SSDs are decent but by no means on the high end.

I don't think SSDs will ever be, gig per $, on par with platter drives. I just don't see it happening; by the time they near it platter will be obsolete and replaced by holographic (or some other step up, holographic is just the most recent I've read about).
 
Your expectations for the technology to advance 2-3 years worth in only 3 months are wrong.

SSDs will never fall to HDD prices, not for a long time. (I'm talking about similar sized devices, not 32gb small drives!) I bought a 160GB Intel, did I need it? No. I could've gone with the 80gb and I used a 64gb OCZ for ever with no problems too.

512 GB SSDs are 1300 because their brand new, and huge. two years ago, I remember the 128GB ssds were that expensive. a year before and the 64GB SSDs were the same price. So if you want, just wait two to three years, and then buy a mac.

But by then the question won't be which ssd should I wait for, it'll be should I wait for the i37 or go with the older i13 processor.

Just buy the computer, and when you are comfortable with SSD prices, buy an aftermarket SSD. Or just wait for 'whatever intel gives you' which is what I plan to do. As soon as the new ones come out, I will buy a bigger one if I can sell my old one, and add 2-300 dollars. If it's more than that then I'll wait myself. I don't NEED the new SSD, I just want it for kicks.
 
breathesrain said:
since support for SSDs on OSX still seems to be a bit shaky.
Click to expand...

A quote from someone who clearly has never used an SSD.

Do not buy a mac from the Apple store with an ssd in it -- Ever. Whether it's an SSD or a Platter Drive, Apple does not put the best available in their machines.

Watch the prices on OCZ and Intel SSD drives and buy when you are ready. Upgrading your mac is a very simple --- and supported --- process. If you are not comfortable, take it to a certified repair shop and have them install the drive for you.
 
Another thing I'd like to add.

Although it's quite nice to have the luxury (and bragging rights) of owning an SSD, but do you really need one? What will you be using this machine for? You won't really see the effects of an SSD if you're just using a web browser, email, office apps, etc. The SSD really shines when you're performing heavy I/O actions, e.g. video/photo processing, software development, things like that.

So you've really gotta ask yourself, "Do I REALLY need an SSD?"
 
Though not a direct answer, I have a comment that may address other replies. I have a 2nd to current 13.3" MBP. I purchased it so that when on call (I'm in IT), I could take it with me and not be chained to my Mac Pro I use most of the time for work.

Because I happen to have a decent 64GB SSD drive, I installed it to the MBP. As others have observed in the past, startup and shutdown times were dramatically reduced. So was application launch times. To me, that is the SSD justification. If work unexpectedly calls and I am required to get on the VPN and fix something while at a restaurant, the fast startup & shutdown means I get this thing off of the table and back in my bag faster. And, when shutting down, it sure is nice to be able to instantly put the MBP back in my bag. When I had a standard HHD, I would catch myself (old habit) waiting an extra minute for the HDD to spin down before I moved it. Just less worries knowing there are no moving parts!

As to size, I have iTunes, iPhoto, & all data on my Mac Pro at home, so 64GB was plenty. I created 2 partitions, 1 for the system, and one for a Fusion VM that I use for work. There is plenty of extra free space...
 
Bostonaholic said:
Another thing I'd like to add.

Although it's quite nice to have the luxury (and bragging rights) of owning an SSD, but do you really need one? What will you be using this machine for?
Click to expand...

I've had bad experiences with HDDs in the past (before I learned the hard way that I need to keep backups), as I'm sure most of you have.

I run Adobe Creative Suite applications for intense video and image editing, and graphic design.
 
mac8867 said:
Do not buy a mac from the Apple store with an ssd in it -- Ever. Whether it's an SSD or a Platter Drive, Apple does not put the best available in their machines.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I remember being shocked shocked SHOCKED when my $2K G4 that I bought in 2000 or 2001 (can't remember which) came with a 5200rpm drive stock. A super-computer with a sub-par speed drive? Really? 7200 was already the standard, and small 10,000rpm, especially scsi, drives were not uncommon in the graphics world at that time.
 
bartenderonduty said:
I've had bad experiences with HDDs in the past (before I learned the hard way that I need to keep backups), as I'm sure most of you have.

I run Adobe Creative Suite applications for intense video and image editing, and graphic design.
Click to expand...

CS4 performance is dramatically improved with SSDs, especially in RAID0 formation. And I started buying SSDs because I've owned 4 laptops and 6 desktops in my life; I've had ONE desktop drive fail, and it was an old firewire drive that had been been used portably, so it had logged several thousand miles of travel time. Never had another failure that I can remember. In my laptops, EVERY SINGLE ONE had a drive failure at some point, so much so that when I bought my netbook I decided there was no way in he*l I was going to keep the platter drive in it.
 
mac8867 said:
A quote from someone who clearly has never used an SSD.

Do not buy a mac from the Apple store with an ssd in it -- Ever. Whether it's an SSD or a Platter Drive, Apple does not put the best available in their machines.

Watch the prices on OCZ and Intel SSD drives and buy when you are ready. Upgrading your mac is a very simple --- and supported --- process. If you are not comfortable, take it to a certified repair shop and have them install the drive for you.
Click to expand...

Haha, I know. I was referring to the whole TRIM thing- though I noticed that Intel does have a form of garbage collection. Samsung has certain drives with a garbage collection- type protocol, but their drives aren't flashable, according to Anand, so they're doubly pointless.

Depending on the prices, I'm planning on checking out the next Intel release.
 
I don't know how someone buys a Macbook Pro level computer and does NOT buy a SSD.

Seriously.

Other than your optical drive the HDD is the slowest storage device in your laptop. Proper balance of a computer isn't about overbuying CPU clock cycles or GPU cycles but address the weak links.

Some people are pulling out their optical drives and replacing them with a standard drive for storing large files while their OS and applications run on a fast SSD.

That way you can buy the fastest SSD want and will generally only need about 60GB or so for OS, apps and breathing room.
 
Bostonaholic said:
Another thing I'd like to add.

Although it's quite nice to have the luxury (and bragging rights) of owning an SSD, but do you really need one? What will you be using this machine for? You won't really see the effects of an SSD if you're just using a web browser, email, office apps, etc. The SSD really shines when you're performing heavy I/O actions, e.g. video/photo processing, software development, things like that.

So you've really gotta ask yourself, "Do I REALLY need an SSD?"
Click to expand...

I disagree with this post. SSDs make everything fast and interactive. Once you have used an SSD, it is nearly impossible to go backwards IMHO.

/Jim
 
breathesrain said:
Haha, I know. I was referring to the whole TRIM thing- though I noticed that Intel does have a form of garbage collection. Samsung has certain drives with a garbage collection- type protocol, but their drives aren't flashable, according to Anand, so they're doubly pointless.
Click to expand...

So does OCZ, even for the Turbo now (1.4 firmware for the others I think, 1.5 firmware for the Turbo, and beyond include GC).
 
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