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which hard drive configuration should I choose?

S

SolarCanoe

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 30, 2008
146
6
I have a late 2008 Unibody Macbook. I want to speed it up by putting a SSD in and I am trying to decide between 2 options:

1. Replace the disk drive with a 120 gb SSD and keep the 250 gb HDD I have in now for a total of 370 gb

2. Replace the HDD with a 500 gb SSD

Obviously there is a huge cost difference between the two but my main concern is how Time Machine will function with option 1. Since I have 2 drives in, and my files split across both, will TM back them both up seamlessly?

Thank you for your input
 
Last edited:
Time Machine will back up both with no issues. My question for you is are you ready to remove the optical drive from your Mac? Another question is if your HD is the original drive, how much longer will it work before it fails?

If it were me, I'd lean towards the 500GB SSD.
 
Bear said:
Time Machine will back up both with no issues. My question for you is are you ready to remove the optical drive from your Mac? Another question is if your HD is the original drive, how much longer will it work before it fails?

If it were me, I'd lean towards the 500GB SSD.
Click to expand...

I would get a 250/256GB SSD as a cost x benefit solution. Standard form factor SSDs won't be compatible with Macs anymore, so you won't be able to use it on a newer Mac. I wouldn't invest in a 500GB SSD on a 2008 laptop, unless you plan use it for the next 4 years.
 
brdeveloper said:
I would get a 250/256GB SSD as a cost x benefit solution. Standard form factor SSDs won't be compatible with Macs anymore, so you won't be able to use it on a newer Mac. I wouldn't invest in a 500GB SSD on a 2008 laptop, unless you plan use it for the next 4 years.
Click to expand...
Ahh but the SSD could be placed in a USB enclosure for use with a new Mac.
 
Bear said:
Ahh but the SSD could be placed in a USB enclosure for use with a new Mac.
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right. I forgot this option. But I think on using external SSDs only as high performance storage (e.g., for video/photo editing, VMs, multitrack audio recording and so on). In this case, I would opt for a Thunderbolt enclosure, since it uses less CPU and leave your USB bandwidth untouched.

Otherwise, external HDDs give cheaper and higher capacity options.
 
Bear said:
Time Machine will back up both with no issues. My question for you is are you ready to remove the optical drive from your Mac? Another question is if your HD is the original drive, how much longer will it work before it fails?

If it were me, I'd lean towards the 500GB SSD.
Click to expand...

well the kit I am looking to buy from iFixit.com includes a cord to turn your optical drive into an external optical drive which I think is pretty cool, means I will be able to use it with my next mac whenever that is, I think this mac still has a lot of life left in it. I replaced the HDD in 2010. I'm not too worried though, since HDDs are very cheap these days.
 
nigelly said:
well the kit I am looking to buy from iFixit.com includes a cord to turn your optical drive into an external optical drive which I think is pretty cool, means I will be able to use it with my next mac whenever that is, I think this mac still has a lot of life left in it. I replaced the HDD in 2010. I'm not too worried though, since HDDs are very cheap these days.
Click to expand...

You can setup a Fusion drive under Mountain Lion, so you'll able to work with both storage devices as a single, fast one. Look for OWC fusion drive tutorial at Google.
 
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