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Will this setup work? SSD+external+backup question

B

blenditall

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 6, 2011
22
4
Hey, first post (been lurking forever of course). So I'm going to get a Macbook Pro to replace my iMac. I'm very tempted to get the 128 gig SSD for speed, but I'm trying to figure out the logistics of the setup -- because obviously most of my data will be on an external. See diagram.

Also of note is that I'll have to do modeling and rendering on Windows. It would be nice to back up those files to the same drive that Time Machine is using. Any recommendations from those of you in a similar situation?
(To be clear, I'll do all other activities besides 3D stuff on OS X)

mac diagram.png
 
I'd recommend a 2TB external for your Time Machine backup, as TM likes to have ample space for everything.

Other than that, I think it looks good. I'm thinking of something similar.
 
blenditall said:
Hey, first post (been lurking forever of course). So I'm going to get a Macbook Pro to replace my iMac. I'm very tempted to get the 128 gig SSD for speed, but I'm trying to figure out the logistics of the setup -- because obviously most of my data will be on an external. See diagram.

Also of note is that I'll have to do modeling and rendering on Windows. It would be nice to back up those files to the same drive that Time Machine is using. Any recommendations from those of you in a similar situation?
(To be clear, I'll do all other activities besides 3D stuff on OS X)

View attachment 274664
Click to expand...

I have the 128 GB SSD in my machine. I used to use an Optibay with an SSD + a 1 TB HDD in the HDD bay as my old setup, but for this new machine, I plan to use the optibay and stick in a second SSD instead (for scratch and/or Windows 7). I keep all my media on an external FW 800 drive, and I Time Machine backup to a USB external just like you suggest. I would recommend using a 2 TB Time Machine drive, backup both your media drive and your machine to it (works fine). Also, to backup Windows, you can either use WinClone directly to your TM drive, or you can set aside a separate partition just for Windows and backup through Windows.

I'm also considering getting a Thunderbolt external when they become available, but that will depend on their price.
 
If most of your data is external I would NOT invest in the highly outdated USB2.x nor FW800 - they are so yesterday.

I'm holding off on my external storage array to go with with my new 17" MBP to see what emerges for a Thunderbolt external enclosure. At least on a 17" I have the option of eSATA for much faster external connection via 34mm ExpressCard if Thunderbolt peripherals flounder for awhile.
 
Apple Corps said:
If most of your data is external I would NOT invest in the highly outdated USB2.x nor FW800 - they are so yesterday.

I'm holding off on my external storage array to go with with my new 17" MBP to see what emerges for a Thunderbolt external enclosure. At least on a 17" I have the option of eSATA for much faster external connection via 34mm ExpressCard if Thunderbolt peripherals flounder for awhile.
Click to expand...

A thunderbolt connection is pointless if it's only going to an external HDD. FW800 should be sufficient.

If you want twin SSDs in RAID 0 however, then wait for Light Peak (new name still stupid) external drives.
 
How is it pointless??

The Vertex 3 is rated at 500+ MB/s - waaaaaaay beyond FW800. Having one or more of those in an external TB enclosure will be very fast.
 
Apple Corps said:
How is it pointless??

The Vertex 3 is rated at 500+ MB/s - waaaaaaay beyond FW800. Having one or more of those in an external TB enclosure will be very fast.
Click to expand...

Since when was the OP considering an external SSD? And if you had a Vertex 3, you would be best off replacing the internal drive with it, hence using SATA 3.

Using a Light Peak connection to an external HDD is pointless.

If the OP is overly rich, they could buy a LP LaCie Little Big drive thing with two Vertex 3's. THAT would be worth using Light Peak. But any sensible person would have put a huge SATA 3 internal SSD in, and probably Optibay-ed a second one in too first.

And using an external SSD for TM is also pointless. Colossal overkill.
 
Apple Corps said:
"...obviously most of my data will be on an external. See diagram..."
Click to expand...

And in the diagram:

2 x "1TB WD Hard Drive".

I'm suggesting he gets both a 1TB and 2TB Hard Disks. Which will likely struggle to push 70MB/s. For which FW800 is sufficient.

Are you suggesting the OP buys a 2TB external SSD???

OP, do you have 5 grand to blow on external storage???
 
Ok Erasmus - lets slow it down a bit.

First - today's faster mechanical hard drives are pushing out at 150 MB/s - easily SATURATING FW800 bandwidth - check out Storage Review's Leader Board.

Second - LaCie will be utilizing the Intel SSD in their yet to be released Little Big Drive. The 510 is not getting good reviews in several areas, utilized the Marvel controller chip (as opposed to the newer Sand Force) and is viewed by reviewers as a rush to market at 34nm fab versus Vertex 22 fab.

Also - I've read so many reliability complaints about LaCie I could never recommend it to anyone.

Thirdly - third party vendors will be releasing external TB enclosures that will allow us to RAID some of the faster, large capacity available drives that blow past FW 800 bandwidth. The advantage of the TB external enclosure housing fast HD is simply the bandwidth and you are spending your $$ on the latest technology - not the dead dog FW.
 
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It's up to the OP, but in my opinion, it's better to spend 100 bucks now on a 2TB USB 2 hard disk, and another 100 bucks on a FW 1TB hard disk than wait an unknown amount of time for devices with unknown speeds at an unknown price.

If something else comes out in 6 months that does 300+ MB/s, and is a reasonable price, the OP should buy that too. The OP can always use any other old external HDDs as permanent backups, and put them in the cupboard or something when they are replaced.

As Time Machine really doesn't need to be fast, I don't see the point of using anything other than USB 2 for it. Also, I expect any Light Peak external drive would be excessively bulky and generally un-portable.

As the OP has a reasonably sized SSD, he/she should only need an external disk for music, movies, and other non-critical media that does not require the fastest of connections to access it. I think the OP should save the money, and just go either USB 2 or FW 800. Put the money saved towards a faster and bigger SSD that you can buy in 12 months time.
 
Thanks for the replies. Some interesting info. I think a few additional details will be useful:

I already have a 1TB USB drive that I'm currently using for time machine. I could make that my data storage and get a 2TB for time machine, but then I'd be editing photos over USB. Which is actually what I'm doing now, and it's not too bad. But I figured if I'm buying another hard drive, I should get the fastest connection I can (within budget) and use that for data, relegating time machine to the slower drive I already have.

So the real question is this: do I really need 2TB for time machine? I mean, with only 1TB, I have backups to May 2009. That doesn't seem necessary to me.

Ideally the only "extra" money I'll spend is the $90 SSD upgrade and $150 for the FW800 "data" drive. Which is still $250 bucks. Makes me wonder if I should just grab the 7200rpm 500GB like everyone else and call it a day:D
 
Let me try again - if you can hold off for a month or so you might be able to purchase EXTERNAL enclosures that will house your SATA hard drives BUT connect via the ThunderBolt port on your new MBP. Fast mechanical hard drives are now at 150MB/s - two of them mirrored = 300+ MB/s or so.

The hard drives I use are Samsung Spinpoints - very reliable / quiet / cool running. Purchase several 1 TB drives - slap them in a new external enclosure with TB port - let the SSD in your MBP do its thing - you will be set for years to come.

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productmodel.do?type=94&subtype=98&model_cd=507
 
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