SSD and Ex HDD options?

slimbo011 · slimbo011 #1 (**permalink**)

12-16-2010, 07:26 AM

I would like to upgrade to a ssd. However i dont want to be shelling out £750 for a smaller HD than i have now..

So.. Could i get a 128GB SSD and use a firewire ex HDD for the bulk of my files?

I have never used firewire or an external HDD on my mac so i dont know how well they will integrate and how fast it will be..

Anyone else done anything similar?

Thanks

chscag · chscag #2 (**permalink**)

12-16-2010, 11:26 AM

An external drive, even firewire 800, is not going to give you the performance and speed of an internal drive. However, if you're thinking of using a SSD as an internal drive and a FW external for data storage, the speed and performance won't really matter.

My opinion regarding SSD drives is that until prices come down and OS X supports TRIM (OS X Lion), I'm going to continue using a standard 7200 RPM drive. I can get a lot more bang for my $ or £ using a standard drive than a SSD. I may sacrifice some speed and performance, but since I'm not a number cruncher or graphic designer, to me it doesn't matter.

Weiser878 · Weiser878 #3 (**permalink**)

12-16-2010, 05:27 PM

A possibility you might want to look into is installing a SSD in addition to the HDD you currently have. Both internally

XJ-linux · XJ-linux #4 (**permalink**)

12-16-2010, 06:14 PM

Firewire is pretty quick relative to USB v2. SSD's are quick as well. I run a 128GB SSD internally on my Mac Mini and an external FW800 RAID with dual 7200rpm SATA drives. For me it's plenty quick. YRMV.

chscag #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 23, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 32,373 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 2.5 GHz i5, iPad 3rd Gen., 3 iPods	12-16-2010, 11:26 AM An external drive, even firewire 800, is not going to give you the performance and speed of an internal drive. However, if you're thinking of using a SSD as an internal drive and a FW external for data storage, the speed and performance won't really matter. My opinion regarding SSD drives is that until prices come down and OS X supports TRIM (OS X Lion), I'm going to continue using a standard 7200 RPM drive. I can get a lot more bang for my $ or £ using a standard drive than a SSD. I may sacrifice some speed and performance, but since I'm not a number cruncher or graphic designer, to me it doesn't matter. Community Guidelines
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XJ-linux #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 02, 2007 Location: Going Galt... Posts: 3,137 Mac Specs: MacBookAir5,2:10.8.3-MacMini3,1:10.8.3-iPhone3,1:6.1.3	12-16-2010, 06:14 PM Firewire is pretty quick relative to USB v2. SSD's are quick as well. I run a 128GB SSD internally on my Mac Mini and an external FW800 RAID with dual 7200rpm SATA drives. For me it's plenty quick. YRMV. ,_____o00o _ //___l__,\____\,__ l_--- \___l---OlllllllO (o)_)-o- (o)_)--o-)_)
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slimbo011 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 03, 2010 Posts: 17	12-16-2010, 07:26 AM I would like to upgrade to a ssd. However i dont want to be shelling out £750 for a smaller HD than i have now.. So.. Could i get a 128GB SSD and use a firewire ex HDD for the bulk of my files? I have never used firewire or an external HDD on my mac so i dont know how well they will integrate and how fast it will be.. Anyone else done anything similar? Thanks
	QUOTE Thanks

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