SSD or Non-SSD HD?

alancheeky · alancheeky #1 (**permalink**)

03-07-2011, 05:54 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm about to get a macbook pro (after people on here suggested it over an imac in my other thread), but I don't know a lot about specs - particulary a "SS" HD. In old forums people say definitely get SS. The thing that's confused me though is Rob Swire (producer for Pendulum) put up a pic of his new mbp a month ago with these specs "Win7 x64 on MacPro i7 @ 2.8GHz / 8GB RAM / 500GB non-SS hd, Nuendo 5 & PT HD 9" -- What's the advantage of a NON ss hd? It's not like he chose it cos its cheaper!

Cheers

robduckyworth · robduckyworth #2 (**permalink**)

03-07-2011, 06:14 PM

are you referring to an SSD? these are solid state drives: they use solid state memory instead of the magnetic platters used in "non-SSDs".

the advantages: they are faster, (boot time is significantly increased, as is app loading times) more reliable (no moving parts) and lighter.

the disadvantages: high price/size ratio. very expensive for a high capacity drive.

bad caretaking of a magnetic drive can result in hard drive failure - knocks, kicks etc. if hes using thsi machine live, his data is at a greater risk.

Rob Swire will be using a magnetic hard drive so that he has more space for his Sampler instruments, Loops/Samples etc. alot of producers like this to be on the local drive. - its more reliable for when running sessions.

alancheeky · alancheeky #3 (**permalink**)

03-07-2011, 07:54 PM

Sorry yeah i meant SSD, but whats a magnetic hard drive? basically just trying to double check its ok to go for the SSD. im on the appe uk website now and these are the 2 im interested in - how do these sound??

----CHOICE 1 ---- 13-inch: 2.7 GHz

* 2.7GHz dual-core
Intel Core i7
* 4GB 1333MHz (id upgrade to 8mb)
* 500GB 5400-rpm1
* Intel HD Graphics 3000

---CHOICE 2 --- 15-inch: 2.0 GHz

* 2.0GHz quad-core
Intel Core i7
* 4GB 1333MHz (id upgrade to 8mb)
* 500GB 5400-rpm1
* Intel HD Graphics 3000
* AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5

The first laptop has more GHz, but dual core - the 2nd has less ghz but quad core -- whats more important? Sorry complete beginner!

Zoolook · Zoolook #4 (**permalink**)

03-07-2011, 08:02 PM

I wouldn't necessarily say Rob Swire didn't choose one because of costs... he almost certainly did. Just because someone is wealthy, doesn't mean they'll buy the most expensive of everything.

An SSD is superior in almost every conceivable way - they're far faster, consumer less power, are more reliable, more durable and lighter. The only down side is price... and regardless of how rich someone is, they might baulk at paying $1,200 for a 512GB HDD,when they can get a mechanical one for 1/10th of the price.

You pay disproportionally more for an SSD. Me, personally, thought it was worth the cost. I can startup Quicken in Windows 7 (including the Windows 7 resume time) in less time than my old machine took to load Firefox on a standard drive. It's THAT much faster.

Having a processor like the i7 tied to a 5400rpm drive, is like a Formula One car towing a tractor.

robduckyworth · robduckyworth #5 (**permalink**)

03-07-2011, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoolook

Having a processor like the i7 tied to a 5400rpm drive, is like a Formula One car towing a tractor.

loving the analogy. spot on.

when i say magnetic hard drive, i mean just a regular hard drive: hard drives read data by the magnetic charge from the platter. SSDs store data differently, in a more reliable way.

an SSD would be a the best performance increase for these machines. you'd see a very noticeable performance increase.

just because the CPU clock speed (GHz) is lower it doesn't mean it is slower, because it has more cores. these little cores are all a little cpu, and they work together. more cores = better performance.

just one major noticeable difference in the two laptops: the 13" has a little bit of a crummy graphics processor. if you want to do any gaming, i would go for the 15".

however by your interest in Rob Swire, im guessing you want to get into some music production? if so, these machines will both have more than enough power for even the most demanding of DAWs.

chscag · chscag #6 (**permalink**)

03-08-2011, 12:37 AM

Thread moved to correct forum.

EndlessMac · EndlessMac #7 (**permalink**)

03-08-2011, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoolook

Having a processor like the i7 tied to a 5400rpm drive, is like a Formula One car towing a tractor.

I also like the analogy and some people really don't realize how much of a performance difference there can be when they get a faster hard drive. The default stock hard drives on Apple laptops are the slower 5400 RPM drives.

I've only upgraded to a 7200 RPM drive and I've noticed a difference so an upgrade to SSD will be very noticeable. When buying a computer it's good for people to remember that the performance is only as fast as its slowest part or what it's towing.

TattooedMac · TattooedMac #8 (**permalink**)

03-08-2011, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alancheeky

Rob Swire (producer for Pendulum)

Nice to see another Pendulum fan

Tarantula !!!!

Kevriano · Kevriano #9 (**permalink**)

03-08-2011, 05:42 AM

+1 for the SSD if funds allow, and the capacity is big enough.

alancheeky · alancheeky #10 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 12:20 AM

jesus christ i just looked at the price of the SSD! So theres no way im getting that! Got one last question please people...

Looking to get the i7 drive with either the 5400rpm or the upgrade to 7200rpm. This upgrade is 80quid - i can afford it, but is it worth it??

Kevriano · Kevriano #11 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 06:41 AM

I don't think it's worth it no, and £80 extra is a little steep. The base cost of 5400/7200 RPM drives isn't that big! Apple do take the mick a bit with the extra charges.
You will get faster acces/boot times with the 7200, but it's not massively different IMO.

robduckyworth · robduckyworth #12 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 09:00 AM

you get about a 10% performance increase (thats my estimate) by bumping up to a 7200. its nothing spectacular like an SSD.

also, my 7200 HD cost £40. 80 is a bit steep.

Kevriano · Kevriano #13 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 10:00 AM

I'd more inclined to go for more storage over speed.

TattooedMac · TattooedMac #14 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alancheeky

but is it worth it??

For you maybe for me no, depending on what you use on your Mac . . . And if it will be beneficial for you . . . . .

RavingMac · RavingMac #15 (**permalink**)

03-09-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TattooedMac

For you maybe for me no, depending on what you use on your Mac . . . And if it will be beneficial for you . . . . .

Like the new signature! Good job on it.

EDIT: Though I just noticed you decided to drop the "e". Artistic decision or typo?

2nd EDIT: I blame my eyes. I guess that is an "e". First thought it was an "o" but realized 3 "o"s in a row diddn't make sense.

alancheeky #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Mar 07, 2011 Posts: 13	03-07-2011, 05:54 PM Hi everyone, I'm about to get a macbook pro (after people on here suggested it over an imac in my other thread), but I don't know a lot about specs - particulary a "SS" HD. In old forums people say definitely get SS. The thing that's confused me though is Rob Swire (producer for Pendulum) put up a pic of his new mbp a month ago with these specs "Win7 x64 on MacPro i7 @ 2.8GHz / 8GB RAM / 500GB non-SS hd, Nuendo 5 & PT HD 9" -- What's the advantage of a NON ss hd? It's not like he chose it cos its cheaper! Cheers Last edited by chscag; 03-08-2011 at 12:36 AM.
	QUOTE Thanks

robduckyworth #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 04, 2011 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 2,972 Mac Specs: 15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC	03-07-2011, 06:14 PM are you referring to an SSD? these are solid state drives: they use solid state memory instead of the magnetic platters used in "non-SSDs". the advantages: they are faster, (boot time is significantly increased, as is app loading times) more reliable (no moving parts) and lighter. the disadvantages: high price/size ratio. very expensive for a high capacity drive. bad caretaking of a magnetic drive can result in hard drive failure - knocks, kicks etc. if hes using thsi machine live, his data is at a greater risk. Rob Swire will be using a magnetic hard drive so that he has more space for his Sampler instruments, Loops/Samples etc. alot of producers like this to be on the local drive. - its more reliable for when running sessions. If you find a post helpful, don't forget to use the reputation system (top right of post.) Join us in the IRC! How? Add me on Steam, Origin or PSN (Vita): robduckyworth
	QUOTE Thanks

Zoolook #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 24, 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 2,743 Mac Specs: 15" MacBook Pro, i7 2.66Ghz, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD; iPad 32GB, iPhone 3GS	03-07-2011, 08:02 PM I wouldn't necessarily say Rob Swire didn't choose one because of costs... he almost certainly did. Just because someone is wealthy, doesn't mean they'll buy the most expensive of everything. An SSD is superior in almost every conceivable way - they're far faster, consumer less power, are more reliable, more durable and lighter. The only down side is price... and regardless of how rich someone is, they might baulk at paying $1,200 for a 512GB HDD,when they can get a mechanical one for 1/10th of the price. You pay disproportionally more for an SSD. Me, personally, thought it was worth the cost. I can startup Quicken in Windows 7 (including the Windows 7 resume time) in less time than my old machine took to load Firefox on a standard drive. It's THAT much faster. Having a processor like the i7 tied to a 5400rpm drive, is like a Formula One car towing a tractor. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is stoned to death. - Joan D. Vinge
	QUOTE Thanks

chscag #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 23, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 31,957 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 2.5 GHz i5, iPad 3rd Gen., 3 iPods	03-08-2011, 12:37 AM Thread moved to correct forum. Community Guidelines
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Kevriano #9 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 02, 2006 Location: Crawley, England Posts: 4,560 Mac Specs: 20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.	03-08-2011, 05:42 AM +1 for the SSD if funds allow, and the capacity is big enough. Try my custom Mac Forums Search Engine: Mac Forums Google Search Please use the reputation system if you consider any help given useful (it's the little ✓/✘ on the left <---)
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alancheeky #10 (permalink)
Member Since: Mar 07, 2011 Posts: 13	03-09-2011, 12:20 AM jesus christ i just looked at the price of the SSD! So theres no way im getting that! Got one last question please people... Looking to get the i7 drive with either the 5400rpm or the upgrade to 7200rpm. This upgrade is 80quid - i can afford it, but is it worth it??
	QUOTE Thanks

Kevriano #11 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 02, 2006 Location: Crawley, England Posts: 4,560 Mac Specs: 20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.	03-09-2011, 06:41 AM I don't think it's worth it no, and £80 extra is a little steep. The base cost of 5400/7200 RPM drives isn't that big! Apple do take the mick a bit with the extra charges. You will get faster acces/boot times with the 7200, but it's not massively different IMO. Try my custom Mac Forums Search Engine: Mac Forums Google Search Please use the reputation system if you consider any help given useful (it's the little ✓/✘ on the left <---)
	QUOTE Thanks

robduckyworth #12 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 04, 2011 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 2,972 Mac Specs: 15" MBP, 2.5GHz i7, 750GB, 6770M 1GB, iPad 3, iPhone 4, custom PC	03-09-2011, 09:00 AM you get about a 10% performance increase (thats my estimate) by bumping up to a 7200. its nothing spectacular like an SSD. also, my 7200 HD cost £40. 80 is a bit steep. If you find a post helpful, don't forget to use the reputation system (top right of post.) Join us in the IRC! How? Add me on Steam, Origin or PSN (Vita): robduckyworth
	QUOTE Thanks

Kevriano #13 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 02, 2006 Location: Crawley, England Posts: 4,560 Mac Specs: 20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.	03-09-2011, 10:00 AM I'd more inclined to go for more storage over speed. Try my custom Mac Forums Search Engine: Mac Forums Google Search Please use the reputation system if you consider any help given useful (it's the little ✓/✘ on the left <---)
	QUOTE Thanks

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