External or internal hard drive upgrade?

Hello, I am a college student about to purchase my first mac, a MacBook Pro. I am likely getting the 15", but I have still not firmly decided.

I am planning on getting a solid state drive for the extra durability, among other improvements. However, the 256gb SSD is an additional $750. I could save myself a great deal of money by getting the 128 SSD and buying a 1TB external hard drive for $149.

However, cost is not the only factor. How would this affect usability? Would I be likely to completely fill my 128gb and frequently need to access the external drive? Would this be significantly slower?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Well, sounds like you WANT to spend the money . . .

Why not save the money and take it 'stock' and have a plug-in USB hard drive at a fraction of the cost. I've been toting around an external 2.5 inch drive that's powered off the MBP just for backups.

Since my MBP is over a year old I've replaced the 200 Gb HDD with a 500 Gb one and it's durable, spacious, quiet and MUCH cheaper than solid state memory.

But, the beauty of all this is, it's a choice - you must do what pleases YOU. I have not regretted for an instant buying the Mac and I enjoy it every time I use it.

So whatever you decide, have fun . . .

i upgraded mine to a 500 also. works fine except the hd makes frog ribetting noises lol

Unless you absolutely need a SSD, there is no reason to get one. They are way too expensive for what they give you. Unless you have the money to burn (if you do, I'll send my address and who you can make the cheque out to ), stay with a regular HD. You can get a much bigger one which should be more than able to suit your needs.

As for size, only you can answer that question. Do you have a lot of data? Remember, a 128GB HD will only hold ~ 119GB as shown by this calculation.

vansmith said:

Unless you absolutely need a SSD, there is no reason to get one. They are way too expensive for what they give you.

Click to expand...

I've heard/read this several times about SSD. Not worth it.

Also, if you get an external 1TB, try to find one that has firewire and usb connectivity. Noticeably faster transfer with firewire instead of usb (even if it's only 400), and ability to connect to any other machine with usb.
That's my 2 cents... for what it's worth.