SSD with less GB or HDD with more GB?

I'm getting a Macbook Pro 2.8 GHZ this weekend and am trying to decide b/w the standard 750 GB HDD or a 128 GB SDD? An SDD is obviously better and faster when compared to the same GB HDD but is it still better if it's 600 less GB? I'm looking for fast processing speed/start up/file reading.

Thanks.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

The answer is yes the SSD is worth it. You could always mount a larger platter drive in the optical bay or use an external drive for iTunes etc.

I just removed the SSD I had in my 15" MBP and installed a 500GB Seagate Momentus XT drive. I needed the space, even though I have a second hard drive in the system.

I'd buy it with the stock 750GB spinning drive and then either replace that with a SSD or the Seagate 750GB Momentus XT drive. these Seagate drives have internal flash memory that make them faster the normal HDD but not as fast as SSDs. Im' finding it a good trade. More space and almost the same speed.

I certainly would not order a SSD from Apple with the purchase of the computer. Apple want way to much money for any of there offered upgrades.

Many reports of failures with Momentus Hybrids. Ask staff Bobtomay who has offered to sell his unit cheap.

harryb2448 said:

G'day and welcome to the forums.

The answer is yes the SSD is worth it. You could always mount a larger platter drive in the optical bay or use an external drive for iTunes etc.

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I'd mount the SSD in the optical bay, and put the HDD in the hard drive slot. Reason being is the 2.5in bay is cushioned and the optical bay isn't.

I put a 256 gig SSD in my 13" MBP and love it. It was expensive though.
I also don't need too much space.

Looks like I can get a 256GB SSD from Crucial for around $360.

I've dealt with them before and had good experiences.

Anybody know of cheaper options?

There were issues with some of the first releases of the Momentus XT - but I've had a Momentus XT now in 2 computers since 2009 without a problem. I do like the speed/size of the thing. Most read/open operations are fast - like boot, opening frequently used programs, etc. Not as fast to write to the disk.

It is fairly easy to replace hard drives - and I went to OWC got a drive kit that came with a drive and an external enclosure for the drive I was taking out. It also came with all the tools I needed to swap the drives.

Sorry to bring this back up but I was thinking about switching to a SSD. Can someone tell me the advantages though? I have a Western Digital Scorpio Black 750GB 7200rpm hard drive right now. Would a SSD really be much faster?

If you are an absolutely bonafide tech aware than you know that the failure rate and data loss on SSD is comparable and unless you really can tell nanoseconds apart then speed all the way to your bank...

I can be patient and wait until SSD becomes the only way...I just bought the last generation of SATA included MBP..

theOneKrishna said:

If you are an absolutely bonafide tech aware than you know that the failure rate and data loss on SSD is comparable and unless you really can tell nanoseconds apart then speed all the way to your bank...

Click to expand...

lol this is exactly what I figured. I just switched to the 7200rpm hdd from a 5400rpm and don't notice a big difference.

I personally am fine with a high capacity 7200rpm drive. Dont need the massive speed for what I do, and I like to have all my music/video on the laptop itself, without having to plug in annoying externals.

I had a 7200 rpm HDD. Pretty good drive. But the SSD that I had just put in more than a month ago is pretty darn fast. Reading and writing much faster. Installing apps, preview files, etc. are a lot faster. No moving parts so it's quiet. Lower heat. My fan rarely kicks on. Lower storage space but SSD is the way to go especially for a notebook.

Either get a hybrid harddrive or a 7200 rpm 750gb harddrive. The SSD atm are to expensive for the space they have. In a few years they will definitely be worth it, but atm in my opinion they just aren't.

This waiting for a couple years stuff has been around ~ for a couple of years.

If you want an SSD go for it.