SSD and HDD in mbp: is it plausible?

im planning on getting the 2012 15" low end MBP as soon as it comes out and if/when the optibay is compatible with the new form factor (assuming it will keep the optical drive) i hope to install a small SSD to the origional slot and the origional (might just get a 1tb though ) HDD in the optidrive so that i can have osx (applications, library, system etc) on the ssd and my user folder in the HDD. my main reason to do this is to have the amazingly fast bootup/os responsivness while cutting back costs (cause who needs to save 0.003 seconds opening a song in itunes?) on storage space

will this be much better than the single drive or will i have to wait for the HDD to mount during startup thus slowing it down?

could reading from two drives simultaneously become cpu intensive to a point where i'd be much better off with just one drive i.e opening itunes on one drive and searching for music on the other?

Using both a SSD and HDD in a MacBook (Pro) is a perfect option. Many of the forum members (including myself do). I prefer to put my SSD in the optical slot though, as it isn't cushioned and the SSD doesn't need a cushion.

The computer will mount any attached drives at startup, including any internal or external drives. I haven't noticed any extra CPU usage for running dual drives.

As for the 2012 MBP, no one except Apple knows what the internals are going to be. If it has an optical drive, then you should be able to use the Optibay. If it doesn't have an optical drive, it may come standard with a HDD and SSD. But only Apple knows this.

really? i heard the optibay would have slower r/w capabilities than what a common ssd can perform at

and what does this do to stuff like battery life?

unbiasedmacuser said:

really? i heard the optibay would have slower r/w capabilities than what a common ssd can perform at

and what does this do to stuff like battery life?

Click to expand...

Depends on the machine. You are right, older machines have 3Gb/s limitations for the optical drive, check your model, most recent machines have 6Gb/s for both.

unbiasedmacuser said:

really? i heard the optibay would have slower r/w capabilities than what a common ssd can perform at

and what does this do to stuff like battery life?

Click to expand...

I have a 3G SATA SSD in my Optibay. It performs at 3G speeds. If I wanted, I could put a 6G SSD in the same Optibay and get 6G speeds.

I have a OWC Optibay. If you get a cheap knockoff from eBay you may not get the same speeds.

Stretch said:

I have a 3G SATA SSD in my Optibay. It performs at 3G speeds. If I wanted, I could put a 6G SSD in the same Optibay and get 6G speeds.

Click to expand...

That's only because your newer machine's optical drive interface off the logic board supports 6G. Older models only support 3G. If there is an optical drive in the next MacBook, it would be fair to assume it will support 6G.

G-Mo said:

That's only because your newer machine's optical drive interface off the logic board supports 6G. Older models only support 3G. If there is an optical drive in the next MacBook, it would be fair to assume it will support 6G.

Click to expand...

I know the older ones have a 3G interface, but he was asking about the future model, so yes, if it has an optical drive, it should have 6G.

cool, so where can i find the speed of the port on the 2007 model? i cant find any info, not even on Mac Specs, Prices, Answers & Comparison @ EveryMac.com, Est. 1996

Open System Profiler in your utilities folder. The 2007 model might not have a SATA optical drive, so it might be listed under PATA instead.

cant find anything relating to data rate or the connection its self at all. the only information regarding the optical bay is the actual superdrive :/

The Mid/Late 2007 MacBook Pro had a Ultra ATA/100 (running at UATA/66) for the optical drive interface.