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    SSD worth the money? Or just upgrade to 7200rpm?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Helpmyfriend, Jun 14, 2010.

  1. Helpmyfriend

    Helpmyfriend Notebook Evangelist

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    Im gonna be buying a new MacbookPro and they come with 5400rpm. I want to upgrade the drive and immediately I thought 7200rpm since theyre cheap now. But everyone has told me to consider SSD. Its very pricey.

    Since 7200rpm is kinda old tech now, would it be a waste? Should I just save my money and get SSD?
     
    Helpmyfriend, Jun 14, 2010
    #1
  2. Hobgoblinpie

    Hobgoblinpie Notebook Evangelist

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    It depends. Do you want a lot of space at decent speed, or decent space with insane speed (insane in comparison to hard drives)? If you want the second option, go with an SSD, if you want the first option, then 7200rpm is the way to go.
     
    Hobgoblinpie, Jun 14, 2010
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  3. ryukenden

    ryukenden Notebook Evangelist

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    if you need cash. Get get Seagate Momentus XT. Best of both worlds. nearly as fast as ssd and much cheaper than ssd.
     
    ryukenden, Jun 14, 2010
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  4. Helpmyfriend

    Helpmyfriend Notebook Evangelist

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    Helpmyfriend, Jun 14, 2010
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  5. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Phil, Jun 14, 2010
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  6. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    Yes, definitely. It's hard to reccomend a several hundred dollar investment without knowing what you're using your laptop for and how. If you simply surf the 'net and write term papers for school, an SSD isn't the best choice, especially where budget minded folks are concerned.

    What's your budget and what are you planning to use your new Macbook for?
     
    garetjax, Jun 14, 2010
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  7. Helpmyfriend

    Helpmyfriend Notebook Evangelist

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    My usage pattern is web, email, mp3, movies, microsoft office, photoshop, indesign. Im a heavy multitasker so i literally like to have everything open at once.

    Not much else. I pretty much do that same pattern every single day of the week.

    So the Seagate XT will only help with boot/shutdown and intensive apps im guessing? For stuff like web, email, general OS navigation im guessing it wont make any difference over a standard 5400rpm drive?
     
    Helpmyfriend, Jun 14, 2010
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  8. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Having a lot open at once isn't exactly heavy multi tasking.

    Heavy multi tasking would be running intensive tasks at the same time. For example encoding a movie while unzipping a file and watching a Youtube HD video all at the same time.

    Your web browser and email client will launch faster if you use them often. The Seagate XT will cache the most used files to the SSD for very fast loading.

    I think the Seagate XT will be a nice choice for you, except for slightly higher noise and power consumption.

    You could also get the cheaper Hitachi 7K500. It's quite fast and runs quieter, but lacks the SSD cache.

    If you want to go SSD you could look at Intel 80GB or 160GB. They're affordable good performers.
     
    Phil, Jun 14, 2010
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  9. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    i would say the seagate is perfect for ur uses.. an SSD will be an overkill in a way and a 7200rpm will be too slow.. 1 vote here for XT.
     
    sean473, Jun 14, 2010
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  10. Helpmyfriend

    Helpmyfriend Notebook Evangelist

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    Ok thanks bro. So sounds to me like the XT would give HUGE improvement over 5400rpm drives (even 7200rpm) but not quite as fast as reg SSD.

    But its the value im looking at. I need at least 120GB space and $500cdn for an Intel SSD is :eek:
     
    Helpmyfriend, Jun 15, 2010
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  11. esumsea

    esumsea Notebook Consultant

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    How about for light HD video editing? Will the momentus still remain close to the SSD? Also, what about power draw?
     
    esumsea, Jun 29, 2010
    #11