MacBook Pro HDD

[JackLope]

I was planning on buying a new MacBook Pro but I wasn't sure on what HD to get I was wondering if you guys had any ideas or personal preferences.

# 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
# 128GB solid-state drive
# 256GB solid-state drive

I was thinking the 500GB 7200rpm. What about you guys?

Thanks

 

[Julio Franco]

There's an obvious advantage on picking up the fastest HDD possible. If you plan to use your laptop as a desktop replacement and will need the storage capacity for things like pictures, movies or your music library, then the larger 500GB drive is a better choice.

But if you are more like me who uses the laptop for mobile use and keeps things central on a desktop, so I basically only need my OS and main applications on my laptop, the speedier and more costly SSD drive is the best choice if you are willing to pay extra.

If you are picky about the SSD drive, I know some people who have bought the cheapest drive from Apple and then installed their own Intel SSD, though today there are other good alternatives like the OCZ Vertex.

 

[JackLope]

Kool Thanks!

But whats the difference between a SSD and a HDD? Is one faster or something?

 

[Julio Franco]

HDD is your standard spinning hard disk drive, while SSDs use flash-based memory, similar to the one used on your cell phone or digital camera.

Because SSDs (solid state drives) don't have moving parts they are also more resistant to shock impacts. The current generation of solid state drives are consistently faster than standard hard drives, but they are also more expensive and smaller in capacity.

All that said, it's not like you need to have a SSD in your new laptop, this is a new relatively new technology that is just getting adopted in laptops and desktop systems.