MBP: Stock vs Hybrid vs SSD

TheWedgie · 16th July 2011, 4:46 AM

So, about to get myself a new 13" MBP and will more than likely upgrade the stock 320Gb HDD...

I've seen all the videos, and a mate has an SSD in his, and it's blindingly fast, however I can't really justify the price per Gb as this will pretty much be my primary machine.

What are the Seagate Momentus XT drives like in comparison?

At this stage I'm thinking either a 7200rpm WD SATA 1Tb, or the 500Gb Momentus XT, as both are around the same price.

-Nick

oli · 16th July 2011, 5:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWedgie

What are the Seagate Momentus XT drives like in comparison?

I have one of these in mine.

I have been considering an SSD but don't want to lose the space (going down from 500GB). Also I am still uncertain about data integrity/the lifespan of SSDs...

I do a fair bit of disk-heavy stuff and find the performance of the disk fine. Definitely worth the upgrade from a 5400rpm drive.

TheWedgie · 16th July 2011, 6:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oli

I have one of these in mine.

I have been considering an SSD but don't want to lose the space (going down from 500GB). Also I am still uncertain about data integrity/the lifespan of SSDs...

I do a fair bit of disk-heavy stuff and find the performance of the disk fine. Definitely worth the upgrade from a 5400rpm drive.

Cheers, it's looking like the XT is a winner - I should have mentioned the WD SATA is a 7200RPM drive.

oli · 16th July 2011, 6:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWedgie

Cheers, it's looking like the XT is a winner - I should have mentioned the WD SATA is a 7200RPM drive.

I don't know if the hybrid/SSD thing makes much difference. After awhile using anything you forget how whatever you had before was like so I can't compare... I just know this is faster than a 5400rpm drive.

bumography · 16th July 2011, 11:36 AM

I've installed all of the above.

The hybrid ssd is better than the normal hdd, doesnt feel like its much faster while loading windows, but once it gets to the desktop (where a lotta other crap load up) its obviously a lot faster than a normal hdd. I find a normal hdd struggles after the desktop image is shown.

I installed my first SSD yesterday afternoon in fact, its was one of those cheap kingston snv100s2 or something. It was faster than the momentus XT imo, but if i was to get a laptop, i'd probably get the momentus XT if i wanted to download a lot of porn or something.

th3_hawk · 16th July 2011, 11:53 AM

I have a OWC 240GB SSD in my MBP which was an upgrade from an XT drive.

I was never really happy with the XT, it really didn't feel like a huge upgrade from the 7,200rpm HDD that came before it.

I too was very concerned about the loss of space so have a 500GB drive in the optibay space for mass storage. In reality I currently have ~335GB of stuff without trimming anything down at all. I could *probably* squeeze down another 100GB of stuff without too much sacrifice, I just don't want to :P It's a real shame Apple don't offer a BTO SSD + HDD (with no optidrive) out of the box in the laptop range, I know more than a few people who might just tick that box.

yoink · 16th July 2011, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by th3_hawk

I have a OWC 240GB SSD in my MBP which was an upgrade from an XT drive.

I was never really happy with the XT, it really didn't feel like a huge upgrade from the 7,200rpm HDD that came before it.

I too was very concerned about the loss of space so have a 500GB drive in the optibay space for mass storage. In reality I currently have ~335GB of stuff without trimming anything down at all. I could *probably* squeeze down another 100GB of stuff without too much sacrifice, I just don't want to :P It's a real shame Apple don't offer a BTO SSD + HDD (with no optidrive) out of the box in the laptop range, I know more than a few people who might just tick that box.

I have almost the same setup, (but with 120gb SSD), programs go on the SSD, data goes on the 500gb, works VERY well, is faster than any other setup that I have seen, with the same capacity.

5p1k3y · 16th July 2011, 12:10 PM

a friend mentioned to me the hybrid drives cause issue with macbooks? anybody know anything about that?

like compatibility issues.

^catalyst · 16th July 2011, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5p1k3y

a friend mentioned to me the hybrid drives cause issue with macbooks? anybody know anything about that?

like compatibility issues.

Friends don't give friends unqualified / referenced computer advice.

ChaosMaster · 16th July 2011, 12:55 PM

Jazper · 16th July 2011, 1:36 PM

Ok

I have a MBP (2.66 c2d/15inch/8gig of ram)

I have used the stock 320g 7200 hitachi, the 500gig momentus xt and an OCZ vertex 2 (240gig version)

For speed you can't beat the vertex ssd, it is simply bloody fast.

For storage the momentus is a very nice drive, though the power consumption was a bit high (noticeably lost 30 mins-1 hr runtime). It was a nice leap in speed from the stock hitachi though especially after a few runs.

From my experience, I'd definitely go a SSD if:
1. you can afford it
2. you have a nas or external storage at home
3. your base install (as in macosx + all the programs/vms etc you usually use) is small enough - eg my base install is about 60-80 gig, anything else is gravy

I'd definitely go a momentus xt if:
1. you need the space
2. you want your apps to start faster
3. you can't afford an ssd

One thing you should consider either way is http://latenitesoft.com/clusters/ <-- clusters. I've saved over 20gig with it without any noticeable drop in speed.

oli · 17th July 2011, 1:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5p1k3y

a friend mentioned to me the hybrid drives cause issue with macbooks? anybody know anything about that?

like compatibility issues.

Never heard of it and judging by the number of people using the XT drives without problems it sounds like crap.

TheWedgie · 17th July 2011, 6:21 AM

Thanks guys, still waiting on approval from work to salary sacrifice it all, so will make up my mind later!

Stanza · 17th July 2011, 12:08 PM

could the FRIEND having troubles have been from an Older firmware?

Looking at the XT complaints there has been a LOT of firmware updates for them.

Since the latest few firmwares... complaints have dropped right off.

5p1k3y · 17th July 2011, 7:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanza

could the FRIEND having troubles have been from an Older firmware?

Looking at the XT complaints there has been a LOT of firmware updates for them.

Since the latest few firmwares... complaints have dropped right off.

I have no idea I was considering getting one as well till he told me that but he did run Mac os 10.6.4 and it was a pre sb mbp not sure if that was the reason or not.

16th July 2011, 4:46 AM	#1
TheWedgie Reputation: Over 9000 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: South Australia Posts: 2,618	MBP: Stock vs Hybrid vs SSD So, about to get myself a new 13" MBP and will more than likely upgrade the stock 320Gb HDD... I've seen all the videos, and a mate has an SSD in his, and it's blindingly fast, however I can't really justify the price per Gb as this will pretty much be my primary machine. What are the Seagate Momentus XT drives like in comparison? At this stage I'm thinking either a 7200rpm WD SATA 1Tb, or the 500Gb Momentus XT, as both are around the same price. -Nick __________________ ugbox.net \| OCAU Emergency Services Club This post is the personal opinion of the poster and may not necessarily state or reflect those of SA Ambulance Service, SA Department of Health, or First Care Medical. It does not constitute medical advice, and should not be taken three times a day with meals. May cause drowsiness - do not drive or operate heavy machinery after reading. Last edited by TheWedgie; 16th July 2011 at 6:15 AM.

16th July 2011, 11:36 AM	#5
bumography Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Adel Posts: 1,372	I've installed all of the above. The hybrid ssd is better than the normal hdd, doesnt feel like its much faster while loading windows, but once it gets to the desktop (where a lotta other crap load up) its obviously a lot faster than a normal hdd. I find a normal hdd struggles after the desktop image is shown. I installed my first SSD yesterday afternoon in fact, its was one of those cheap kingston snv100s2 or something. It was faster than the momentus XT imo, but if i was to get a laptop, i'd probably get the momentus XT if i wanted to download a lot of porn or something. __________________ Another useless post for OCAU by bumography Q66600 - P335-DS39 - 48gb RAM - 150TB - 99500 GTX - Philips 199' 54:45 - Antec HE5550W PSU - Antec P180 EE66750 - G333M-S29 - 40Gb RAM - 320TB HDD - 96600GT - Samsung 22553 - Seasonic S2 4530W PSU - Silverstone TJ908 AMD X2 42000 - MA7800G-S73H- 48Gb RAM - 6.40TB HDD - 199' BenQ LCD - Coolermaster 4600W PSU

16th July 2011, 11:53 AM	#6
th3_hawk Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: [SYD] Campbelltown Posts: 925	I have a OWC 240GB SSD in my MBP which was an upgrade from an XT drive. I was never really happy with the XT, it really didn't feel like a huge upgrade from the 7,200rpm HDD that came before it. I too was very concerned about the loss of space so have a 500GB drive in the optibay space for mass storage. In reality I currently have ~335GB of stuff without trimming anything down at all. I could probably squeeze down another 100GB of stuff without too much sacrifice, I just don't want to :P It's a real shame Apple don't offer a BTO SSD + HDD (with no optidrive) out of the box in the laptop range, I know more than a few people who might just tick that box. __________________ "Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake." Got a VW? VWWatercooled Currently for Sale: Nothing much

16th July 2011, 12:10 PM	#8
5p1k3y Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 295	a friend mentioned to me the hybrid drives cause issue with macbooks? anybody know anything about that? like compatibility issues. __________________ PC 1 \|i7 930\| GA-X58A UD3R \| Sapphire 6870\| 6GB PQI 1333mhz \|Dell U2711 \|HX650\|HDA Xplosion \| Fractal Design R2 PC 2 \|2500K @ 4.2Ghz 1.3v\|Asrock z68 Pro-M \|2gb 6950\|8gb Ripjaw X\|Antec HCG520\| Antec 902v3

16th July 2011, 12:55 PM	#10
ChaosMaster Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vic, 3175 Posts: 1,219	<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kss98VdhSj0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> That video answers it all really. But to be honest, for my own usage, I don't really download or use up my of my HDD on my MBP, as I only really use it for Uni work. And while an SSD would improve my boot speed, Mac OSX isn't slow to begin with, and after the first 10 secs it takes to boot, everything runs extremely smoothly. So in my case, I wouldn't bother. __________________ 1. Lian LI A71FB \| Asus P6X58D Premium \| i7-930 @ 3.99 1.2v \| Corsair H50 \| Corsair XMS 3x2GB DDR3 1800 C8 1.66v \| Gigabyte GTX570 \| OCZ V2 120GB + 5x 1TB WD Black+ 2x 7K3000 + 1.5TB + 750GB\| QFAN 750w \| Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe \| Sennheiser HD555 \| G9 + Topre RealForce + G35 \| Check out my FLICKR

16th July 2011, 1:36 PM	#11
Jazper Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1,762	Ok I have a MBP (2.66 c2d/15inch/8gig of ram) I have used the stock 320g 7200 hitachi, the 500gig momentus xt and an OCZ vertex 2 (240gig version) For speed you can't beat the vertex ssd, it is simply bloody fast. For storage the momentus is a very nice drive, though the power consumption was a bit high (noticeably lost 30 mins-1 hr runtime). It was a nice leap in speed from the stock hitachi though especially after a few runs. From my experience, I'd definitely go a SSD if: 1. you can afford it 2. you have a nas or external storage at home 3. your base install (as in macosx + all the programs/vms etc you usually use) is small enough - eg my base install is about 60-80 gig, anything else is gravy I'd definitely go a momentus xt if: 1. you need the space 2. you want your apps to start faster 3. you can't afford an ssd One thing you should consider either way is http://latenitesoft.com/clusters/ <-- clusters. I've saved over 20gig with it without any noticeable drop in speed.

17th July 2011, 6:21 AM	#13
TheWedgie Reputation: Over 9000 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: South Australia Posts: 2,618	Thanks guys, still waiting on approval from work to salary sacrifice it all, so will make up my mind later! __________________ ugbox.net \| OCAU Emergency Services Club This post is the personal opinion of the poster and may not necessarily state or reflect those of SA Ambulance Service, SA Department of Health, or First Care Medical. It does not constitute medical advice, and should not be taken three times a day with meals. May cause drowsiness - do not drive or operate heavy machinery after reading.