SSD size for hard drive upgrade advice

[Scuba]

After much internal turmoil I have decided to upgrade to a SSD. What size drive should I get? I thought I read that one should have at least ten percent free space so that it can properly go about its garbage collecting business, etc.

I am going to buy (I believe) an OWC SSD and I expect my OS and Apps, etc will take up about fifty to sixty percent of the drive and OWC already designs it with dedicated space for drive management. Will I be happy with this much headroom? I honestly can't imagine spending more than I will have to already. I will be using a second drive for media storage files...

I'm planning on a 120 Gb drive. I think that will be plenty for my Hack but it will get a little tighter in my MacBook Pro (that's the one that will take up sixty percent of the SSD).

Thanks so much

 

[tamorgen]

After much internal turmoil I have decided to upgrade to a SSD. What size drive should I get? I thought I read that one should have at least ten percent free space so that it can properly go about its garbage collecting business, etc.

I am going to buy (I believe) an OWC SSD and I expect my OS and Apps, etc will take up about fifty to sixty percent of the drive and OWC already designs it with dedicated space for drive management. Will I be happy with this much headroom? I honestly can't imagine spending more than I will have to already. I will be using a second drive for media storage files...

I'm planning on a 120 Gb drive. I think that will be plenty for my Hack but it will get a little tighter in my MacBook Pro (that's the one that will take up sixty percent of the SSD).

Thanks so much

I'm about to do the same as you did. I bought 2 Crucial M4 128 GB http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2JKZI/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details drives from Amazon. I'm going to use one for Windows 7, and one for Lion. I'll be using a couple of older 750 GB SATA 2 drives for my data and some programs on Windows, should I start approaching the 128 GB mark. I doubt I will have that problem on OSX, but data will definitely go on the HDD.

A few weeks ago I upgraded my Home Theatre PC (HTPC) and gave it a Crucial M4 64 GB drive. I only use less than half of the drive for Windows and programs. I store my TV files (I use it as a HD DVR) on a 500 GB HDD and it is just smoking fast.

Judging by the HTPC, I really can't imagine you need any more room than 128GB for a desktop for OS and programs. I just wish the price would come down for SSDs for the sake of laptops. Minimum I would want on a laptop is 256 GB, 512 preferred. 512 GB is close to $800, and that is just a bit much.

BTW, you may want to take a look at the Crucial drives over the OWC. They have phenomenal feedback and they are extremely fast, and really not much more than you would pay for OWC.

 

[Scuba]

Thanks for the feedback. I will check out the Crucial drive today as well. I am much more confident with the 120 Gb drive in the laptop now that I have researched the use of a second hard drive in my laptop Optibay. I am going to test out the SSD there first and then put it in my Hack, as I am pretty confident I won't regret my decision. Reliability was a big concern of mine so I appreciate the nod for Crucial. OWC seems so Mac friendly and I like the return and warranty policy.

 

[Scuba]

Just one last follow-up...

OWC tech support says that their over provisioning chip is used for disk management but they recommend as well that you have ten percent free disk space, as do most other manufacturers, for the SSD to perform at its best.

 

[verymodern]

Hi there, hope this isn't just hearsay without merit, but I was reading somewhere (I'm going to guess NewEgg reviews?) that OCX SDDs were prone to failure or somehow low quality. It's always a bit of a gamble going by reviews - for hardware or movies for that matter. What works for some isn't always the case for others. I got a Kingston SDD (detailed in signature/profile) which had supposedly been given lots of accolades. I haven't been using it long enough to share my reaction, particularly since most of the use has been in the install struggle for my first built hackintosh (previously did a Dell Mini 10v). Deals crop up all the time on SDDs and I do think I recall reading that the Intel ones were highly regarded. Anyway, in case you haven't checked around, please do. I should think 120/128GB would work fine for OS only as long as you intend to store data elsewhere!

 

[tamorgen]

Hi there, hope this isn't just hearsay without merit, but I was reading somewhere (I'm going to guess NewEgg reviews?) that OCX SDDs were prone to failure or somehow low quality. It's always a bit of a gamble going by reviews - for hardware or movies for that matter. What works for some isn't always the case for others. I got a Kingston SDD (detailed in signature/profile) which had supposedly been given lots of accolades. I haven't been using it long enough to share my reaction, particularly since most of the use has been in the install struggle for my first built hackintosh (previously did a Dell Mini 10v). Deals crop up all the time on SDDs and I do think I recall reading that the Intel ones were highly regarded. Anyway, in case you haven't checked around, please do. I should think 120/128GB would work fine for OS only as long as you intend to store data elsewhere!

I've heard that as well. I was going to buy a OCZ drive but got warned away from them. I was told either Crucial or Intel SSD drives. Intel drives are usually considerably more expensive. I'm loving my Crucial drive so far. So much so, I ordered two more!

 

[Dschijn]

My 120GB OWC SSD has, for me, enough space!

But pictures (iPhoto), music (iTunes) and movies are on other HDDs.

 

[Sasquatch00]

I went for Intel at 120gb for OSX and 80gb for Windows 7.

For osx I only use about 70gb out of 120, so that runs great and with other hdd for storage, like you are planning, I never plan on filling up any more than that.

For Windows 7 I am definitely pushing it. Wish I had gone for 120gb, but I attempted to offset the cost of the Intels by buying one smaller one...happy about the decision overall because they've given me zero problems.

This being my first build I simply couldn't stress over any more minor details, like which companies make sturdier this or that. Maybe I spent too much, but I sleep well at night.

I'm also about to do the same to my Macbook Pro as well, with the optibay. Putting the SSD in place of the HDD then the HDD in place of the optical drive (not working anymore anyway). Should be interesting.

I know people have already said most of this, but above is just another agreement.

 

[RMJ114]

another advantage of Intel/Crucial is they are very, very low power. OCZ and other high speed drives can use over 3.0 amps, while Intel/Crucial use 0.1 amps. that's 30x the power savings!! Crucial's use even less than Intel. For laptops, this could be good for battery life.

 

[apexonephoto]

I have a dual boot with (2) 60 GB SSD drives. Just installed them over the last few days.

On the Lion install, I have only used 7.07 GB, and the Windows 7 install I have used 20.9 GB. This morning I looked at my W7 install and it was at 49.5 GB. All my data from both os's goes to a 1 TB drive.

I have 16 GB of ram, so my W7 install created a 16 GB page file and a 16 GB Hibernation file. So these two files alone ate up all of my drive space. If you search long enough I am sure you will find reasons to get rid of or keep both of these files. That is a decision I will make, depending on how stable my machine seems to be.

I don't know if the extra SSD space is really required. I can see having a 100+ GB SSD in a laptop.