200 GB Drive?

[evilernie]

So has anyone gotten a MBP with the new 200 GB drive yet? How is it? I'm really tempted to go for the extra space but I don't want to sacrifice performance too much. I'm a graphic designer and I use all the standard design software as well as garageband, imovie etc. Would I be seeing the dreaded beachball all the time?

Also I haven't used an Intel mac yet, how would it compare to the Powerbook in my sig? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gr8tfly]

The 200GB is probably a tad slower than the 160, but not as much as you might think from the slower RPM. You should be able to go to Seagate/Hitachi (I forget who's making 200's) and compare xfer speeds.

I'm on a 17" PBG4 1.67 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, impatiently awating a call to pick up the new 17" C2D.

I did a quick benchmark between this and a 2.16 CD MB doing video encoding (3rd party, not QT). The encoding framerate difference between them was almost exactly 4x. That was last spring - been waiting for the C2D since then. I suspect for applications like that, the C2D will end up much faster, perhaps approaching the "7x" range.

 

[jsd]

I ordered a 200, but unfortunately I can't comment on the performance since I ordered a 17 incher...sigh...

However, I wouldn't be worried about performance if I were you. My current laptop has an 80 GB 4200 RPM drive, and the platter density on the 200s is so much higher that they must be considerably faster than what I have now, and what I have now is fast enough to edit high definition (720p) video. If you're just using iMovie and Garageband, you should be fine (and if you use a lot of MIDI instead of a lot of loops it definitely won't be a problem). Just make sure you buy one of the models with 2 Gigs of RAM so you don't spend too long waiting for the Virtual RAM.

 

[exoriare]

I agree. I agonised long and hard about whether to go for the 160Gb or the 200Gb on exactly the same issues. In the end and after reading the opinions of those who seem to know I opted for the 200 (though not received it yet). It's a Toshiba drive and the review reports seem to be quite good. I gather that the speed differences are likely to be barely noticeable on normal use. Maybe writing a 4Gb file will take a bit longer, but how often does anyone need to do this? There will also be heat and battery savings on the 200Gb too. In the end for me there was no real decision to be made.

See multimedia's post 1997 in the big C2D thread - this was what swayed me.

 

[evilernie]

Thanks for the replies guys. Whatever drive I get, I will most definitely be maxing out the RAM. I'll go with the stock 1GB (2.16) and buy a 2GB chip from Crucial or someplace similar.

So how about comparisons to the Powerbook? Is it really that dramatic a difference? I looooove my Powerbook and I'm going to have a hard time replacing her, but if the MBP is that much better it will make the transition easier.

 

[whawhat]

I agree. I agonised long and hard about whether to go for the 160Gb or the 200Gb on exactly the same issues. In the end and after reading the opinions of those who seem to know I opted for the 200 (though not received it yet). It's a Toshiba drive and the review reports seem to be quite good. I gather that the speed differences are likely to be barely noticeable on normal use. Maybe writing a 4Gb file will take a bit longer, but how often does anyone need to do this? There will also be heat and battery savings on the 200Gb too. In the end for me there was no real decision to be made.

See multimedia's post 1997 in the big C2D thread - this was what swayed me.

as did i. i waited for the macbook update just for this. 200 should last me a couple of years so i'm pretty excited and the 4200 trade off is def. worth it. def. max out the ram. will post comments once i get one in hand (@ the 20-25th delivery...hopefully sooner)

 

[santadk]

I've got a c2d mbp with a 200 gb drive.
But being a first time mac user i have no idea wether its fast or not.

Any benchmarks I can run or?

/martin