250GB or 500GB

[ajo]

Im still planning to get an iMac. I usally buy things and futureproof them to make them last.

I am going to be making music (GarageBand) and storing loads of photos etc.

I was wondering how much space I really really need and weather it is worth me upgrading to 500GB Hard Drive.

Thanks

ajo

 

[ph0rce]

i am thinking of the same thing, i just bought a 250GB external hard drive for my mac mini so i guess i could always do the same for an iMac... i was also wondering about graphics cards...

 

[iEdd]

Remembering you should(well you could just backup on 60 DVD-Rs if it's easier) have an external drive of the same size for an exact bootable backup, if you can afford a 500GB and a firewire 400 external 500GB hard drive go for it.

 

[mad jew]

I figure it's always nice to minimise the amount I depend on externals so I max out my internal tray(s) first. I'd get the 500GB drive.

 

[ziwi]

When it comes to hard drives - bigger is usually better - it is amazing how much space one can plow through with some photo's, music and movies - go large

 

[CoMpX]

When it comes to hard drives - bigger is usually better - it is amazing how much space one can plow through with some photo's, music and movies - go large

I agree. I thought 80GB would be PLENTY of space for me. Not so, because one I got a Mac it was so easy and fun to do things with movies and pics...and the space just went. 250GB later, I'm good for now, but its filling up quick. Formatted, I have about 233GB capacity, not every good, but whatever, and I only have about 179GB of that free. So you can see how it fills up.

 

[MRU]

Personally I decided on the 250 over the 500 as there was a 330 Euro cost difference. For 330 Euro I could buy a 500GB External and have 750GB total... So for value for money the internal upgrade is not really worth it in my opinion, besides I already had a 250 Lacie Triple Interface spare...

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

Im still planning to get an iMac. I usally buy things and futureproof them to make them last.

I am going to be making music (GarageBand) and storing loads of photos etc.

I was wondering how much space I really really need and weather it is worth me upgrading to 500GB Hard Drive.

Thanks

ajo

Spend the $300 on an external Firwire 500gb, and end up with 750GB!, Making music and storing photos EATS HD space RAPIDLY, plus you'll have the portability factor too.....

 

[redAPPLE]

the PPC iMac HDUs could "easily" be upgraded. i don't know, if it is possible with the Macintel iMacs.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I recommend either if you get the external / internal 500 GB that you buy a external 500 GB drive for backups. DVD backup is just too slow and many swaps.

I was lucky that I had a stack of 80 GB or under drives to use as a backup from prior PCs until I was ready to buy a single backup drive.

 

[mac4drew]

Yeah I say you will want more space eventually, and consider downloading TV shows, movies (legally probably coming very soon on iTunes, and those files are probably going to be relatively big), and a ton of music, all this stuff will end up taking up a ton of space, not to mention if you have a really nice digital camera, those files can get huge. Games are getting bigger too. It's always good to plan ahead.

Plus consider that all the apps and system take up a good amount of space as well, and they're only going to get bigger in the future as Apple adds more templates.

An external is a good idea, but it's also nice to have a lot of internal space on your startup disk, that way you don't have to worry about where you're saving files, and you can keep everything organized in your user folder where it should be.

I suppose in the end, though, I'd have to agree with SmurfBoxMasta and go with the 250 internal and get an 500 gig external. Maybe one of those nice LaCie's.

You may also just want to start out with your 250GB internal and buy an external later on when you see your space start to run low, that way you'll end up saving money because external drives probably will have gone down in price by the time you fill your internal up.

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

If I were purchasing my next machine today, I would be going for 500-750GB internal storage just to be safe

 

[Eidorian]

I have 160 GB onboard and 200 GB external. It's USB 2.0 but I'm happy with it to back up my files. 14 MB/s read/write speeds aren't that bad either.

I have tons of video on it too. Well 20 GB. Heh...

 

[i.Feature]

I sit on both sides of the fence...

It's expensive to upgrade to the 500 GB and you can buy an external for a lot less.

But on the other hand I like to future proof my machines. Nothing worse than a year from now wishing you had more space...and already having an external drive and needing another.

 

[ChrisA]

Im still planning to get an iMac. I usally buy things and futureproof them to make them last.

I am going to be making music (GarageBand) and storing loads of photos etc.

I was wondering how much space I really really need and weather it is worth me upgrading to 500GB Hard Drive.

Thanks

ajo

A few comments

(1) You have to think through a good backup plan. What are the major ways you can loose data and how to deal with each of them. The most common way to loose data is simpy "operator error" deleteing the wrong file, next comes software and OS screwups and then disk drive failure. As long as you have a plan, any plan, you're set.

(2) NEVER buy a disk untill you need it You don't save money by buying a big disk now and not filling it up. The prices are falling fast, the size is growing and the speed is slowly improving. It's best to buy a drive that you will fill 1/2 way

(3) the iMac's internal drive will hold as LOT of garage band and photo data. (thousands of photos and songs, easy) However your backup plan may say to copy the data to a hard drive that you unplug after doing the backup. (do not leave your backup drive powered up or plugged it are the same lightening bolt that zaps the primary drive will zap the backup too)

I think you'd be best off buying the smaller drive now and using it to backup your internal drive then later when the internal drive is full buy TWO larger drives (you will need one to backup the other.)

 

[BlueRevolution]

I'd say the 250 gb would be plenty for most people. music and photos won't eat it up too fast unless you're shooting 16 mp RAW or something. if you're doing a lot of video editing then you'd definitely need at least 500 gb, but for the money 250 gb is probably the best choice.

then again, I just bought a 250 gb external to supplement the 80 gb drive inside my G5. 500 gb is unimaginably big right now.

 

[kugino]

i have an imac...my backup strategy is a 250gb external for complete backup of the internal drive. i'm still trying out different backup solutions but for now i use CCC to completely clone my drive to the external about once/week.

another external drive is for my movies, large projects, etc. i don't have a backup plan for this drive yet, so for now all my most important files are on my internal drive. i say get the 500 or if you want cheaper, get two 250s for external storage. with the size of movies, tv shows, etc., you can never have too much storage space, IMO.