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Did any of you choose an 8TB internal SSD?
- Thread starter Riot Nrrrd
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You buy a new one.
Normal HDMI/DisplayPort monitors are available from most computer shops - and even hypermarkets. Inexpensive and easily connectable yourself. Today.
MacBook Pro screens aren‘t.
I was on São Miguel island in the Azores a while a ago and the local Worten had monitors available - whereas I have no doubt that they do not sell MacBook Pro replacement screens over the counter.
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In my forty some odd years of computing what have I had fail? Only one internal HDD (on the original MBAir, five days in) and a gaggle of external drives (HDDs and SSDs, almost all of them set up as backup drives!). I understand and support the hesitation. And while I haven’t made that decision yet (well, my M1Max MBPro has a 4TB drive, so I made the decision once) it’s on my mind a lot.
Any reason you’re deciding on a laptop rather than a desktop? Planning a lot of computing excursions on the beach? For myself, I plan on getting a Mac Studio and replacing the storage with third party options. Which gets back into the mire of non-Apple parts…
Any reason you’re deciding on a laptop rather than a desktop? Planning a lot of computing excursions on the beach? For myself, I plan on getting a Mac Studio and replacing the storage with third party options. Which gets back into the mire of non-Apple parts…
In terms of your dilemma, personally I would go for a 4TB model, as being not unconscionably expensive. I would put the most used stuff on there (say about 3TB of it, leaving 1TB spare), then with the other 4 to 5 TB would go for a mix of cloud for stuff that you need occasionally where the file size isn't ridiculous and an external SSD for the rest.
On top of that, if the data is hard to replace, I would just buy a large normal 3.5 inch external HDD for not much money (you could even get one of those WD RAID boxes) and use that to backup the whole lot.
Personally I did go for a 4TB SSD in my M3 Max MacBook Pro, which I have found to be a pretty good size - it's enough to store plenty of apps, games, movies, etc. with room to spare. I would seriously consider 8TB for my next Mac, although would really want the price to reduce before I did - with 4TB SSDs costing about £250 for a mid-range model I do get a bit upset at Apple's pricing.
On top of that, if the data is hard to replace, I would just buy a large normal 3.5 inch external HDD for not much money (you could even get one of those WD RAID boxes) and use that to backup the whole lot.
Personally I did go for a 4TB SSD in my M3 Max MacBook Pro, which I have found to be a pretty good size - it's enough to store plenty of apps, games, movies, etc. with room to spare. I would seriously consider 8TB for my next Mac, although would really want the price to reduce before I did - with 4TB SSDs costing about £250 for a mid-range model I do get a bit upset at Apple's pricing.
You shop/live on your island your way and he'll shop/live on his island his way lol.
yeah? he's gonna have a computer, what, is he not gonna have internet? we live in the age of starlink and many countries have extremely fast and low-cost 5gFrom somewhere in the Marshall Islands?!?
Just the opposite. Least likely to be able to be repaired locally.
Most likely? Windows desktop.
It is amazing how easy it is to ship a box to any inhabited island in the world these days.
Any plan that has a single point of failure is simply a plan to fail. Assume your computer will be stolen, or break, or lost and that all the data on it will disappear.
Based on that assumption, have a robust, offsite backup plan in action.
I completely agree that you should get the computer you desire.
But I hope I have convinced you that you ALSO need to not place all your eggs in one basket.
Agree. Very easy to add attached storage (network or physical) for non-essentials like media.
If I were you, I'd buy a 2/4TB MacBook Pro and just store the other data on a couple of Samsung T9's which are very fast, small, light & easy to travel with. It's highly unlikely you'll need access to 7-8TB of data at all times. So just dump your media across a couple of 4TB T9's.
I'd also have some form of backup for it all as well.
But assuming you will be living in a place of a reasonable size, just use your NAS? Not quite sure why that's ruled out. You only need to "drag it" there once and be done with it.
I'd also have some form of backup for it all as well.
But assuming you will be living in a place of a reasonable size, just use your NAS? Not quite sure why that's ruled out. You only need to "drag it" there once and be done with it.
I got tired of playing that storage game, "optimizing" price, compromising features, and also having a desktop and a laptop.
Most people don't take into account Total Cost of Ownership issues, efficiency, ease of use, and disaster recovery costs.
Also, the Apple Silicon blurs the laptop/desktop perf deltas.
I went with a fully maxed m4 MBP 128GB RAM and 8TB SSD. (no matte screen though).
Very happy with it. Don't have to worry about space etc.
Can dock for desktop experience.
Consolidating to one platform saves time, energy and cost.
Will be selling extra/old Macs soon.
Applecare+ for catastrophes.
I don't trust time machine since APFS. Had a lot of issues. Not sure they are really fixed.
I use Carbon Copy cloner for non-bootable backups to SSD.
I can access the SSD files on a temp machine if needed in an emergency.
I can easily migrate to a new computer from the SSD.
I also have dropbox for real-time sync with other devices and team.
Dropbox also makes sure critical files are backed up between SSD backups.
Dropbox also has versioning.
I will be setting up a dropbox backup for the entire machine also. This is another Dropbox service.
I can also access dropbox on a temp machine, if needed in an emergency.
Hope you have decent broadband on your island.
Finally, I plan to keep this unit 4-6 years so the price per year is more reasonable.
If something compelling is released, I will upgrade.
Looks like you keep macs even longer seeing that you are rocking 2010 and 2013 models.
Your cost over that timeframe is significantly less and a maxed unit will make it easier to go that distance.
BTW, I consolidated from a Mac Studio M1 MAX 64 GB RAM 4TB SSD and a MBA 15 M2 24GB 2TB SSD.
For me the MBA was interesting but I am really a MBP user.
Most people don't take into account Total Cost of Ownership issues, efficiency, ease of use, and disaster recovery costs.
Also, the Apple Silicon blurs the laptop/desktop perf deltas.
I went with a fully maxed m4 MBP 128GB RAM and 8TB SSD. (no matte screen though).
Very happy with it. Don't have to worry about space etc.
Can dock for desktop experience.
Consolidating to one platform saves time, energy and cost.
Will be selling extra/old Macs soon.
Applecare+ for catastrophes.
I don't trust time machine since APFS. Had a lot of issues. Not sure they are really fixed.
I use Carbon Copy cloner for non-bootable backups to SSD.
I can access the SSD files on a temp machine if needed in an emergency.
I can easily migrate to a new computer from the SSD.
I also have dropbox for real-time sync with other devices and team.
Dropbox also makes sure critical files are backed up between SSD backups.
Dropbox also has versioning.
I will be setting up a dropbox backup for the entire machine also. This is another Dropbox service.
I can also access dropbox on a temp machine, if needed in an emergency.
Hope you have decent broadband on your island.
Finally, I plan to keep this unit 4-6 years so the price per year is more reasonable.
If something compelling is released, I will upgrade.
Looks like you keep macs even longer seeing that you are rocking 2010 and 2013 models.
Your cost over that timeframe is significantly less and a maxed unit will make it easier to go that distance.
BTW, I consolidated from a Mac Studio M1 MAX 64 GB RAM 4TB SSD and a MBA 15 M2 24GB 2TB SSD.
For me the MBA was interesting but I am really a MBP user.
Went 1TB internal on my M4 Max Nano 16" lol and plugged 1x 2TB T7 and 1x 4TB T9 to it one by one depending.
No issues with disconnecting etc and is pretty fast for what it actually is. Sure the internal is 5000MB/s fast plus plus but i dont really notice it in day to day use which is moderate
I highly doubt you're accessing 7.5TB daily on a consistent basis being realistic [unless those are like 12 bit RAW videos or something], put it to a backup drive instead. and pull when necessary.
No issues with disconnecting etc and is pretty fast for what it actually is. Sure the internal is 5000MB/s fast plus plus but i dont really notice it in day to day use which is moderate
I highly doubt you're accessing 7.5TB daily on a consistent basis being realistic [unless those are like 12 bit RAW videos or something], put it to a backup drive instead. and pull when necessary.
Why would anyone pay Apple's prices for 8TB internal storage when you can get external SSDs for a fraction of the cost? I picked up a pair of Crucial X10 Pro 4TB external SSDs for $460 at Best Buy, and they're more than fast enough to handle media files for video editing.
I would never pay that much for Apple storage. I always get my systems with 1TB, and I don't think Ive ever had to fill even half of the drive. I use external SSDs all the time. I have been using them years now and currently have around 62GB worth of external SSD storage. In all the time Ive had them Ive had ONE drive failure - and even then I removed the SSD, placed it into another enclosure, and had all my data there and ready to continue using.
This is why I dislike the Samsung T7/T9 etc - I prefer to place SSDs into an enclosure so if something should happen I at least have a chance to recover by trying an alternate enclosure instead. Of course if it's the SSD that dies then that's a different story - but I've never experienced a SSD failure [touch wood]!
With the small size and the sheer speed of external enclosure these days I don't see the point of paying so much for internal storage any more, unless it just for pure convenience, nothing more. Sorry, but for me I'm not paying that much for 'convenience'.
This is why I dislike the Samsung T7/T9 etc - I prefer to place SSDs into an enclosure so if something should happen I at least have a chance to recover by trying an alternate enclosure instead. Of course if it's the SSD that dies then that's a different story - but I've never experienced a SSD failure [touch wood]!
With the small size and the sheer speed of external enclosure these days I don't see the point of paying so much for internal storage any more, unless it just for pure convenience, nothing more. Sorry, but for me I'm not paying that much for 'convenience'.
The more I think about it @Riot Nrrrd the more I appreciate your Quest.
I say Go For It! if you are able.
If I was looking for shells and glanced-over to see you chillin' with your MBP next to a PiñaC in a lounge chair, I have to admit a serious degree of potential envy
I say Go For It! if you are able.
If I was looking for shells and glanced-over to see you chillin' with your MBP next to a PiñaC in a lounge chair, I have to admit a serious degree of potential envy
Check speed and reliability of internet in the islands before relying on cloud storage.
But i would tend to agree with using third party storage once going above 2tb due to the sheer cost of buying it on a Mac. Don’t forget you’d still need off box storage in case the Mac itself died so perhaps external storage (even a ‘bunch of disks’ with duplicate spares in case of failure) would be preferable to buying a single point of (expensive) failure.
I would argue to get a sku which doesn’t require custom build if you need a replacement unit and go with external storage. A Mac mini would be a mini powerhouse compared to a 2010 Mac.
If you look closely on the Apple website, the 14" MBP configuration I have appears to be a CTO build at first, but is available in-store. For $150 more than the base M4 Max (1TB/36GB RAM), I got the M4 Pro with 2TB SSD, 48GB RAM, and the nano texture display. Even the M4 Pro is roughly 50% faster than the M2 Max it replaced, so I didn't lose out on any performance there as I never maxed out that machine from a performance perspective.
Personally, I don’t come close to maxing out my CPU use on the M1Max. But GPU use… and if I ever mess around with “AI” (sorry, I can’t help using quotes, I’m too old to call the super basic crap that LLMs spew as AI, despite the great value I perceive it can, and already does, add to certain aspects of society) the neural engine. So the M4Pro doesn’t yet match the M1Max that I have. Excepting, of course, that it has mesh shading (important to me) and ray tracing (very nice to have).
Glad you’re able to make better use of the CPU cores! And have no need to spend extra on GPU cores…
Maybe those who 'want ultimate convenience at apple tax'...
for me even my 16" MBP doesn't 'go-out' a lot travelling it just seemed right for a hybrid [working computer with decent screen, 14" won't cut it] and having 2-3 externals off a tb4/usb-c cable is not a big deal for me... might not look neat but still gets the job done.
Eh. I did it. I don't regret it either. I'm planning to do it again for my next MacBook Pro (in 2028-ish), hopefully with 16TB, and thus I am already slowly stashing money aside for that. Though I do agree, the price that Apple is asking for 8TB is absurd.
I did it because I was migrating from Windows to Mac and I was already used to having "all of my stuff" in one spot, on a laptop. (It is way cheaper to achieve 8TB+ storage capacity in a Windows laptop, if you can buy your own drive and just install it, or have multiple internal drives...) I live off of my laptop. I have a lot of data (photos / videos / games, plus VMs, databases, and other stuff for tech projects). I also rely on the portability factor; I move the system around a fair amount. The idea of having external SSDs dangling off of it, or having to worry about what is stored where, or having to shuffle data around depending on what I am working on... that was repulsive enough to get me to pay the Apple tax for the most storage that I could get.
8 TB is not even enough to achieve "all of my stuff". Well, I don't use it all, but I have less than 2 TB free at the moment. But I also have a 40 TB NAS setup for "bulk" or "archival" stuff that is more than half full. When the day comes that I can hold all of that in my laptop, I'll be pretty happy.
(I agree with the others, backups are important. I also have a base Mac Mini with 16TB external plain-old-HDD attached that serves only as a backup target. The MacBook Pro does a backup to it every night using CCC.)
I did it because I was migrating from Windows to Mac and I was already used to having "all of my stuff" in one spot, on a laptop. (It is way cheaper to achieve 8TB+ storage capacity in a Windows laptop, if you can buy your own drive and just install it, or have multiple internal drives...) I live off of my laptop. I have a lot of data (photos / videos / games, plus VMs, databases, and other stuff for tech projects). I also rely on the portability factor; I move the system around a fair amount. The idea of having external SSDs dangling off of it, or having to worry about what is stored where, or having to shuffle data around depending on what I am working on... that was repulsive enough to get me to pay the Apple tax for the most storage that I could get.
8 TB is not even enough to achieve "all of my stuff". Well, I don't use it all, but I have less than 2 TB free at the moment. But I also have a 40 TB NAS setup for "bulk" or "archival" stuff that is more than half full. When the day comes that I can hold all of that in my laptop, I'll be pretty happy.
(I agree with the others, backups are important. I also have a base Mac Mini with 16TB external plain-old-HDD attached that serves only as a backup target. The MacBook Pro does a backup to it every night using CCC.)
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Why Dropbox and not iCloud? I too use Dropbox bur want to try iCloud again. Had a bad issue with iCloud a few years ago and haven’t tried it again since but want to try it again and maybe drop Dropbox.
The way my life and business is set up, I have a significant need for rock solid cloud storage, collaboration, and sharing.
I have a background in systems engineering and mass storage. I was an early adopter of file sharing and cloud - remember foldershare?
When I went out on my own, I evaluated all the cloud storage services (google drive, onedrive (different name back then), box, amazon, etc). Probably around 8-10. Dropbox was the best and the only one that passed data integrity tests and file size tests. I have been a user since around 2008
Also dropbox was the only one that could handle very large file uploads 50GB or more (2TB today). I was using a lot of VMs back then and needed to backup and share them.
Dropbox also has a lot of admin features at higher levels for managing team accounts.
IMO, iCloud is too flaky for realtime cloud storage needs. I have iCloud 2TB family and use it for the ecosystem. When I evaluated it for my use cases it was just too unreliable.
BTW, my Dropbox is $925/yr for 3 team members. I occasionally evaluate the big 3 (iCloud, onedrive, and google drive) to see if they would work for me especially since I have all three based on other services with those vendors.
I would love to switch and same some money but not at the expense of my workflows etc.
If you have any ideas or options please share.
I grabbed a brand new 16" M1 Max 32GB 8TB on Woot for under $2k.
Wow, that’s pretty interesting. On the rare occasions I’ve checked Woot, they’ve never had any Apple laptops. Just desktops and iPads, and usually base specs. Nice score!