Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Help chosing SSD/HDD configuration for Mini 2012

O

oneinten

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 16, 2013
88
0
Hello,

From everything I've read and seen on the forum. Any SSD will speed up loading times when the OS and apps are loaded onto it.

Is it best to have JUST the OS and apps on the boot SSD? If that's the case I'll be looking to get a 64/128gb SSD and use it solely for loading.

If I end up doing that I'll keep the 500gb HDD and use that for my smaller storage and an external for large storage.

I'll be using the Mini for small Logic 9 projects and a bit of photo editing but nothing too demanding. Should I go for a smaller SSD and just run the OS from it? I don't want to spend WAY too much on the SSD if it's best to keep it just for the OS

Thanks
 
Get a 128 GB, reason is that the smaller the SSD the shorter the lifetime is.

I could link you to an article but I will tell you here, for instance the Samsung 830 or 840 (can't recall, I will update this post if I find it):

128 3.5 years

256 7 years

512 15 years

So, if you would get the 64 GB it would last only 1.5 years dependable on the writes, most likely you'll get 3 years out of it and that's just too short

Edit: Link. http://www.anandtech.com/show/6337/samsung-ssd-840-250gb-review/4
 
My choices for my budget are these:

Samsung 840 120gb
Sandisk 128gb ultra
OCZ agility 3 120gb

I'm looking to spend around £75 on a 120/128gb SSD. Which would you recommend?
 
cheerup347 said:
My choices for my budget are these:

Samsung 840 120gb
Sandisk 128gb ultra
OCZ agility 3 120gb

I'm looking to spend around £75 on a 120/128gb SSD. Which would you recommend?
Click to expand...


You are aware you still need the cable for the second HD/SSD!

I have no preference, you yourself should decide, there are threads here about this, you can do a search with MRoogle

It does a much better job than MR's own search engine.
 
And what about the Vertex 4 128 by OZC? It is about the same speed as the faster drives like the 830/840pro, but around your budget.
 
blanka said:
And what about the Vertex 4 128 by OZC? It is about the same speed as the faster drives like the 830/840pro, but around your budget.
Click to expand...

I've heard mixed reviews about the OCZ Vertex 4 drives.. How does the Crucial M4 stand up next to an 840 pro?

I see people seem to rate the 840 Pro serious a lot higher than using a standard 840 for the boot drive?
 
After looking at the ooptions available. I would like some opinions on whether or not an 840 PRO drive is wirth the extra money if it's solely being used as a Boot drive to run OS X?

My options are:

Sandisk Standard 120gb £72
Sandisk Extreme 120GB £89
Samsung 840 120GB £76
Samsung 840 PRO 128gb £105
Crucial M4 £128gb £90

Price is a factor but I don't want to be upgrading in the future as this is the drive I'm putting in the lower bay. I've decided on 120/128gb as it's only going to have the OS and apps on it. But I can't chose between the list.
 
If it's just a boot drive (with no intensive write activity going on), the 120GB SSD 840 will be just fine.
 
Hellhammer said:
If it's just a boot drive (with no intensive write activity going on), the 120GB SSD 840 will be just fine.
Click to expand...

I don't want to buy overkill, so the 840 is the right price. But I don't want to have to replace it sooner than the life of the SSD because I should have bought a more reliable drive!

Will the 840 Pro be any more reliable/faster as a boot drive?
 
The 840 pro or the old 830 (also much better than the 840) are recommended if you need to write a lot (scratch disk for photo/movie editing for example).
If it is just fast read to boot, well any SSD is fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back