Is 1TB enough in 2024?

[UnifiedMelody]

I definitely get you there.

I have a massive private cloud that I store my data on. Well over 100TB of space available to me via my local network and via VPN anywhere I have internet access. I fully understand the focus on privacy for your data, but the prices Apple charges spending massive amounts of money to store your photos seems like a massive waste of money.

For a professional photographer making money, sure! But for just storing my family photos from 10 and 20 years ago. A NAS is a MUCH better investment for that.

I only suggested iCloud Photos for those who are really in love with the Photos app and want "all" of their photos there all the time on all their devices. That's only possible via iCloud Photos or spending insane money across the Apple ecosystem.

Just my $.02.

Yea I only have 50GB on my iCloud Photos at 1.49aud/month it's "decent" ish ish but any higher is stoopid imho, even though my iPhone has 256GB storage [16 Pro Max], I'm always consistently stripping out via opening dropbox/onedrive and letting it sync there as a backup.

Then again I question, when was the last time WE looked 2 years back for a photo holy crap trying to scroll through all of that is even a nightmare lol

Which goes on my PC ironically as now that's a storage hub [Macbook Pros now the workstation and work to go to]

- sorry this post went offtopic in liason to OP's 1TB enough

 

[Tagbert]

Yea I only have 50GB on my iCloud Photos at 1.49aud/month it's "decent" ish ish but any higher is stoopid imho, even though my iPhone has 256GB storage [16 Pro Max], I'm always consistently stripping out via opening dropbox/onedrive and letting it sync there as a backup.

Then again I question, when was the last time WE looked 2 years back for a photo holy crap trying to scroll through all of that is even a nightmare lol

Which goes on my PC ironically as now that's a storage hub [Macbook Pros now the workstation and work to go to]

- sorry this post went offtopic in liason to OP's 1TB enough

You can jump to specific months or years. Or search for things in the photos. Scrolling is the last resort.

 

[schnaps]

For a notebooks, 1 TB is the minimum. Better yet, at least 2 TB.
A notebooks is forced to do a little bit of everything, and is forced to store a significant amount of data autonomously.
If the disk less than 1TB, then it is not a notebook, but a netbook.

For Mac mini, the requirements are lower, since it works with a limited number of tasks. I don’t even have virtual machines on it.
And the stock 0.2 TB may well be enough for it.

Also Mac mini has expandable storage via the "bottom bay." But for notebooks, especially those that you carry around every day, external drives are impractical and inconvenient

 

[skaertus]

For a notebooks, 1 TB is the minimum. Better yet, at least 2 TB.
A notebooks is forced to do a little bit of everything, and is forced to store a significant amount of data autonomously.
If the disk less than 1TB, then it is not a notebook, but a netbook.

For Mac mini, the requirements are lower, since it works with a limited number of tasks. I don’t even have virtual machines on it.
And the stock 0.2 TB may well be enough for it.

Also Mac mini has expandable storage via the "bottom bay." But for notebooks, especially those that you carry around every day, external drives are impractical and inconvenient

A little bit of exaggeration here. Most notebooks do not even come with 1 TB storage, so 2 TB cannot be the minimum.

Even though I would appreciate having unlimited storage, I can comfortably use a laptop with 512 GB to handle many tasks. I can get by even with 256 GB storage.

It all depends on how much data you need to store. If you need to edit videos, then you may need a lot indeed. Even then, external storage, while inconvenient, may be useful. For a desktop, even more.

 

[chrono1081]

1TB is fine however if you do a lot of video stuff, I'd offload that onto an external drive, it's just not cost efficient to store video data (if you have a lot of it) on an internal drive on a Mac. Leave the video stuff to the externals if you end up with that much data.

 

[raythompsontn]

For a notebooks, 1 TB is the minimum. Better yet, at least 2 TB

I think 512GB is a good minimum. 2TB is way too much for most people.

I just need enough storage for daily use with the offloading of files to the desktop for long term retention. There those files are backed up weekly to two different locations. Critical files stored in two different cloud providers. The notebook, or laptop, is merely a vessel to do some work on the road.

For those that use the laptop as their main system, connected to monitors at home, external storage is the best way, in my opinion, to store files. If something happens to the laptop requiring a reinstall, or replace, the files are still available and will not be lost.

Just my opinion. People can do what makes them comfortable. If they want 2TB, go for it.

But for notebooks, especially those that you carry around every day, external drives are impractical and inconvenient

I don't think external drives are impracticable or inconvenient. In fact, I find them very convenient. I can easily carry a 2TB SSD in my pocket or in a side compartment on the laptop case. The drive is smaller than a deck of cards and half the thickness. The laptop charger and cable take up more space. No one should be carrying spinning rust for the lack of ruggedness and especially the lack of speed.

 

[fatespawn]

1TB is fine however if you do a lot of video stuff, I'd offload that onto an external drive, it's just not cost efficient to store video data (if you have a lot of it) on an internal drive on a Mac. Leave the video stuff to the externals if you end up with that much data.

This is what I came here to say. Get enough internal storage for your day to day stuff. If you need a BUNCH of storage, get an external. I bought a 2TB internal because my home movies/pictures are like 1TB alone. But if I was going to do a bunch of video work or professional photo work I'd get a good external and make sure I had a good backup solution.

 

[Alameda]

You can use all the storage and memory you want. You can find people who will swear they need 50 TB of storage.

If you’re a serious media professional or amateur, you don’t keep all of your work on internal storage, because a) they don’t make enough internal storage for that and b) you can’t risk losing all of your content if your laptop breaks or gets stolen.

I dump 128 GB memory cards to my Mac all the time. I do my edits and then move the folder to my 4 TB SSD, which then gets backed up to my NAS, which also gets backed up.

Long story short: 512 GB is plenty for me. If you’re doing video editing, you might be more comfortable with 1 TB, if you’re shooting really long videos in RAW or something like that... but frankly, you should know. Keeping your data organized and backed up takes a little discipline, and it’s actually easier if you’re limited to 512 because you know you need to copy your files to the SSD before bringing the next card in.

 

[schnaps]

Sorry for being verbose.

External drives are appropriate for backup, data transfer, and rarely used data.
And despite the fact that there is an external drive always in the notebooks bag, it is clearly not convenient to permanent use.
This is not a substitute for the lack of internal memory of the notebook.

And how much disk space is needed depends on the tasks.
If for the Internet, office, and a couple of games, then 0.2 TB is enough.
Video processing? Doesn't require much space, because the finished video is not stored for a long time.

Here is my Mac Mini, in terms of useful work it is used only for programming, and mainly for Mac. And a little for processing home photos and videos. For the rest - other machines and TV set-top boxes. And a small disk is enough for him.

But I wrote above that on a portable device you have to do a little bit of everything, and for work, and I will note for various work, and for hobbies, plus games, the size of which is now very large.

For example, my notebook is used in addition to typical home and office tasks, for programming for different OS and microcontrollers, and along with this there are libraries, examples, descriptions, virtual machines, and some projects are quite large.
Also, my hobby is astronomy, and for this I need applications, photos, videos, catalogs, which takes up a lot of disk space.
And I have only four games, but two of them are again huge.

A notebook should be a joy, but not a restricting. And a Mac even more so.