Is 60GB enough for OS X & XP to run on?

[axe7186]

As a recent high school graduate, I am in the market for a new laptop...and my heart is set on the Macbook. Now I may be considered a "switcher" because I have never owned a Mac (not my fault, as my dad's company has a deal with dell & you know the drill), however I know my way aroung Mac OS X, so I am not worried about the transition. I also spent 2 Hours playing with the Macbook and feeling my way through it at the store while my Aunt had a procare session..so I found everything I didn't know already...plus the internet always provides easy answers to simple questions!

Here is the Configuration I was thinking of:

2.0 White Macbook
512MB Memoery (->to be Upgraded to 2GB from OWC)
60GB Hard Drive.

One might suggestupgrading the harddrive, but I just bought a Seagate 250GB external harddrive & I will move documents over after each sememster. Plus my home PC has 120GB and my entire family, with XP on it, has only used 40GB so I am not worried about using all 60GB up per semester.
I am not a gamer so the dedicated graphics doesn't bother me, and the screen is the perfect size, as is the footprint and weight. This laptop will just be used for School work and internet, though I am starting to get into Photo editing and stuff like that (it would still be light though), so the Macbook is the perfect fit (I am getting the super-drive to make sure I have a DVD burner is there for any school work that needs it, and to make sure I am fully up to date)

I was planning on purchasing the laptop from Amazon thus using the $100 rebate to make the price equal to that of the educational discount (to which I obviously qualify) then save another $100 on the approximate taxes I would pay through Apple...money to be used on accessories.

Now the Laptop is a gift from my parents, and I get $1500 for the hardware component (excluding taxes, but I figure I will get my parents the best deal, since my dad relented in letting me get the Macbook), so the 1199.99+225+2.95 (OWC Shipping) = A perfect price...deal right...not quite.

Browsing this site I was reading another thread about a possible purchase and what should I get...and a member said you should always check with your college to make sure the computer works with their needs.

Now I will be going to Georgetown's Business school, McDonough & the Macbook meets the hardware requirements easily, however the school REQUIRES Windows XP & Office Pro. The business school requires XP because the third party software only runs off of XP. The campus is still Mac friendly though...No problem Mac & Jobs are geniuses and created bootcamp so I can still do it (My dad would get the software from work for free so no extra charge there..) Here comes the question: is 60GB enough for dual booting? I would probable allocate 30-35GB to windows (as that would be where all my documents would be and extra software) and then the rest to Mac OS X for my web surfing, iTunes, and just little stuff.

If I need more space I would probably just upgrade to the 80GB from Apple. But then I spend the $100 on taxes ordering through Apple, which can buy me an extra battery (nearly), so I am trying to be frugal (As I am getting a Timbuk2 Backpack, ilap, and booq sleeve which will be around $200+). Now I know some people say get a Hitachi or Seagate 100GB internal hard drive that works, and I know it would be simple, but I would rather do as little as possible as I am not highly tech savvy (I understand I don't necessarily have to and that the HD is easier than the memory but I would rather keep everything stock for the most part)

I would get a windows bluetooth mouse, so the right click absence and stuff like that would be negligible, plus I would only use iSight is OSX anyways...so no big deal for that not working.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...and hopefully the Macbook works out, otherwise I am getting a Dell Inspiron 1405 (Which is gonna cost my dad $1700 his way before taxes...he would pay $200 extra for a dell, but not any extra for the Apple...but I can't complain, as I have a great life, and am fortunate compared to many other...so either way I am blessed...but more so with the Macbook

 

[EricNau]

I'm not sure about the HDD, I would imagine it's enough for both OS's, but it depends on what else you want to do with your computer (any additional apps, iTunes library, photos, videos, etc.)

On a side note, if you buy the MacBook from Apple (or an authorized campus), with the student discount, you can also get a free iPod (up to $179) and a free printer (up to $100), and $30 off .Mac. You may not be interested, but I just thought I'd mention it.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Of course 60 Gb is enough for Windows and Mac OS's and the most common apps.

Whether it remains big enough depends how big your collection of data and programs gets.

 

[balamw]

Remember too that the MacBooks have easily accessible HDDs so you can upgrade easily down the road...

B

 

[axe7186]

I'm not sure about the HDD, I would imagine it's enough for both OS's, but it depends on what else you want to do with your computer (any additional apps, iTunes library, photos, videos, etc.)

On a side note, if you buy the MacBook from Apple (or an authorized campus), with the student discount, you can also get a free iPod (up to $179) and a free printer (up to $100), and $30 off .Mac. You may not be interested, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Ok I guess my question would 30GB in windows be enough for a bundle of applications (business software). I don't know how much, cause school hasn't started and all the tech office says is their recomendations, although most of the laptops Georgetown Sells (they have a deal with IBM) have 60-100GB...but that is just for one operating system?

My music library is only about 5GB and I would put that on the OSX Side if possible..no videos and only about 200 Photos, so nothing highly intensived.
Also thanks for the recomendation but I already have two Ipods, and a all-in-one printer,fax,scanner I am bringing, plus the external hard drive is what I will use instead of .Mac.

 

[andrewface]

if your looking to run window id update to 80..
i have an 80gb macbook and right off the bat the formatted capacity is 74gb then subtract ten for osx so your at 65ishgb then i installed windows on a 15 gb partition which left me with under 50 gb to work with...but then again if you have a computer you can network too you can use that as a server as well...which is what i do at home...id go with 80 its only what 100 bucks more?

 

[blitzydog]

I'd worry more about getting a gig of ram

 

[milo]

It should be plenty enough. What will fill your drive will be things like mp3 collections or ripped videos.

I agree that you should definitely get at least a gig of ram.

 

[dudeami]

That should be more than enough space. I only have a 25 GB hard drive, and I have 6 years worth of documentation for clients on it probably 40,000 pages of doucments total, Windows XP, Office XP Pro, Visio 2003, Project 2003, some games, Service packs and installation files for about 20 different progams that many of our clients us. As has been mentioned, music, pictures, and games tend to eat of the most hard drive space.

Since you will have plenty of RAM, you may want to look into running Windows XP on a virtual machine. Unless you are playing games on the Windows XP platform, you should not really notice a performance hit, and you do not need to format the drive into multiple partitions, the Windows OS uses a dynamic virtual disk on the Mac partition.
This depends on whether or not a stable VM comes out in time for your classes to start. Currently the best product out for the VM on Intel based macs is still in beta. Here is a link to another opinion regarding VM on Mac.

http://www.macworld.com/2006/04/firstlooks/parallelsfl/index.php

As this article points out the review was completed on the beta 1. Parrallels desktop for Mac is now at RC2. So it might be released before you go to college. Here is a link to their site. http://www.parallels.com/

You may not be very familiar with VM's, but they are being used increasingly, and with good results, in the busines world.

Just more food for thought. If they do not release a stable version before then, you should still have plenty of room for a dual boot machine.

Good luck in college.

 

[amholl]

Also, you can run your iTunes library from the drive, as I am sure you will not be needing to listen to music on your computer during class !

 

[Abulia]

We have business laptops that run Windows and all of our applications with 10GB. Setting aside 20GB (or more of your 60) would be plenty.

Save the money from the HD upgrade and get something useful, like RAM!