Sorry guys - noob questions

[blackout8]

So i've been reading this forum for ages now, largely due to the possibility of the (then ibook replacement) macbook. So now that it has been released i'm completly sold on the 1.83GHz version... except for the storage space. So the stock 60GB is tiny, as i have close to 30gb of music. This would leave me with practically nothing after the OS and iLife etc (i assume at least - correct me if i am wrong)... and then eventually installing XP as it will become necessary for Uni, if only every now and again.

SO (heh long intro)

I'll need more space (duh). I seem to have these options:

1. Keep the stock and buy a reasonable external HD (100 or so GB (?))
2. Upgrade the internal HD to 100GB most probably (maybe 120)
3. Keep the stock, buy a 100 or 120 drive for inside my MB, and buy a case for the 60 to make it a small external drive for backup of important files.

So my questions are: Is the speed of an external drive (i'll be using FW400) comparable to the internal drive, i.e. good for recording garageband tracks onto, using for my itunes library etc. And does it literally work AS A SECOND HD, kinda as if i had one HD with 2 partitions?

Sorry if these have been asked 100 times before, I have no doubt they have SOMEWHERE but i just spent 30 minuted using the search dealy and couldn't find anything...

Anything else i should know about? hah

Thanks guys

Sam

 

[5683565]

Well the external wont be as fast as the internal however if it's being used as a scratch drive or simply to store music, videos etc. then it will be fine. Have you considered the 2.0Ghz Black MacBook? It has an 80GB drive stock, rather than the white which has 60GB.

In terms of your music, I take it you don't have an iPod. Is your music largely uncompressed? i.e. will it go a lot smaller without noticeably loosing quality.

And yes, the external will act the same as an Internal. If you use FW you can boot off it.

 

[matticus008]

Your external one will work at roughly the same speed* (don't skimp on the case; get one with a quality brand and an Oxford controller), and it'll work just as if you had a second hard drive in your system, except that it'll have that cool FireWire logo on the volume icon.

Keep in mind that Windows will have to be installed on the internal drive and that you'll probably want your favorite music also on that internal drive--offload the second tier and lower music to the external. That way, when you travel without it, you'll still have music, and not just random albums that you don't really like that much.

* On absolute peaks, the internal will be slightly faster, but in 90% of disk operations, you'll never hit that wall.

 

[livingfortoday]

Here's a good rundown of Firewire versus internal in the MacBook pro:
http://barefeats.com/5472.html

As you can see, generally a 5400rpm internal drive is pretty close to an external FW400 drive. I currently use an external FW400 drive for my iTunes library as well as all my media, and have no problems with speed. It's pretty darn fast, though on a laptop you might want the portability and convenience of an internal drive.

Also, yes, your Mac will see it as an external second drive.

 

[blackout8]

Well the external wont be as fast as the internal however if it's being used as a scratch drive or simply to store music, videos etc. then it will be fine. Have you considered the 2.0Ghz Black MacBook? It has an 80GB drive stock, rather than the white which has 60GB.

In terms of your music, I take it you don't have an iPod. Is your music largely uncompressed? i.e. will it go a lot smaller without noticeably loosing quality.

And yes, the external will act the same as an Internal. If you use FW you can boot off it.

whoa that was fast!... So yeah I do have an iPod, but the music needs to be on my comp before i can sync it to the ipod, so it still takes up the space ... and it is almost all mp3 format at 19(whatever this number is) or 320kbps, which is compressed i think (?)

I thought about the black MB, but i really dont need the grunt of the 2GHz, and i'd rather it in white so it seems to be cheaper for me to stick with the 1.83 and just do what I need to do.

Thanks for ansewring my q's tho, cleared up a lot for me.

 

[blackout8]

man you guys are fast!! 2 more replys in the time it took me to reply to the first. Heh nice work.

Thanks heaps