What is the minimum GB SSD for boot/apps only?

[klm123]

Wanting to upgrade my stock 5400 rpm hd in a 2010 mac mini to a SSD. Thinking of OWC mercury extreme pro 60 GB. Will only use for boot/apps. The thing I am curious about is I play steam games(L4D 1 and 2), and am always downloading extra addon campaigns for these games. Would 60 GB be enough for this?

 

[Hellhammer]

It's totally up to how much your current apps take space. If they only take like 20GB, then 60GB is more than fine. See this guide to move your Steam games to other drives

 

[Heilage]

I would find a 50GB SSD would be plenty for my use. Of course, it all depends on what you use it for.

 

[klm123]

It's totally up to how much your current apps take space. If they only take like 20GB, then 60GB is more than fine. See this guide to move your Steam games to other drives

I will be using a 1 or 2 TB external to store everything else, but wouldn't moving my steam to the external take a pretty long time to load and play compared to the ssd? Load, read/write are the major reasons to switch to a ssd from what I gather. Not quite sure, as I am still learning about how all of this works. Thanks.

 

[Hellhammer]

I will be using a 1 or 2 TB external to store everything else, but wouldn't moving my steam to the external take a pretty long time to load and play compared to the ssd? Load, read/write are the major reasons to switch to a ssd from what I gather. Not quite sure, as I am still learning about how all of this works. Thanks.

Depends what kind of external HD you are planning on using. A 3.5" external with FW800 will most likely be faster than your stock 5400rpm drive.

If you want to install games to the SSD, then I recommend you to get a bigger one so you won't run out of space immediately. Games take quite a lot of space.

 

[klm123]

Depends what kind of external HD you are planning on using. A 3.5" external with FW800 will most likely be faster than your stock 5400rpm drive.

If you want to install games to the SSD, then I recommend you to get a bigger one so you won't run out of space immediately. Games take quite a lot of space.

Yep, it will definitely be a FW800 7200 rpm external, and the next step up on storage with this ssd is 120GB at $250. Ouch! I may do it just for the piece of mind. Is there a certain brand/model of externals that seems to be affordable and dependable that fit my needs? Would like to get one that is popular, yet worthy of people's reviews.