macbook hard drive died. should i go ssd?

[attgig]

and i'm considering a replacement.
should i go ssd:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11613167&search=ssd&Mo=1&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=ssd&Ntt=ssd&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
128gb for $160?

or should i go regular:
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-WD50BET&title=Western-Digital-Scorpio-Black-500GB-WD5000BEKT-7200rpm-SATA2-16MB-Notebook-Hard-Drive-2-5-inch-Bulk&c=CJ
500gb for $56 after coupon?

i think i can make do on 128gb of space (though just barely).

the question is.
is it worth 3x the amount for the speed/convenience?

the other thing i'm thinking is, i've had this macbook for about 3 years, and i think MAYBE I can get 1.5-2 more years out of it. will going ssd help me keep it for longer? or is the life on it short as it is, that i should spend too much money on an old laptop?

[renovation]

if you looking for speed go ssd.
im not a mac user so no other help i can give you!!

I do know your talking $$$$ to do a replacement and even macs are out dated by the time you get them home from the store.
There always a newer faster better computer ready to be released just sitting waiting for a empty space on a shelf!

[attgig]

one note about the biggest reason for ssd for me. This is the 2nd hd to die on me over the past 3 years. with an ssd, i just see less possibility of my hd dying, and more data security.

[Cubsfan]

Macs are actually generally much longer lasting than PC's. Not only are most models of a Mac updated at most once a year (versus new models all the time by PC vendors), in my experience they are usable for a longer time.

I'd go SSD, but I wouldn't stop worrying about your data. Make sure you always have a backup.

[cruelpupet]

I'd go SSD, but I wouldn't stop worrying about your data. Make sure you always have a backup.


Ditto, but make sure you go with an SSD with good reviews. Some SSDs are not that fast. Intel makes a good one.

[ArkiStan]

I was considering SSDs for my laptop recently and was wondering the same thing: are they worth the money? These articles gave me a good idea of their pros and cons.

http://lifehacker.com/#!5616023/are-solid+state-drives-worth-the-money
http://lifehacker.com/#!5586733/how-to-take-full-advantage-of-your-solid+state-drive

[Jeffbx]

Ha! The guys over on SD are in a tizzy about this question ;-)

I say yes. Even if TRIM is not supported yet, you'll see a marked improvement in battery life, it'll be quieter & run cooler. You won't notice a big difference in speed, but it will be a little faster.

As for space - you will not miss it. I went to a 64GB SSD last year & did just fine on that one. Upgraded to a 128GB & currently using 70GB on it, but I could clean that up & move back down if I needed to. Once you limit your space you realize that hey, you don't NEED to walk around with 50GB of MP3s every day.

[Showtime]

Yes! You will be very happy with that SSD and there were reports that costco had + version on the 64 gig drives. Then just use an external when you need it.

I'm getting one on the next price drops. Bat life is only slightly improved from what I've read, but performance is impressive.

[cruelpupet]

I'm getting one on the next price drops.


I cant wait for prices to get a bit more reasonable on 512GB SSDs, Then Im going to get my VMs on a raid 1 of tem. Can't wwait!

[Devhux]

I LOVE my SSD! (no, that's not just what the sticker that came with my Intel drive said - it's the actual truth).

I first tried out an SSD in my desktop a few years ago, and haven't looked back since. When I got my Tablet PC, it was hard to get used to the slow 1.8" HDD that the unit came with, and I searched for quite a while before I found my Intel X-18M drive. Once I installed it and reinstalled the OS, I was quite happy with the performance out of this little machine.

I realize it's not a Mac, but I'm sure you'd notice the speed improvement in terms of startup and application load times. Whether it's worth the added price though is hard to say - especially since Macbooks only have 2 USB ports for adding things like a portable external hard drive).

[attgig]

Ha! The guys over on SD are in a tizzy about this question ;-)

I say yes. Even if TRIM is not supported yet, you'll see a marked improvement in battery life, it'll be quieter & run cooler. You won't notice a big difference in speed, but it will be a little faster.

As for space - you will not miss it. I went to a 64GB SSD last year & did just fine on that one. Upgraded to a 128GB & currently using 70GB on it, but I could clean that up & move back down if I needed to. Once you limit your space you realize that hey, you don't NEED to walk around with 50GB of MP3s every day.



haha. u saw that huh?

in the end, because the macbook is 3+ years old, i decided it wasn't worth the investment. I'll probably look into it once i get a new laptop in a couple years.

thanks for all your info.