New MBP (Late 2008) - Want to use Intel X25-M SSD 80GB Questions.

d3vm4cd3vm4c
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I am thinking about picking up the Intel X25-M 80GB SSD. It has great reviews and it supposed to be one of the fastest SSD Drives on the market currently. My only question is, is 80GB enough.



I do not have that much data to put on my MacBook Pro. I would roughly use 50GB.



The reason I ask if its enough is because of how Apple Implements Virtual Memory/Swap file? I know in WIndows (I know I know) You can limit the size of the page file... in OSX, Activity Monitor usually reads 40-50GB in page file usage at once!!!?



Do you think that an 80GB Drive will be ok? Or Do I not fully understand Apples implementation of Virtual Memory?



Thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,323moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by d3vm4c View Post


    Do I not fully understand Apples implementation of Virtual Memory



    It's a common misconception that the memory usage in the Activity Monitor adds up to used space on your drive. Your VM space will typically be about 2-3GB. The files are stored in /private/var/vm.



    If you use the Finder Go menu > go to folder, you can get to this and check the size.



    The files there get cleared on a reboot.



    I would say to allow 5GB max for VM storage. Also consider if you will want to run Windows. You can actually get away with a 10GB partition or VMWare image for that.



    50GB + 5GB VM + 10GB = 65GB.



    80GB will also only give you 75 GB usable due to the way they measure a GB unit.



    I think you'll manage to survive with 80GB and Intel is a good choice. The OCZ ones are cheaper and give you more space but you have to be careful which one you get:



    http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=3403&p=8



    Benchmark for the X25-M:



    http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4647



    Whoa, here's some videos of one in action:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqm5OBbbzuc

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPBpNQk5bWo



    That Mini booted up in 10 seconds.



    http://hothardware.com/Articles/Inte...-Ante/?page=10
  • Reply 2 of 3
    d3vm4cd3vm4c Posts: 4member
    Thanks for the links!



    Yeah from what I have been reading, if you dont mind to drop ~$600 USD, the Intel X25-M is the best choice right now for users who want the best speed in a notebook, but dont require large amounts of internal storage.



    I have a 1TB External Hard Drive connected via FW800, so my storage needs are met.



    I think that the 80GB will do me fine for a while until faster, bigger, more affordable SSD drives come out in 2009.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    icd-evilicd-evil Posts: 66member
    I'm waiting on the whole SSD scene. It undoubtedly is the way of the future, it's just too expensive for me to jump in on now. I'm guessing that you will see it be a more mainstream feature on higher priced consumer level hardware within a year and that the pricing on individual SSD drives will drop by 40-50 percent by that time as well.



    But if you did want to get one now that intel seems like a good contender.
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