Advice needed on hard drive size , please (Page 2): Depends on the model of laptop, I have a 2015 with a 1 TB SSD but it's the $3,500 model with a dedicated graphics card and a faster...

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

jerryc41 wrote:

....It looks like they don't offer hard drives anymore - just various SSDs. They are very small compared with traditional hard drives. The largest is 512 GB.
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch
....

Depends on the model of laptop, I have a 2015 with a 1 TB SSD but it's the $3,500 model with a dedicated graphics card and a faster i7.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Blurryeyed wrote:

With time everything seems to require more storage, if you are purchasing a new MacBookPro you are already making a significant investment that you want to use for years to come, I would suggest that you purchase the largest SSD drive that your budget will accommodate.

Unfortunately, there may be a tradeoff between a larger HDD and a faster SSD

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

My MacBook Pro has a 512GB SSD and 16MB of memory. I bought it specifically for use with Lightroom in the field. (My older MacBook had only a 256GB SSD and I found myself creating space too much so I bought the larger drive this time around.) I use wither a 512 GB Samsung T5 external SSD (most recent) or a LaCie 1 TB rugged external for image storage while in the field. Once home, all my images are moved to more sturdy storage devices. Best of luck.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Tdaniel40 wrote:

I am new to the forum. I am shooting with a canon 77d and am an avid amateur just recently returning to the hobby. I am getting ready to buy a MacBook Pro and will be using LR and learning PS (hopefully). I intend to use external drives for photo storage. My question is, what is the best size internal drive to order in my mbp? I know it depends on so many factors, so I’m just looking for what others have experienced. Thanks for helping.

Since you should not rely on JUST the drive in your computer for long-term storage of your photos (which is a dangerous practice), you don't need a "huge" drive in it.
Drive sizes in computers has gotten to be an excessive selling tool. It leads people to think they can keep everything handy in one place for all time. When (not IF) the drive fails, tough luck.
A 1GB internal drive is fine, even more than I have on my computers. Move data to (multiple) external drives for storage and use and backup.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

nadelewitz wrote:

Since you should not rely on JUST the drive in you... (show quote)

Definitely backup / copy!

Several years ago the main drive crashed on our family desktop computer. Then I discovered that the only copies of one particular day of shooting were on it. It turned out that the hard disk issue was actually a motherboard issue; once we got a new computer, I purchased a device that turns a former internal drive into an external drive, and eventually I was able to recover the images - but that was too close!

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Very capable solid state drives are available for new Macs, I understand. No moving parts to fail. If you can’t get an internal, get an external. I have basically retired all of my external spinning-platter drives.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Tdaniel40 wrote:

I am new to the forum. I am shooting with a canon 77d and am an avid amateur just recently returning to the hobby. I am getting ready to buy a MacBook Pro and will be using LR and learning PS (hopefully). I intend to use external drives for photo storage. My question is, what is the best size internal drive to order in my mbp? I know it depends on so many factors, so I’m just looking for what others have experienced. Thanks for helping.

If all of your shooting is done with the EOS 77D - 1-2TB of internal storage is MORE than adequate. But, if you should EVER go to a FF DSLR - you will need MORE storage - particularly, if the sensor is 24MP plus. At 46 MP - you'd be better off with twice that. With the new 61MP Sony, for instance - you will need double that amount of storage, again. There are many USB-connected external drive storage systems you can get. Staples is a very good supplier of these kinds of drives. Look for something in the 6 to 10 TB range …

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

John_F wrote:

Very capable solid state drives are available for new Macs, I understand. No moving parts to fail. If you can’t get an internal, get an external. I have basically retired all of my external spinning-platter drives.

That sounds expensive, unless you don't ha ve that much to store. I've got OVER 100TB! Best of luck.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Chris T wrote:

If all of your shooting is done with the EOS 77D -... (show quote)

Might I also suggest B&H. Look for Thunderbolt 3 IF your system supports that. Best of luck.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

cjc2 wrote:

That sounds expensive, unless you don't ha ve that much to store. I've got OVER 100TB! Best of luck.

Solid State drives ARE expensive, aren't they, Chris?

Most are around 250-500 GB - primarily designed for storing the OS, and primary apps (PS, for example.)

Moving-platter drives are far less expensive - TB for TB … and are much more reliable, now, than they've EVER been. If you want ample storage for the future - look to these kinds of drives …

Buy two and set them up in an array - so you will ALWAYS have a back-up!!!!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Chris T wrote:

Solid State drives ARE expensive, aren't they, Chris?

Most are around 250-500 GB - primarily designed for storing the OS, and primary apps (PS, for example.)

Moving-platter drives are far less expensive - TB for TB … and are much more reliable, now, than they've EVER been. If you want ample storage for the future - look to these kinds of drives …

Buy two and set them up in an array - so you will ALWAYS have a back-up!!!!

SSDs are not that expensive anymore ($100 for 500GB, $200 per TB and dropping roughly in half every year) especially when you consider the huge performance increase. In terms of performance per TB, they’re the cheapest storage you’ll ever buy. Conventional HDs have had a good run and will continue to be used for large storage farms where speed is limited (at the moment) by required client access speed and $/TB is all important. BUT for consumers, you’re living in the age of transition from HDs to SSDs, just like the transition from core storage to RAM. Also, I don’t know of any change in MTBF for HDs in the last decade, indicating higher reliability, but if you have data that supports that, I’m always glad to learn.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

rehess wrote:

Unfortunately, there may be a tradeoff between a larger HDD and a faster SSD

I hate to say this but I recently purchased a 15" MacBook Pro mid 2015 with a 1TBSSD, I7 processor and 16gb RAM for less than $1300 on eBay, the computer arrived in like new condition, not a scratch on it, with a completed work order from Apple for the screen replacement because apparently there was a recall on the retina screens. I only had the computer for about a week when another hogger here posted a thread here about a battery recall, so I sent my computer off to Apple for a new battery. I feel that I basically have a new computer. Anyway, the only reason I mention this is because I am certainly happy that I purchased used and saved a ton. There are a bunch of companies that refurbish these computers and they are actually really good at what they do.

letmedance Loc: Walnut, Ca.

Blurryeyed wrote:

I hate to say this but I recently purchased a 15&q... (show quote)

The only bitch I have about Apple is the insane price they charge for memory and HD upgrades, they however do not charge for OS upgrades as Microsoft does. I generally do my own upgrades but the newer Macs are sometimes a bit more difficult to upgrade.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

TriX wrote:

SSDs are not that expensive anymore ($100 for 500G... (show quote)

I don't, actually, Tri-X … but, am going steady now with four PCs - and have been, for the past half-dozen years. The oldest one - had a Drive problem - which has since been covered from the manufacturer, but the other three - are still doing well (knock on wood!) and have no reason to doubt they will continue to do well - way into the future. The OS can be rebuilt, Apps can be re-downloaded, and Photos are always on the SD cards, even after I've copied them to the Hard Drives. When they get full, I just retire them, and buy new cards. My docs are all backed-up to an external hard drive. So, I'm covered in ALL areas!!!

Straightshooter Loc: Edmonton AB

jerryc41 wrote:

Some of you may have missed the question. br br &... (show quote)

Hi Jerry they do offer right up to 4 TB
Customise your 15‑inch MacBook Pro - Space Grey
2.4GHz 8-core 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
Retina display with True Tone
Touch Bar and Touch ID
32GB 2400MHz DDR4 memory
Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB of HBM2 memory
4TB SSD storage
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
Backlit Keyboard - US English