Solved! Which hard drive type to get in a macbook pro 2010

[Sossity]

I am considering buying a macbook pro laptop the 15 inch with the i7 processor. I will probably get the anti glare screen. What I am on the fence about is whether it is worth the extra money to get the solid state drive or the 7200 rpm drive. I would like something that might be faster than the standard 5400rpm drive, I have read these are laptop drives & they are a bit slower than a 7200rpm drive which seems to be standard in desktops. With performance & speed being very important to me; (I will be doing video editing in both standard def & high def, I also do photography) I would consider upgrading the hard drive to the 7200 rpm or the solid state. Another factor is the hard drive capacity, this is not as big an issue as I keep most of my content on external hard drives.

I need a little help in deciding, I am new to macs I am coming from a 7 year old windows xp home desktop PC. this will be one of my biggest purchases.

would I feel a big difference in performance getting the solid state drive? would it be a lot better than the 7200rpm drive? or should I just stick with the stock 5400rpm drive?

If anybody knows of any issues or known failures with one of the hard drives, I would like to be clued in as, this computer will have to last me at least 5 years, I am getting a one time allotment of financial aid from my school, I want to make the right choice.

will the hard drive matter so much, because, I keep most of my digital content on external hard drives, & have mostly program files /software on the laptop drive.

 

[donovands]

You will see a big increase in performance with an SSD. However the 15" i7 with the smallest SSD is $2,550. If speed performance is the most important thing to you then better can be had with a PC solution at that price point. Larger SSD, better video card and so forth. What Apple brings to the table is better battery life and lighter weight, so if mobility is more important then the Macbook may indeed be right for you.

 

[LittleBanko]

Actually, you are wrong. Saying that Windows' "equivalents" spec-for-spec are cheaper is just ignorant. If you actually shop around to find the REAL pricing...you would feel extremely stupid after posting this. Purchasing directly from Apple may be slightly higher, but resellers, or on sites such as eBay (for New/Sealed In Box, not Used), you will save SO MUCH money compared to even the Windows' "equivalent." I purchased the MacBook Pro 15.4" with i7 and the 500GB HD for only $1800...when a lesser Dell was over $2000 for not even close specifications (just an i5 of lesser power than the MacBook Pro's i5, not even close in comparable battery life [much less than Mac's], etc.). Please never post with haste on these types of forums when you clearly know you have this great of margin of error.

 

[drugrep]

Wait til April 2011 if you can. Rumored to be that Solid State will be standard.