2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

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Theo Void
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2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Theo Void » Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:13 am

I saved up for months to get a new 2017 mbp. 7th gen quad core i7, 16 gb RAM and 256 gb ssd.
The problem is the ssd size. Honestly why does Apple even make a computer, and a pro computer at that with such a tiny amount of storage?
Anyway, I use Ableton Live 9 Suite, Maschine, Traktor and Komplete. All of these have huge libraries plus I have a ton of samples myself.
My plan was to get an external ssd. Do you think this is a good solution? I was thinking I could install the programs on the internal and run everything else off of external. Or should I return it and save up even more for a bigger internal?
This **** is stressing me out.
Thank you

Tarekith
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Tarekith » Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:31 am

2017 MBP here, 512GB SSD. Storage hasn't really been a huge issue for me, but I tend to keep anything I'll use frequently for music on the internal drive, and non-critical stuff on external HDs. All my programs, plug ins, samples, and anything else related to music is on the internal drive. Pictures, movies, my music library, etc could all go on the external if needed.

Though I'm a bit of a data minimalist and I have all of the above on my internal drive with 130GB to spare. The only thing I keep strictly on external drives personally is back up files. All my own music project back ups, as well as client stuff.
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Theo Void
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Theo Void » Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:36 am

Yeah. I should have waited a bit longer and got the 512 instead of the 256. I may have to return it to get the 512.
I feel like 256 gb. is just not enough especially if I wanted to install Live 9 suite, Komplete 11, Maschine, Tractor, music, samples, VST's, etc.
Do you have a lot of samples?

I just realized after buying the computer that the internal drive is wayyyyyyyy faster than an external one would be. Thats my own fault for not researching thoroughly.
IDK, these things are so expensive and its somewhere around $400 more just for the 512 ssd upgrade!

Theo Void
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Theo Void » Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:04 am

WEll it appears I can’t return it so I guess I’m going the external ssd route.

[art]
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by [art] » Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:57 am

i agree 256 is not enough, maybe for a secondary chill-out laptop but not your main system

Angstrom
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Angstrom » Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:59 am

Man that's rough.
I bought my laptop with a really small drive and used a 128 gb thumbdrive for non-essential files !
it's pretty un-noticable. It was dirt cheap. (sandisk ultra fit )
Too slow for audio but all my unnecessary files are on there.
Image

I only did it as a stopgap knowing I could wait it out a year and buy a replacement main ssd.
the 1TB internal SSD drive for my laptop is now at around £230 so I can think about getting it.

I know that's no help to your situation, but the thumbdrive is handy for those situations when you dont want a cluster of dongles hanging off your slim device. EG, travelling on a train, on your actual lap, etc.

Theo Void
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Theo Void » Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:45 am

Yeah well. Im stuck with it so.....................

pencilrocket
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by pencilrocket » Thu Nov 16, 2017 4:42 am

Theo Void wrote:Honestly why does Apple even make a computer, and a pro computer at that with such a tiny amount of storage?
Wait, has Apple ever released pro computer before?

Stromkraft
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Stromkraft » Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:30 am

Theo Void wrote:I saved up for months to get a new 2017 mbp. 7th gen quad core i7, 16 gb RAM and 256 gb ssd.
Yes, that's what you choose to get. If you knew you could get a bigger SSD, then why didn't you?

13" MBP SSD options:

Image

15" MBP SSD options:

Image

Expensive? Yes, that's the Apple way now. And people are buying like never before, so high prices work. I only wish Apple would stand by their machines for 7 years or so, like they used to, when it comes to design decisions (graphics cards) that prematurely ends the life of your machine (At least 10 years IMHO, maybe not as main machines but complementary).
Make some music!

Calagan
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Calagan » Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:11 am

Hi there

I'm in the same situation, using Live suite, Komplete 11 and plenty of other plugins on a 256 gb macbook pro.

Actually it's ok for me : I didn't have to install anything on an external disk, but of course it means I'm not using everything from Komplete and from Live Suite (many crap there if you want my opinion : why should I install 5Go of an orchestral woodwinds pack that is sounding cheap and that anyway I will never use in my music ?).

But I think it's possible to share your libraries between important ones installed on your internal ssd disk and minor ones installed on an external disk.

Does anybody here knows if it's possible to share the installation of Ableton Packs and Komplete Libraries between internal and external disks ?
And how to manage it without hassle ?

tribalogical
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by tribalogical » Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:34 am

Expensive? Yes, that's the Apple way now. And people are buying like never before, so high prices work. I only wish Apple would stand by their machines for 7 years or so, like they used to, when it comes to design decisions (graphics cards) that prematurely ends the life of your machine (At least 10 years IMHO, maybe not as main machines but complementary).
I don't know, I only just recently replaced my 8-year-old iMac with a new one. It's still going strong, just not quite enough horsepower for all my modern studio apps and plugins. The new one is fantastic. But I also "future proof" them when I buy them by upgrading the CPU, RAM, HD and GPU. You can get a solid 5 years of use from the upgraded machines, at the minimum... my old iMac is now used for everyday computing, while the new one is exclusively for the studio... It should easily last another couple of years.
iMac 5K 27", 4.2Ghz i7, 16GB RAM, 3TB Fusion HD: Focusrite 6i6 v2: NI S88 keyboard
MacBookPro 13", 2.4Ghz i5, 8GB RAM, 500GB SSD
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Apps:: Live Suite 9.7.4, Logic Pro X
Plugins:: hordes...

tribalogical
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by tribalogical » Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:54 am

Theo Void wrote:WEll it appears I can’t return it so I guess I’m going the external ssd route.
Not a bad thing! You'd probably do that anyway, even with a bigger internal SSD. You can find great 500GB external SSDs for well under $200. Samsung makes some pretty highly rated ones. I'm getting 450MB/sec writes, and about 500MB/sec reads from my external Samsung SSDs connected to the USB C/T3 connectors. Just make sure the cables you use support those speeds. Some don't.

My set up:
I currently have a pair of Samsung 500GB external SSDs (I paid $179 for each early this year. They're less now I think). The latest Macs all have USB C/Thunderbolt 3 connectors, which are blazingly fast (40Gbit).

I use one SSD for my project data (audio and video), and on the other I put all my heavy sample libraries. The one drive fit all of Komplete 11 Ultimate, my Spectrasonics libraries, and a few others. About 460GB total. The rest (mostly smaller patch libraries) I put onto my internal SSD (MBP) or Fusion drive (iMac) along with apps and plugins... the portability of the SSD drives is a plus. They're low power, tiny and lightweight. You probably won't notice a major difference in speed between the internal and external SSDs... at least I don't. Hope this helps.

peace.
iMac 5K 27", 4.2Ghz i7, 16GB RAM, 3TB Fusion HD: Focusrite 6i6 v2: NI S88 keyboard
MacBookPro 13", 2.4Ghz i5, 8GB RAM, 500GB SSD
MacOS 10.12.6 (Sierra)
Apps:: Live Suite 9.7.4, Logic Pro X
Plugins:: hordes...

jlgrimes
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by jlgrimes » Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:19 pm

Yeah. 256 is small. I have a MacBook Air 512 MB SSD and even that is small. I really don't want to carry around extra Hard Drives. Kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop.

I think my next laptop will be a Windows gaming laptop. I saw some for about $1000 that has either a 256 or 512 SSD with a 2TB HDD. Probably wouldn't have to worry about running out of space with that. Yes it would be heavier and Windows but I don't plan on using it in a live setting so I should be good I think.

Theo Void
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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by Theo Void » Sat Dec 30, 2017 8:45 pm

Yeah it’s working out alright. I got a Samsung T5. 500 gb. External ssd. I installed Live and Maschine and VST’s on the internal. Everything else is in the external. It seems to be working.

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Re: 2017 MacBook Pro 16 inch -ridiculously tiny ssd

Post by nathannn » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:33 pm

Can you clone the 256 ssd with time machine and then swap it out with a larger one? I know that you can do this with older MBP's.
Are the the newer ssd's pci? You should be able to do the same unless they weld the hard drive in now.
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