Any experience with "hybrid" HDD/SSD devices?

My MBP Disk Utility says there are unrepairable errors on my internal drive.
I'm thinking of getting this as an upgrade:
http://www.amazon.com …T1000LM014/dp/B​00B99JUBQ/

Anyone got experience with a drive of this nature?


On a related note, last night my wife managed to knock my Time Machine drive off the desk onto the tile floor, as it was backing up. Fortunately I had another unused external drive handy, and I think Time Machine was able to back up to that one. Still, I was on the very brink of losing my original AND my backup data at the same time. My third backup is about a month old, ouch. I need to do a better job of maintaining that third backup.

Here's a review: http://www.pcper.com …/Conclusion-Pricing-and-F

In short, like it performs about as you'd expect. . .faster than a traditional hard drive, but not as fast as an SSD. Seagate certainly puts out quality hardware, so I'd expect you're getting what you pay for, so it really comes down to whether or not it conforms to both your needs and your budget. Fortunately, my laptop has room for both an SSD and HDD, but if I could only have one drive, a hybrid sounds like a very good compromise. I.e. large capacity with increased performance at an affordable price. Otherwise, I'd probably have to go with an HDD, because these days 1TB is about the minimum amount of storage I'd look for.

nathancarter wrote in post #16338667
My MBP Disk Utility says there are unrepairable errors on my internal drive.

Which MacBook Pro do you have? I removed my DVD drive and installed an 128 gb SSD, then initialize it and the internal hard drive as a Fusion volume. It is nice and speedy, and better than hybrid drives.

IslandCrow, thanks for the comments.

Tony-S wrote in post #16339075
Which MacBook Pro do you have? I removed my DVD drive and installed an 128 gb SSD, then initialize it and the internal hard drive as a Fusion volume. It is nice and speedy, and better than hybrid drives.

It's a 2011 17", can't remember if it's Early or Late.

Removing the optical drive isn't really practical for us, as we also do video production and need to be able to burn DVDs. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

SSDs aren't that expensive now, but storage is limited. I'd probably go for an SSD for working images then an external disk for bulk/archive storage.

Of course what I'd really go for is a proper computer that can take multiple drives. I have 6 drives in my PC, including two SSDs.

tim wrote in post #16342587
SSDs aren't that expensive now, but storage is limited. I'd probably go for an SSD for working images then an external disk for bulk/archive storage.

I've thought about that, and that's kinda what I already do with the internal drive and external storage.
250GB is probably below what I could get away with, since this machine is sometimes also used for light video projects.
500GB SSD is still kinda small - I have about 600GB (out of 750) on the internal drive right now, though I haven't been diligent about moving things off to the external storage. That's also starting to push the budget limit.
More than 500GB is past the budget limit at this time.

tim wrote in post #16342587
Of course what I'd really go for is a proper computer that can take multiple drives. I have 6 drives in my PC, including two SSDs.

We have one of those too, the main video-editing workstation. But I can't really carry that with me, nor shoot tethered.

From what I know, initially, it slightly faster to load up the OS but it learns what you use the most and puts those files into the SSD portion and it loads up faster when it learns it all.

You are better off running everything from a SSD and using a hard drive to store files.

RHChan84 wrote in post #16343739
From what I know, initially, it slightly faster to load up the OS but it learns what you use the most and puts those files into the SSD portion and it loads up faster when it learns it all.

You are better off running everything from a SSD and using a hard drive to store files.

If it wasn't a laptop that I carry with me all over the place, I would maybe agree. As it is, putting everything except the OS and apps onto an external drive just isn't practical - that's just one more thing to drag around ... or one more thing to fall off the desk like my backup drive did. I generally store "archive" stuff on a network-attached drive, but I still need a moderate amount of internal space for working files.

I think I've kinda made up my mind. You guys have given me some other things to consider, so thanks for that, though none have really changed my mind. If we get that Seagate hybrid drive, I'll report on how it works after a few weeks.

If it's smart enough to put my Lightroom app, catalog, and previews on the SSD portion, that'll almost certainly give me a significant improvement over a purely platter-based drive.

nathancarter wrote in post #16341235
Removing the optical drive isn't really practical for us, as we also do video production and need to be able to burn DVDs. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

How often do you burn DVDs?

Tony-S wrote in post #16344085
How often do you burn DVDs?

Often enough that my wife will be annoyed if I take it out.

Just get a usb optical drive and take the one out in the MBP OR take out the optical drive and put it in an external housing.

nathancarter wrote in post #16338667
My MBP Disk Utility says there are unrepairable errors on my internal drive.
I'm thinking of getting this as an upgrade:
http://www.amazon.com …T1000LM014/dp/B​00B99JUBQ/

Anyone got experience with a drive of this nature?


On a related note, last night my wife managed to knock my Time Machine drive off the desk onto the tile floor, as it was backing up. Fortunately I had another unused external drive handy, and I think Time Machine was able to back up to that one. Still, I was on the very brink of losing my original AND my backup data at the same time. My third backup is about a month old, ouch. I need to do a better job of maintaining that third backup.

Just don't bother with them, they are mechanical drives with a larger than life cache

You're better off with a full blown ssd, speed is really faster than the hybrid, plus recently Amazon have been making mistakes with the items they have been selling

Also, its best to read reviews like this
http://www.amazon.com …pr_viewpnt#R273​FVLWGDQFD4

I've had the same experience as this person

But unlike a cached drive, your data that you use most frequently is stored for immediate access on the SSD portion of the drive. Meaning, you'll get faster performance for bootup and most tasks.

Linus gives a good Technology Explanation below

Link: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=vaxBmTTTWMo

He does a great job explaining it!

I carry an external HD everywhere I go and it doesn't take up much space. I like having it since I only have a 480GB SSD.