So I'm contemplating upgrading my harddrive. I don't really have the cash to spend on a new Macbook Pro, but my mid-2009 model is starting to really drag along. I've already upgraded from the stock harddrive to a 750gb drive, and have had to remove my music because i was getting 'disk almost full' warnings. So, I'm thinking about a hybrid drive, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid-Hybrid-2-5-Inch-ST1000LM014/dp/B00B99JUBQ/ref=sr_sp-btf_title_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1367707539&sr=8-4&keywords=ssd+hard+drive For $120, it seems like a pretty good deal. But I read that when working with large files it can actually be slower than a standard harddrive. Does anyone have any experience with these, especially as it relates to running XCode and Eclipse? Or would I be better off taking out the junky dvd player that doesn't work half the time and adding a true SSD in that slot, and trying to run core programs off of it?

I do run Xcode on a Mac air with ssd and it lightning

My friends new Mac Mini uses Apple Fusion Drive (Apple's Hybrid drive) and it boots up very very quickly. I went to an Apple Store recently, where I looked at the MacBook Pro retina (with Flash drives) and wow it was quick. Photoshop loaded in an instant, which means that running Xcode would be fine. I think it is very good value for what you get, but consider the hard drive reading time. There's no point buying a hard-drive like this if your computer has limits. Check, but for a 2009 MacBook Pro it should be fine. I think it is a good buy, and you should get it, if you want to boost your hard drive space, and speed at the same time. This is very good value.

Your 750 gb drive is it 5400rmp or 7200rpm. I have one of the first gen seagate hybrids. Its a very good step up from a 5400 rpm drive. Its a minimal step up from a 7200rpm drive. One thing to take note of with the current 2nd gen hybrids is that they are still 5400rpm drives. Seagate is coming out with their 3rd gen 7200rpm hybrid drive late summer early fall of this year. If you can wait you should. I have done the ssd+hdd in a windows laptop also. Its great, till you run out of room and need to buy a bigger ssd:(. OS+Apps on the ssd. All data on the HDD. Not sure how well it works on a mac. From what I have read your supposed to put the ssd with the os on it in the main slot and the HDD on the drive bay with a mac. You maxed out on ram?

Thanks Nick - I'll wait to see what Seagate comes out with then. Not sure how that would work trying to put the SSD on the main slot in my MBP. I remember reading somewhere a while back that SSD's will fit in the DVD bay but not in the main bay. Not sure why that would be, if they're both 2.5in though. That was over a year ago I'm trying to recollect, though, so I could be way off base. I've got a 7200RPM in there right now. But I think the main slowdown is due to running out of room. I've got about 115gb free right now though, so who knows.

I have the fusion on the new iMac and it really flies. Pretty much keeps up with the SSD in my MBP for general use. You do notice a slight difference for really large files (gigs) but other than that, it's fantastic!

thanks xparte

Chris, I'm afraid I can't comment. I bought the drive. I bought a new MacBook pro. I'm still not ready to migrate. In a few days, I hope... It's been 2 weeks now and I still haven't cracked open the case yet. Just 'one more thing to do'... again. Cheers! -- Smug

115 GB free and 7200 RPM is awesome, no need to change anything there! Perhaps a total wipe and restore from backup might help on the fragmentation of the drive. Mi used Super Duper for cloning my disk. Did you upgrade the RAM to the maximum allowable? Finally, you might have simply outgrown the horsepower of that 2009 model. -- Niraj

@chris1 .. I purchased this exact model back in December after my hard drive went out on me to replace temporary Toshiba 5200rpm.. I'm a bit disappointed as I figured that with the 7200rpm it would be faster but its not.. It takes my MBP 2009 about 2minutes to load...previously about 20seconds with that toshiba model.. Based on the Amazon.com reviews and many had MBP, I thought it was awesome but I'm pretty sad.. Once I get back stateside I'll be in a hunt for a replacement asap. I also upgraded the ram to 8G..Everything else is fast except the startup. I have 260 GB space left on the hard drive. I think the next time I'll do a total wipe like @niraj mentions and not copy the hard drive..maybe at least that will help? Or wait for the new model that @nadthevlad mentioned.

May need to try the wipe. I thought Macs weren't supposed to fragment? Already have 8gb of ram. It runs fine most of the time. It's just when it starts to drag, I usually have to do a restart bc it can't seem to recover.

Chris I have a mid-2012 MBA with 512 SSD and it screams it is so fast. This is the computer upon which I do most of my development and I use in my classroom to run my SmartBoard and well everything since it is so fast. I have noticed that the 8GB of ram sometimes does get pushed to the limit when I am screen recording my lessons for my app. In Janaury I upgraded an 2008 iMac with a late-2012 Mac mini with the Fusion Drive and the hard drive is every bit as fast as my all flash MBA. The biggest difference I have noticed is with the ram. I upgraded the ram on my Mac mini to 16GB and I have never been able to fully tax all of it, even while running Xcode, Eclipse, iTunes, Safari, iDraw, and few other apps. For my money I have found the Fusion drive to be the best of both worlds: speed of SSD and storage space of a traditional hard drive.

Can u buy a fusion by itself? Anyone create their own fusion with a standard hdd and sdd? I saw an article last night that talked about hacking the OS to do it.

You cannot buy a fusion drive from apple as an individual component.

Have you tried to buy a regular SSD and use an external hard drive? For video editing: I have a SSD in my Mac and use a FireWire 800 External Drive Jake

Check this out: http://blog.macsales.com/17624-os-x-10-8-3-provides-fusion-drive-setup-option-for-non-fusion-drive-equipped-macs Jake

That's a great find Jake. I think you found the solution. The thing about this is the Seagate hybrids come with 8gb of flash storage. At the $100 price point you could find a 120gb ssd. 120gb + 750gb DIY fusion.

Yep - that's exactly what I needed Jake - thanks!

What else can make your Mac drag on performance -- the software! The Java due to Eclipse and Android development. The Flash due to Ads and watching videos. If you use Chrome, quitting that browser will also shut-down Flash. If you quit Safari, then Flash remains in the background. Try using add-on Flash Blocker plugins for any of your browsers. Also, visit http://www.YouTube.com/html5 and enroll in that "beta program". That tells YT to deliver video without using Flash. Before spending money, try those simple steps to see if there is incremental improvement. -- Niraj

Thanks Niraj - ill dig around some. I use FF 20, so not sure how it handles flash. For sure Java and the ADB causes me issues a lot - most of the time I have to hold the power button down to turn off the computer due to ADB hanging. I try not to open Eclipse unless its necessary bc of that.

I solve the Eclipse and ADB problems by refusing to do Android development. Muhahahahaha!

lol

Have you tried to partition part of your drive for Android Development? (Install 2 Copies of Mac OS X on the drive, and use 1 for Android Dev and 1 for iOS Dev) Jake

lol no - i've had enough low disc space issues as it is

If you have money to burn the LaCie 8TB 2big Thunderbolt Series RAID Hard Drive is a beast 320 odd MB/s!

Lol well money is tight ... And this is a Macbook