OK so, you're buying a new Mac computer. And as exciting as that can be, it can also be pretty
intimidating, as the amount of choice that Apple give you these days can be a little overwhelming.
Do you go laptop or desktop? Intel or Apple silicon? M1, M1 Pro or M1 Max? And
the question I'm going to cover in this video, how much storage should you buy?
Because what I've noticed, is that often people either panic and buy way more storage than they
need, or try to save money, and regret their decision later on down the line. Because with
Macs, you can customise your purchase to give you pretty much exactly what you want, but at a price.
And that price is, well, expensive. The latest MacBook Pros come with
512gb of internal storage as standard, but you could max that out to 8TB if you wanted to,
for an eye-watering £2,400. That's more than the cost of the actual base-level MacBook Pro!
Because don’t forget, Macs aren’t user upgradeable,
especially not the new M1 models. Once you’ve made your choice,
that’s it, you’re stuck with what you’ve bought, so getting it right is important.
So in this video, I'm going to discuss 7 questions that I think you should ask yourself, before
buying, to ensure that you purchase the right amount of internal storage for you and your needs.
Now just quickly, before we get into this, one question I've not included is,
'what's your budget', and that's not because I don't think it's an important question,
quite the opposite actually. Whatever I talk about in this video, you must make a decision
that suits you and your personal budget, no matter what, so please do keep that in mind.
Also, my general advice when it comes to budget, is to try and buy the next amount
up from what you think you would be comfortable with, if your budget allows for it.
Oh, and also, I believe that most, if not all Macs now come with 256gb of internal storage as
a minimum, but just in case, I'm generally going to advise you to disregard any 128gb option.
Even iPhones are typically coming with at least that much space nowadays, and it's really not
a great amount of storage to future proof your device. 256gb and up is the way to go.
OK, let's get into it.
**How much do you currently use?**
The most obvious starting point I think is to define how much storage you currently use,
because chances are, unless you plan on radically changing how you use your computer
in the near future, your current usage is going to give you a good idea of your future usage.
If you bought a computer two years ago, and paid for a 1TB internal hard drive,
but have never gone above 200 gigs of usage, there's a good chance that you bought too much,
and you might be able to save yourself some money on a future purchase.
Conversely, if you bought a computer with 500 gigs of internal storage, and regularly find yourself
coming close to maxing that out, then there's a good chance that you need more this time around.
To find this out, if you're on a Mac, head to the Apple logo in the upper left of your screen,
choose About this Mac, and then Storage. You can find out how much storage your machine has,
and how much of it you're currently using, as well as a breakdown of what the storage is compiled of,
so whether it's apps, documents, photos etc.
On a PC, choose the Windows icon in the lower left, and then the Cog icon. Choose System,
and then Storage, and you can see how much storage you have in total, and how much you're using.
Clicking on the used storage will show you a breakdown of it.
I know that we're talking specifically about Macs in this video,
but obviously if you're transitioning from a PC, this question would still apply.
If you’ve not already, do this and then make a note of how much space you’re using currently.
**What do you use your computer for?**
The 'type' of computer user that you are is going to have a huge
impact on how much storage you're likely to use. Videographers, photographers, music producers,
these are all examples of computer users that are likely to operate with very large files,
and those files have to live somewhere, even if only temporarily.
For example, Final Cut Pro, even though it's optimised for Mac usage, still creates enormous
libraries, and can easily create libraries of 100gb or more for a basic 4K project.
If, on the other hand you mainly use your computer for more generic things like browsing the web,
replying to emails, perhaps some office tasks on Word, PowerPoint, Excel,
then you're likely dealing with significantly smaller file sizes and applications overall.
You therefore only really need to worry about how many applications you're likely to install,
and I'd say that in most circumstances like this, you should be able to comfortably get away with a
256gb internal drive, or whatever the base-level is for the computer that you're considering.
**Do you make use of cloud storage?**
Love it or hate it, cloud storage is a vital part of computing nowadays, and making use of a good
cloud storage service can really come in handy when it comes to cutting back on hard drive space.
Services like iCloud are able to intelligently store your documents in the cloud,
only downloading them to your computer when you need them,
and therefore reducing the amount of clutter on your computer.
And it isn't just iCloud of course, there are lots of other cloud storage options out there
that might be more suitable to you and your needs, but they all work in a pretty similar fashion.
Clearly, cloud storage is reliant on you having access to the internet,
so if you're often without, or if your internet is particularly slow,
then relying on cloud storage might not be an option for you.
But if you can, cloud storage can really aid with keeping the clutter off of your computer.
And for those who are against cloud storage,
that's fair enough. But do keep in mind, storing everything locally without backing it up
is a massive risk to your data, so do ensure that you have a backup system in place.
**Can you use External Storage?**
One option that you have when looking at your computer usage that you don't really
have with your phone for example, is the opportunity to make use of external drives.
And if you've not bought an external drive for a little while, you might be surprised at
just how many options you have available, how physically small they are, how fast they are,
and how much space you can add to your computer, for a lot less than Apple will charge you.
If you're choosing an external drive, you've essentially got two main options to choose from;
optical or SSD. Optical is the more old-school variety,
it's a disc drive and is best kept for backing up data,
as they're not quite as portable or as reliable as SSDs, although they are generally pretty low cost.
SSDs are more expensive, but they're very fast, and as you can see when I compare this with my
iPhone, they're absolutely tiny, so dead easy to carry around, these SanDisk ones
even come with a clip so that you can attach them to things like your bag.
Now, you can still spend a lot of money on external storage. For example, the fastest
Sandisk in a 4TB configuration costs £560 as I'm making this video, which is a lot of money. But,
adding a 4TB internal SSD when ordering one of the new MacBook Pros from Apple's website,
costs £1,200. That's more than twice the cost. Yes, it would be nice to have
all that space internally and not have to carry something like this around with you,
but is it worth that kind of money to you, just to avoid having to carry a small SSD with you?
So yeah, external storage. Definitely a way to cut down on the amount of expensive
internal space that you need to buy.
**How many ports does your computer have?**
This is kind of a followup from the previous question,
because one additional thing that you do need to consider when thinking about an external drive,
is the number of available ports you have on your Mac, especially because Apple are
being a little bit stingy with them in some instances, notably the M1 range of Macs.
The reason why this is important, is because you might need those ports for other things,
things like connecting an external display, or an audio interface, or other peripherals,
and unless you plan on using a dock,
you can pretty quickly run out of available ports for connecting external drives.
So, whilst relying on external storage is a great idea,
it's only a great idea if you've got enough ports to make it work, without stressing you
out. Check that the computer that you're about to purchase has enough for you before you commit.
**How long do you plan on keeping the computer for?**
Your user habits today are going to be pretty indicative of your user habits in the near future,
but not necessarily the longer-term future. In other words, whilst you might only be using 50%
of your available storage right now, what about if you plan on keeping the computer a long time?
Are your user habits likely to change in the next few years?
If you tend to rotate computers out every couple of years, internal storage is less of an issue
for you, because you can reassess your needs in a year or two, when you come to upgrade.
But if you plan on keeping the computer for 3 years, 5 years or perhaps even longer,
then there's a chance that you will either fill it up in that time,
or add new applications or files that are much larger, and start to eat away at that available
space. Maybe you start editing more video? Or dabbling in music production? If you can,
look to buy more storage than you think you're going to need, to future proof your purchase.
**Do you care about resale value?**
Macs typically hold their long-term resale value much better than PCs do,
and the resale market is great if you want to try and get some money for your
device later on down the line. I've found that, when trying to trade in your device,
to Apple or to companies who then refurbish and sell the device on, things like having a lot
of internal storage have a pretty minimal impact on the value that you're offered.
But, if you're looking at selling on the private market, having a large internal SSD can help set
your device apart from similar computers, and make your computer more attractive to those looking
for a good second hand device with plenty of space. Remember, you can only spec Macs out when
you're buying them new, you can't upgrade them later on, so more internal storage is arguably
going to make the computer more appealing to a potential buyer, should you want to re-sell.
**Conclusion**
So there you go, 7 questions to ask yourself when considering how much internal storage you
should buy for your Mac, that will hopefully help you reach a conclusion, allowing you to
buy just the right amount of storage for you - not too little, and not too much.
What do you think? Have I missed any important considerations out? Have you
made a storage purchase that you now regret? Drop me a comment, and let's talk about it.
And as ever, if you found this video useful, do please consider leaving me a like,
and subscribing to my channel for more content like this in the future.
See you on the next video.