My MBP Storage Usage
Nov 12 2024
My current MBP has an 8 TB internal SSD and a major reason it cost over $6k (I also have maxed out 64 GB RAM). New MBP will have less SSD space so what can I offload? Taking a look at disk usage via OmniDiskSweeper:
/Library (77.6 GB)
/Library/Application Support/com.apple.idleassetsd/... (50.0 GB) - This is 99% from desktop wallpaper videos
/Library/Application Support/Logic (15.3 GB) - I guess these are from GarageBand?
/System (28.1 GB) - of which 620 MB in Applications, 17.2 GB in Library/AssetsV2 for XCode stuff
/Applications (200.3 GB)
/Applications/Games (164.3 GB) - I try to put all my games here
/Applications/Games/Epic Games (115.2 GB) - mostly Borderlands 3
/Applications/Games/GOG (36.4 GB) - mostly BattleTech
/Applications/Games/League of Legends (12.7 GB)
You can change the install location for Epic Games and GOG are manual installs so both can be moved to an external drive.
/private (8.1 GB)
/user (4.7 GB) - mostly HomeBrew installs
So outside my home folder it's about 119 GB of non-games. I can see why 256 GB SSD would be fine for people who don't have much in their home folders.
/Users/(me) (2.8 TB)
/Users/(me)/Movies (1.2 TB) - This is all stuff in TV app. Lots of stuff ripped from DVDs so not cloud-based. Could offload all this so 1.6 TB left.
/Users/(me)/Virtual Machines (340.7 GB) - VMWare VMs which I never use so can remove. Down to 1.26 TB.
/Users/(me)/Documents (629.1 GB)
-- Books (348 GB) - I could offload comics at 337.1 GB. Down to 930 GB.
/Users/(me)/Music (210.4 GB) - I have lots of ripped CD music + podcasts. Noticed GarageBand recording file is 47 GB so I guess when recording a gaming session it can get quite big.
/Users/(me)/Library (205.2 GB)
-- Application Support/CrossOver (31.5 GB) - CrossOver you can set install location so can move.
-- Steam (24.9 GB) - Steam you can also set a different install location
-- Moving the two above we're down to (874 GB)
/Users/(me)/Downloads (124.5 GB) - I use the Downloads folder for temporary work which is why it's so big. I guess can move to an external drive. Down to 700 GB.
/Users/(me)/Trash (56.2 GB) - obviously can remove so 644 GB.
/Users/(me)/Sites (37.8 GB) - local copy of my web site. Can offload so down to 606 GB.
/Users/(me)/Public (10.5 GB) - huh, this is Raid Shadow Legends and I should delete now. 596 GB.
Hmm. So I'm finding out a 1 TB SSD would be a bit cramped. Upgrading from 1 TB to 2 TB SSD is $400.
An alternative is an external fast SSD and putting my home folder there. I'd have a second user on my internal SSD mostly for boot up in case I don't have my external SSD. A different account using same Apple ID so can use cloud documents.
Samsung T7 4 TB ($286) with USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) or T9 4 TB ($300) with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (though from what I read MBPs don't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 and instead should use a USB 4 drive).
T7 Performance Benchmark is in the 800+ MB for read/write of large files and I'm used to 30 to 40 MB/s with USB 2 drives so even a somewhat old USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection will be very fast and hopefully usable as a home folder.
/Library (77.6 GB)
/Library/Application Support/com.apple.idleassetsd/... (50.0 GB) - This is 99% from desktop wallpaper videos
/Library/Application Support/Logic (15.3 GB) - I guess these are from GarageBand?
/System (28.1 GB) - of which 620 MB in Applications, 17.2 GB in Library/AssetsV2 for XCode stuff
/Applications (200.3 GB)
/Applications/Games (164.3 GB) - I try to put all my games here
/Applications/Games/Epic Games (115.2 GB) - mostly Borderlands 3
/Applications/Games/GOG (36.4 GB) - mostly BattleTech
/Applications/Games/League of Legends (12.7 GB)
You can change the install location for Epic Games and GOG are manual installs so both can be moved to an external drive.
/private (8.1 GB)
/user (4.7 GB) - mostly HomeBrew installs
So outside my home folder it's about 119 GB of non-games. I can see why 256 GB SSD would be fine for people who don't have much in their home folders.
/Users/(me) (2.8 TB)
/Users/(me)/Movies (1.2 TB) - This is all stuff in TV app. Lots of stuff ripped from DVDs so not cloud-based. Could offload all this so 1.6 TB left.
/Users/(me)/Virtual Machines (340.7 GB) - VMWare VMs which I never use so can remove. Down to 1.26 TB.
/Users/(me)/Documents (629.1 GB)
-- Books (348 GB) - I could offload comics at 337.1 GB. Down to 930 GB.
/Users/(me)/Music (210.4 GB) - I have lots of ripped CD music + podcasts. Noticed GarageBand recording file is 47 GB so I guess when recording a gaming session it can get quite big.
/Users/(me)/Library (205.2 GB)
-- Application Support/CrossOver (31.5 GB) - CrossOver you can set install location so can move.
-- Steam (24.9 GB) - Steam you can also set a different install location
-- Moving the two above we're down to (874 GB)
/Users/(me)/Downloads (124.5 GB) - I use the Downloads folder for temporary work which is why it's so big. I guess can move to an external drive. Down to 700 GB.
/Users/(me)/Trash (56.2 GB) - obviously can remove so 644 GB.
/Users/(me)/Sites (37.8 GB) - local copy of my web site. Can offload so down to 606 GB.
/Users/(me)/Public (10.5 GB) - huh, this is Raid Shadow Legends and I should delete now. 596 GB.
Hmm. So I'm finding out a 1 TB SSD would be a bit cramped. Upgrading from 1 TB to 2 TB SSD is $400.
An alternative is an external fast SSD and putting my home folder there. I'd have a second user on my internal SSD mostly for boot up in case I don't have my external SSD. A different account using same Apple ID so can use cloud documents.
Samsung T7 4 TB ($286) with USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) or T9 4 TB ($300) with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (though from what I read MBPs don't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 and instead should use a USB 4 drive).
T7 Performance Benchmark is in the 800+ MB for read/write of large files and I'm used to 30 to 40 MB/s with USB 2 drives so even a somewhat old USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection will be very fast and hopefully usable as a home folder.