500gb ssd or 250gb for Linux + Windows 8?

[Alir]

I'm deciding on an m.2 ssd for my laptop - purchasing from amazon.

Should I get a 250gb ssd or a 500gb ssd?

I will have two OS' installed: Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu.

I don't know how much space Ubuntu + Ubuntu programs will take up. My current Windows OS takes up around 100gb - only the installed programs - I would like to leave at least 50gb extra for windows in case at some point I decide to install another large program - such as microsoft word.

I will partition the ssd with 10gb for Ubuntu itself - another partition for programs.

My question is, how much space should I reserve for Ubuntu programs?
I feel like just getting a 500gb ssd just in case, but it'll really bother me if that extra space ends up being a waste if I just uninstall Ubuntu or if I don't install that many programs for Linux. Then again, I may end up installing extra distros so in that sense I guess I would need the extra space.

I think it's worth noting, the cheapest at 250gb is around £90, though I am likely to buy a £120 Kingston (if I go for 250gb)one as it has a TBW of 240TB - will come in handy as I hibernate often and use software encryption such as truecrypt - will wear out ssd faster. Alternatively, I could go for a £150 500gb m.2 ssd. Though the 500gb will have the same TBW as a 250gb £90 ssd which isn't a good thing.

So my Qs:
1) How much space do you think I should reserve for Ubuntu? Program purposes: Office programs such as LibreOffice/other alternatives, programs to run media such as movies and songs, IDEs for programming, browsers, and possibly other programs which I have not thought of yet or have not got a need for yet.

2) Should I go for the 500gb ssd instead? I am likely to end up using sleep more often anyways so I don't think the TBW (total bytes written) will make too much of a difference. I just want to know if because of my 2 OS setup, I should go for a 500gb ssd instead?

Thanks

 

[Burusutazu]

250gb will be enough, but there is always a chance it will fill up if you end up liking ubuntu. 500gb would be a safe bet and should last you longer if your data usage changes. 

 

In the end it's up to weather you are willing to pay the extra money for the 500gb ssd.

[PirateCoffee]

500GB.

[manikyath]

250GB will be enough, 500GB would be the safe bet.

 

also, theres no such thing as a "partition for programs" on linux.

[Burusutazu]

250GB will be enough, 500GB would be the safe bet.

 

also, theres no such thing as a "partition for programs" on linux.

I believe he means separating /root and /home, which is an option when installing ubuntu.

[manikyath]

I believe he means separating /root and /home, which is an option when installing ubuntu.

yes, but he said 10GB for ubuntu, and a partition for programs.

[Alir]

250GB will be enough, 500GB would be the safe bet.

 

also, theres no such thing as a "partition for programs" on linux.

 

 

I believe he means separating /root and /home, which is an option when installing ubuntu.

 

 

yes, but he said 10GB for ubuntu, and a partition for programs.

 

I really have no idea what you mean.

I'm new to Ubuntu. I sort of understand the whole 'root' concept from my also limited experience with a Raspberry Pi.

 

Thanks for letting me know what to do though! I wouldn't have had any idea - was gonna just partition it.

So will Ubuntu encrypt the /home files also, when I choose to have the Ubuntu partition encrypted?

 

Also, what is the difference between partitioning and separating /home and /root ?

[manikyath]

I really have no idea what you mean.

I'm new to Ubuntu. I sort of understand the whole 'root' concept from my also limited experience with a Raspberry Pi.

 

Thanks for letting me know what to do though! I wouldn't have had any idea - was gonna just partition it.

So will Ubuntu encrypt the /home files also, when I choose to have the Ubuntu partition encrypted?

 

Also, what is the difference between partitioning and separating /home and /root ?

linux's filesystem works in the following manner:

 

everything falls under root, also known as "/"

under that theres a range of folders, those often partitioned seperately are:

/boot (for the bootloader)

/home (for personal documents)

/var (variable data, partitioning this seperately means that on a server filling up /var doesnt kill the OS side)

and a few other things here and there.

 

whats most often done on linux is seperate / and /home from each other, this means you can reinstall your OS (or a completely different linux distro) without losing personal data, application preferences, etc.

 

on servers that need to handle large files, /var is often partitioned seperately, so the system hard drive cant completely fill up with this variable data (web servers' data is stored under /var for example)

 

from my experience, if you're not a data hog, 60GB will be more than plenty for a linux distro.

 

when going for the 250GB drive, i'd partition as following:

 

- 120GB windows partition

- 30GB linux root partiton ( / )

- 30GB linux home partition ( /home )

- depending on distro need, a /boot partition (some distros require this, others dont care)

- somewhere between 5 and 30 GB linux swap area (this depends on the amount of ram you have, and what you'll be doing with the system)

- use the remaining as shared storage ( D:\ on windows, /storage on linux)

 

notes:

- when going for the 500GB drive, i'd reccommend simply doubling all listed sizes (except for swap, 60GB swap is a waste of space)

- if the system also has a hard drive, i'd recommend using that as shared storage, and split up the remaining SSD space between linux and windows, depending on where you think you'll put more.

[Alir]

linux's filesystem works in the following manner:

 

everything falls under root, also known as "/"

under that theres a range of folders, those often partitioned seperately are:

/boot (for the bootloader)

/home (for personal documents)

/var (variable data, partitioning this seperately means that on a server filling up /var doesnt kill the OS side)

and a few other things here and there.

 

whats most often done on linux is seperate / and /home from each other, this means you can reinstall your OS (or a completely different linux distro) without losing personal data, application preferences, etc.

 

on servers that need to handle large files, /var is often partitioned seperately, so the system hard drive cant completely fill up with this variable data (web servers' data is stored under /var for example)

 

from my experience, if you're not a data hog, 60GB will be more than plenty for a linux distro.

 

when going for the 250GB drive, i'd partition as following:

 

- 120GB windows partition

- 30GB linux root partiton ( / )

- 30GB linux home partition ( /home )

- depending on distro need, a /boot partition (some distros require this, others dont care)

- somewhere between 5 and 30 GB linux swap area (this depends on the amount of ram you have, and what you'll be doing with the system)

- use the remaining as shared storage ( D:\ on windows, /storage on linux)

 

notes:

- when going for the 500GB drive, i'd reccommend simply doubling all listed sizes (except for swap, 60GB swap is a waste of space)

- if the system also has a hard drive, i'd recommend using that as shared storage, and split up the remaining SSD space between linux and windows, depending on where you think you'll put more.

 

 

I was thinking of installing Ubuntu, Windows and all programs on the m.2 SSD and all personal files, music, documents, etc, on the HDD. This is inside a laptop btw, so this is the most amount of drives I can have.

 

So where are programs stored on Ubuntu?

If I reinstall Ubuntu or install a new distro, can I keep all files and programs as they are or will I have to reinstall the programs?

From what you said, you suggested programs can be kept?

[manikyath]

I was thinking of installing Ubuntu, Windows and all programs on the m.2 SSD and all personal files, music, documents, etc, on the HDD. This is inside a laptop btw, so this is the most amount of drives I can have.

 

So where are programs stored on Ubuntu?

If I reinstall Ubuntu or install a new distro, can I keep all files and programs as they are or will I have to reinstall the programs?

From what you said, you suggested programs can be kept?

all linux distros work in the same way in terms of programs:

 

- all executables (including OS ones) are in /bin (or /usr/bin)

- all config files are in /etc (theres some other spots here and there as well, dont know them off the top of my head)

- all variable data is in /var

- all personal preferences are in /home/$USER/.$PROGRAM (i'm not sure this is a requirement, but most programs with personal preferences seem to be doing this)

 

the way most linux installs are done, is partition /home (and in some cases /var) seperately, so that the linux install itself (on / ) can be wiped, and replaced without losing personal data.

 

the reason programs cant be kept on reinstall is that linux keeps track of installed applications and dependencies in a smart way, this is also why they HAVE to be in the specified directories.

[Alir]

Another thread where I asked the same Q for future reference: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?42198-500gb-ssd-or-250gb-for-Linux-Windows-8