I got my new 2012 MBA 11" (i5, 128GB TS128E Toshiba SSD, CTO 8GB RAM) on Thursday - wonderful, speedy little machine.
Since I read fantastic things about the SSD speed of this years model I was curious about the speed of mine and one of the first things I did (after a clean install which I always do with new Macs) I tested it with "Blackmagic Disk Speed Test" from the Mac App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/at/app/blackmagic-disk-speed-test/id425264550
http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/19/macbook-air-2012-ssd-benchmarks-vs-macbook-air-2011/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G63WEcZ7RO8
and - boom - I got indeed the reported 360 MB/s write and 460 read MB/s read speed and was thrilled. But after a few iterations (the disk speed test runs in a loop) the write speed suddenly dropped to 220-260 MB/s and has stayed there ever since.
I clean installed (boot from recovery partition, wiped/repartitioned the disk, reboot/reinstall with internet recovery) the machine twice since (and also did a PRAM and SMC* reset) - the speed test never ever reaches over 300 MB/s in the write test again (read speed stays the same) - I'm frustrated.
Especially since the speed was initially there I've got the impression that there's something "broken".
Funny thing is, the first test with the never again reached write performance - even was on battery power
I haven't called AppleCare yet, but I imagine they wont discuss SSD speeds (measured with 3rd party tools) - since their marketing specs just say "up to twice as fast" as previous years model - but I'll give it a try.
What speed results do you get, fellow 2012 MBA 11" owners?
Any ideas or suggestions other than to return it?
* [Regarding the SMC reset, I'm assuming the method described under "Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own" is still valid for the 2012 Airs: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
I find the SMC reset procedure unfortunate, because there is neither described for how long the keys should be pressed, nor is there any confirmation of the action on the machine (that I would be aware of).]
Since I read fantastic things about the SSD speed of this years model I was curious about the speed of mine and one of the first things I did (after a clean install which I always do with new Macs) I tested it with "Blackmagic Disk Speed Test" from the Mac App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/at/app/blackmagic-disk-speed-test/id425264550
http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/19/macbook-air-2012-ssd-benchmarks-vs-macbook-air-2011/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G63WEcZ7RO8
and - boom - I got indeed the reported 360 MB/s write and 460 read MB/s read speed and was thrilled. But after a few iterations (the disk speed test runs in a loop) the write speed suddenly dropped to 220-260 MB/s and has stayed there ever since.
I clean installed (boot from recovery partition, wiped/repartitioned the disk, reboot/reinstall with internet recovery) the machine twice since (and also did a PRAM and SMC* reset) - the speed test never ever reaches over 300 MB/s in the write test again (read speed stays the same) - I'm frustrated.
Especially since the speed was initially there I've got the impression that there's something "broken".
Funny thing is, the first test with the never again reached write performance - even was on battery power
I haven't called AppleCare yet, but I imagine they wont discuss SSD speeds (measured with 3rd party tools) - since their marketing specs just say "up to twice as fast" as previous years model - but I'll give it a try.
What speed results do you get, fellow 2012 MBA 11" owners?
Any ideas or suggestions other than to return it?
* [Regarding the SMC reset, I'm assuming the method described under "Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own" is still valid for the 2012 Airs: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
I find the SMC reset procedure unfortunate, because there is neither described for how long the keys should be pressed, nor is there any confirmation of the action on the machine (that I would be aware of).]