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DanMan619

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2012
213
157
Los Angeles, CA
Hello everyone!

Long time lurker (been lurking on here since August or so), first time poster here. I'm looking to get myself an SSD for my Macbook Pro. I have a 15" Early 2011 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 already upgraded to 8GB of RAM. Currently I've got the default 750GB 5400rpm HDD in here. Over the last coming up on two years, it's been through a lot. Cosmetically, it's pretty much still perfectly pristine. However, over the past couple months, I've noticed a horrid scratching sound when the hard drive disc spins very fast. I believe it might have to do with (God forbid) the disc melting slightly over time after getting very hot for very long periods of time (used to do a lot of really long After Effects renders and stuff with loads of footage in both Final Cut Pro and Media Composer) and now scratching the surface of it's enclosure as it spins. And overall, the drive is becoming slow when running the bigger programs like Avid and After Effects. Otherwise the laptop is still going very strong!

I've been reading on this forum for months and have been keeping up with SSD trends and which ones seem to be peoples favorites. I've already narrowed it down to either the Samsung 840 Pro or the Plextor M5 Pro (that one seems to have great reviews on par with the Crucial M4 but is slightly faster, yet somehow far far less talked about) and I'm open to suggestions for a third contendor as well, but mostly want to stick to 840 Pro VS. M5 Pro.

For the most part, money isn't as big a deciding factor in my decision as I've already saved up the money (enough for up to the 250GB models of either brand) and can pull the trigger on either one. Basically, I want a drive that will best add a couple more years of use to my laptop and save it's life. And if it helps, I'm aware that different SSDs have different strengths and weaknesses as far as if they are better at moving compressible or incompressible data around. I'd want the one that'd best suit Video Editing needs.

I've seen a lot of very knowledgable people on this forum and would greatly appreciate some feedback on which SSD you think would be best for me.

Thanks in advanced everyone!
 

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
Either one would work well. The Samsung is slightly faster, while the Plextor is less expensive and also has a longer MTBF.

When I was shopping around for SSDs, I also looked at the Plextor models but the M5P wasn't available at the time. I do remember reading about stuttering issues in OSX when using one of the other Plextor models, so watch out for that. I ended up going with a Crucial M4 because it was cheaper.
 

Vudoo

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2008
763
1
Dallas Metroplex
I have the same model MBP as you and I went with the 240 GB Intel 520 and it has been working flawlessly. I liked Intel's warranty better over Samsung's.
 

8CoreWhore

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,651
1,183
Tejas
I bought the Crucial M4 because they support updating with Macs and Samsung couldn't be bothered with us so they don't get my business.

If you don't mind taking your drive out and connecting it to a PC just so you can upgrade the firmware... it's a consideration.
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
I went with the Crucial, they were a tad cheaper (at the precise moment I clicked 'buy' anyway, that sort of stuff fluctuates all the time), and seemed to get better reviews for reliability. They have also been out a bit longer, and SSD's of late have been sort of hit and miss, with many models being very fast, but 6 months after their release muddied with a flood of failed drives. Ultimately, the real-world implications of going with the Crucial which is slightly slower than the samsung are negligible. You aren't likely to notice the difference.
 

DanMan619

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 30, 2012
213
157
Los Angeles, CA
Thanks for the responses everyone. Yeah that is something that bothered me about the Samsung... I don't have easy access to a PC to do firmware updates if i did go with a Samsung. There's a strike for the Samsung haha.
 
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