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sh1mpulse

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 4, 2012
2
0
Hi Guys

I just bought a 2012 mac mini and plan to upgrade to a 240-256 SSD myself. Just wondering if any one had any experience in doing this and can suggest a drive that's compatible, fast and reliable.

Budget's not really an issue, but would refer bang for buck.

Thanks in advance.
 

propower

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2010
731
126
Hi Guys

I just bought a 2012 mac mini and plan to upgrade to a 240-256 SSD myself. Just wondering if any one had any experience in doing this and can suggest a drive that's compatible, fast and reliable.

Budget's not really an issue, but would refer bang for buck.

Thanks in advance.

SAmsung 830's have a good reputation for reliability and mac compatibility. I have used a 256G samsung in my mbp 2011 for 6 months, zero issues.
 

sh1mpulse

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 4, 2012
2
0
My local computer store has the Sandisk extreme 240gb on special and is $30AUD cheaper then the Samsung. So i just have a few questions.

1.Does anyone know what the usable space on these two drives are?

2. Specs say that the Sandisk is faster. Is there a noticeable difference?

3. Reviews say Snadisk has firmware problems? True or fasle?

4. What's the difference between sandforce and ARM9 controller?

Thanks again
 

surroundfan

macrumors 6502
Nov 22, 2005
345
36
Melbourne, Australia
Rocking a Sandisk here (indeed, I just upgraded the firmware today).

It is 240GB, but reports as 239.71GB after a recovery partition and EFI are accounted for.

No noticeable difference speedwise compared to Samsungs I'm guessing.

As mentioned, it's recently been upgraded to R211 which squashed a lot of Trim-related bugs. Sandisk has also released specific firmware for NVidia Macs to ensure they get the full 3gbps on their SATAII bus, which was pretty cool (although even cooler is the Samsung 830 which requires no firmware flashing).

Dunno...
 

analogkid

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2003
109
0
Savannah
I've got a pair of Samsung 830's in raid0. I use softraid to maintain the trim command. Look around for them as they are going on sale all over the place.
 

Acorn

macrumors 68030
Jan 2, 2009
2,642
349
macrumors
the samsung 840 series has been released so the samsung 830 series should be coming down fast
 

MattZani

macrumors 68030
Apr 20, 2008
2,554
103
UK
All 830s are the same. Some come with extras, the barebones one is what you need.

Technically bigger drives are faster, but overall its a brilliant line.
 

darcyjames

macrumors member
Sep 21, 2012
85
0
I put the 830 in my 2012 Mac mini and it works great.
 

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mwhities

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2011
899
0
Mississippi
I just installed a Samsung 830 128G SSD in a friend's 2011 Mac mini. He LOVED how fast it booted up. (I just realized, I need to get the TRIM enabler on it.)

I have the same drive in my Macbook (in sig) and it boots up in 16 seconds. So I think the i5/7s will be a LOT faster.

64G Crucial M4 on my 09 mac mini (sig). It's my little server and running 24/7.

So I would personally recommend either.
 

Rhinoevans

macrumors 6502
Oct 5, 2012
408
63
Las Vegas, NV
the samsung 840 series has been released so the samsung 830 series should be coming down fast

Not true, the 830 is in fact more popular than the 840 NON PRO model.

I just bought one frrom Newegg (830) for $189 (256G) with the Laptop kit

I really doubt much lower, in fact the 840 ($179) is less than the 830.
 

milkmandan

macrumors member
Oct 3, 2012
65
0
Not true, the 830 is in fact more popular than the 840 NON PRO model.

I just bought one frrom Newegg (830) for $189 (256G) with the Laptop kit

I really doubt much lower, in fact the 840 ($179) is less than the 830.
Just to add onto your post.
The 830 uses MLC cell technology.
The 840 (normal, NON-PRO) uses TLC cell technology. TLC is inferior in terms of reliability and longevity of cell life. However, it is better 'bang for buck', but performance is about the same.
840 Pro is MLC and boasts better speeds than normal 840.

I would either recommend the 830. If money is absolutely of no factor, 840 Pro 512GB model.
 
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