SSD Buying Guide [part 2]

[Weaselboy]

Check with the below URL:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/

He has a late 2013 or early 2014 Retina. Nobody makes a replacement for those yet. The OWC drive you linked only covers up the the early 2013 models.

I should have clarified in my post I was referring to the newer model when I said nobody makes a replacement.

 

[mafaky]

He has a late 2013 or early 2014 Retina. Nobody makes a replacement for those yet. The OWC drive you linked only covers up the the early 2013 models.

I should have clarified in my post I was referring to the newer model when I said nobody makes a replacement.

Ah, I'm truly sorry for him. (I couldn't figure out for which model A1502 stood for and as he had mentioned "Mac Book Pro" and NOT "Retina Mac Book Pro", I had the wishful thinking...

Eventually, OWC and/or Transcend may come out with a solution but will take some time and by that time may arrive, it will cost quite some money!...

 

[Weaselboy]

Eventually, OWC and/or Transcend may come out with a solution but will take some time and by that time may arrive, it will cost quite some money!...

One of the Transcend reps. mentioned in a post on here that they were working on it, but that was quite a while ago. I'm starting to think it will never happen.

 

[Runnernorth]

@Weaselboy / @mafaky, Thx for your quick reply/info, and yes, it's a MacBook Pro retina. But damn, thought I could upgrade my SSD
Kindly

 

[jblagden]

Trim Enabler

As for the OP's comment that third party SSD's are currently not TRIM supported:

Sounds like it's not a good idea to buy third party SSDs?

There's actually a program called Trim Enabler that you can get to enable TRIM. Though, I tried that and my Solid State Drive is still slow, but it's a bit faster.

 

[Apple_Robert]

For those looking to get a new SSD right now, Amazon has the Crucial MX100 512 GB on sale for $189.00 today. It is a great drive and it would be wise to jump on the deal while you can.

 

[Samtb]

How well do external SSDs work compared to built in ones?

 

[Irock619]

Samsung 850 Pro

I will be getting two 850 Pro's 256gb in the mail today. One will be going in my early 2011 MBP 15" and my other mid 2012 13" mbp. Anybody have experience with this drive in either computer? I really wish the Magician software was available for Mac!

 

[Psyfuzz]

I will be getting two 850 Pro's 256gb in the mail today. One will be going in my early 2011 MBP 15" and my other mid 2012 13" mbp. Anybody have experience with this drive in either computer? I really wish the Magician software was available for Mac!

Just installed a 256GB 850 Pro in my 2012 15" MBPu.

Great drive, installing was a breeze with time-machine, literally no complaints.

Coming from the stock drive it's like a new computer - faster, cooler, quieter. Perfection!

 

[Irock619]

Just installed a 256GB 850 Pro in my 2012 15" MBPu.

Great drive, installing was a breeze with time-machine, literally no complaints.

Coming from the stock drive it's like a new computer - faster, cooler, quieter. Perfection!

Great! I just finished both installs last night. Did you enable trim? I had trim disabled on my last SSD (crucial M4), used it for over 2 years with no issues or noticeable decreases in performance.

 

[Psyfuzz]

Great! I just finished both installs last night. Did you enable trim? I had trim disabled on my last SSD (crucial M4), used it for over 2 years with no issues or noticeable decreases in performance.

Haven't enabled it, won't be bothering with it until Apple implements some kind of support for it in the next OS. Especially as like you said you don't always need it to ensure prolonged performance.

All round winner, was eyeing up a new MBP, but this upgrade has done more than enough to keep her ticking for the new few years.

 

[scupking]

Just installed a crucial mx100 256gb in my 13" 2010 mpb! It was easy to clone with SuperDuper! Feels like a new machine!

 

[RichardC300]

Crucial recently released their new MX200 and BX100 drives. It seems like the 850 EVO will still remain top dog around these parts, but I feel like both of these drives are good options for SSD consumers. What's everybody's opinions on theses drives, especially the BX100. The BX100 is missing a lot of features that are present on the MX200 and MX100, but are these features important?

 

[7thson]

Crucial M500

I am in the process of installing a Crucial M500 in to my '12 Mac Mini. I have not used TRIM enabler. I have tried to understand what TRIM does for SSD's and noticed that Crucial has a feature in their firmware called Active Garbage Collection that, as far as I can discern, performs the same activity as TRIM. Can anyone speak to this? Do they do the same thing but with a different implementation? I'm encouraged by those who have been using 3rd party SSD's without TRIM and had no issues, so I'm just enjoying the performance boost over the 5400 rmp HDD.

 

[RichardC300]

I am in the process of installing a Crucial M500 in to my '12 Mac Mini. I have not used TRIM enabler. I have tried to understand what TRIM does for SSD's and noticed that Crucial has a feature in their firmware called Active Garbage Collection that, as far as I can discern, performs the same activity as TRIM. Can anyone speak to this? Do they do the same thing but with a different implementation? I'm encouraged by those who have been using 3rd party SSD's without TRIM and had no issues, so I'm just enjoying the performance boost over the 5400 rmp HDD.

Garbage collection is completely different from TRIM. However, the two complement each other well. Here's a comprehensive article on the differences between the two:

http://www.thessdreview.com/daily-n...ion-and-trim-in-ssds-explained-an-ssd-primer/

 

[7thson]

Garbage collection is completely different from TRIM. However, the two complement each other well. Here's a comprehensive article on the differences between the two:

http://www.thessdreview.com/daily-n...ion-and-trim-in-ssds-explained-an-ssd-primer/

Thanks! That website looks like a good resource.

 

[Grassgreen]

Trying to choose a updated mbp, but unsure how much storage I should get.
Heard one time that more storage can improve the performance of the laptop? Is that right?

 

[7thson]

Trying to choose a updated mbp, but unsure how much storage I should get.
Heard one time that more storage can improve the performance of the laptop? Is that right?

Get the most you can afford. Considering the most you can configure is 512 gb, your choices aren't too broad. You won't see much of a difference between any of the configurations until the drive starts to fill up over 75%. Even then you might not notice the difference, so factor in the most you think your storage needs will be. More is better, but it's also more expensive.

 

[Grassgreen]

Get the most you can afford. Considering the most you can configure is 512 gb, your choices aren't too broad. You won't see much of a difference between any of the configurations until the drive starts to fill up over 75%. Even then you might not notice the difference, so factor in the most you think your storage needs will be. More is better, but it's also more expensive.

more expensive doesnt cover it.. Apple products are pricey

 

[7thson]

more expensive doesnt cover it.. Apple products are pricey

Well yeah, but a serious buyer knows that from the get go. I need to correct myself, one can now configure up to 1tb flash storage. My point was Apple charges a premium for storage upgrades, so get as much as you can afford or perhaps in your case as much as you can stomach paying.

 

[Guzaking]

Weaselboy,
OWC's website states that my MBP would operate best with the 3G SSD instead of a 6G SSD. Seems the OWC 6G SSD has an issue with certain macs that drops the SATA link speed down to 1.5Gbps (even though they are rated higher at 3Gbps). From what I gather this is due to the SandForce controller OWC uses which creates conflict with my MBP SATA controller (Nvidia MCP79).

I was told the same thing from an OWC Rep on the phone, but wasn't told that it was the controllers conflicting with one another. Then OWC said that this applies on the 2011 MacBook Pros which I don't think it does from other info which I'm researching unless someone here can tell otherwise?

----------

FWIW, I just read a review of the new Crucial SSDs and they mentioned that the older M500 were on the old 20nm die which would they indicated would give the old M500 a longevity advantage over the MX100s new 16nm die.

could you post the link to this article? it would be good stuff to read as I'm shopping for a new SSD right now as well.

 

[OceanView]

is it possible to upgrade the SSD in a 2014 MBPr 13" ?
If so, which brand is recommended?

Thanks

 

[Weaselboy]

is it possible to upgrade the SSD in a 2014 MBPr 13" ?
If so, which brand is recommended?

Thanks

Nobody makes an aftermarket upgrade for those yet. Your only option is to find one someone has pulled out of an existing 2014 and is selling. They appear on eBay rom time to time.

 

[LCB1980]

Introduction



Moreover, 2011 MBPs are supposed to have two SATA III ports, but some of the earlier versions only have one SATA III port. MBPs built in late May and June most likely have two SATA III ports. Some users have stated that they have two SATA III ports even though they bought their Macs at an earlier time.

I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro 15". Will this have two SATA III ports, if so, can I slot a second SSD in there?

 

[ecschwarz]

I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro 15". Will this have two SATA III ports, if so, can I slot a second SSD in there?

Nope - all the Retina MacBook Pros use the blade-style SSDs and only take one at a time. Newer ones are PCIe, while older ones are a proprietary SATA (and the only ones that have aftermarket replacements at the moment).

In regards to dual SSDs, this is reserved for the non-Retina (aka "unibody") MacBook Pros, usually placing a second one in the optical drive bay with an adapter. The last any of these models were updated were 2012 (the 13" is still being sold, while the 15" was discontinued in 2013).