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What type of of SSD are you using? (If you're using one)

M

MacRobert10

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 24, 2012
287
47
I'm curious as to what types of SSDs people are putting in their systems. A lot of SSDs seem to be cropping up that I've never heard of, so I'm curious how many if any people are using them. FWIW I have a SanDisk in one of my systems.

What I'd like to know is:

1. The brand
2. The size
3. How long you've had it
4. Any problems, and if so, describe them.
5. Price paid (optional since the prices have been going down)

NEW QUESTION ADDED 3/28/16:
6. Did the type of flash in the drive (SLC, MLC, TLC) have any effect on your purchase?
(I'm assuming no one has SLC, but who knows>)

For my system I got a SanDisk 120GB about 1.5 years ago and paid about $90 for it (at the time the price was reasonable but they're selling for almost half that now). No problems at all with it.

Thanks!
 
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I have 2 Crucial m4's. Both are 256GB. One in my MacBook Pro, and one in my Mac mini.

I can't remember exactly what I paid for them, but they were less than $200. I got both of them within 6 months after Crucial released them.

No problems with either of them. Mac mini is on 24/7, and is only ever rebooted whenever there is an OS X update released. MacBook Pro is shutdown every day.
 
I have:

1. Samsung 830.
2. 256 GB.
3. 3 years, 7 months. Since Aug. 2012.
4. None at all.
5. $235 USD back then.
6. MLC NAND, though the type didn't specifically figure into my considerations at the time. Reviews and user reports did.

If I were to purchase now, I'd go for Samsung 850 EVO or, if I was feeling extravagant, 850 Pro.
 
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1. Crucial MX100
2. 512 GB
3. A year and a bit
4. None (touch wood)
5. Can't really remember, I think around £130

It's not the fastest on the market, but it was still in a different league compared to the hybrid drive I'd upgraded from. Wish I'd done it a lot earlier.
 
MacRobert10 said:
I'm curious as to what types of SSDs people are putting in their systems. A lot of SSDs seem to be cropping up that I've never heard of, so I'm curious how many if any people are using them. FWIW I have a SanDisk in one of my systems.

What I'd like to know is:
Click to expand...

Mid 2009 13" MBP(given to my parents):
1. Crucial M4
2. 256GB
3. 3.5 years
4. None!
5. About $160

Gaming desktop PC:
1. Samsung 830
2. 256GB
3. 3.5 years
4. None!
5. About $160

Mid 2012 13" MBP(upgraded for my sister):
1. Samsung 850 Evo
2. 500GB
3. 1 year
4. None!
5. About $170
 
I have Samsung 850 EVO SSD installed on my late 2011 MacBook Pro 15" model.
The capacity is 500 GB
I just bought it a few days back.
No problems so far
I paid INR 13900 which is approx US$ 200
 
Anyone ever hear of one of these brands?

Mushkin
Patriot
Emtec
Centon
Monster
PNY

I think I've heard of PNY and Emtec as USB stick makers, but some of the others I've never heard of.
 
Mushkin makes decent PC RAM, or at least they did when I bought some ... that may have changed in the past 8 or 9 years though. I gave an old PC to an extended family member. It's still in use daily for web browsing and email, and it has Mushkin RAM in it.

Patriot makes PC RAM too. Gave another old PC to my niece that has that brand in it. She uses it daily for digital art, web browsing, email, and high school home work. Also, the PC that I built for my mom has Patriot RAM in it. That system is 5 or 6 years old now and still going strong.

PNY have been around for ages and have been doing RAM for as long as I remember them. Haven't used any of the RAM though. I think they even did 3D graphics cards too, and maybe still do.

I don't have any experience with those brands with SSDs, but all SSDs uses a small subset of controllers from a different company, so I try not to put too much stock into what the SSD brand is these days. I try to find out what brand controller they use, the type of flash used, and then go from there.

Haven't heard of the others.
 
I've had a SATA II Patriot SSD (PS100, I think) installed in a 13" MBP for several years and it's worked great.

I've just purchased a Corsair Force Series LE SSD which is a budget model but has great speed and reviews for the price - I paid about $120 for 480GB.
 
I use an Intel 520 series in my 2010 MacBook Pro.

I had previously been using the drive elsewhere, so it's "second hand" in the MacBook.

I upgraded my sister's MacBook with a Sandisk SSD, runs fine.

Also had good experiences with Crucial.
 
US $65 for a SanDisk Plus 240GB. Happy with the performance, not to mention the price.
 
2012 MBP (non-Retina)
Samsung 840 EVO
750 GB
2 years, maybe 3
None (I'm in trouble now I've said that)


2012 Mini
OCZ Vertex 3
128 GB
18 months in the Mini, another 12 or so in a Windows desktop
None here also
 
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I bought a SanDisk 64GB about 2 years ago so I could build a Fusion drive with it being the SSD part of the Fusion. The Fusion is now gone so I use the SanDisk in an external enclosure for testing/hosting OS variants. It's held up well, no problems.
 
MacInTO said:
I've had a SATA II Patriot SSD (PS100, I think) installed in a 13" MBP for several years and it's worked great.

I've just purchased a Corsair Force Series LE SSD which is a budget model but has great speed and reviews for the price - I paid about $120 for 480GB.
Click to expand...

MacInTO, what year MBP have/are you going to put the Corsair in? There's been a couple of threads where Corsair drives with a Phison controller did not work with older (2010 and earlier) models and the OP went silent after the initial post. It would be good to know what your experience is (if it is an older Mac).
 
Samsung 840 Pro
512gb
3 years old next week
No problems whatsoever, SMART check shows it's used about 4% of its life.
$480 and worth every penny, bought my wife one 4 months later for $450.
 
JTToft said:
I have:

1. Samsung 830.
2. 256 GB.
3. 3 years, 7 months. Since Aug. 2012.
4. None at all.
5. $235 USD back then.

If I were to purchase now, I'd go for Samsung 850 EVO or, if I was feeling extravagant, 850 Pro.
Click to expand...

Same configuration here, for almost as long (take a couple of months). The price was a little under $200. So far the drive works same as when I first got it.

My current three choices would be Samsung 850 EVO, Samsung 850 Pro, or SanDisk Extreme Pro (which ever of the two pro's would be cheaper at the time of purchase).
 
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Not an MBP, but I put a Mushkin 1Tb (Reactor or whatever they call it) into a Mac Pro tower and it's perfectly fine, very good value IMO. I just used a $15 sled adaptor and plugged it into a drive bay, so it's running SATA II not III or PCI speeds. The Mushkin was $230 when I bought it a few months ago. It replaced a hard drive that was going on 6 years old and I didn't care to find out how much longer it would last -- one generally finds these things out the hard way.

For max performance I think Samsung is still the brand to beat at the moment.

The Mushkin is MLC, was not a purchase consideration.
 
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MacRobert10 said:
I'm curious as to what types of SSDs people are putting in their systems. A lot of SSDs seem to be cropping up that I've never heard of, so I'm curious how many if any people are using them. FWIW I have a SanDisk in one of my systems.

What I'd like to know is:

1. The brand
2. The size
3. How long you've had it
4. Any problems, and if so, describe them.
5. Price paid (optional since the prices have been going down)

For my system I got a SanDisk 120GB about 1.5 years ago and paid about $90 for it (at the time the price was reasonable but they're selling for almost half that now). No problems at all with it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Samsung 840 EVO
1TB
2+ years
No problems
August 2013

edit: I have 3 of them. If I were buying today I'd get 850 EVO.
 
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2010 Mac Pro
SanDisk Ultra II
480GB
1 year
No issues
Around $100

2012 Mac mini
Kingston SSDNow V300
240GB
2 years
No issues
Around $100

2005 PowerBook G4
KingSpec PATA SSD
32GB
2 years
No issues
Around $30

2003 Power Mac G5
WD SiliconEdge Blue
64GB
3 years
No issues
Around $20
 
Late 2011 15" MBP

Samsung 850 EVO

1TB

6-7 months

No issues

Free (birthday gift)

Thinking of purchasing another one (128-256GB) to use as a system drive and use the 1TB as a data drive.
 
JTToft said:
- If you're thinking of an optical bay solution for one of the drives, keep in mind that your 2011 may have stability issues with SATA III devices in that bay.
Click to expand...
Yes I know that. That's what's stopping me from doing that. Trying to weigh the risk vs reward.
 
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