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2011 MacBook Pro - SATA 6 Gigabit Link Speed

Got my new one today (CTO 4/26)
I can confirm link speed is 6Gbps on both HD and Optical.
The problem is, what it looks like to me is the optical connection isn't stable at the full 6Gbps.
My C300 won't show bootable, and has trouble mounting and copying any data when connected with the Optibay.
I had the same 30 sec freeze problem in the main HD spot as many people with this drive in my first new model (which I've since returned to the Apple store to buy this new CTO model)
This problem hasn't shown up yet in the HD spot of my CTO model.
It seems like the 6Gbps speed wasn't tested by Apple and has inconsistent issues, because they only use 3GBps drives standard.
 
tngilmore said:
Got my new one today (CTO 4/26)
I can confirm link speed is 6Gbps on both HD and Optical.
The problem is, what it looks like to me is the optical connection isn't stable at the full 6Gbps.
My C300 won't show bootable, and has trouble mounting and copying any data when connected with the Optibay.
I had the same 30 sec freeze problem in the main HD spot as many people with this drive in my first new model (which I've since returned to the Apple store to buy this new CTO model)
This problem hasn't shown up yet in the HD spot of my CTO model.
It seems like the 6Gbps speed wasn't tested by Apple and has inconsistent issues, because they only use 3GBps drives standard.
Click to expand...

Scratch that, just got a 30 sec freeze when copying a big chunk of data to the drive.
Ordered a Sata 2 drive from OWC, guess I'll have to put up with 3Gbps.
 
I just received my 2.3 AG from Apple and it shows 3GB on the optical bay.

I wonder if a firmware flash will straighten all this out in the future.
 
Maven1975 said:
I just received my 2.3 AG from Apple and it shows 3GB on the optical bay.

I wonder if a firmware flash will straighten all this out in the future.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure it will matter if it's even possible to update this with a firmware flash.
What I've experienced makes it seem there is some other piece of hardware on the logic board that is incapable of the 6Gbps speed that the i7 offers.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ok, I want a vertex 3 240. So what normal HDD can I buy for optibay? Or, should I just get two vertex 2 240's and raid them?

Almost tempted to take the SSD out of their cases to save weight and costs of the optibay.

MBP -glass -optical -hd casing = pretty damn close to 5lbs
 
Maven1975 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ok, I want a vertex 3 240. So what normal HDD can I buy for optibay? Or, should I just get two vertex 2 240's and raid them?

Almost tempted to take the SSD out of their cases to save weight and costs of the optibay.
Click to expand...

The consensus is that RAID0 won't work right or at all with one drive connected as SATA 2 and the other as 3. So you'll probably want to skip that.

Removing the circuit boards from the SSD cases will only serve to instantaneously void your warranty. The "active ingredient" in the Optibay is to convert the existing mini-SATA to the new drive's regular SATA.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ahh... Didn't know there was a port/connection conversion happening.

Warranty to me is not an issue.
 
Maven1975 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ahh... Didn't know there was a port/connection conversion happening.

Warranty to me is not an issue.
Click to expand...

More power to ya.

The data connector is the same. The power connector for mini-sata is smaller and that's what gets converted.
 
johnnj said:
The consensus is that RAID0 won't work right or at all with one drive connected as SATA 2 and the other as 3. So you'll probably want to skip that.
Click to expand...

??? This configuration works fine, see my post #99. One Vertex 3 connects at 6Gbps and one connects at 3Gbps. You have two C300s configured this way; does the one in your hard drive bay only connect at 3Gbps?
 
tngilmore said:
Got my new one today (CTO 4/26)
I can confirm link speed is 6Gbps on both HD and Optical.
The problem is, what it looks like to me is the optical connection isn't stable at the full 6Gbps.
My C300 won't show bootable, and has trouble mounting and copying any data when connected with the Optibay.
I had the same 30 sec freeze problem in the main HD spot as many people with this drive in my first new model (which I've since returned to the Apple store to buy this new CTO model)
This problem hasn't shown up yet in the HD spot of my CTO model.
It seems like the 6Gbps speed wasn't tested by Apple and has inconsistent issues, because they only use 3GBps drives standard.
Click to expand...

I can't see why the second 6Gbps port would be unstable; it's just a cable going to the same controller.
 
Maven1975 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ok, I want a vertex 3 240. So what normal HDD can I buy for optibay? Or, should I just get two vertex 2 240's and raid them?

Almost tempted to take the SSD out of their cases to save weight and costs of the optibay.

MBP -glass -optical -hd casing = pretty damn close to 5lbs
Click to expand...

the case on a ssd ,may act as an electrical shield or insulator,with power running into it,it my cause interference,
theyre made of metal arent they,
mine was,plus it will have no buffer or protection,but i hear your idea,just a thought,i dont know for sure,a lot of sensitive electronics need shielding this way,
 
Maven1975 said:
I just received my 2.3 AG from Apple and it shows 3GB on the optical bay.

I wonder if a firmware flash will straighten all this out in the future.
Click to expand...

i wonder if one could edit a kext file maybe to fix it? perhaps its in the software?just a thought, be worth having a look,?
 
JasonH42 said:
??? This configuration works fine, see my post #99. One Vertex 3 connects at 6Gbps and one connects at 3Gbps. You have two C300s configured this way; does the one in your hard drive bay only connect at 3Gbps?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what mine does, too. Works great and performance is definitely higher than a single one of these drives.

The reason I said that is that I've encountered several posts saying it wouldn't work. When I responded to them saying that it did work along with a benchmark there'd be no response from anyone. I therefore concluded that I was delusional and that this configuration was invalid and that in reality the stock hard drive was the only one in there.
 
Maven1975 said:
I just received my 2.3 AG from Apple and it shows 3GB on the optical bay.

I wonder if a firmware flash will straighten all this out in the future.
Click to expand...

That's a shame, I was planning to order a 2.3 to test.

tngilmore, what spec is yours?
 
My 15" 2.2GHz CTO shows 3 Gbps max link speed on the ODD bay. The machine is a week 17 build, ordered on 23 Apr.

What are the build dates of those machines reporting 6 Gbps on the ODD bay?
 
y0zza said:
My 15" 2.2GHz CTO shows 3 Gbps max link speed on the ODD bay. The machine is a week 17 build, ordered on 23 Apr.

What are the build dates of those machines reporting 6 Gbps on the ODD bay?
Click to expand...

I'd like to know this as well. But yours is fairly recent and doesn't have two S3 ports which is somewhat strange.
 
y0zza said:
My 15" 2.2GHz CTO shows 3 Gbps max link speed on the ODD bay. The machine is a week 17 build, ordered on 23 Apr.

What are the build dates of those machines reporting 6 Gbps on the ODD bay?
Click to expand...

Strange...I ordered my 2.2GHz on 4/15 and I have the 6g optical port. Do you have the hi-res screen? That was the only customization that I ordered from Apple.
 
Last edited:
awer25 said:
Strange...I ordered my 2.2GHz on 4/15 and I have the 6g optical port. Do you have the hi-res screen? That was the only customization that I ordered from Apple.
Click to expand...

So a week 17 build (last week) has 6G/3G. Curious. Yours and tngilmore's have 6G/6G and hires screen - could it be the screen (different build process?) or factory then that determines if you'll get 6G/6G??

Enter your MBP serial number here:

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

Mine (6G/3G) is a week 9 build:

Production year: 2011
Production week: 9 (March)
CPU speed: 2.2GHz
Colour: Aluminium
Memory - number of slots: Please tell us how many memory (RAM) slots this machine has.
Factory: C0 (Quanta Computer (Susidiary = Tech Com))
 
Hello everyone
Mine shows this:

Group1: MacBook
Group2: Pro
Generation: 83
ModelCode:
Model introduced: 2011
Production year: 2011
Production week: 10 (March)
Screen resolution: 1920x1200 pixels
Colour: Aluminium
Factory: C0 (Quanta Computer (Susidiary = Tech Com))

I have only one 6Gbit sata port as well. It seems that the ones with two sata 6Gbit ports have a different SuperDrive. Mine is MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8
 
JronMasteR said:
I have only one 6Gbit sata port as well. It seems that the ones with two sata 6Gbit ports have a different SuperDrive. Mine is MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8
Click to expand...

You might be on to something. Those with 6G/6G ports have a UJ-898 model
 
JronMasteR said:
I think this indicates that it depends where the MacBook was built. Do those with two 6G sata ports have issues with sata6G SSD's as well?
Click to expand...

tngilmore seems to be having issues with the second port...


tngilmore said:
Got my new one today (CTO 4/26)
I can confirm link speed is 6Gbps on both HD and Optical.
The problem is, what it looks like to me is the optical connection isn't stable at the full 6Gbps.
My C300 won't show bootable, and has trouble mounting and copying any data when connected with the Optibay.
I had the same 30 sec freeze problem in the main HD spot as many people with this drive in my first new model (which I've since returned to the Apple store to buy this new CTO model)
This problem hasn't shown up yet in the HD spot of my CTO model.
It seems like the 6Gbps speed wasn't tested by Apple and has inconsistent issues, because they only use 3GBps drives standard.
Click to expand...

tngilmore said:
Scratch that, just got a 30 sec freeze when copying a big chunk of data to the drive.
Ordered a Sata 2 drive from OWC, guess I'll have to put up with 3Gbps.
Click to expand...
 
daneoni said:
tngilmore seems to be having issues with the second port...
Click to expand...

Thanks, this answers my question.
I wanted to buy an Intel 510 or Vertex 3, but after all these issues...
I asked my local Apple Retailer and Service Provider about these issues and they told me, that even if it is a hardware defect, like sata cable, i would've to pay it out on my own pocket because "the Apple drives do work".
 
awer25 said:
Strange...I ordered my 2.2GHz on 4/15 and I have the 6g optical port. Do you have the hi-res screen? That was the only customization that I ordered from Apple.
Click to expand...

HR glossy screen here.

From the chipmunk website:

Group1: MacBook
Group2: Pro
Generation: 82
Production year: 2011
Production week: 17 (April)
CPU speed: 2.3GHz
Screen size: 15 inch
Screen resolution: 1680x1050 pixels
Colour: Aluminium
Factory: C0 (Quanta Computer (Susidiary = Tech Com))
​

Some reason sees 2.3GHz when it is 2.2GHz though. I also have the 898 DVD burner.

No issues with C300 at 6Gbps in the HDD bay though, TRIM enabled. Using an adaptor for the optical bay with the 750GB stock drive at 3Gbps.
 
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