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Best SSD for MacBook Pro right now?
- Thread starter Banan911
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Get a Hybrid.. Like the Seagate Momentus XT. At least you get the SSD speed of app performance for the apps you use the most, and its less than $150 for 750GB at 7200RPM..
Just a thought, as your system is not SATA III..
But it's not just the RAW transfer speed where SSDs are better, but simultaneous read/writes. SATA2 series SSDs normally do IOPS in the low thousands, while recent Samsung ones can do 60,000 plus. So IMO it is always worth going with a SATA3 SSD.
I recently upgraded a 2008 MBP with a Samsung 830 SSD and noticed a massive difference. The hybrid HD/SSDs are good too, but they are not as fast as using a full SSD.
I had a Vertex 256 GB in my MBP but it broke 3 times and OCZ has the worst customer support. I now have the SSD in my sig from OWC. Works great, made in the US, firmware updates are easy, and ordering it was great from them!
I had the Momentus XT in my Macbook and liked it. I passed it along to my son now that I have a 750 GB 7200 rpm drive in my new MBP. I've been thinking about getting a Momentus XT but I'm also thinking about a Samsung 830 SSD. The XT was a lot faster than the 5400 RPM drive I had in my Macbook and I'm sure it would be faster than the drive I'm using now but I'd really like to be rid of the noise and power consumption of a 7200 rpm drive.
As for whether a system is SATA 3 or not, an SSD still helps. It's just than on an older system, you can get away with an older (presumably cheaper) SSD that only does 3G/S instead of 6G/S.
It's helpful if you quote the post you are replying to. I resorted to search to figure out you were replying to hvfsl who said Hybrid SSD's are not as fast as full SSD's.
This is true because a Hybrid drive is really a spinning hard disk with a tiny SSD "front end" that makes most access faster. Hybrid SSD's are faster than normal HDD's but they are slower than full SSD's. There are excellent articles about this all over, including MR forums though I find one of the best articles to be over at Tomshardware.
On a hard drive, you have media spinning at 5400, 7200 or 10,000 RPM. If you need something that happens to be on the opposite side of the platter you just have to wait. On an SSD, the data is available much faster and while some SSD performance is faster than others, all of them are much faster than HDD performance.
The best "bang for buck" right now is hybrid SSD which typically boot in the same time as a real SSD and "most" data access is "faster" than HDD but they aren't much more expensive than HDD prices. Apple offers a fusion drive option on new iMacs which is a small SSD and a large HDD. Apple's approach is different because the SSD is large enough to contain the OS and frequently used files whereas hybrid SSD's all data resides on the HDD and the SSD is really a "cache" for frequently used data.
HDD - > 750 GB
SSD - > 8 GB
Cache (RAM) - > 32 MB
hope this helps...
Best SSD for MacBook Right Now - Crucial m4
I just installed the Cruicial m4. An incredibly fast drive. These are getting cheaper by the day. It was cheaper then I payed for a Crucial 128GB SSD that I bought last year. In the month between purchasing it and writing this review it has gone down $30 on Amazon. I used this on my new build as the main drive. I am not using a traditional hard drive on this computer, just an SSD. Boots up to windows in 12 seconds. I am on Amazon in 14 seconds! This thing is quick. When playing games I am usually loaded into the new map running around while my friends are still loading. It even arrived with the newest firmware update installed. That firmware had only been out for 3 weeks when I ordered this. This means you are not getting a product that has been sitting around forever, these move.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-512GB-2-5-Inch-Solid-CT512M4SSD2
I just installed the Cruicial m4. An incredibly fast drive. These are getting cheaper by the day. It was cheaper then I payed for a Crucial 128GB SSD that I bought last year. In the month between purchasing it and writing this review it has gone down $30 on Amazon. I used this on my new build as the main drive. I am not using a traditional hard drive on this computer, just an SSD. Boots up to windows in 12 seconds. I am on Amazon in 14 seconds! This thing is quick. When playing games I am usually loaded into the new map running around while my friends are still loading. It even arrived with the newest firmware update installed. That firmware had only been out for 3 weeks when I ordered this. This means you are not getting a product that has been sitting around forever, these move.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-512GB-2-5-Inch-Solid-CT512M4SSD2
I also would like to swap my HD.
I have few questions:
If Apple use Samsung SSD why these difference of prices between Amazon and Apple Store? (0k, Amazon has special prices but the plain cost is still $ 100 lower)
- 840 Amazon
- 840 pro Amazon
- Apple store
Second, what's the difference between 830 and 840. And between 840 and 840 pro?
Thanks in advance!
I have few questions:
If Apple use Samsung SSD why these difference of prices between Amazon and Apple Store? (0k, Amazon has special prices but the plain cost is still $ 100 lower)
- 840 Amazon
- 840 pro Amazon
- Apple store
Second, what's the difference between 830 and 840. And between 840 and 840 pro?
Thanks in advance!
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Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Do you mean the ability to update firmware on a Mac OS? No... many others support this as well. I know Samsung and Crucial do.
Crucial's M4 is also one the (only?) drives that doesn't need TRIM Enabled.
That's something good.
No SSD needs TRIM. However, all SSDs benefit from TRIM - some more, others less. The M4 is one of the drives that really benefit from TRIM since the IO consistency is rather poor.
Sandisk just released a new SSD which is performing well. Check anandtech.com for review.
Dude, I mean with this respect to you and all, but get over it. Apple's not going to be upset if you buy a Samsung product. Samsung's not going to love you because you buy their product. In fact, nobody really cares. Samsung makes great products, including components Apple uses (displays and SSDs). There's a 50% chance you're looking at a Samsung display right now.
It's very childish not to get a particular product just because they're Apple's rival. Don't be an Apple solider. Think about it, you'd prefer to skip on one of the top brands because of their "copying" of the iPhone and iPad...Apple's doing just fine.
This.
I used the 830 for almost a year with no problems whatsoever. No slowdowns. No issues.
Dude, I mean with this respect to you and all, but get over it. Apple's not going to be upset if you buy a Samsung product. Samsung's not going to love you because you buy their product. In fact, nobody really cares. Samsung makes great products, including components Apple uses (displays and SSDs). There's a 50% chance you're looking at a Samsung display right now.
It's very childish not to get a particular product just because they're Apple's rival. Don't be an Apple solider. Think about it, you'd prefer to skip on one of the top brands because of their "copying" of the iPhone and iPad...Apple's doing just fine.
lol I totally agree with you here but I wanna point out you're replying to a comment made 5 months ago.
this SSD, thought?
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950DR6190
and would it work with
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/for-Universa..._Drive_Bay_Caddies&hash=item4604a9ed8b&_uhb=1
in a mid 2012 13 MBP?
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950DR6190
and would it work with
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/for-Universa..._Drive_Bay_Caddies&hash=item4604a9ed8b&_uhb=1
in a mid 2012 13 MBP?
I very much appreciate the ability to make a statement by using "choice." In this case you boycott Samsung.
What you might want to consider is that Samsung in some respects forces Apple to move forward technically to keep its edge. If there is no competition there is no need for improving a product line.
As others mention, Apple has done a long long history of business with Samsung. Many Apple products use Samsung in their internals.
If you are absolutely polarized on not buying a Samsung 840 pro (truly an excellent item) then go with the OWC. One of the nice things about OWC is it is a store front as well and that means a location and potential to escalate support issues if need be. They are very keen on having a good reputation.
As for me, while I have a few SSD drives, the main stays are OWC higher end drives but my next drive will be the same as one of my friend's - the Samsung 840 pro or a newer incarnation. It is as good and I think better than OWC's offerings which I very much am happy with in performance and warranty.
What you might want to consider is that Samsung in some respects forces Apple to move forward technically to keep its edge. If there is no competition there is no need for improving a product line.
As others mention, Apple has done a long long history of business with Samsung. Many Apple products use Samsung in their internals.
If you are absolutely polarized on not buying a Samsung 840 pro (truly an excellent item) then go with the OWC. One of the nice things about OWC is it is a store front as well and that means a location and potential to escalate support issues if need be. They are very keen on having a good reputation.
As for me, while I have a few SSD drives, the main stays are OWC higher end drives but my next drive will be the same as one of my friend's - the Samsung 840 pro or a newer incarnation. It is as good and I think better than OWC's offerings which I very much am happy with in performance and warranty.
I actually enjoyed using a 240GB Sandisk Ultra SSD in my Late 2008 MBP, and its performance was good enough (for a Sata 2) that I just carried it over to my Early 2011 MBP that I started using about 9 months ago. Sure, I could get a Samsung 840 or 840 Pro or some other Sata3 SSD to get more performance and good battery life, but the Sandisk Ultra has excellent battery life. Your Late 2008 MBP won't take advantage of the extra speed of a Sata 3 SSD, since your MBP maxes out at Sata 2.
Friends dont let friends buy OCZ.
They've had a history of a much higher than normal failure rate.
Yes, individual people have had drives fail from all OEMs, but the stats I've managed to find have indicated that on average across their lineup, OCZ's failure rate is approximately 6x intel's.
Some of their models are a LOT worse.
edit:
http://forums.storagereview.com/index.php/topic/31477-ssd-failure-return-rates/
They've had a history of a much higher than normal failure rate.
Yes, individual people have had drives fail from all OEMs, but the stats I've managed to find have indicated that on average across their lineup, OCZ's failure rate is approximately 6x intel's.
Some of their models are a LOT worse.
edit:
http://forums.storagereview.com/index.php/topic/31477-ssd-failure-return-rates/