Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I am so confused...what is TRIM and what can I do with it? I have an SSD...
- Thread starter Texxy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Texxy, you've got a SSD with a Sandforce controller in it. What that means is the garbage collection features are significantly above average and you really don't need to worry about TRIM. Well, 95% of users with Sandforce controllers in Mac won't need to. If you notice your SSD drops, say, virtually all of its performance you might need to start worrying about it. In the meantime, move on. Nothing to see here. 
Texxy, you've got a SSD with a Sandforce controller in it. What that means is the garbage collection features are significantly above average and you really don't need to worry about TRIM. Well, 95% of users with Sandforce controllers in Mac won't need to. If you notice your SSD drops, say, virtually all of its performance you might need to start worrying about it. In the meantime, move on. Nothing to see here.
Alright well thank you...still do not really understand what it does
Just speeds up like the cache of it?People like you are what make great forums turn to crap. You do realize that this is a message board right? People are allowed to ask questions. Some find it more comforting and possibly even easier to understand when it is explained and not something you read on a wiki.
Telling someone to "use the search function or google it" just because they need an answer is just rude.
Alright well thank you...still do not really understand what it does
Not quite
In simplistic terms TRIM is a command type which the operating system sends to the SSD once a files have been deleted, letting the SSD know that those areas on the disk are now empty and shouldn't be included in garbage collection activities.
TRIM doesn't speed up your drive, what it does is stop your drive from getting slower over time.
It's something that was discovered with the first generation of SSDs (which didn't have TRIM), that over time as the SSD was used more and more, performance degradation would occur. TRIM is there to stop that from happening and keep your drive performing optimally.
For TRIM to be enabled it needs to be supported by the firmware version of the SSD as well as the operating system version you're running.
TRIM can work differently from one device to another, it all depends how the firmware has been written to behave once it receives the TRIM command.
Hope this helps
An OWC support technician told me that they advise NOT to enable TRIM with their drives, as the Garbage Collection the Sandforce controller does is very efficient - so having the OS also trying to do the same thing can negatively impact performance.
Not quite
In simplistic terms TRIM is a command type which the operating system sends to the SSD once a files have been deleted, letting the SSD know that those areas on the disk are now empty and shouldn't be included in garbage collection activities.
TRIM doesn't speed up your drive, what it does is stop your drive from getting slower over time.
It's something that was discovered with the first generation of SSDs (which didn't have TRIM), that over time as the SSD was used more and more, performance degradation would occur. TRIM is there to stop that from happening and keep your drive performing optimally.
For TRIM to be enabled it needs to be supported by the firmware version of the SSD as well as the operating system version you're running.
TRIM can work differently from one device to another, it all depends how the firmware has been written to behave once it receives the TRIM command.
Hope this helps
Thank you to both of you!
I think it's a valid question.
At least he's not asking us whether he should trade in his Air for a Pro or an iPad.
Hmmm that seems odd... TRIM doesn't replace garbage collection, the idea is that they work hand in hand.