15" MBP 2012 9.1 & SSD in optical drive confirmation

[ptr22]

Hi there,

I've read and tried to understand as many threads about installing an SSD into a caddy as I could tonight. I'm new to Mac and just need quick confirmation if I got it right. It would be great if somebody could help me out.

1. If Serial-ATA in the System Information says Intel 7 Series Chipset and Link Speed 6 Gigabit on both - I should get the full speed if I connect the SSD to a caddy in the optical bay, right? Because in the OWC video here it says it doesn't but people in this forum seem to be ok? Slightly confused and worried now. 😕

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_15_unibody_mid12_dd_m/

2. OWC or generic caddy doesn't make a difference? So something like this should work but why is the 2012 MBP not mentioned in the list though?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/eSynic®-Uni...ie=UTF8&qid=1374286414&sr=1-3&keywords=eSynic

3. A Samsung 840 Series Pro 256GB is a good choice for a MBP? I need to record lots of audio to it (concerts 30min-2hrs) and can't go for a normal HD due to vibrations in the venues.

Thanks!

 

[Binomio]

1. Link Speed is the maximum speed that port will support. If you get the right drive, it will fully utilize the 6G, some drives use 3G. optical drives use 1.5G.
2. Early 2011, Late 2011 and Mid 2012 15" MBPs are almost identical so any caddy for a 2011 should fit a 2012.
3. Samsung 840 is great, I have the 128 SSD. Though I think the drive will run out space quickly, might want to invest in a bigger external drive to move files.


Also what do you have installed in the main HDD bay? Most people install a SSD on the main bay and leave the caddy for a bigger HDD.

 

[wonderspark]

As I understand it, the caddy can make a difference. I have a 2012 15" 9,1 MBP with two SSDs, using this "Data Doubler" caddy from OWC. I've read more than a few times that a cheaper caddy like the one you linked will not give 6G speeds, but I can't tell you why or what the difference is.

I get full speed on both SSDs, as shown by these speed tests. One is a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, the other is a Crucial M4 256GB. I had them swapped at one point, and they still got the same speeds, so it doesn't matter which is in which position... they will both be full speed with a good caddy.

 

[ptr22]

Thanks a lot guys, that sounds very promising. 🙂

At the minute my main drive is still the 750GB HD that came with it and about 250GB are being used by programmes and some data. Unfortunately, I can't afford another SSD right now, therefore is will stay the main drive and I'll use the SSD for the recordings.

Might be worth getting the OWC caddy just to be safe then?


Thanks!

 

[NewishMacGuy]

If you plan on using an external Superdrive or other DVD drive and Apple's DVD Player app, you may wish to consider the MCE caddy. It has a circuit which fools the DVD Player app into thinking the internal drive is still in there. Otherwise you may have to use a different app to watch DVD's.


>

 

[ptr22]

Oh awesome, that's worth checking out.

Thanks!

 

[Philly]

As I understand it, the caddy can make a difference. I have a 2012 15" 9,1 MBP with two SSDs, using this "Data Doubler" caddy from OWC. I've read more than a few times that a cheaper caddy like the one you linked will not give 6G speeds, but I can't tell you why or what the difference is.

I get full speed on both SSDs, as shown by these speed tests. One is a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, the other is a Crucial M4 256GB. I had them swapped at one point, and they still got the same speeds, so it doesn't matter which is in which position... they will both be full speed with a good caddy.

Hey Wonderspark... Old thread, I know, but I'm currently trying to make my mid 2012 MBP a dual drive. I'm having problems booting from a new SSD (samsung evo 840 1TB) and my original Seagate Momentus XT 750GB when either of them are in the optical drive bay.

Both drives are good and work fine in either the primary bay or even connected from a USB 3 to SATA cable. So, I was wondering if it might be the caddy I bought...

Can you confirm whether you were/are able to boot from your optical bay using a 6gbs SSD?

Thanks

 

[wonderspark]

Hey Wonderspark... Old thread, I know, but I'm currently trying to make my mid 2012 MBP a dual drive. I'm having problems booting from a new SSD (samsung evo 840 1TB) and my original Seagate Momentus XT 750GB when either of them are in the optical drive bay.

Both drives are good and work fine in either the primary bay or even connected from a USB 3 to SATA cable. So, I was wondering if it might be the caddy I bought...

Can you confirm whether you were/are able to boot from your optical bay using a 6gbs SSD?

Thanks

I can confirm that yes, I can boot from either SSD. I cloned them so I could test this out, and went back and forth setting each one to be the boot disk, and tested the speeds of each to ensure they are at maximum.

I've replaced the M4 with a Samsung 840 EVO 1TB, by the way. Check that you have updated the firmware on the EVO, too.

 

[Philly]

Sorry, I just want to clarify....you can boot from a 6g ssd in the optical drive bay?

I could read the EVO ssd when it was in the optical drive bay, but it would hang quite a lot. I couldn't get the OS to boot off that drive when it was in the optical drive bay apart from one random time, but then it crashed later.

The current firmware for the EVO is; EXT0CB6Q

Is that the same as yours?

If I could get the EVO or the Momentus XT to boot properly from the optical bay drive it would be great.


I cloned my OS to an old 5400 HDD (3gb/s) and that booted fine from the optical bay.

 

[Philly]

Sorry for posting the same thing in multiple threads. By using another caddie I now have the ssd booting well from the optical bay.