15 rMBP "flash storage" vs aftermarket SSD

[robo456]

I tried searching google and MR, but didn't see anything (which was hard to believe, maybe I'm just "search fail" material)

Does anyone have any read/write benchmarks on Apple's "256 gb Flash Storage" (found in the rMBP) vs an aftermarket SSD? (was looking at the Samsung 840 Pro, but any will do)

Thanks for any info!

--rob

 

[Menel]

They are using high performance drives, I think I've seen Samsung 830 and 840 mentioned.

You might gain some performance if you pick a top top drive in the aftermarket. But it will probably be marginal gains. I wouldn't think it's worth it unless you just want more capacity.

 

[T5BRICK]

The rMBPs don't have use a standard SSD form factor. I believe OWC is the only company that makes aftermarket upgrades.

*edit* Unless that isn't what you're asking about.

I'd say the aftermarket 840 Pro is the one of the fastest drives out there.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

The rMBPs don't have use a standard SSD form factor. I believe OWC is the only company that makes aftermarket upgrades.

This is correct. You can't buy any normal SSD and put it into the rMBP. OWC is the only third party who makes an aftermarket SSD for it.

Either way though, I think the Samsung 830 controller that Apple uses is better than the Sandforce controller in the OWC drive.

The Samsung SSD in a rMBP should be getting about 400MBps writes, 450MBps reads, so even with the 840 Pro, the difference is marginal and hardly noticeable unless at really disk intensive tasks.

 

[robo456]

The Samsung SSD in a rMBP should be getting about 400MBps writes, 450MBps reads, so even with the 840 Pro, the difference is marginal and hardly noticeable unless at really disk intensive tasks.

Thanks for the info! I thought the 13" was the only one that had the non-standard stuff... the RAM is standard tho, right?

--rob

 

[Dark Dragoon]

Thanks for the info! I thought the 13" was the only one that had the non-standard stuff... the RAM is standard tho, right?

--rob

Both the 13" and 15" Retina MBP's have their RAM soldered on to the motherboard/logic board, it is not upgradable or replaceable.

Both models are very similar in what can and can't be replaced, such as both use flash modules which are replaceable but will not take standard SSD's or hard drives. The only other part thats easily swappable is the wireless card.

 

[robo456]

Both the 13" and 15" Retina MBP's have their RAM soldered on to the motherboard/logic board, it is not upgradable or replaceable.

Both models are very similar in what can and can't be replaced, such as both use flash modules which are replaceable but will not take standard SSD's or hard drives. The only other part thats easily swappable is the wireless card.

Gotcha, thanks for all the info everyone!!

--rob

 

[ssmed]

The Samsung SSD in a rMBP should be getting about 400MBps writes, 450MBps reads, so even with the 840 Pro, the difference is marginal and hardly noticeable unless at really disk intensive tasks.

Your figures are pretty spot on.

410 MB/s write and 452 MB/s read in a 13 inch 2.5GHz rMBP is what I am recording with the BlackMagicDesign App, compared to 247 MB/s and 495 MB/s in a 15 inch 2.6 2012 cMBP fitted with a Crucial M4 (a slower SSD by todays standards).

 

[Ploki]

OWC is the only company making retina 3rd party drives.

OWC is actually noticeably faster.
http://www.zdnet.com/owc-aura-pro-ssd-for-retina-macbook-pro-verdict-faster-and-cheaper-7000007082/

That's ultimately why I picked the 256GB version of retina.

for 15":

pros:
- get faster drive for the same amount of money (actually I'm getting mine from US to europe, so that means get a faster drive for LESS money than from apple)
- keep the 256GB drive with OWC TB enclosure for ultrafast external

cons:
- screw with your retina

for 13": ****ing no-brainer, apple charges 800$ for 500gb drive.

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Thanks for the info! I thought the 13" was the only one that had the non-standard stuff... the RAM is standard tho, right?

--rob

RAM is standard but due to the fact that is soldered, it's highly optimized and has a better throughput than a non-retina counterpart (or any other laptop, for that matter)

http://macperformanceguide.com/mbpRetina2012-speed-memory-bandwidth.html