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2011 Mba Owners, share your ssd model and display model here
- Thread starter pinktank
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I 2nd that. I tried several also and a few tries from SuperCal. But the default one matches closest to my 20" iMac. Damn close. All the rest just seem to make the colors darker. Looks good but don't edit a picture. In fact use these calibrations and go on FB. All your friends pictures are so dark you can not make out the face.
I exchanged my 13" Base model that had Samsung LCD and SSD.
I needed more storage so I Got the 13" with 256GB and guess what ? Of course I got the toshiba SSD...
So I paid 339 dollars extra to upgrade the SSD but ended up with a slower/older model. I'm gonna try again and I don't feel bad at all, I only feel anger at apple for putting an inferior SSD in many MBAs.
I needed more storage so I Got the 13" with 256GB and guess what ? Of course I got the toshiba SSD...
So I paid 339 dollars extra to upgrade the SSD but ended up with a slower/older model. I'm gonna try again and I don't feel bad at all, I only feel anger at apple for putting an inferior SSD in many MBAs.
I am good with either screen, I have had both. But to pay $339 more, I would of went the OWC for the guarantee fastest SSD. If storage was all you were upgrading. You could of paid $459 for the 240 version and sold your 128 for a fast $150 on ebay. Boom, you got the fastest SSD for MBA and you saved $30.
Interesting idea, but your math is a little off, the OWC 240GB model is $477.99. Are there benchmarks of the OWC against the Samsung SSD ?
Also, I don't know what the implications are of opening up your macbook air to change the SSD, what could happen to the warranty.
Of course there is the hassle of selling the SSD on ebay and buying a new one from OWC.
I can probably stand the poorer view angles on the LG screen, but I can't stand paying more to get a slower SSD!
What excuse could I use to exchange it again ? Can I just say I want the faster SSD ? (I go to the apple store)
My first one had a dead pixel, which didn't bother me, this one has a perfect Samsung Screen, but I can't keep this SSD.
Yes I was off $20 but next week it may be right. lol... They keep dropping.
If you do not need the extra storage right now, why not exchange it back for the base. The OWC option will always be an option down the road. Plus why not see what the Cloud brings with storage.
You have 14 days, Going back and asking for your old machine and the same model because you truly can't afford it is a good reason.
Samsun left, my 128ssd OWC specs right
Attachments
Thanks a lot for posting this.
These look like different benchmarks, I would like to see a OWC benchmarked with the "disk speed" app from the mac app store (the same one you used for the samsung ssd).
Does opening the macbook to change the SSD void my warranty ? Is there any seal that is broken on the way there ?
There are plenty of people on this forum that have upgraded to the OWC SSD blade. Just search the forum for MBA OWC. Also on the Otherworldcomputing.com website they have a nice video for each size of the mac for replacement procedure. They provide the tools with the drive.
If you do not find enough information after searching;
You could always start a thread in the MBA like "Did you replace your SSD with OWC, are you glad"
I replaced AGAIN my 13" 256GB at the mac store today, and guess what...
I got the Toshiba SSD again... I Freaking hate apple for putting this crappy SSD in the NEW airs, specially the top models.
The stats from a a few days ago:
MBA 13 256GB
85% Samsung
15% Toshiba
I got Toshiba twice in a roll... that's a (15% * 15%) 2.25% chance if the samples above are representative of the population.
I'm done with wasting time with this company... sometimes I wish I didn't know better and could just keep this slower SSD.
I got the Toshiba SSD again... I Freaking hate apple for putting this crappy SSD in the NEW airs, specially the top models.
The stats from a a few days ago:
MBA 13 256GB
85% Samsung
15% Toshiba
I got Toshiba twice in a roll... that's a (15% * 15%) 2.25% chance if the samples above are representative of the population.
I'm done with wasting time with this company... sometimes I wish I didn't know better and could just keep this slower SSD.
Just curious - have anyone used both models side by side and found a significant difference in real usage? I'm pondering how much this toshiba/sasmung ssd thing has a real effect on usage and how much is a matter of perceiving a lesser product due to maximum capabilities in benchmarks?
Edit: How can there not be a difference ? Write speed in the Toshiba is around 159MB/s that's 100 MB/s slower! The read speed is around 60MB/s slower... Benchmarks are done by transferring files, it doesn't get more real then that.
I just got a 4th one, Toshiba again... I will use it for a few days and see if there is any difference. My first one had a Samsung 128GB, I swapped it because I decided I needed more space (worst mistake ever).
I guess if you swap your unit in the same store you are likely to get one from the same lot and the ones from the same lot have the same components, it's probably best to wait a week to swap it if you hope to get a different component. I got Samsung LCD but Toshiba SSD 3 times in a row.
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My point is regarding significant difference in real world usage, not in benchmarks. Yes, there's a real difference in balls-to-the-wall speed tests. If you can supply data fast enough to saturate both SSD's sequential write performance, the 2.5 seconds per gigabyte difference might add up (back of the envelope estimate based on your 159MB/s and 259MB/s figures)
Let's go with a worst case scenario - it'd take a little over five minutes longer for the Toshiba than Samsung every time you write 128GB to your 256GB SSD; the Toshiba taking a little over 16 minutes, the Samsung just under ten minutes.
This does assume a data source capable of supplying 259MB/s continuous flow of data (any less and the difference is less pronounced). So say you're dumping a 2GB image from RAM to the SSD - worst case, a five second difference. 13 seconds vs 8.
Other than a direct dump of RAM or copying from the SSD, I'm unsure what data sources can outrun even the Toshiba -- that's why I question how much a typical user would ever notice the difference.
I assume there are hard core folks who do stuff this would truly affect -- so I'm curious what tasks would be impacted by this speed difference, and how much time per day the difference adds up to. Yes, fractions of a second do add up over time - but how long until it outweighs the couple hours to go to an Apple store for exchange?
My point is to offer some perspective for the average users for whom it really truly doesn't matter. Do whatever you feel you need to do to be happy with your system. Cheers.
I understand your point.
One other thing to consider, is just the fact of knowing you have an outdated hardware in your brand new very expensive system when there is something better for the same price. Even if the performance difference is not noticeable just knowing that you got something worse/outdated is IMO a downside.
I don't think it's fair that Apple does this, I should be able to walk into the store and tell them "I Want to exchange this for one with the Samsung SSD".
I went to the Apple store in Greenville, SC today and picked up the 13" i5 128 MBA. I got a really helpful employee who knew about the SSD issue, and said he was getting an 11" soon and was going to make sure he got a Samsung with his. He seemed willing to go through as many MBAs as necessary for me. The first one he got out had the Toshiba, and while he went to the back to get another, I checked all the floor model MBAs and interestingly every 11" but 1 had a Toshiba and every 13" had a Samsung. He told me that he went to the very back of the stock (where the newest would be) and picked out the last one. Sure enough, it had a Samsung! I didn't care too much about the display but I checked it when I got home and it's the LG. Hopefully all the newer stock in Apple stores are Samsung SSDs.
I understand your point.
One other thing to consider, is just the fact of knowing you have an outdated hardware in your brand new very expensive system when there is something better for the same price. Even if the performance difference is not noticeable just knowing that you got something worse/outdated is IMO a downside.
I don't think it's fair that Apple does this, I should be able to walk into the store and tell them "I Want to exchange this for one with the Samsung SSD".
Where does Apple ever advertise that the MacBook Air ships with a Samsung SSD, or post benchmarks based on it on its website? How many other components have different suppliers? Should we be able to return our MacBook Airs based on the Wi-Fi chip used or the Bluetooth adapter, if they all meet the 801.11n and BT 4.0 standards?
Both the Toshiba and Samsung drives are reliable (unlike some SSDs with SandForce SSDs), have TRIM support, and are significantly faster than a HDD. Even AnandTech, who had some of the most detailed benchmarks, stated that "In regular use I doubt you'd notice a huge performance difference between the two."
I just did a speed test on my TS256C:
Write: 183 MB/s
Read: 207 MB/s
Unless you are doing something that will saturate the disk 100% of the time, then IMHO you really wouldn't notice the difference.
Would I return mine cause it has a Toshiba? No I won't, cause you may get another machine with another issue that the other one didn't have. This is coming from a person who thinks that every MB counts too.
I will say this though, I may return this MBA for a MBP since I decided to do more with the machine then I thought I would be doing. The thing is the MBA has BT 4.0 vs BT 2.X on the MBP. It may not matter now, but later maybe.
Write: 183 MB/s
Read: 207 MB/s
Unless you are doing something that will saturate the disk 100% of the time, then IMHO you really wouldn't notice the difference.
Would I return mine cause it has a Toshiba? No I won't, cause you may get another machine with another issue that the other one didn't have. This is coming from a person who thinks that every MB counts too.
I will say this though, I may return this MBA for a MBP since I decided to do more with the machine then I thought I would be doing. The thing is the MBA has BT 4.0 vs BT 2.X on the MBP. It may not matter now, but later maybe.
That is understandable and certainly worthy of consideration. If presented with the ability to choose one over the other, I expect most of us would choose the Samsung SSD over the Toshiba even though the real world differences are likely imperceptible.
At the end of the day, so far exceed the performance of a spinning platter that
this is mostly a perception issue rather than something quantifiable in normal usage.
Purchased my 2011 MBA 13" 128 GB on 7/26 from Best Buy. Toshiba SSD and LG screen. It was still a great computer but I wanted more storage, so last week I returned it to Best Buy and got the 256.
My new 13" 256GB has a Samsung SSD snd Samsung screen.
My new 13" 256GB has a Samsung SSD snd Samsung screen.
I was never quite sure what people meant by "real world usage", but your post helps a lot. Thank you.
Open "Launchpad" and find the "Utilities"-folder. In there you will find the terminal.
_
Got my MBA 13" 1,8/4GB/256 today.
Samsung SSD and the LG-Panel. Fine with me.