2011 MBP SSD Upgrade Quandry

[jmoore5196]

For those of ye who are far more SSD-savvy than I:

I have a early-2011 2.0GHz 15" MBP, which stays tethered to a TBD 99% of the time. I am disinclined to upgrade to a retina model because I can't see myself making good use of the screen.

I have increased the RAM to 16GB, replaced the battery and I'm considering upgrading the Apple-supplied 512GB Toshiba SSD to something faster. I get write-read speeds of about 140 and 200 MB/s respectively.

In its current configuration, this machine Geekbenches about 10,000 ... not that it particularly matters. FWIW, I spend much of my workday in Creative Cloud apps.

My question: Would upgrading to a faster SSD make an appreciable positive impact? I think I have everything else going my way - Quad Core i7, decent clock speed, maximum RAM. Would spending the money for a new SSD be worthwhile if I intend to keep the machine going another 18 months?

Thanks in advance for your sage advice!

 

[glenthompson]

Installing a SSD was the best upgrade I have ever done to a computer. It took my boot time from almost 2 minutes to less than 20 seconds. Apps like Aperture load almost instantly. My MBP is slightly newer than yours and I I tend to keep it for a few more years. Like you I have it connect to a display when at home and only use the internal display when traveling.

 

[davidlv]

progress

I don't think a faster, newer SSD will make any great difference in your workflow or user experience. However, there has been a lot of progress made in the controllers/firmware used for SSDs and the chips too, in the last few years. That Toshiba has really slow speed writes and reads, compared with any of the modern drives available, after all it came with the computer in early 2011, didn't it? Granted, the speed of the SSD will only affect the speed at which the reads or writes are done, once an app is opened and running, there won't be any appreciable difference.
There are other factors too that affect the user, such as the compatibility with the OS etc. I have had very good results from the 2 Plextor drives I am using now, they both use modern controllers, the firmware can be upgraded (ISO images available on the maker's HP), and TRIM works very well (enabled with Chameleon SSD Optimizer).
So, no rush, but if and when you have the funds available, why not upgrade to a modern SSD? There are several viable choices on the market, including Corsair, Sandisk Extreme II, Plextor M5P Extreme, and others.

 

[leftyMac]

my MBP is also early 2011. I installed a SSD, and I can't justify buying a new MBP or MBA right now.

I'm waiting for a much faster MBA in the future, for it to be worth it to replace my MBP. I do design work, video editing, audio production, etc, and I have no complaints.

go ahead and put a SSD and save the money for a new MBP in a couple of years.