8 Questions - Potential Apple Customer - MBP 13” w/SSD 256

[redsaint182]

Hey guys.
I am considering buying a Macbook Pro 13" w/256GB SSD. I have a few questions.

1.) How do I take care of the SSD in my MBP? (no TRIM support issue...)

2.) How does a “bogged down” SSD compare in terms of speed to a regular hard drive?

3.) Will Apple Care fix the SSD for me if it gets bogged down and I cannot fix it?

4.) How are the SSDs that ship from Apple compared to an SSD that I order and install myself? (Are the Apple SSDs gonna give the 15-18 second boot times and fast App launches like you see in all those youtube videos?)

5.) Is the heat that MBP’s give off a problem?

6.) Explain the screen glare issue I’ve heard thrown around. Is this a problem? Does it make the screen unbearable in certain lighting? Or is this a non-issue?

7.) Are there any known widespread issues with the 2010 Macbook Pro 13” that I should know about?

8.) I am in the market for a laptop that will last ~5+ years. Will the MBP 13” 256SSD do the job?


The no trim support issue bogging down the SSD is what really has me worried. Should I be worried?

 

[rdowns]

Sorry, your post is a mess. Can't deal with answering. The 199 views with no replies seem to agree with me.

 

[Tomorrow]

I don't think Apple makes the SSD's, they use parts, same as everyone else.

Apple's warranty isn't going to cover performance because you put too much stuff on your drive. That's not a manufacturing defect.

 

[redsaint182]

Okay, I cleaned up the post some... sorry for the clutter.

 

[trigonometry]

Purchase a stock 13" and install an aftermarket SSD (Sandforce based or Intel) and there are no problems with current models, performance or heat wise.

 

[NickZac]

1 + 2) Take care of your SSD by well, using it and not dropping it into water. TRIM isn't critical as the size and speed decreases on 'modern' SSDs aren't significant. Our Air 64GB has lost a whopping 300MB in 2 years with daily use and that drive is ancient compared to others. My OWC has lost 30MB according to iStat Pro...that is so small compared to 120GB that I am not even sure if it is accurate. 'Bogged' down SSDs are still lightning fast. Performance of out 64/128 from the older Airs has slowed some, but compared to Enterprise Grade HDDs, it is still numerous times faster and far faster than what most programs are capable of reading/writing.
3) If it is a SSD from Apple, I would assume so. With that said, you really do not need to worry. Any company will take care of you if you have a problem, but with most SSDs, the issues people have of degrading capability are rare.
4) Judging from benchmark tests and personal use of recent 'Apple' SSDs, which as noted are 3rd party, yes/probably. IIRC the last I heard they were using a Samsung 470 series, which is a really good SSD and has substantial speed. The SandForce 1200/1500 driven SSDs are as of now, the fastest for SATA2 platforms, but the difference of say the Intel X-25, which is one of the slowest current SSDs, versus say the Vertex 2, which is one of the fastest SSDs, seems to be overstated as the difference on benchmarks are not proportional to real world use. Both the Intel and Vertex are going to be fast and if you are comparing the two for most 'normal' programs, being able to see a difference of one versus the other is well, not as dramatic as you would think. If I were to buy a SSD right now, I would probably get the Crucial C300 as its longevity testing is around 100 terabytes of read/write and still going, and its speed is substantially underrated. With that said, I have an OWC and I love it, and there are at least 10 other brands of SSDs which get consistently good reviews. The most tested/proven is without a doubt the Intel X-25, which is a great SSD and it is about to be updated with a cheaper price and slightly higher performance.
5) Only if you have sensitive skin, use your MBP on your lap while naked or are putting it on untempered glass. Otherwise, no. It can get very hot if you are running it hard on certain surfaces, but this goes for any computer as microprocessors produce heat and some things, such as a Temperpedic mattress, does not dissipate heat as well as say, a desk. The computer feels hotter because external temps are higher...this is partly because the aluminum casing itself seems to be a major portion of heat dissipation. The heat produced is not nearly high enough to damage aluminum's integrity and aluminum seems to hold up better to high heat than most plastics.
6) I love the standard, hi-gloss screen. If you use your MBP outside or in sunlight, you will probably feel the exact opposite way. Most of my sunlight is from fluorescent bulbs.
7) No. It is a very reliable computer which makes its unusually high price justifiable.
8) If any laptop will last 5 years, it is the MBP.

Few other things:
-Get 8GB of RAM from a company other than Apple...the upgrade from 4GB to 8GB is like $400 from Apple and about $40-90 elsewhere for the same thing.
-You are going to save a lot of money getting a SSD from somewhere else as once again, Apple's upgrade is expensive.
-The lower of the two CPU speeds may be a better option simply due to the marginal clock difference and substantial price difference.
-The 13 uses the Core 2 Duo which is an older, but proven CPU. It is not as fast as newer chips, but the current 'state of the art' Intel CPU is being recalled due to a design error. Because of that, an update on the MBP will probably be delayed and so if you need a computer now, I would buy one with either Core 2 Duo or the first generation iX series (which needs to be a 15 or 17 inch MBP)
-You can save a lot of money going refurbished, and you won't be able to tell the difference of refurb v. new
-AppleCare may be a good option but read up as it is not insurance and so you may want both AppleCare AND outside insurance as the MBP is expensive

But above all...Really, don't worry about TRIM. I am more worried about space aliens attacking DC than I am of my SSD degrading.

 

[ender land]

I have had the late 2010 MBP 13" for about 3 months now - and am not too familiar with the SSD support from apple, that being said

4) the overwhelming majority of people here suggest buying your own and installing it and saving major $$$
5) I do not think so, if you run it near 100% for a while it does get warm and nearly hot, but this is a very unlikely situation to be maintained for hours upon hours (perhaps if you gamed on the windows side and nearly maxed processer/gpu out?)
6)I like the bright screen and would prefer it to the matte screen. in my experience, it is almost ONLY an issue for others looking at the screen rather than me as the user.
7)other than it being a physical piece (things do break sometimes no matter what build quality) no
8) see above. If you want something to be guaranteed for ~5 years do not get laptops. That being said, macs tend to last longer than pcs or at the very least have a more enjoyable service system.

 

[nateo200]

Yeah

 

[altecXP]

Hey guys.
I am considering buying a Macbook Pro 13" w/256GB SSD. I have a few questions.

1.) How do I take care of the SSD in my MBP? (no TRIM support issue...)

Don't get the SSD from Apple, its cheaper to get a faster one from else where online. A good SandForce drive will not degrade like others.

2.) How does a “bogged down” SSD compare in terms of speed to a regular hard drive?

Still much faster.

3.) Will Apple Care fix the SSD for me if it gets bogged down and I cannot fix it?

That would be normal wear and tare so I would be chocked if Apple Care would cover it. The drive would have to fail.

4.) How are the SSDs that ship from Apple compared to an SSD that I order and install myself? (Are the Apple SSDs gonna give the 15-18 second boot times and fast App launches like you see in all those youtube videos?)

SandForce is almost 30% faster and they are cheaper than Apple price. The Toshiba that Apple uses is very quick, but far from the best on the market.

5.) Is the heat that MBP’s give off a problem?

Not for me.

Hey guys.
I am considering buying a Macbook Pro 13" w/256GB SSD. I have a few questions.

1.) How do I take care of the SSD in my MBP? (no TRIM support issue...)

Don't get the SSD from Apple, its cheaper to get a faster one from else where online. A good SandForce drive will not degrade like others.

2.) How does a “bogged down” SSD compare in terms of speed to a regular hard drive?

Still much faster.

3.) Will Apple Care fix the SSD for me if it gets bogged down and I cannot fix it?

That would be normal wear and tare so I would be chocked if Apple Care would cover it. The drive would have to fail.

4.) How are the SSDs that ship from Apple compared to an SSD that I order and install myself? (Are the Apple SSDs gonna give the 15-18 second boot times and fast App launches like you see in all those youtube videos?)

SandForce is almost 30% faster and they are cheaper than Apple price. The Toshiba that Apple uses is very quick, but far from the best on the market.

6.) Explain the screen glare issue I’ve heard thrown around. Is this a problem? Does it make the screen unbearable in certain lighting? Or is this a non-issue?

Unless you work in direct sunlight, outside, or with a bunch of lights behind you then it shouldn't be a problem. It is very reflective but not terrible IMO.

7.) Are there any known widespread issues with the 2010 Macbook Pro 13” that I should know about?

None I have read about or experienced.

8.) I am in the market for a laptop that will last ~5+ years. Will the MBP 13” 256SSD do the job?

It will, but in about 5yrs the Core 2 Duo in the MBP might feel really slow. You might wanna wait till this refresh then buy it. The current processor is at least 3 years old.

The no trim support issue bogging down the SSD is what really has me worried. Should I be worried?

Not really, OS X will eventually support TRIM. There are ways to run TRIM on the drive using HDparm. So its not a huge deal.