About to buy a New MacBook Pro...

[John Fridinger]

I have been reading all the discussions I could find pertinent, over the last couple weeks... Many different points of view, different ways to go... I am very close to buying a new MacBook Pro...

First question, which third party SSD to buy, likely 256 GB maybe 512... Specifically for the 2012 15" MB Pro, NOT Retina... The particular and actual ones, so to speak, Crucial, Corsair, or other makers... I ask this partly because I've looked on the Crucial site and what they recommend for the new 15", and their # on it doesn't seem to match Crucial's manufacturer numbers on sites like OWC, J&R, etc... Got me confused... Any help on this greatly appreciated... Criteria for me in order of importance are quality (durability) and reliability, costs, speed... With quality and reliability including its interface with the new MB Pro... Additional thoughts more than welcome...

Second question, which ram upgrade re manufacturer again... Same criteria as above... I understand that 1.35 volts is important... Some seller's sites ram specs don't show the voltage, MacConnection for instance... And again, which particular ones if possible...

Many thanks,

John.

 

[yusukeaoki]

I have crucial and Im in love with it.
But it doesnt matter which brand.
For speed, I suggest Samsung 830.
For reliability and compatibility, I go with Crucial.
It depends on what you do but you might want at least 512GB.
Or go optibay and have a second HDD in your super drive.

For RAM, I use corsair.
I have their 8GB and 16GB and absolutely love it.
Other brands work as well but I just stick with corsair.
On amazon its only 80USD for 16GB.

You can buy it any where. I just prefer Amazon.

 

[thekev]

If something is listed as workable in Macs, it should be fine. Those specs area always simplified to a degree anyway. I'm pretty sure both voltages are technically supported by ivy bridge. Anyway on the topic of Crucial, read their forums. They state in several posts that their compatibility guarantee only applies if you buy it from them and that the part numbers will not apply when compared to listings from resellers. I read a lot of complaints with corsair ram. Just make sure to memtest it in single user mode regardless of brand.

Regarding ssds, I'm not entirely sure what I'd buy. I have very little experience in that area.

 

[ilgreatluigi]

This is actually a delicate process. I bought some RAM on newegg and immediately put it into my new 2011 iMac before even booting it up for the first time. I got page-faults and forced reboots every 5 minutes. I took it to the apple store and a genius stated that he believed the problem was the RAM. We reinstalled the OS and put the default RAM in (which is samsung, as a user above suggested), and it worked like a dream. I asked the genius associate what RAM he used and he quietly told me that he used the crucial brand because it is extremely reliable. I personally love newegg but sometimes you can't trust the commenters when they say some RAM works. My advise would be to buy from crucial and use their tool to help to select the exact RAM. Also set your new mac up with the default hardware. Then shutdown and install your new RAM. Youtube is your best friend for step-by-step instructions on installing the RAM. Cheers!

 

[ilgreatluigi]

i forgot to mention that OWC is probably the best source for SSD info. CultOfMac heavily endorses this site for their reliability and prices. You can also buy special chassis for modding your MBP with 2 HDDs.

 

[MCAsan]

In Maximum PC this month they have an SSD test. As I remember Vertex 4 was the winner.

 

[Mr MM]

its a simple process, go buy a RAM that is 1600mhz.

Regarding the SSD, also a simple process.

Reliable controllers:

Intel, Samsung, marvell

Intel: 320 its a sata 2 SSD, one of the most reliable out there

Samsung: 830, fast and extremely reliable

Marvell: Crucial m4, intel 510, some plextor drives, some kingston drives

What to avoid, sandforce controllers, those are found in most OEMs and sincerely they have some serious issues, OWC uses those for their drives.

 

[xp0z3d]

I am also getting my first ever Macbook Pro 13"(mid June 2012) on Aug 3-5 weekend as its Tax free weekend in NC. Will also upgrade it from 4 gb to 8gb RAM. And add SSD 128gb into main bay while move HD (500gb) to OD bay.

I have similar questions as OP has so thats why posting here. Regarding RAM I am not much concerned about Manufacturers as I think I will get either of Corsair or Crucial.
1. Are there any other things or Manufacturers which I should consider. I know it should be 204 pins , 1600 mhz pc3 12800.

When it comes to SSD I am also confused as I can not afford Samsung 830. I need at least 120-128gb and can not spend much more than around $110-$120. So far of what I have read I am inclined towards Crucial M4 which is around $110.
2. Is there any other which you guys might think be better around that price(different version of Crucial or different SSD), I want something really reliable and not buggy at all.

I was reading abt SSD as have read that some of them need firmware updates etc.
3. Would Crucial need that too? And can that be done without reinstalling stuff? Others I have read about are OCZ, Sandisk etc


Another question I have is , so far I was thinking was putting SSD into main HD bay and taking original HD out of there and putting in Optical drive bay. Now I have read people putting SSDs into OD bay itself and not moving the HD that came along with system. 4. So which configuration would be better in terms of power consumption , heat etc?

Lastly this is first time I m getting into Macs so no prior experience. So far from reading only I know these things. 5. So when I get my Macbook should I upgrade it to ML? or not? Secondly should I upgrade it before making any upgrades to hardware or afterwards?

6. How do I get SSD to boot OSx etc and keep Media over HDD. Should I copy entire HD over to SSD or I should just put in SSD and somehow get either Lion or ML over it? I have no clue in this. How to proceed?

Too many questions , plz forgive but was trying to resist making a new thread.

 

[MacBookProzak]

I have been reading all the discussions I could find pertinent, over the last couple weeks... Many different points of view, different ways to go... I am very close to buying a new MacBook Pro...

John,
The 2012 MBP you see in my signature line is how mine is set up, and it screams... I can throw anything at this machine and it handles it. If you want to take the time to browse this tread on this new 2012 MBP that I got when it first came out, perhaps you can glean some answers and conclusions from it to help you with your decision.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1386040/

I did not go with the SSD, instead I put in the 750GB Momentus XT Hybrid hard drive that has 8GB of SSD.... and have had zero problems. I do a ton of video editing on this machine 10 to 12 hours a day on and average work week and have had no down time, beach balls, or anything weird happening.

Don't let the RAM thing hang you up and all the noise surrounding it. In my 2011 similarly configured MBP I used the Corsair 16GB for that machine (not the Vengeance RAM that is configured for the 2012) and there were alot of people all over that said that this cheap memory was gonna ruin that machine, well in the 7 months that I was running that memory I had zero issues, no beach balls, just smooth sailing. In a few threads about that Corsair memory I asked for facts with details on exactly the damage that it would cause using Corsair and those threads never got a reply with any facts and details. The only difference that was factually with details was the cost of the Corsair vs the OWC other expensive "anointed" brands.

As for the Vengeance RAM, I have had no issues, no excessive fans coming on, no excessive heat and everything seems very normal considering all the editing, rendering and outputting I am doing.

 

[John Fridinger]

Thank you so much for all the great input here, it has been very helpful, to say the least...

John,
...browse this tread on this new 2012 MBP that I got when it first came out, perhaps you can glean some answers and conclusions from it to help you with your decision.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1386040/

This thread was hugely helpful, thanks sooo much, hard to believe but I read almost every post, 7 pages, and learned a lot, re: Ram and SSDs and other details... Totally confirms my own conviction that the cMPB is what I want, for all the same reasons stated in the above thread... I will be moving from a late 2006 Macbook Pro, and want the new one to last as long... It still goes strong, but software and slowness is finally moving me on...

I did not go with the SSD, instead I put in the 750GB Momentus XT Hybrid hard drive that has 8GB of SSD....

In looking at the site for the Momentus I see that the 8 gigs is mostly used as a cache, and I want to have system and apps starting up from an SSD rather than an HD... Sounds like you have system and apps booted up most of the time (?), so can see it useful for you in that way...

Don't let the RAM thing hang you up and all the noise surrounding it. In my 2011 similarly configured MBP I used the Corsair 16GB for that machine

And here I think I am going to opt for 1.35 volt ram just to play it safe, being the cautious person I am...

And a general question: I am looking at the 2.3GHz cMBP... Some people posting in the above thread and in some other threads are opting for 2.6GHz cMBPs, and even 2.7GHz... What is the everyday use sort of gain in such a choice, against costs, an extra 400 for 2,6, and an extra 650 for 2.7..? I notice the turbo-boost speeds as well, and wonder what that is about, useful in what sort of situations..? I don't want to spend unnecessary money, but I do want a machine that will be keeping up with the next six years, so to speak... I will also post a version of this last question in the great thread above that you got going...

And again, many thanks,

John.

 

[MacBookProzak]

Thank you so much for all the great input here, it has been very helpful, to say the least...

Glad all that information could help guide your decision.

For my use, I went with the highest end cMBP I could get so that could get every single advantage out of this machine I could possible get.

My boss has the same MBP with an SSD and we did a side by side comparison. When we start up the machine and then when through and launched various apps, the start up and the launch times was hardly noticeable.

If you are looking to have this machine serve your needs for the next 5 to 6 years, just go with the higher end now and upgrade the RAM and just put in the Momentus XT now to save money while getting the performance gain. A year or so down the road as higher capacity SSD drives go down in price, then upgrade then when they are alot cheaper... this is what I plan to do.