I just picked up an awesome deal on newegg and bought a 2nd 256gb M4 for $250. I wanted to to figure out if I put the 2nd SSD in place of my optical drive, will I get Sata III speeds in it? Has anyone tried to do this? If I only get Sata II speeds on my 2nd SSD, is it worth it to buy Sata III ssd and throw in there? Any advice? Thanks.
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Anyone have any experience running (2) 256gb M4's in early 2011 15" MBP?
- Thread starter scubasteve03
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That is an awesome deal. Do you have a link for the deal?
I purchased one last week with the Data cable for $309. Installed it yesterday in the main bay. I now have the 15" MBA when it comes to silence and boot speed.
I don't think I will opt for the optibay. It seems so many people run into issues, but that could all be self induced.
When I need more space in a few years, 512 here I come.
I purchased one last week with the Data cable for $309. Installed it yesterday in the main bay. I now have the 15" MBA when it comes to silence and boot speed.
I don't think I will opt for the optibay. It seems so many people run into issues, but that could all be self induced.
When I need more space in a few years, 512 here I come.
So I should have no problems running 2 256gb M4's in in early 2011 15" MBP, or will I be limited to Sata II in my 2nd drive in place of the optical drive?
Per the thread link below You will not get sataIII reliable performance in the optibay for the 15" & 17" 2011 models. Also OWC post the same. Only if you have a 13" 2011 model.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1236401/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1236401/
I have an early 2011 15" and my hdd and odd are both sata 3. This depends on when you got your mbp. There's a cutoff date of around May 2011. 15/17 MBPs that were shipped before May got the sata3/2 comb while mbp 15/17 shipped after May got 2 sata 3 controllers.
To check, About this Mac > More Info > System Report > Serial-ATA
Look @ the link speed to see of your optical bay is sata 3 or sata 2.
If you get a sata 3 ssd but your odd can only support a sata 2, the ssd will just run @ a negotiated speed of sata 2. Technically, it isn't worth the extra money but I guess it'll be great for future proofing? Plus getting a 256gb crucial m4 for less than $1/gb is a steal.
Makes me sad because I spent $520 on a 240gb Intel 520 when I could have gotten 2 256gb crucial m4s... =(
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Yeah the link speed says 3 gigabit, that means it's sata II right? use my computer mostly for my photography business so I need quite a bit of extra room for storage. Would you rather have a 2nd M4 in there even if it's only Sata II speed? Or should I just throw my 750gb HD in the optical bay instead and just stick with one SSD so I can have the extra storage without having to lug around an external drive everywhere I go? What do you guys think?
It seems messed up that Apple screws over all the people who are the early adopters. I waiting a month or 2 after it was release to make sure all the bugs were knocked out of, and I still get screwed. Is there anything I can do, or am I just stuck with crappy Sata II speeds with my 2nd SSD?
Here's what it says under the Sys Profiler for my superdrive....
ntel 6 Series Chipset:
Vendor: Intel
Product: 6 Series Chipset
Link Speed: 3 Gigabit
Negotiated Link Speed: 1.5 Gigabit
Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported
MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898:
Model: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898
Revision: HE13
Serial Number: UL21 5100WQ
Native Command Queuing: No
Detachable Drive: No
Power Off: Yes
Async Notification: No
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For your usage (photography), having just 500gb isn't ideal. To be honest, even if your optical bay was a sata 3, I don't think it would be worth it. 2 SSDs aren't really worth it since most people use the optical bay hdd for storage and not performance. You would probably have to get an external exclosure for your 750gb hdd if you ran 2 SSDs.
The only logical thing I could think of is buying a 512gb SSD and using the 750 in the optibay. It would cost me an extra $100-120, but I think it would be an awesome solution. What do you think?
512GB ssd is a lot. Most people use their ssd for applications only so it's gonna take A LOT to fill it up. 128gb is most ideal and well more than enough. I got the 240gb ssd and I think it's an overkill so 512gb is definitely one. Also, performance doesn't instead, it peaks at 256gb
That's my opinion but that's up to you. Save up to get an external monitor maybe. I have my MBP attached to a 24" monitor and it's amazing
512GB ssd is a lot. Most people use their ssd for applications only so it's gonna take A LOT to fill it up. 128gb is most ideal and well more than enough. I got the 240gb ssd and I think it's an overkill so 512gb is definitely one. Also, performance doesn't instead, it peaks at 256gb
That's my opinion but that's up to you. Save up to get an external monitor maybe. I have my MBP attached to a 24" monitor and it's amazing
Thank you for the reply. I installed my apps come up to around 130gb without any audio or video. So it looks like I could just add another 256gb to use to add my pictures I am presently working on. Then when I am done with a certain project, I could move them all to an external drive to save space off of my 512gb spaces. Then I have a 120gb Itunes library I might want to shrink down a little.
I have a 24'' IPS dell monitor that I use when I need a bigger display and accurate colors.
Stick with a 256 as boot drive and add 750gb for slow storage of images and music. But what's the point of having a SSD when all the files are on a slow drive? Itunes has to find my songs and play off of the slow drive. Same with my pictures. With the 750gb HD, editing images is extremely slow and tedious! I love having the images on the SSD because there is NO waiting for the preview to build or to load the next image.