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Best 256 SSD for 15" MacBook Pro

L

Lucagfc

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 23, 2008
382
85
Hi

I' m going to buy a new 15" MacBook Pro to replace my Quad Core Mac Pro.

I wan' t to have a SSD as system disk and I need a 256 SSD.

The Apple 256 SSD option is too expensive for me (600 €) i can spend up to 400 €.

which 256 SSD has the best performance In this price range?

Thanks
 
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The general advice on this forum is wait a month for the new generation of SSD's to be released before buying one. Personally I have taken that advice and am waiting to see what becomes available over then next few months.
 
Good Advide. I will wait for the next month but I think that the new model probably likely to have cost higher than 400 €?
 
Lucagfc said:
Good Advide. I will wait for the next month but I think that the new model probably likely to have cost higher than 400 €?
Click to expand...

the price per gig is coming down in the next few months because intel is going to release some consumer grade SSDs with storage caps to 600gb and will be made from its new 25nm fab process.
 
Ok So the best choice now is waiting. Any producer has already presented the future lineup?
 
Lucagfc said:
Ok So the best choice now is waiting. Any producer has already presented the future lineup?
Click to expand...

OCZ has an ETA on their Vertex 3 lineup. OWC will release something from now till June. Intel has released the 510, but I'm sure another will come along the way. Corsair has something going as well, I think Force GT?
 
Waiting is not my best attribute. I want a Sata III now. May just go for the Intel but maybe OCZ or OWC will surprise us with a shipping release.
 
I came from Mac Pro base 2010 model so I' ve decided to switch to MacBook Pro 15" because the CPU power it' s the same and I will have only 1 machine (also sell my current MacBook Pro 13").

Now, with my MacBook Pro 13" (2009 model) the component that slows the computer is the 5400 rpm disk. For that reason to get the same or better perfomance of the Mac Pro i decided to buy also an SSD but if the wait will be long is better to spend 100 € more and get the 500 GB 7200 rpm?
 
When I ordered mine I decided to get the 7200 rpm 500GB disk as I won't miss the space but the extra speed would be nice until I decide which SSD to get.
 
Yes the 7200 rpm is a good speed bump from 5400 but the problem is the Apple prices: with the 100 € requested from Apple I buy a larger disk!
 
Lucagfc said:
Yes the 7200 rpm is a good speed bump from 5400 but the problem is the Apple prices: with the 100 € requested from Apple I buy a larger disk!
Click to expand...

There is no price diff between the two options, at least not when I ordered it last week.
 
The 15" base have the 500 GB 5400 RPM. TU upgrade to the 500 7200 rpm here in italy the price is 100 € (130 $)

For 100 € I can buy a Seagate Momentus XT. It' s a better solution waiting the new version of SSD?

I' ve saw that the Vertex 3 will have really really high price! I can' t afford it!
 
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So, the 34nm Intel 510 has read speeds of around 500 MB/s. The 23nm G3 drives will be larger capacity, and hopefully much lower price per GB. But will they have the same speeds as the 510 series???

If not, how long to people think it will be until we can get 23nm SSDs that read at ~500MB/s? And optimally cost around 300 bucks for 250GB?
 
Erasmus said:
So, the 34nm Intel 510 has read speeds of around 500 MB/s. The 23nm G3 drives will be larger capacity, and hopefully much lower price per GB. But will they have the same speeds as the 510 series???

If not, how long to people think it will be until we can get 23nm SSDs that read at ~500MB/s? And optimally cost around 300 bucks for 250GB?
Click to expand...

See my XBench test here of Intel 510 120GB in 2011 MBP 13".

These 500MB/s test speeds are using synthetic bench marks reading large blocks of sequential data. In normal usage you are more likely accessing smaller blocks of data in a random pattern, so the random read/write tests are more relevant. Look at the last chart on this page and compare the new Vertex 3 to say the last gen Intel. Not much difference, and I doubt a difference you would notice in day to day use.
 
Weaselboy said:
See my XBench test here of Intel 510 120GB in 2011 MBP 13".

These 500MB/s test speeds are using synthetic bench marks reading large blocks of sequential data. In normal usage you are more likely accessing smaller blocks of data in a random pattern, so the random read/write tests are more relevant. Look at the last chart on this page and compare the new Vertex 3 to say the last gen Intel. Not much difference, and I doubt a difference you would notice in day to day use.
Click to expand...

Yup, I did just before find that review. But my question still stands (slightly modified):

Is there a timeline for 23nm Intel or OCZ SSDs that will have performance levels similar to or greater than the 510 and Vertex 3?

I'd really like to drop a 250GB SSD and 8GB RAM in my new MBP sometime in the next year, depending on if prices become more reasonable.
 
Erasmus said:
Yup, I did just before find that review. But my question still stands (slightly modified):

Is there a timeline for 23nm Intel or OCZ SSDs that will have performance levels similar to or greater than the 510 and Vertex 3?

I'd really like to drop a 250GB SSD and 8GB RAM in my new MBP sometime in the next year, depending on if prices become more reasonable.
Click to expand...

I read Intel is coming out with a 320 series SSD that I believe will replace the "consumer" grade X25 series we have now. Have no idea about timeline though. Just my opinion, I don't think you will see any new drive soon that is a drastic price drop from what we see today. I think it will be a slow, incremental price drop over time. If I were you, I would just put in a Intel X25 now and you can upgrade in a year or so if prices on new/faster drives go where you want. The Intel X25 is close to as fast as anything else in real usage and users on the forums here have found them very reliable and Mac compatible.
 
Vertex3 Problem is the price. I've found a website that sells it for the first day of april and the price in too high for me: 519 € (727 $) I wan' t to spend 400 € max

I upgrade the ram immediatly: for only 85 € is no-brainer
 
Weaselboy said:
I read Intel is coming out with a 320 series SSD that I believe will replace the "consumer" grade X25 series we have now. Have no idea about timeline though. Just my opinion, I don't think you will see any new drive soon that is a drastic price drop from what we see today. I think it will be a slow, incremental price drop over time.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

OP - If you are a tech savvy and don't mind a potential headache, go ahead and get an SSD now. However OCZ, OWC, Intel,etc have all had their share of headaches associated with them Intell being the mort reliable, but not clear how good their garbage collection/longevity is.
If you want to avoid headaches either get the Apple SSD BTO upgrade or wait until Lion comes out and see which 3ed party SSD drives Lion supports.
Currently no 3ed party SSD works on a Mac with Trim support other than the Apple drive it ships as a BTO.

If you don't mind potential problems, get the fastest OCZ drive.
If you want to avoid problems with longevity/reliability/hibernation-sleep/issues then get an Apple BTO SSD or wait until Lion comes out and see what drives it provides Trim support, and what results people get.
One option would be to get a fast 7200 drive Now which will later move to where the optical drive currently is - make sure you get one that is 9.5 mm so that it will fit. Have a look at the WD 750GB Scorpio Black.

If you don't want to wait, and have already purchased your computer, try an Intel drive. If you haven't purchased the MBP, consider the quite affordable 128GB SSD BTO ($100 depending on which MBP you get) and move to a larger SSD when it meets your expectations and budget.
 
V3 hands down!

owc will just sell a re-branded ocz drive with their own flavoured FW.

ocz support forums are brilliant. very friendly and helpful - i heard owc are also renowned for their tech support - but international calls are a put off, as im uk based.

ocz have negotiated exclusivity in terms of firmware and under-restrictions with sandforce.

V3s will demand a premium until the shipments become more mainstream and places like best buy/ amazon get their mits on them

<here comes the hypocrisy> do not buy ocz drive from ebay as ocz will not honour the 3 yr warranty from e-bay, only end user

i brought a 2nd hand very cheap 60GB SSD to play around on - its working fine but couldnt register it with ocz
use it on my old windows laptop as boot drive
 
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