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best configuration of drives

Which 500GB+ SSD drive should I get for my MBP 15 Mid 2010?

  • Total voters
    37
R

rapidfire77

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2010
43
0
I was going to post this to the SSD buying guide but as a reply I can't poll you guys. So here it is:

MBP 15 (Mid 2010) v6.2. Looking for a 512GB SSD to replace or go along the current 500gb drive. I am loosing the DVD drive because I don't use it.

Should the SSD replace or be in addition to the current drive? does it make a difference where each drive is installed if I retain both?

The drive choices all exceed my speed needs and I know they will be limited by the controller I have. But I am buying up...I will be moving this drive somewhere else...probably another MBP.

Criteria is:
1: trouble free
2: performance
3: conserve power as much as possible for a longer battery life.
 
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If you buy a fast SSD you'll want it in the HDD bay. 2011 macbook pros and below only have Sata2 cables for their DVD drive. 2012's have sata3 for both the dvd drive and HDD bay.

So for me I have an SSD in place of my dvd drive with the regular harddrive staying in it's original place.

For you, you'll want to put the SSD in the HDD bay because it has a Sata 3 cable to take full advantage of it's speed and the HDD in place of the dvd drive with the sata 2 cable. The sata2 cable wont affect the speeds of the HDD.

Your gonna loose some battery life because you're running 2 drives.

I have an OWC 6G electra and it's very fast.
 
BlazednSleepy said:
If you buy a fast SSD you'll want it in the HDD bay. 2011 macbook pros and below only have Sata2 cables for their DVD drive. 2012's have sata3 for both the dvd drive and HDD bay.

So for me I have an SSD in place of my dvd drive with the regular harddrive staying in it's original place.

For you, you'll want to put the SSD in the HDD bay because it has a Sata 3 cable to take full advantage of it's speed and the HDD in place of the dvd drive with the sata 2 cable. The sata2 cable wont affect the speeds of the HDD.

Your gonna loose some battery life because you're running 2 drives.

I have an OWC 6G electra and it's very fast.
Click to expand...

Would i conserve energy if I ran just the SSD in Sata 3?
How much decline in battery life are we talking about (rough estimate)?
Is there a way to upgrade the controller all together?

thanks for being clear.
 
rapidfire77 said:
Would i conserve energy if I ran just the SSD in Sata 3?
How much decline in battery life are we talking about (rough estimate)?
Is there a way to upgrade the controller all together?

thanks for being clear.
Click to expand...

I really don't have an estimate but running two will decrease it.
I don't think there is a way of upgrading it. If there was it would definitely void the warranty.

Running just an SSD in the HDD bay will probably increase battery life somewhat since it isn't spinning mechanical drives. I wouldn't know by how much but I'm sure there articles comparing battery life between HDD's and SSD's.
 
BlazednSleepy said:
I really don't have an estimate but running two will decrease it.
I don't think there is a way of upgrading it. If there was it would definitely void the warranty.

Running just an SSD in the HDD bay will probably increase battery life somewhat since it isn't spinning mechanical drives. I wouldn't know by how much but I'm sure there articles comparing battery life between HDD's and SSD's.
Click to expand...

So I did some reading last night. Most techies say if you run both there is a decrease. For some it's unnoticeable. For others it's a 10-20 min drop.

I think I will just replace my current HD as I don't need the additional space.
Would you keep or remove the DVD drive?
Am I better off removing the DVD and putting 2 SSD's instead? what do you think?
 
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rapidfire77 said:
So I did some reading last night. Most techies say if you run both there is a decrease. For some it's unnoticeable. For others it's a 10-20 min drop.

I think I will just replace my current HD as I don't need the additional space.
Would you keep or remove the DVD drive?
Am I better off removing the DVD and putting 2 SSD's instead? what do you think?
Click to expand...

Well if you put an SSD in place of of the dvd drive you wont be able to take full advantage of it's speed. If you don't need additional space then just replace the HDD with an SSD. It's up to you.
 
BlazednSleepy said:
Well if you put an SSD in place of of the dvd drive you wont be able to take full advantage of it's speed. If you don't need additional space then just replace the HDD with an SSD. It's up to you.
Click to expand...

It will be faster then what i have now anyway. I am just seeing some really good deals for 256gb SSDs here and there. I figured shelling an extra 150 and have it all SSD. but i think i'll take a battery hit, and i don't really need it. so rest to see.

people are well split between the M4 and the 830. You are the only one with the 6G so far.
 
M4 and 830 are both excellent, trouble free drives.
The M4 has slightly higher read speeds than the 830, and the 830 has much higher write speeds than the M4. But realistically, you won't be able to tell the difference between them.

I got the M4 because the 830 was too hard to get at a reasonable price in Oz. You should get whichever is cheapest.

If you have a 2010 model, you will be limited to SATA 2 anyway.

If you are going for a dual drive setup, replace the optical drive with the SSD, so the HDD stays in the vibration damped main bay.

Dual drives will decrease battery life compared to a superdrive that is never used. But realistically, the change is minimal. 10 minutes out of 8 hours is negligible. And if the alternative is using a portable external hard disk (which would draw power anyway), it's all irrelevant.
 
I voted for both the M4 and 830 because they are both great drives. I currently own a M4 and have had no issues at all. I think between these two drives people normally choose price over speed, because the speed differences in real world usage is minimal.
 
The M4 is considerably slower than the 830... Check the Anandtech reviews.

I would recommend the Samsung 840 Pro - it's more energy efficient than any of the SSDs here, including the 830, and it's much faster as well.

Remember to install TRIM Enabler, especially if you get a Samsung SSD!
 
w00t951 said:
The M4 is considerably slower than the 830... Check the Anandtech reviews.

I would recommend the Samsung 840 Pro - it's more energy efficient than any of the SSDs here, including the 830, and it's much faster as well.

Remember to install TRIM Enabler, especially if you get a Samsung SSD!
Click to expand...

840 pro is $270 for 250GB and $600 for 500GB :eek: I would only recommend this drive for somebody who does a lot of professional computing.
 
w00t951 said:
The M4 is considerably slower than the 830... Check the Anandtech reviews.

I would recommend the Samsung 840 Pro - it's more energy efficient than any of the SSDs here, including the 830, and it's much faster as well.

Remember to install TRIM Enabler, especially if you get a Samsung SSD!
Click to expand...

I like that drive but for an extra $200, am I not better off getting an additional 256gb SSD?
 
w00t951 said:
The M4 is considerably slower than the 830... Check the Anandtech reviews.

I would recommend the Samsung 840 Pro - it's more energy efficient than any of the SSDs here, including the 830, and it's much faster as well.

Remember to install TRIM Enabler, especially if you get a Samsung SSD!
Click to expand...

The M4 is NOT considerably slower. They have different controllers, and therefore perform differently in different conditions.

And considering the OP will be limited to SATA 2, they will both be equally bottlenecked.

The OP should NOT get the 840 Pro. The OP should get either the 830 or the M4, whichever is cheapest.
 
The votes are so split! looks like both drives are very popular. Thanks to everyone that voted!

I can get the M4 512gb for about $340

the 830 is closer to $400.

M4 has a slightly lower battery consumption. I am not sure why I still think of this...but the benchmarks are neck to neck. They outperform each other in few areas but i do not think any of that difference would be considerably noticeable. I am also limited by Sata3. This will replace my current HDD.

IS IT TRUE THAT THE SAMSUNG 830 REQUIRES WINDOWS TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE? IS THIS NOT AN ISSUE FOR THE M4?


----------
Erasmus said:
The M4 is NOT considerably slower. They have different controllers, and therefore perform differently in different conditions.

And considering the OP will be limited to SATA 2, they will both be equally bottlenecked.

The OP should NOT get the 840 Pro. The OP should get either the 830 or the M4, whichever is cheapest.
Click to expand...

You are correct. I like the 840 Pro but it's beyond my needs. Price is an issue. it's an upgrade. Till rMBP prices become terrestrial again.
 
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rapidfire77 said:
The votes are so split! looks like both drives are very popular. Thanks to everyone that voted!

I can get the M4 512gb for about $340

the 830 is closer to $400.

M4 has a slightly lower battery consumption. I am not sure why I still think of this...but the benchmarks are neck to neck. They outperform each other in few areas but i do not think any of that difference would be considerably noticeable. I am also limited by Sata3. This will replace my current HDD.

IS IT TRUE THAT THE SAMSUNG 830 REQUIRES WINDOWS TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE? IS THIS NOT AN ISSUE FOR THE M4?
Click to expand...


Yes, samsung requires windows OS to upgrade firmware. If you run bootcamp it is not a problem. I have updated my M4 twice on OSX with no issues on my Mac.
 
Samsung 840 is coming soon (not sure if its out already).

This is expected to be a great drive! You should consider it.
 
Get the Samsung 830. Here in the States, it sells for less than most SSDs. I got my 128GB for $79.

The Sandforce controllers in the M4 perform worse in real life usage, especially in random read and write. The controller compresses data and inflates benchmark scores.

Besides, you're better off getting a super reliable Samsung instead of an SSD with a Sandforce controller - a 3% failure rate in the first year is far too high, especially if you're depending on it to hold your data.
 
w00t951 said:
Get the Samsung 830. Here in the States, it sells for less than most SSDs. I got my 128GB for $79.

The Sandforce controllers in the M4 perform worse in real life usage, especially in random read and write. The controller compresses data and inflates benchmark scores.

Besides, you're better off getting a super reliable Samsung instead of an SSD with a Sandforce controller - a 3% failure rate in the first year is far too high, especially if you're depending on it to hold your data.
Click to expand...

Ummm where do you get your info from? Crucial uses a marvell controller just like the intel drives...http://www.anandtech.com/show/4253/the-crucial-m4-micron-c400-ssd-review

Screen Shot 2012-11-15 at 7.50.21 PM.png
 
So i went with the m4 for the lack of good deals on the samsung. $300 for 512GB. It's installed and running smoothly. no complaints...is a lot faster than what i had before. Thanks to everyone for your contributions.
 
rapidfire77 said:
So i went with the m4 for the lack of good deals on the samsung. $300 for 512GB. It's installed and running smoothly. no complaints...is a lot faster than what i had before. Thanks to everyone for your contributions.
Click to expand...

$300 is a great price! Did u install in main hd spot or optical drive? I just bought it and I had trouble when it's in optical drive. I have 2009 mbp 13
 
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