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Best sata II SSD
- Thread starter Lax1085
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The Samsung 470 is a great SATA II SSD. Been running one in a 2011 MBP for several months with no issues. The read/write speeds are pretty decent for a SATA II drive. Mine came with the latest firmware so I have not had to update. I've never enabled TRIM and have noticed no reduction in performance. Be aware that you cannot update the firmware, if needed, via Mac. You would need access to a Windows machine to accomplish that. A minor drawback for an otherwise excellent SSD.
I plan to upgrade to the Samsung 830 when funds permit. Will put the 470 into the optibay and the 830 in the main bay.
In my opinion you won't be disappointed the 470.
Er but would it have told you that the Samsung 830 is SATA III?
So what ? SATA III SSD run fine with SATA II controller.
In most cases SATA III drives aren't any more expensive, and will work just fine for you. You don't have to limit your search to SATA II.
I would echo the Samsung 470 recommendations, but as Sweetbrat and others pointed out SATA is backwards compatible so a SATA III drive like the Samsung 830 will work. I just did a couple quick price checks and it looks like a new 830 is actually LESS than a new 470 now, so this makes the choice easy.
Is there really a point in buying a SATAII drive now? For the same amount you could buy a M4 or 830, and get the same speed as the older, and possibly less reliable SATAII drives. Plus you could always take it out and use it on a faster computer if you decide to switch to a newer system in the future.
Yeah, Just yesterday I got the Samsung 830 256 GB SATA III drive for my 2010 MBP and its screams.
After backing up my important files, I installed the drive, and booted it into network recovery. It downloaded and installed Lion in about 25 minutes. I am only getting a 3GB (as opposed to SATA III 6GB speed) but like he said, I'm good to if I want to upgrade to a new Machine.
Not if you want to put it in the optical drive bay of a 2011 15" or 17" MacBook Pro.
For example.
I thought I read that the SATA III drives will still work fine, just not at SATA III speeds. Are you saying that it just won't work at all?
Yes.
The Optical bay of these machines nominally supports SataIII. Put a Sata III drive in though and it doesn't work.
Also, a Sata III drive in the optical bay of a 2009 17" MBP didn't work for me either - even though that bay was rated only as Sata II and so should have just throttled the drive to Sata II.
The main bays are fine - they work correctly, so you can put a Sata III drive in almost any MBP and it will be fine - even Sata I
Being that the OP has a 2009 15", he/she should be ok. Interesting info, though. I did some more reading on it, and OWC says that SATA III seems to work in the optical bay with some late 2011's but not with others. It's just not reliable. Sounds like they're working on a solution, but they won't release it until it's completely reliable.
As long as the OP doesn't want to put it into the optical bay yes. I tried to put a Sata III drive into the optical bay of a 2009 MBP and it didn't work though.
As for the 2011 machines, a SATA III drive doesn't work in the optical bay of the 15 or 17 MBPs. It does work on the 13"
OWC have been working on a fix since October 2011 - and before that even. I wouldn't hold my breath.
I have a 2010 MBP (ie 3Gb/s speed)
Which should I get:
-Samsung 830 128Gb ($120) - will fit all system files, OS, etc.
-Crucial M4 256Gb ($205) - will fit everything except movies and pics
samsung also sells 256, but that is around $250.
Will having all files on the SSD be noticeably faster than just having the OS/system files on the SSD?
Is there a noticeable difference between crucial M4 and samsung 830?
Will I need something like a data doubler if I am transferring my main HD to the optibay and installing the SSD in the main bay?
Also, given that I can only use it up to 3gb/sec, should I just install the ssd into the optical bay?
Which should I get:
-Samsung 830 128Gb ($120) - will fit all system files, OS, etc.
-Crucial M4 256Gb ($205) - will fit everything except movies and pics
samsung also sells 256, but that is around $250.
Will having all files on the SSD be noticeably faster than just having the OS/system files on the SSD?
Is there a noticeable difference between crucial M4 and samsung 830?
Will I need something like a data doubler if I am transferring my main HD to the optibay and installing the SSD in the main bay?
Also, given that I can only use it up to 3gb/sec, should I just install the ssd into the optical bay?
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I have had both Samsung 830 128GB and Crucial M4 256GB, and I'm going to have to recommend 830 when it comes to performance. For reasons unknown to me, 830 performed much better even though most people say real world performance between the two drives are negligible. (*This was on a PC, not Mac)
But if price was an issue and there is ~$50 difference between the two drives (256GB), go with the cheaper one.
If you want to move the HDD to the optical drive bay, you will definitely need a optical bay HDD caddy. Again, if money is an issue, go with the generic brand as opposed to the data doubler (OWC I'm guessing). They're cheaper and it worked for my MBR before.
http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Unibody...1972580&sr=1-3&keywords=mac+optical+enclosure
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
What kind of read & write speeds can one expect of SATA 3 drive (likes of an 830 or M4) on a SATA 2 interface?
Will it max the SATA 2 interface or not neccsarily?
I have an incredibly difficult time narrowing these numbers down for some reason, even on this forum. Most numbers I find represent a SATA 3 interface. Thanks in advance.
Will it max the SATA 2 interface or not neccsarily?
I have an incredibly difficult time narrowing these numbers down for some reason, even on this forum. Most numbers I find represent a SATA 3 interface. Thanks in advance.
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