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Best SSD for 2011 base 13 MBP

Y

yly3

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 9, 2011
345
4
I want to buy a 256SSD for base 2011 13 but I am n00b-ish when it comes to selecting one. So what do you guys say ? Since I'll be spending quite some cash on it, I want to get to best or among the best drives out there. I'm hearing talk about SATA 2/3, Trim suport and all these strange words :)

Thanks
 
SATA 2 vs 3 is the rating of the connection speed on your machine. since you have a 2011 mac, you have a sata 3 connection in your original hard drive bay. ITs faster than a SATA 2, with the drawback being that it is not currently as stable in some models.

As for a recommendation, yes the Samsung 470 seem to have an almost spotless reputation and are a SATA 2 drive. For a SATA 3, the Crucial M4 probably gets the best reviews,

There are TONS of threads on this very topic, you'll see some pretty good discussions if you search.
 
Unstable you say ? So I might go for the SATA 2 instead ? Is 3 so much different in heavy usage such as gaming or video editing ?
 
yly3 said:
Unstable you say ? So I might go for the SATA 2 instead ? Is 3 so much different in heavy usage such as gaming or video editing ?
Click to expand...

I got the 2011 base 13". I wanted to get the Intel 510 but it had so many problems associated with it. I looked at the Vertex 3: same. I got the SATA II Intel 320 and felt good until I read there was a firmware bug. I updated the firmware. My drive is working, everything is ok, but I am envious of the SATA III crowd. I wish I took a chance!

Best is probably Samsung 470, or Intel 320, or older Intel X-25M.

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Regarding speed in editing, sure, SATA III it will be twice as fast. Maybe you can't render that quickly. In my work, audio recording, there is no processor bottle neck. If I could be writing twice as fast than I could record more tracks live. I believe any programs that use disk caches would benefit.
 
I installed a 160GB Intel 320 on my MBP13. Very fast. It boots faster than my 2008 Mac Pro - around 13 seconds - with an Intel X25 SSD.
 
Ok, so is there any stable SATA III working 100% of the cases ?
 
yly3 said:
Ok, so is there any stable SATA III working 100% of the cases ?
Click to expand...

I have not seen one. For every brand SATA III drive you can search the forums and find people having trouble with it... some brands more than others. Even thought benchmarks show a hypothetical 2X speed increase with SATA III, you will not see that much difference in day to day use. The only place you will likely see a difference is in moving VERY large files.

The question you have to ask yourself is if that slight speed increase is worth the drop in stability/compatibility.

I have a SATA II Samsung 470 in my 2011 13" MBP and am quite happy with it.
 
yly3 said:
Ok, so is there any stable SATA III working 100% of the cases ?
Click to expand...

Samsung is coming out with a SATA III drive soon. It's model number is somewhere in the 800's. Samsung 830 maybe. It should be reliable, I guess.
 
That's good to know. I would have bought anyway somewhere around December - January. Maybe prices drop a little :)
 
treestar said:
I got the 2011 base 13". I wanted to get the Intel 510 but it had so many problems associated with it. I looked at the Vertex 3: same. I got the SATA II Intel 320 and felt good until I read there was a firmware bug. I updated the firmware. My drive is working, everything is ok, but I am envious of the SATA III crowd. I wish I took a chance!

Best is probably Samsung 470, or Intel 320, or older Intel X-25M.

----------

Regarding speed in editing, sure, SATA III it will be twice as fast. Maybe you can't render that quickly. In my work, audio recording, there is no processor bottle neck. If I could be writing twice as fast than I could record more tracks live. I believe any programs that use disk caches would benefit.
Click to expand...

Out of curiousity, what problems does the Intel 510 have? I'm only asking because I have one as my OS-hdd in my PC and I've had NO problems what so ever so I fail to see why it would be a problem in the MBP unless there are driver compatibility problems specific for Mac computers?
 
Tanax said:
Out of curiousity, what problems does the Intel 510 have? I'm only asking because I have one as my OS-hdd in my PC and I've had NO problems what so ever so I fail to see why it would be a problem in the MBP unless there are driver compatibility problems specific for Mac computers?
Click to expand...

I don't think it has problems any longer. Just after the 2011 MBPs came out there was an EFI update that seemed to fix many of the SSD problems people were having. The 17" MBP still seems to have trouble with SATA III SSD, no mater what brand though.
 
The 13" has the best luck of the bunch with SATA3 drives, personally I would get a SATA3 drive and RMA it if it doesn't work right and hopefully the next one does. And I would either go with a OCZ Vertex 3 or Kingston HyperX.


As for prices dropping, the price on the Vertex3(at newegg at least, has gone up $50 since I ordered mine ~2 weeks ago. But I would think over time prices will tend to go down, like all other tech.
 
I just got an OWC SSD Extreme Pro and its been great since I've gotten it. I definitely recommend it to someone looking for an SSD.

When switching from a MacBook Air to a MacBook Pro I couldn't go back to a HDD.
 
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