Crucial C300 256 gb SSD for $400, should I keep it?

[MrXiro]

I just got my Crucial C300 256gb SSD in the mail and I just wanted to get the opinions of some of you all before I crack this bad boy open and install it in my Late 2008 uMBP... having slight buyer's remorse though... more so, that I feel like maybe I should have picked up the OCZ Vertex 2 instead because it has the Sandforce controller which works better in Macs. It's also slightly cheaper though it is a smaller drive (240gb vs 256gb)

My justification to keep it though is that it is SATA III which the new SnB MBPs also are so I can get 6Mbps when I upgrade the computer and just swap my drive over to the new one. Which I won't be getting until Lion comes out which ALSO allegedly will have TRIM support.

What do you all think? Keep it or look for a better alternative? Also I'm not anywhere near wealthy... so buying an SSD is a HUGE investment on my part.

 

[JasonH42]

I just got my Crucial C300 256gb SSD in the mail and I just wanted to get the opinions of some of you all before I crack this bad boy open and install it in my Late 2008 uMBP... having slight buyer's remorse though... more so, that I feel like maybe I should have picked up the OCZ Vertex 2 instead because it has the Sandforce controller which works better in Macs. It's also slightly cheaper though it is a smaller drive (240gb vs 256gb)

My justification to keep it though is that it is SATA III which the new SnB MBPs also are so I can get 6Mbps when I upgrade the computer and just swap my drive over to the new one. Which I won't be getting until Lion comes out which ALSO allegedly will have TRIM support.

What do you all think? Keep it or look for a better alternative? Also I'm not anywhere near wealthy... so buying an SSD is a HUGE investment on my part.

Definitely keep the C300 unless you're buying a 2011 MBP in the very near future (haven't read the latest Lion release rumours), in which case you might want to hold off installing an SSD and instead buy an OCZ Vertex 3 at the same time as the new MBP.

It's not true that Sandforce controllers are better in Macs. I've had a C300 for over a year and just moved it from a mid-2009 to a 2011 MBP. Filled mine up so planning to put it in the optical drive bay and get a Vertex 3 as the main disk. Haven't missed the lack of TRIM support at all btw.

 

[MrXiro]

Definitely keep the C300 unless you're buying a 2011 MBP in the very near future (haven't read the latest Lion release rumours), in which case you might want to hold off installing an SSD and instead buy an OCZ Vertex 3 at the same time as the new MBP.

It's not true that Sandforce controllers are better in Macs. I've had a C300 for over a year and just moved it from a mid-2009 to a 2011 MBP. Filled mine up so planning to put it in the optical drive bay and get a Vertex 3 as the main disk. Haven't missed the lack of TRIM support at all btw.

Did you upgrade to the Version 0006 of the firmware? They claim there are improvements. If you did... anything noticeable?

 

[adnoh]

keep it. use it. enjoy it

 

[MrXiro]

Just did... holy crap... this is amazing... I was on the Momentus XT before and it vibrated like crazy... it doesn't even feel like the computer is on anymore!

 

[JasonH42]

Did you upgrade to the Version 0006 of the firmware? They claim there are improvements. If you did... anything noticeable?

Nope, still using original firmware. Might upgrade it when the Vertex 3 turns up.

Amazing aren't they? No vibration, far less heat, no fan noise, and everything pretty much instant!

 

[Weaselboy]

Did you upgrade to the Version 0006 of the firmware? They claim there are improvements. If you did... anything noticeable?

You might want to read over the Crucial forums. There are reports of Mac compatibility issues with 006. If it is working well with the firmware you have I would leave it alone.

 

[MrXiro]

You might want to read over the Crucial forums. There are reports of Mac compatibility issues with 006. If it is working well with the firmware you have I would leave it alone.

Mine came with version 0006... it's only day 2 but it seems to work well.

 

[MrXiro]

Nope, still using original firmware. Might upgrade it when the Vertex 3 turns up.

Amazing aren't they? No vibration, far less heat, no fan noise, and everything pretty much instant!

Yeah the thing is silent... which is insane! I'm going to install a HDD in the Optical bay for data storage like music and such.

 

[Alonzo84]

Has anyone noticed any serious slow downs after a few days of use? I keep reading about the performance of SSDs slowing drastically after a short time. A lot of the posts I keep reading are making me very hesitant on getting one of these drives.

 

[Andrmgic]

I bought a C300 for use in my 2011 15" mbp.. it's been great so far.

I've got an Optibay on the way.. should arrive on Monday.. and I'll be installing my 750GB hdd into the Optibay for storage purposes.

 

[MrXiro]

Has anyone noticed any serious slow downs after a few days of use? I keep reading about the performance of SSDs slowing drastically after a short time. A lot of the posts I keep reading are making me very hesitant on getting one of these drives.

Been 4 days for me. No slow down as of yet... I think the slow downs occur over a long period of time with many writes... Also read speeds aren't affected as much.

 

[MrXiro]

I bought a C300 for use in my 2011 15" mbp.. it's been great so far.

I've got an Optibay on the way.. should arrive on Monday.. and I'll be installing my 750GB hdd into the Optibay for storage purposes.

I just put in the maxupgrades optical bay replacement yesterday. It came with all the tools... Was great! Now I got 256 gb on board and 500 for storage. Love the setup. Fast as hell just wish the battery wasn't crap on my computer and my 9400m wouldnt flicker then I would have a winner.

 

[brentsg]

Was it on sale for $400 or something? I see $469 now.

 

[MrXiro]

Was it on sale for $400 or something? I see $469 now.

I got mine from ssd solutions one of the resellers on amazon it was new and in a sealed static bad. They buy in bulk and resell for cheaper... There is a new seller selling for 400 shipped. Mine was 405 after shipping.

 

[Mollemand]

My C300 firmware version 0006 has been running GREAT on my 2011 MBP for about a month now.

I haven't missed the TRIM support...

As a SATA III it is going to be slow compared to the coming generation, but I couldn't wait for the intel's or the vertex III's.

 

[Weaselboy]

My C300 firmware version 0006 has been running GREAT on my 2011 MBP for about a month now.

I haven't missed the TRIM support...

As a SATA III it is going to be slow compared to the coming generation, but I couldn't wait for the intel's or the vertex III's.

The C300 has pretty respectable speeds in this Anandtech test. I don't think you would even notice any difference with normal usage and one of the newer drives.

 

[Mollemand]

The C300 has pretty respectable speeds in this Anandtech test. I don't think you would even notice any difference with normal usage and one of the newer drives.

You are right, it scores surprisingly nice as compared to the Intel 510. My money were on the intel smoking it, judging from the specs provided by their data sheets.

It is probably an academic difference between fast and faster, but the intel numbers are higher (and I like numbers that are higher)

The vertex 3 looks to be the business.

 

[MrXiro]

I'm really loving it right now. Even got a new battery to boot! Got about 4 and a half hours on it with my optical bay on part of the time.

 

[sydenham]

If you don't like it I will buy it.

 

[hvgotcodes]

Im thinking of getting this very drive -- have been considering it for months for my 2010 mbp. Looking over the offerings now, the ocz vertex 2 is 380. but the c300 is sata3 and just $20 more. I really need to **** and get off the pot on this.

How was the install...how did you transfer your data?

 

[JasonH42]

Been 4 days for me. No slow down as of yet... I think the slow downs occur over a long period of time with many writes... Also read speeds aren't affected as much.

Bought mine over a year ago, filled it, rewrite GBs frequently, no slowdown.

 

[hvgotcodes]

i just pulled the trigger. already shipped. yay!!!....

 

[MrXiro]

Im thinking of getting this very drive -- have been considering it for months for my 2010 mbp. Looking over the offerings now, the ocz vertex 2 is 380. but the c300 is sata3 and just $20 more. I really need to **** and get off the pot on this.

How was the install...how did you transfer your data?

Install was easy... I have a 2.5 inch HDD USB external drive case... so I just plugged it into the SATA port minus the case and used Carbon Copy Cloner. It was easy... and about 10X faster than transferring anything to an HDD... not literally just felt 10X faster. I had just restored my OSX last week though so my install was pretty fresh.

If you mean physically it's beyond simple... more simple than changing the RAM out in my case. I have the 2008 with the removable battery. The HDD is next to the battery so after unlatching the cover it's just 1 screw to unhinge the HDD from the computer and pulling out the SATA port shouldn't need to be mentioned it's so easy.

The harder part is finding that proprietary screwdriver macs use to pull off the 4 screws that you need to put on to your new drive to lock it in place. Their are 2 on each side of the longer side of the HDD... the holes are built into all HDD and SSD. But swap out 4 screws lock back into place and voila... done. I have to take out 8 more screws to get to my RAM... so that's why changing out the HDD is easy for me... for you, you'll have to take off that plate on the back of your MBP... so changing the RAM and the HDD are pretty much the same.

 

[MrXiro]

i just pulled the trigger. already shipped. yay!!!....

I'm still wary that I blew 400 bucks... but damn does this computer feel like a new kick ass computer now... if it wasn't for the flickering I get while using the 9400m. This would be a brand new computer to me..