DUAL SSD SETUP = any issues or info re main bay SSD and optical bay SSD?

[imorton]

Hi Gang, I'm in the middle of replacing my SuperDrive with a sata2 SSD in my early 2011 13" Macbook Pro.

Do any of you know of limitations, problems, issues with this setup? EX: sleeping, wake-up, hibernation, sleep the SSD, benchmarks, installation, etc...?

I will be removing the optical bay superdrive and replacing it with a HDD Caddy and then inserting my current sata2 180g Vertex2 SSD in there.

I was evaluating a new SSD purchased and my choices were the 256g M4, the 256g 840 Pro, and the standard 250g 840 SSD. I ended up choosing the standard Samsung 840 since the price was $149 with no tax and free shipping. I couldn't justify the price of $235 for the 840 Pro, and the $195 for the M4. I wanted the 840 Pro, but the $80 difference for such a small increase in write performance didn't seem worth it

Since I will be putting the new 250g Samsung 840 SSD in the main bay, I figure I will use the optical bay SSD for Super Duper nightly clones. I figure that those will be fairly quick transfer speed wise. I think the optical bay SSD should work fine as a sata2 SSD?

In regards to firmware updates, maybe I should create a small BootCamp partition on my main bay Samsung 840 SSD in order to facilitate any future firmware upgrades. Or can I do a Boot Camp partition anytime further down the road? Can I install Win XP in BootCamp on an early 2011 MB pro?

Day to Day performance wise, I figure that I may also notice a speed difference and real-world performance by upgrading from a sata2 Vertex2 to a sata3 Samsung 840 in the main HDD bay.

Have any of you experimented with this type of dual SSD setup? And what tips, info, or speed benchmarks can you offer me?

 

[imorton]

Have any of you experimented with this type of dual SSD setup? And what tips, info, or speed benchmarks can you offer me?

 

[Artagra]

I ran a dual SSD setup in my early 2011 13" 2.7ghz for nearly two years. Both of my drives were SATA II (120gb Intel 320 and 160gb Intel X25M-G1), didn't have any sleep issues with the 320 in the primary bay and the X25M in the optical bay - with the drives the other way around, I had sleep issues (a known problem with the X25M G1). So, as long as the new drive you get doesn't have any known issues in the 13" MBP, you should be fine.

Battery life definitely was worse, but to me it was worth it for being all SSD. Your CCC clone should fly, don't see any problems there. In terms of bootcamp, if your only usage for bootcamp is for flashing the firmware, how about using an external drive?

One thing to consider is selling the 180gb drive second hand and buying a single, larger drive? Looking back, that's what I should've done - it was a pain managing data between the two drives. However, the advantage of your plan is having the built in backup - so if that is a high priority, then it's a great plan One thing to remember - make sure that's not your only backup incase the whole machine get's stolen / struck by a power surge / etc.

 

[imorton]

I ran a dual SSD setup in my early 2011 13" 2.7ghz for nearly two years. Both of my drives were SATA II (120gb Intel 320 and 160gb Intel X25M-G1), didn't have any sleep issues with the 320 in the primary bay and the X25M in the optical bay - with the drives the other way around, I had sleep issues (a known problem with the X25M G1). So, as long as the new drive you get doesn't have any known issues in the 13" MBP, you should be fine.

Battery life definitely was worse, but to me it was worth it for being all SSD. Your CCC clone should fly, don't see any problems there. In terms of bootcamp, if your only usage for bootcamp is for flashing the firmware, how about using an external drive?

One thing to consider is selling the 180gb drive second hand and buying a single, larger drive? Looking back, that's what I should've done - it was a pain managing data between the two drives. However, the advantage of your plan is having the built in backup - so if that is a high priority, then it's a great plan One thing to remember - make sure that's not your only backup incase the whole machine get's stolen / struck by a power surge / etc.

Thanks a million for the reply

So it seems that I am not crazy after all... I think having a multiple backup plan is important, so I can have a CCC clone done daily to the 2nd SSD, and anytime that I hookup at home using my external HDD.

I also see that we have "local Time Machine" backups being cloned daily, so these "local backups" should be available on my 2nd optical bay SSD.

Now just to see if it all works smoothly, with the Samsung 840 in the main bay, and my Vertex2 SSD in the optical bay. No idea if there are any issues?

In regards to BootCamp, can I reformat my main SSD (presuming that my 2nd SSD is current and bootable) and install a BootCamp partition later should there be an important firmware that needs to be applied?

With the 2nd SSD in the optical bay and my having it hold my bootable clones, I should be able to select the 2nd SSD in the Start-Up folder of the System Preferences as my "boot drive"?

I wonder if I should enable Trim? And does enabling Trim apply it to both of my internal SSD's or just the SSD in my main bay? Is there any disadvantages or benefits (speed, corruption, etc...) to enabling the Trim software

One other decision I have to make is to either use Super Duper or use CCC as my cloning software?

IAN..

 

[yusukeaoki]

Thanks a million for the reply

So it seems that I am not crazy after all... I think having a multiple backup plan is important, so I can have a CCC clone done daily to the 2nd SSD, and anytime that I hookup at home using my external HDD.

I also see that we have "local Time Machine" backups being cloned daily, so these "local backups" should be available on my 2nd optical bay SSD.

Now just to see if it all works smoothly, with the Samsung 840 in the main bay, and my Vertex2 SSD in the optical bay. No idea if there are any issues?

In regards to BootCamp, can I reformat my main SSD (presuming that my 2nd SSD is current and bootable) and install a BootCamp partition later should there be an important firmware that needs to be applied?

With the 2nd SSD in the optical bay and my having it hold my bootable clones, I should be able to select the 2nd SSD in the Start-Up folder of the System Preferences as my "boot drive"?

I wonder if I should enable Trim? And does enabling Trim apply it to both of my internal SSD's or just the SSD in my main bay? Is there any disadvantages or benefits (speed, corruption, etc...) to enabling the Trim software

One other decision I have to make is to either use Super Duper or use CCC as my cloning software?

IAN..

You need to RAID your drives in order to bootcamp. on the secondary SSD.
This is because your Mac sees the optibay drive as external and you cant install bootcamp on external drives.
And RAID isnt supported by bootcamp so you have o do work around.

 

[imorton]

You need to RAID your drives in order to bootcamp. on the secondary SSD.
This is because your Mac sees the optibay drive as external and you cant install bootcamp on external drives.
And RAID isnt supported by bootcamp so you have o do work around.

Can I not just format my main drive and re-partition it into two partitions and do the BootCamp there?

This way I could upgrade the firmware on the main bay SSD than delete the Bootcamp partition afterwards?

 

[yusukeaoki]

Can I not just format my main drive and re-partition it into two partitions and do the BootCamp there?

This way I could upgrade the firmware on the main bay SSD than delete the Bootcamp partition afterwards?

If you're thinking to put the bootcamp files into your mainbay SSD, then it wont matter.
But if you are putting it in to the optibay drive, you cant.

 

[imorton]

If you're thinking to put the bootcamp files into your mainbay SSD, then it wont matter.
But if you are putting it in to the optibay drive, you cant.

Yusukeaoki, thanks for your replies As you can see, I'm not a Bootcamp guru, never used it since I run Parallels Desktop.

My idea is to run a dual separate SSD setup and use the 2nd SSD as a CCC clone of my main SSD.

I know firmware wise the Samsung 840 SSD is difficult to upgrade, so I thought I could reformat the main bay SSD into two partitions and install Bootcamp there, do the firmware upgrade, than wipe the Bootcamp partition off when I'm done.

Am I understanding the procedure properly, and should this work?

 

[el-John-o]

Yusukeaoki, thanks for your replies As you can see, I'm not a Bootcamp guru, never used it since I run Parallels Desktop.

My idea is to run a dual separate SSD setup and use the 2nd SSD as a CCC clone of my main SSD.

I know firmware wise the Samsung 840 SSD is difficult to upgrade, so I thought I could reformat the main bay SSD into two partitions and install Bootcamp there, do the firmware upgrade, than wipe the Bootcamp partition off when I'm done.

Am I understanding the procedure properly, and should this work?

Have you already bought the SSD? Why not just get a Crucial SSD that can be updated via the Mac?

 

[imorton]

Have you already bought the SSD? Why not just get a Crucial SSD that can be updated via the Mac?

I reviewed the specs on three different SSD's and chose the standard 250g 840 SSD with the install kit included for only $149. Plenty of read/write speeds for me.

I have a Vertex2 for over two years and never had to touch the firmware...

I may never really need to touch the firmware on the 840 ssd

 

[imorton]

I received my Samsung 840 250g SSD and have installed it in the main HD bay. It works very well and a definite increase compared to my older sata2 Vertex2 180g SSD.

Now just waiting for my optical bay caddy to arrive and I will install the Vertex2 in there.

Than I will format the optical bay SSD into 2 partitions and use one partition for CCC clones and the other for time machine.

Do you guys have any tips?

 

[yusukeaoki]

There isnt really a "tip".
Just be careful not to strip the screws and damage the HDD during installation.
Its like removing the battery from a remote.
Dont hassle and you should be fine.

 

[imorton]

There isnt really a "tip".
Just be careful not to strip the screws and damage the HDD during installation.
Its like removing the battery from a remote.
Dont hassle and you should be fine.

I hear ya, those screws are very very fragile. I actually ordered a "spuger" to help in removing the CD/DVD cables etc...

 

[yusukeaoki]

I hear ya, those screws are very very fragile. I actually ordered a "spuger" to help in removing the CD/DVD cables etc...

I cables were fine IMO.
I just used my screw driver to flick it up.
Except one of the screws on the left were extremely tight.
It did strip the screw a bit but I managed to get it off.

If you have AppleCare like me, try not to damage or leave marks since it can void your warranty.