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Early 2011 15in MBP SSD: Intel 510 vs. Vertex 3

F

finder39

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2009
84
0
Chicago, IL
So my birthday is coming up (May 11th) and my father said that for my birthday he would split the cost of an SSD with me for my new early 2011 15inch MBP (the 6750m one with 8gb ram).

What I plan to do is take the 750 GB 5400 rpm HD that it came with and put it in the cd slot using the optibay, and stick the new SSD in the standard HD spot.

so I have 2 questions with this

1. Is it really worth it? I'm looking at a cost of $250-$310
and how much speed increase a I really going to see?

2. Which one to get?
I am looking between these two:
The Intel 510 ($250): http://www.buy.com/prod/intel-ssdsc...gb-solid-state-drive/q/loc/101/219632599.html
and the Vertex 3 ($310): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0227714&cm_re=vertex_3-_-20-227-714-_-Product (or should i get this one if I go Vertex 3?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0227706&cm_re=vertex_3-_-20-227-706-_-Product)

The vertex has SIGNIFICANT write speed advantages over the intel, but I have heard that the they have some issues with the new vertex's on these macs.


What do you guys think? The sooner the better as I would love to order today :)
 
I guess the replies will be from people giving their favourite SSD manufacturer as the recommendation.

My best advice is to do you're own research, following ssd reviews from anandtech, thessdreview.com etc etc.

You need to work out the balance to what you require, including battery life, speed and of course cost.
 
Locodice said:
I guess the replies will be from people giving their favourite SSD manufacturer as the recommendation.

My best advice is to do you're own research, following ssd reviews from anandtech, thessdreview.com etc etc.

You need to work out the balance to what you require, including battery life, speed and of course cost.
Click to expand...

Yes that's true, but you have to be careful with these new drives, as there apparently are lots of issues it seems with the 6gb/s bus and the 2011 Macbooks.
For instance, the Intel 510 should be avoided for 13" and 17" Macbook pros (early 2011). The 15" seem to be ok, but who knows.

Also, I just read that the Crucial M4 6gb/s SSDs are having issues with the 15" (go figure).

It's a mine field :D
 
I remember reading about some strange issues with Vertex 3 drives being finicky with the new MBP's is this true or was this resolved?
 
johnnyturbouk said:
I do not own either but I believe the intel 510 was riddled with issues negotiating on sata 6!

I, personally love sandforce and own a owc sata3 drive and will be looking to cop a owc sata 6G drive
Click to expand...

Yes this is very true and no one should have to find this out on their own, given that lot's of users here have already suffered this and warned the forum.
 
mac jones said:
I haven't read this. Supply links.
Click to expand...

well I can't find this now (of course :rolleyes: )

I don't really care if its people saying I prefer this. The more I look the more I'm thinking about going Vertex 3 (with improved IOPS) or possibly waiting a year to *feel* like a got a new computer in a year :p
 
Are you just restricting your decision to buy a SSD just to Intel or OCZ. How about a OWC SSD?
 
finder39 said:
well I can't find this now (of course :rolleyes: )

I don't really care if its people saying I prefer this. The more I look the more I'm thinking about going Vertex 3 (with improved IOPS) or possibly waiting a year to *feel* like a got a new computer in a year :p
Click to expand...

I recommend the Vertex. I haven't heard myself, any issues that are plaguing some of the other drives.

The icing, is that it's the fastest :D

Note: I'm not a fan of OCZ. I think they are .......But who cares, as long as they deliver. Perhaps they learn from their mistakes.......or not ;)
 
Last edited:
The only Sata 6GB/s SATA III drive that has no problems to date is the new OWC drives. Crucial aren't even supporting any of the new macbook pros, Micron are looking into the cause but they simply don't know.

This sealed the deal for me. Ordered an OWC yesterday as I wanted a SATA III drive and it's the only one with no complaints on these and other Apple related forums.
 
finder39 said:
I remember reading about some strange issues with Vertex 3 drives being finicky with the new MBP's is this true or was this resolved?
Click to expand...

I have not had any issues with my new MBP 15" 2.3ghz with my Vertex 3 drive....
 
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I play on going Vertex 3 if i buy (which would be today on the 4th) or tomorrow. Now just to decide if really worth it yet. I will also lose my ability for boot camp to play Magicka (just cause of small primary SSD 120GB)
 
finder39 said:
well I can't find this now (of course :rolleyes: )

I don't really care if its people saying I prefer this. The more I look the more I'm thinking about going Vertex 3 (with improved IOPS) or possibly waiting a year to *feel* like a got a new computer in a year :p
Click to expand...

Simply for a fast SSD go for the OCZ Vertex 3 or OWC 6G SSD. If you have a problem get them to replace it, personally haven't found anything relating to issues on these drives.
 
Macsavvytech said:
Simply for a fast SSD go for the OCZ Vertex 3 or OWC 6G SSD. If you have a problem get them to replace it, personally haven't found anything relating to issues on these drives.
Click to expand...

I'm going Vertex 3 120GB with the Max IOPS

I jsut have to decide if worth it now or should wait a years to feel like i have a new comp then and get WAY more storage :/
 
I have twin Vertex 3s in my 2.2GHz 15" and no problems at all. OWC 6G seems just as fast if not slightly faster from benchmarks posted here. Get whichever is cheaper!
 
Locodice said:
The only Sata 6GB/s SATA III drive that has no problems to date is the new OWC drives. Crucial aren't even supporting any of the new macbook pros, Micron are looking into the cause but they simply don't know.

This sealed the deal for me. Ordered an OWC yesterday as I wanted a SATA III drive and it's the only one with no complaints on these and other Apple related forums.
Click to expand...

No issues with my 128GB C300 at 6 Gbps in the HDD bay here. No pauses or beachballs. 15" 2.2GHz MBP, TRIM enabled, FW006 on the C300.

128GB C300 gives me approx 338 MB/s read, 147MB/s write speeds (screenshot).

The OCZ V3 and Intel 510 are probably faster though, at least on sequential workloads. Would probably have bought one or the other if it had been available at the time.
 
my OWC bench which is similar to Vertex 3's performance.

dXi4T.jpg
 
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