Few (Noob) Questions about SSD Selection

[oButto]

Hey guys, I'm new here.
I know you guys will bash me for not searching, but I actually attempted to. I just couldn't find any concrete information that answers my questions completely.

First of all, I've read that people are recommending SATA III SSD's over the SATA II. Why? Is it really a significant increase? If I do decide to use a Vertex 2 over a Vertex 3, will I be sacrificing a lot of speed?

Also, I've been reading about compatibility issues. Does the MBP support all SATA II but have trouble with SATA III?

What SATA III SSD would you guys recommend? I'm on a tight budget...$200 for a minimum 80gb SSD. Might be able to use a 60 gb...but idk.

How much space does the snow leopard + everything combined take? I heard it was up to 30 gb? Need to know this!

 

[kdoug]

Hey guys, I'm new here.
I know you guys will bash me for not searching, but I actually attempted to. I just couldn't find any concrete information that answers my questions completely.

First of all, I've read that people are recommending SATA III SSD's over the SATA II. Why? Is it really a significant increase? If I do decide to use a Vertex 2 over a Vertex 3, will I be sacrificing a lot of speed?

Also, I've been reading about compatibility issues. Does the MBP support all SATA II but have trouble with SATA III?

What SATA III SSD would you guys recommend? I'm on a tight budget...$200 for a minimum 80gb SSD. Might be able to use a 60 gb...but idk.

How much space does the snow leopard + everything combined take? I heard it was up to 30 gb? Need to know this!

If you want the most compatible SSD than the Kingston V+ or V+100 is an easy choice. They use the same Toshiba controller that Apple uses in their SSD's. I'm using the V+ 128GB in mine and it sleeps, wakes up and performs exactly as the Apple SSD performs. It also benchmarks almost identically to Apples.

 

[oButto]

If you want the most compatible SSD than the Kingston V+ or V+100 is an easy choice. They use the same Toshiba controller that Apple uses in their SSD's. I'm using the V+ 128GB in mine and it sleeps, wakes up and performs exactly as the Apple SSD performs. It also benchmarks almost identically to Apples.

Will this perform better than the Crucial C300? (they are similarly priced but the C300 is Sata III).

 

[NickZac]

C300 is the best bet.

 

[oButto]

I would buy the C300...but there seems to be crazy problems getting it installed on a 2011 MBP...

 

[JasonH42]

I would buy the C300...but there seems to be crazy problems getting it installed on a 2011 MBP...

The C300 is a great drive. No problems in my 15" 2011 2.2GHz. Vertex 3 works well also. SATA 3 gives you a bit of a speed increase over SATA 2 but its not that great that you'd notice.

 

[maclaptop]

OEM is best

 

[polbit]

Loving my C300, no problems so far.

Polbit

 

[DarkFlame]

Spend the extra 75 bucks and get the Vertex 3 120Gb SATA III and use that 2011's MBP's full potential @ 6GBps

I did and it's a dream!

 

[oButto]

Haha well I've been flip flopping. Went from being committed to buying a C300 to a Kingston V100 and now FINALLY I think I'll get an Intel 320. Vertex 3 is sadly out of my budget.

 

[Macsavvytech]

Hey guys, I'm new here.
I know you guys will bash me for not searching, but I actually attempted to. I just couldn't find any concrete information that answers my questions completely.

First of all, I've read that people are recommending SATA III SSD's over the SATA II. Why? Is it really a significant increase? If I do decide to use a Vertex 2 over a Vertex 3, will I be sacrificing a lot of speed?

Also, I've been reading about compatibility issues. Does the MBP support all SATA II but have trouble with SATA III?

What SATA III SSD would you guys recommend? I'm on a tight budget...$200 for a minimum 80gb SSD. Might be able to use a 60 gb...but idk.

How much space does the snow leopard + everything combined take? I heard it was up to 30 gb? Need to know this!

If you have a 2011 MBP get a SATA III SSD.
If you have a 2010 MBP or older get a SATA II SSD.

SATA III is much fast in data transfer round 2x, but in day to day life there isn't much difference.

 

[phpmaven]

If you have a 2011 MBP get a SATA III SSD.
If you have a 2010 MBP or older get a SATA II SSD.

SATA III is much fast in data transfer round 2x, but in day to day life there isn't much difference.

Well, if your day to day life involves using your MacBook, I would say it makes a considerable difference. Not to say that it would be slow with a SATA 2 drive, but to say that a fast SATA 3 drive doesn't make a noticeable difference in day to day usage is just silly.

 

[bplein]

I am very happy so far with an Intel 320 Series (320GB) in my MBP 5,3 (2.66 Unibody mid-2009). Fast, works with the TrimEnabler hack, have no regrets paying a fair chunk of cash for it.

 

[Weaselboy]

Well, if your day to day life involves using your MacBook, I would say it makes a considerable difference. Not to say that it would be slow with a SATA 2 drive, but to say that a fast SATA 3 drive doesn't make a noticeable difference in day to day usage is just silly.

Not really silly at all. The new SATA III drives made improvements primarily in large sequential file reads/writes. Most users who just launch apps and use the Internet and work on some Office documents will be mostly accessing small random read/writes on the SSD and SATA III will make little difference.

Now if you are accessing large video files for example, the SATA III difference might be noticeable.

I had a 2008 13" MBP with an OWC SATA II SSD. I bought a new 2011 13" MBP and put a Intel 510 SSD (SATA III) in it. In normal use just opening apps and accessing data on the machine I notice little difference between the old machine and the new one.

In benchmarks, the SATA III drives do show faster speeds. But in normal usage there is really not that much difference. If the small difference in speed increase with SATA III is worth the money I suppose is for the customer to decide.

Look at this test that simulates opening various files and apps. Note not much difference between SATA II and SATA III drives.

Suggestion for OP>> Make sure whatever brand you buy the manufacturer offers a way for you to do firmware updates on a Mac. Intel for example provides a boot CDRom ISO for firmware updates on the Mac. Other vendors, notably OWC, do not provide this.