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good 256gb ssd for mac?

hehe299792458

hehe299792458

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 13, 2008
783
3
what's a good ~256 (ie between 240-256gb) ssd for MBPs?

I found this one on newegg, but not sure if it's worth the money. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231243
The Samsung 256gb is suppose to be a lot more expensive, which makes me question the quality of this drive. Also, will this particular ssd cause BIOS/EFI errors? I read that Intel X-25 does. I don't use bootcamp much so I don't really care, but it's still nice to know beforehand....

Are there any better drives available/on the horizon? Should I wait for the Samsung drive to hit retail, or is this one good enough? Thanks a lot!:D
 
Wait a couple of more week, both Apex/Vertex from OCZ should be out by the end of the month if there aren't any more delays.

Apex is basically similar to the product you linked, 256gb should be below 500$.

Vertex is the high end SSD with brand new controller and onboard cache, the 256GB should be below 800$.
 
I didn't know there was BIOS/EFI errors with some SSD's ??

We should have a list of all the known tested compatible drives with macbook's and macbook pro's.
 
MacFever said:
I didn't know there was BIOS/EFI errors with some SSD's ??

We should have a list of all the known tested compatible drives with macbook's and macbook pro's.
Click to expand...

I think not enough people have tried SSDs to create a meaningful list.
 
The G.Skill Titan has been receiving good reviews. Additionally, you may want to consider the SanDisk C25-G3 SSD:
http://driveyourlaptop.com/products/sandisk-ssd-g3-

240GB will run you $499, and it's slated for release in mid-2009.

I'm in the same boat as yourself, but I won't install an SSD until SL is released. By that time, we will hopefully have a clear winner in terms of performance/price. Right now, I think the title of best 250GB SSD is still up for grabs (based on 'bang-for-buck', not simply performance).

Report back with your decision/experience!
 
nope7308 said:
The G.Skill Titan has been receiving good reviews. Additionally, you may want to consider the SanDisk C25-G3 SSD:
http://driveyourlaptop.com/products/sandisk-ssd-g3-

240GB will run you $499, and it's slated for release in mid-2009.

I'm in the same boat as yourself, but I won't install an SSD until SL is released. By that time, we will hopefully have a clear winner in terms of performance/price. Right now, I think the title of best 250GB SSD is still up for grabs (based on 'bang-for-buck', not simply performance).

Report back with your decision/experience!
Click to expand...

If you'll pardon my ignorance, what is SL?
 
Sorry, I tend to get carried away with acronyms. Also, just to be clear, I'm waiting for Snow Leopard (SL) to be released first because I anticipate that the price of 250GB SSDs will stabilize, somewhat, around that time (mid-2009). If I'm lucky, then hopefully there will be a clear winner in terms of that tricky balance between performance and price. Truthfully, I'm excited about the SanDisk SSD, but my personal sweet spot would be $400.

I thought I should mention that so no one thinks that SL will adversely affect current SSDs or anything like that.
 
You know, I'm thinking as soon as there are enough drives that take advantage of SATA 3.0Gb/s speeds (Intel X25-M, the new Samsung, OCZ Vertex), these "suitable for SATA 1.5Gb/s" drives (G.Skill Titan, OCZ Apex) will be had for a song...
 
I ordered the one the OP posted yesterday. Will get it either sat or Monday. Update you then.

The drive has re same theoretical speed as the Samsung and seems to get close to it in real world.

EDIT: I reread the article and it says the Samsung is also MLC.
 
NintendoFan said:
The drive has been getting good reviews: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208242&page=235

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/01/20/g-skill-titan-256gb-ssd-review/1
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=214428&page=3
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=804&p=7
Click to expand...

The reviews on notebookreview and newegg are very mixed. Some say it's great, some say it has the stuttering problems earlier low end SSD drives had. At this point, I would absolutely not get this drive unless more positive reviews come out.

If I could get the Samsung drive (they don't sell it as a retail package) I'd get that or the Intel X25 160GB model.
 
bcaslis said:
If I could get the Samsung drive (they don't sell it as a retail package) I'd get that or the Intel X25 160GB model.
Click to expand...

So is the Samsung SSD is only going to be able when you configure laptops such as the 17" macbook pro with it when you buy it?
 
speedy523 said:
So is the Samsung SSD is only going to be able when you configure laptops such as the 17" macbook pro with it when you buy it?
Click to expand...

Apple currently only offers it on the new 17" MBP. Dell is offering it on some models. I've seen one on ebay for $999. But you can't get one on most websites when you can buy an SSD such as newegg.com.
 
Niiro13 said:
I ordered the one the OP posted yesterday. Will get it either sat or Monday. Update you then.

The drive has re same theoretical speed as the Samsung and seems to get close to it in real world.

EDIT: I reread the article and it says the Samsung is also MLC.
Click to expand...

So, where are your benchmarks? We've got fence sitters in here...
 
louden said:
Can anyone confirm if these G.Skill drives can be used with Bootcamp?
Click to expand...

G Skill Titan 256GB works perfectly with Bootcamp. Currently running Vista 64 and the SSD makes it nice and speedy.

MikhailT said:
Apex is basically similar to the product you linked, 256gb should be below 500$.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the Apex 256GB on Newegg is currently listed at $829.

I'm waiting on Vertex and the reviews. And also hopefully it works with Bootcamp, then I may consider swapping out the G Skill for that.

One thing to note, since SSDs are still relatively new, the current crop of benchmarks for HDD may not be the best tools to benchmark an SSD. For instance I've tried Xbench and the results tends to change each time I run it, sometimes by a large margin. From my knowledge there are no benchmark tools specifically made with SSDs in mind.
 
I will post a more detailed wrap-up within the next day or two, but I can tell you that I just finished installing my G. Skill 256GB SSD in my Macbook Pro (15" Mid 2008 Penryn 2.4GHZ 4GB RAM) machine. It's replacing my 7200 rpm 200GB default drive.

WOW - this thing screams. Like... wow... The whole "computer experience" is completely different. Apps boot up almost instantly. I haven't seen the beachball yet. And while I don't reboot my computer much, DAMN my boot time is a fraction of what it used to be. Like I said, I'll write a post w/ some more details, some xbench comparisons, etc. But I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents there.

I believe the one bad review about this G. Skill drive on newegg is actually about the OLDER G.Skill drive, and was posted in error. The previous generation G. Skill SSD didn't link up two SSDs in Raid 0 config like this one does. Anyhow, this thing is great...
 
Even the old G Skill works rather nicely but it will stutter once in a while. Mine, I've only seen it stutter once when I was doing software installs, but thats probably because the computer the G Skill 128GB (non-Titan) is hooked up to... is a single drive hooked into a hardware raid card with 2GB of cache.

But like Spaceballl said, the new Titan is great on the MBP. :)

Spaceballl, quick question, how warm does your Titan SSD get? Mine seems to get warm to the touch after prolonged usage. This was before putting it into MBP, after putting it in the palm rest above where the SSD is will get slightly warm once in a while. Does yours mimic this?
 
Samsung's upcoming SS805 100GIG drive will knock your socks off. Of course, it's an SLC drive, so it's gonna be at least 2x as much as the drives talked about in this thread... it will be 2x faster write though and close to 2x longer life (theoretical).
 
spaceballl said:
I will post a more detailed wrap-up within the next day or two, but I can tell you that I just finished installing my G. Skill 256GB SSD in my Macbook Pro (15" Mid 2008 Penryn 2.4GHZ 4GB RAM) machine. It's replacing my 7200 rpm 200GB default drive.

WOW - this thing screams. Like... wow... The whole "computer experience" is completely different. Apps boot up almost instantly. I haven't seen the beachball yet. And while I don't reboot my computer much, DAMN my boot time is a fraction of what it used to be. Like I said, I'll write a post w/ some more details, some xbench comparisons, etc. But I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents there.

I believe the one bad review about this G. Skill drive on newegg is actually about the OLDER G.Skill drive, and was posted in error. The previous generation G. Skill SSD didn't link up two SSDs in Raid 0 config like this one does. Anyhow, this thing is great...
Click to expand...

Just to be sure - the SR MBP use 1.5 Gb/s SATA, correct? I think your results will a bit less than the unibodies...
 
Lyshen said:
Spaceballl, quick question, how warm does your Titan SSD get? Mine seems to get warm to the touch after prolonged usage. This was before putting it into MBP, after putting it in the palm rest above where the SSD is will get slightly warm once in a while. Does yours mimic this?
Click to expand...
Yup, that's pretty accurate. It doesn't get as warm as a hard drive, but it does get "lukewarm." I just finished re-imaging the drive and the palm rest is a bit warm, but not as warm as it would get when it had the hard drive in there.
wonderbread57 said:
Samsung's upcoming SS805 100GIG drive will knock your socks off. Of course, it's an SLC drive, so it's gonna be at least 2x as much as the drives talked about in this thread... it will be 2x faster write though and close to 2x longer life (theoretical).
Click to expand...
Sure... and the successor to that drive will be even faster... etc etc... but eventually one has to pull the trigger. A fast 256GB SSD dropped below my $500 price target so that was the sign for me!
louden said:
Just to be sure - the SR MBP use 1.5 Gb/s SATA, correct? I think your results will a bit less than the unibodies...
Click to expand...
My results will be slightly below the unibody macs, but that should be more related to the fact that I'm using a slower FSB and DDR2 memory. Not sure about the sata, but we're not hitting 1.5gbps anyways so unless there is an issue with the controller, I don't think it will matter... The CPUs are both Penryns, but mine's on the lower fsb.
 
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