Just wondering how is everyones setup on the SSD and Optibay setup running? Do you plan on keeping it that way or once the bigger SSD comes down in price you plan to stick the optical drive back in and keep it quiet with an SSD only? I've used a Macbook air for about a week and have been spoiled how quiet and fast everything is, just annoyed that the optibay setup gets noisy when the hard disk is spinning up.
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How reliable and efficient is the SSD and Optibay setup for you guys?
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I've ran quite a few OptiBay setups. I've typically used a Samsung 830 SSD in the HDD bay and a Western Digital 1 TB HDD in the OptiBay. I have never had any issues. My best advice is to put the SSD (or main drive) in the hard drive bay and the secondary drive in the Optical Drive bay. Just my 2 cents.
I'm currently using this SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147138
This HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136927
This OptiBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290711178201#ht_2579wt_1180
Excellent combo!
I'm currently using this SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147138
This HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136927
This OptiBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290711178201#ht_2579wt_1180
Excellent combo!
I have a 17" MBP with apple SSD and I've used this setup for 18 months, with OWC Optibay + 750GB 7200 rpm HDD. My SSD is the original apple SSD so its in my HDD bay, and the 750 in optibay.
i have 0 complaints. it was the best investment, and at $72 the optibay made life a lot easier. i saw cheaper optical bays out there but didn't want to risk crap/failing drives.
in all honesty my laptop travelled for the first 12 monthly daily in my backpack, but the last 6 it has sat at home.
I have an OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G (120GB) in the main bay and Hitachi 7200rpm 750GB in the Data Doubler (optibay) and it's working fine, but I'm starting to get annoyed by frequent spinups of the HDD.
That's why I'm considering getting a bigger SSD a couple of months from now (perhaps a 512GB Crucial M4) and putting the Superdrive back into the optibay...
That's why I'm considering getting a bigger SSD a couple of months from now (perhaps a 512GB Crucial M4) and putting the Superdrive back into the optibay...
Wirelessly posted
I have a 512 crucial m4. If prices continue to drop, I'm considering getting a second one and putting in the Optibay for 1TB total.
If I did that, what is the recommendation in terms of setup: RAID0, time machine, partion and use for other purposes, etc?
I have a 512 crucial m4. If prices continue to drop, I'm considering getting a second one and putting in the Optibay for 1TB total.
If I did that, what is the recommendation in terms of setup: RAID0, time machine, partion and use for other purposes, etc?
FYI: SATA 3 drives on the 2011 15" and 17" won't work correctly in the optibay or with the data doubler. I had a 256GB m4 in the main bay and a 1tb WD blue in the optibay for a month and a half. The m4 WOULD NOT WORK in the optibay. This is confirmed by OWC in a large post on their site. They confirm that it does work in the 13" MacBook Pro.
I just upgraded to the 512GB m4 in the main drive and put the optical drive back in.... no more spinning disks. The 512GB has the same speeds as the 256GB. 250MB/s write and 510MB/s read. ;-)
Good info. I do have the 13" MBP, so I should get SATA III speeds from the Optibay. So with identical SSDs in both, what's the best way to configure it?
I ordered an early 2011 15" MBP with a factory 128gb SSD. I purchased the cheap optibay alternative and a 1tb WD HDD to use in it. I ended up putting the SSD in the optical bay and the HDD in the factory spot due to the size of the HDD (too big for optibay). Mine has been flawless and I've not had a single issue with it.
RAID-1 if you want redundancy. RAID-0 if you want double the space. Performance will already be fast enough.
Your factory 128GB SSD is probably SATA2 and not SATA3 (guessing.. check system info). No issue with SATA 2 SSD or HDD in the optibay.
I used the 512GB M4 for less then an hour after cloning with CCC and it was beach balling with firmware 000F (shipped firmware). I downgraded to 0309 and it worked perfectly fine but there is a constant high pitched electrical noise coming from the SSD. Crucial support stated that 1 in 700 are faulty and the noise I'm hearing means it will eventually fail. They're having me RMA the drive. The support tech also stated that 000F isn't working for some 2011 MacBooks and to use 0309... They're recommending this to people with the issues... no voided warranty with downgrading to 0309. Looks like I'll be sending the 512GB m4 out tomorrow and waiting for a replacement. When I get it I'll retest with 000F and downgrade to 0309 if necessary.