Hello, I currently have a MacBook Pro Mid 2012, and use it for school. I would love to get an SSD to improve read and write speed, but getting a 500GB version like I would need pricing wise is just out of the question. However, I stumbled upon the idea of getting a Hybrid SSD drive. I know this is a mix between a spinning drive and an SSD and this idea seems compelling. I understand that performance wouldn't be as good as with an SSD, but it still seems enticing, especially with the fact that a 500GB hybrid is just $75. Is the performance upgrade even worth it though? If there is a noticeable difference, I would definitely be willing to buy it and replace my SATA. Please advise me on whether this is worth it, thanks in advance!
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Hybrid Hard Drive
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No. They use a pitiful amount of SSD for cache. They're not like a fusion drive where it's a 128Gb SSD and a large HDD, they use something like 8Gb of SSD. Why not compromise and get a 250Gb SSD and put your existing HDD in an external case?
If you really need 500Gb and can't cope with only 250Gb, I'd just save longer and get a bigger SSD because if you've managed with a HDD for this long, it's worth waiting a little longer. Particularly with pricing and specs of SSDs that not only makes a 500Gb cheaper than the price of 2 x 250 but they also offer the faster read/write times.
In the UK, it's £160 for a 500Gb Samsung 840 EVO, £90 for the 250Gb version but a 500Gb Hybrid drive is around £60. That would seem to favour the hybrid if you couldn't get lower spec 240-256Gb SSDs for under £75 that still beat any HDD. Also, hybrid drives typically only use a 5400rpm HDD too.
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Ok, what I'm actually considering instead, is having an Apple authorized service provider place a 250GB SSD in place of my optical disc drive, if I can do that great, if I can't well then I'll just hand on to my HDD for a little while longer
Not sure if apple authorized service providers would do that. It is possible, but you have to buy a third party adapter to make it work.
Those hybrid HD are fine. True, it won't be as fast as an SSD, but it will be much faster than the regular hard drive you are use to. Basically, they work by automatically putting some of the files you use the most into an SSD cache. So, just the files you use the most will benefit from the extra speed, not everything on the drive.
Ok, and if I were to get a hybrid drive, would you recommend me being able to use it with my Bootcamp partition as well, because basically what I also have a Windows 7 partition for my Mac to play games and whatnot on my computer.
Put the SSD in the HDD bay and the old HDD put in the ODD bay. HDD bay has faster SATA connection than ODD bay.
I'd love to do that, but I actually found out that would void my Apple warranty that I just purchased, so unless I find an authorized Apple service provider that will do it for me, I won't be able to pursue that option
Still would void your warranty especially if they do it in the shop. It would be documented. Better do it yourself and if you're concerned about warranty, put the optical drive back in when taking the computer in for service.
Yea whatever, it's okay, I just think it's not worth doing it because not only do you have to buy the more expensive SSD with less space, but it would also cost for the tool that i need for being able to replace the optical drive, along with the fact that I'm not the greatest with replacing parts and what not. I can do simple stuff like replace RAM sticks, but I don't know about something like that, so I think it's just best if I leave it alone.
The price may be high but in your case I would save up for a 512gb ssd, an external usb 2.5 hdd enclosure and purchase a copy of winclone. You can copy your Osx install over to the new drive very easily using disk utillty, and save hours and hours setting up windows again as winclone migrating your boot camp install over to the new drive is pretty easy too. The optibay upgrade I would wait for a later date which is much more involved than just swapping the main drive out.
Then it's a pretty easy thing to do to take out your original hdd by unscrewing the bottom case, save it in case it has to go back to Apple for service and transplant it with your new ssd. Could always stick your old drive in the enclosure for use with time machine.
Then it's a pretty easy thing to do to take out your original hdd by unscrewing the bottom case, save it in case it has to go back to Apple for service and transplant it with your new ssd. Could always stick your old drive in the enclosure for use with time machine.
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