Is SSD worth it on my MacBook?

[AlphaDogg]

Currently, I'm looking into OCZ Vertex 2 w/ Sandforce 60GB. It's about $160, but it looks like a good balance between size/price/speed.

That seems like an excellent choice

 

[utilizer]

Wow, on the very day this on my mind, this thread is started!

I have a 64 GB SSD I purchased from Amazon (Kingston SSDNow V-Series SNV125-S2BN) and a Momentus XT 500 GB. I need to order the 9.5 mm optical bay bracket to hold the SSD. I use Adobe CS5 products and also VMWare Fusion for other Windows 7-based programs. My question is:
Could I install VMWare Fusion on the SSD and host the images on the Momentus XT without losing any performance or is it a must that I have to have both the VMWare Fusion app and the Windows 7 image on the same drive?

 

[yetanotherdave]

The OP is replacing his optical drive with an SSD, therefor not increasing battery life since he will be retaining his standard HDD. If anything this setup will reduce battery performance somewhat. The Momentus XT is crap, most likely due in part to it being a first generation attempt to marry the two technologies together. http://kotaku.com/5633779/budget-sub...drive-round+up

Did you even read the article you linked?

Overall the performance of the Seagate Momentus XT 500GB appears to be somewhat inconsistent, however for its intended purpose we are sold on the concept. Remember this is still a 2.5" spinning hard drive at its core which traditionally means lagging performance. For this reason we feel the Momentus XT 500GB is the perfect solution for laptop users that are limited to a single 2.5” drive bay. At times it offers SSD-like performance while providing plenty of storage at a reasonable price.

Yes it's not the best performance, but it's better than a 5400 drive and has other advantages!
The other non ssd in that test was a desktop 7200rpm 3.5 inch drive. which itself is faster than a standard laptop 5400 drive. Looks to me like the momentus XT will upgrade the performance to 7200 speeds at worst, SSD performance at best, most of the time somewhere in between, hardly crap!

 

[ABG]

... Otherwise, is it faster than the stock 5400 RPM HDD for my everyday uses (I do no video/photo editing)? Barely.

That's not my experience. Yes, boot time is much faster, but more importantly apps open almost instantly. So quickly I'm still staring into space waiting for it to load before I realise its waiting for me.
I wasn't using most the 500Gb capacity of the Scorpio Blue drive I fitted, but I do make use of the instant access the SSD provides.

And yes - I do miss that speed when I use my i7 iMac.

 

[WardC]

Get the Vertex 2 or the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro with the Sandforce controller. 80GB drive will run you $150 to $199 and it's a great deal. The drive is over 4 times as fast as the stock 5400rpm drive and it will make a HUGE difference in speed in everything on your machine. Your processor speed will still be the same, so heavy crunching apps like video compression times will still be the same. But boot speeds, web page loads, and application startups will be a TON faster because your read and write speed is so much faster with an SSD.