I have looked over the postings closely but may have missed something. What is the current knowledge, now, in early September about Apple-installed SSDs and performance degradation over time? Early concern beginning with the release of MBP 2010 in April was the the lack of TRIM support in OSX. Has anyone at this point noticed or measured significant degradation of factory-installed SSDs? I am ready to purchase a MBP 2010 and I am considering a 256 GB SSD. Thanks in advance to any willing to comment.
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MBP 2010 SSD Performance Degradation-Recent Information?
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Seriously, why are you going to pay for an Apple SSD. Go with the aftermarket route, buy your own SSD AND then you'll have a HDD, along with an SSD. There are several SSD's that have the garbage collection feature.
After 5 months now with my Kingston V+ series, I can confirm there has been no degradation. TRIM is not needed on OSX (assuming you do your homework and buy an SSD that handles GC. My SSD does have the TRIM feature as well, so I can utilize it for the Windows side of things, as needed.)
Also and of note: in the last 5 months, the cost of the SSD I bought from Newegg has gone down nearly $50!
Hi,
I've adopted 128 GB Apple SSD (it's Toshiba) in my 15" core i7 MBP. I have the machine for a few days now. I'd never go back to the spinning plater if my wallet allows. Boot up time is ~ 15-17 sec. MS word/excel, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator CS5 are opened up in ~3-4 sec, which is a lot faster than HHD. I don't have any numbers from bench tests tho but you can check the old posts. I also have no idea how much/how quickly its performance will degrade over time. I'll keep you guys posted. Many people argue that Apple SSD upgrade is not worth the money that you pay because it's not the best one in the market. However, for me not having to open up a brand new machine for SSD installation myself is worth $180 upgrade
However, for me not having to open up a brand new machine for SSD installation myself is worth $180 upgrade
So you are saying you don't know how to use a screwdriver? Installing an SSD is about as hard as putting your shoes on.
Haha. Of course, I know how to do so. But it's psychological. It's a brand new machine. Man!! I just don't want to touch the internal. Maybe down the road after I use this machine for a while and if this SSD ever gets degraded, I'll be more encouraged to open the trunk up and install a bigger and better SSD myself. Actually my plan is to wait until OS X 10.7 and Intel SSD G3 come out..
Also, apparently changing your HD to anything but what your Macbook came with voids your warranty. I just called AppleCare people today and that's what they told me.
Also, apparently changing your HD to anything but what your Macbook came with voids your warranty. I just called AppleCare people today and that's what they told me.
That is absolutely incorrect - I can't believe they told you that. Chapter 3 of the macbook manual actually has the instructions on how to replace your hard drive. The only way you will void your warranty is if you damage your macbook during the process.
The manual states:
"Apple recommends that you have an Apple-certified technician install replacement drives and memory. Consult the service and support information that came with your computer for information about how to contact Apple for service. If you attempt to install a replacement drive or memory and you damage your equipment, such damage is not covered by the limited warranty on your computer."
Also, apparently changing your HD to anything but what your Macbook came with voids your warranty. I just called AppleCare people today and that's what they told me.
No it doesn't. Plenty of people, including myself, have had their Macbook's serviced by Applecare with non-factory HDD's (and RAM) installed.
HighADP - It really is a simple procedure. I mean, really, really simple.
Also, apparently changing your HD to anything but what your Macbook came with voids your warranty. I just called AppleCare people today and that's what they told me.
This is absolutely, completely, and totally 100% false. Why do people keep spreading this FUD? The procedure is shown in detail in the user's manual for Pete's sake.
Edit: beaten to the punch.
Also, apparently changing your HD to anything but what your Macbook came with voids your warranty. I just called AppleCare people today and that's what they told me.
Don't expect that all AppleCare people know things correctly. As long as you don't break anything inside while installing SSD, your macbook pro is still covered by AppleCare.
Thanks to all for responses on this thread. Covart, with your Kingston V+ series, do you use it in an external configuration? One of my primary tasks will be importing and editing RAW camera files and then exporting to an external for storage. My thought was to keep the MBP itself fully equipped with the 8 MB of RAM and to have a relatively small SSD internal with snappy boot-up times and application loading, something that's cool-running and durable. But, consensus in the forums since last April suggests that current OSX does not address degradation. If that is the case, then there should be some signs of degradation when all the NAND cells have been written to once. An external SSD with good GC as you suggest would be a solution. has there been any official Apple comment on this question of degradation...since April?
high ADP,
How will you use your internal 128 GB SSD? Although not the cost shock of 256 GB SSD, it does seem small. Would you use it in conjunction with and external drive keeping most of your data stored externally?
How will you use your internal 128 GB SSD? Although not the cost shock of 256 GB SSD, it does seem small. Would you use it in conjunction with and external drive keeping most of your data stored externally?
Hi,
I've adopted 128 GB Apple SSD (it's Toshiba) in my 15" core i7 MBP.
Eddyisgreat, what are your thoughts on the degradation question? If you feel that it's not an issue, why?
My SSD is internal and I use an external HDD and mini-USB drives for extra storage (the mini-USB is for portability issues). Internal is the only way to go for an SSD IMO. Boot time is 16 seconds and applications are usually less than a second to load (one bounce or less on the dock).
While OSX does not have TRIM, it apparently does address the issue of degradation (some how). My SSD is proof of that. I conducted Benchmarks just after install and now with nearly zero degradation and I've written and deleted well over 1TB of data on the drive over the past 5 months. I really couldn't be happier with the performance. Once prices come down more, I'll be buying another Kingston V+ series SSD.
Hi,
I've adopted 128 GB Apple SSD (it's Toshiba) in my 15" core i7 MBP. I have the machine for a few days now. I'd never go back to the spinning plater if my wallet allows. Boot up time is ~ 15-17 sec. MS word/excel, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator CS5 are opened up in ~3-4 sec, which is a lot faster than HHD. I don't have any numbers from bench tests tho but you can check the old posts. I also have no idea how much/how quickly its performance will degrade over time. I'll keep you guys posted. Many people argue that Apple SSD upgrade is not worth the money that you pay because it's not the best one in the market. However, for me not having to open up a brand new machine for SSD installation myself is worth $180 upgrade
Of course, the ultimate in snappy response times would be to configure the internal small proprietary SSD as you have to run the OS and applications and couple it with a larger external SSD with its own GC (garbage collection) feature. The third-party SSD would be cost effective vs, say, a 512 GB Apple SSD which stratospherically priced.
Thanks, Covart, this is good information regarding the performance of your SSD. So you bought your MBP with a HDD, removed the HDD, and installed the Kingston V+ series third-party SSD? You had an Apple reseller do it? And, the Kingston had an appropriate GC feature?
Who uses the word "fud." What are you, 100 years old?
Thanks for the replies guys. I started my own thread about this issue with a detailed story of what happened. I'm going in tomorrow to talk to the geniuses about such follies. I'm sure the lady I was talking to was just new or something, because I knew as she was telling me that she was wrong, but I didn't want to be a jerk and start telling her that. I was kind of hoping when I posted what happened that I would get responses just like these, so I know that I can infact do this -and boost my confidence in being right on the matter
. With any luck I'll be joining you in the SSD club tomorrow.
Yep, I bought my SSD from Newegg.com. Installing a new HDD is a piece of cake. Very, very simple and there are plenty of youtube vids, showing you how to do it. I installed mine and it probably took me 5 minutes to do.
As for garbage collection within the OSX, I can't find anything in writing to say what is or isn't being done (Apple apparently doesn't want anyone to know), but it must be doing something natively, otherwise I'm sure my Benchmarks would have shown some degradation by now.
Your call on what you want to do, but I would have no issue now spending the money to buy a 256GB model.
Yeah, writing and deleting 1 TB data and seeing no degradation would seem to be a good test. If I were designing the system at Apple, I would want to know that degradation of performance over time would not be an issue. The answer must be that OSX does handle it natively. Strange that this is not public after so much comment in the forums. Thanks again.
Yeah, I'm not sure why Apple hasn't listed anything on the need, or lack there of, for TRIM support within OSX. Interestingly, using the new 13" MBP and checking the features "TRIM Support: No" is listed, so it had to have been thought of at some point.
I was waiting for 10.6.5 to come out and see if TRIM is left off, which will kind of confirm to me that OSX has some sort of native GC for SSD's and therefore TRIM is not needed??? Who knows. I'll just keep on using my SSD like any other HDD and see how things are 6 months down the road. I have a feeling though, it won't be much different than now.
