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Mechanical HDD vs. Intel X25-M G2 SSD - Performance noticeable?

N

needlz

macrumors member
Original poster
May 14, 2008
71
2
Zurich, Switzerland
Hello,

I'm planning to buy a SSD for my 1 month old Mid 2009 MBP (yes, I should've waited.. :)).

Now most sources write (e.g. AnandTech), that the Speed is really noticeable and worth the upgrade.
Since the SSD is about 20x more expensive (per GB), I wonder how the real world experiences are? Beside the most positive comments I've read, there were also some people writing that the speed is fine, but not that much noticeable (some claimed that you might only notice it when you switch back to a mechanical HDD). What are your opinions?

I'd cancel and wait for less expensive SSDs, if the noticable speed gain is only marginal.

Cheers
 
With SSDs, you boot and app launch times are quicker but that's pretty much it.

SSDs makes opening something faster but it won't speed up while actually doing something

I wouldn't get bigger than 64GB as it would be fine as a boot and app drive for me as SSDs are ridiculously expensive for data storing
 
I've an early '08 17" MBP (pre unibody). I first replaced the stock 5400rpm drive with a 7200rpm one when I decided I couldn't justify the crazy cost of the G1 X25-M. When the priced pretty much halved with the G2 I ordered it as soon as it came out - and damn glad I did too!

For me, almost everything is faster. But really it depends on what kind of tasks you run on your MBP. If you're mostly CPU bound then you won't see a huge improvement in the amount of time it takes to complete those CPU bound tasks.

If you're a Firefox tab junkie you'll find Firefox launches significantly faster with all those tabs. Generally the computer is 'snappier' and you'll rarely see the beachball.

Others have said that if you've already got a fairly current machine, upgrading to an SSD is the best upgrade you can make.
 
spinnerlys said:
Ahh, I forgot you are the first to ask this question. Sorry.
Click to expand...

No problem, I'm glad you realized ;)

billgates99 said:
Here is a link to a video that shows real time comparison booting up and loading several creative suite apps SSD vs. traditional HDD.

http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/Framework.cfm?page=ssd-speed-test-feb-10.html

I've had SSD in my windows machine for about 1 month - the difference for me is night and day. I can't imagine ever going back and if I get one of the 2010 MBPs I will definitely go with the SSD option.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I found another interesting one on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odSSI_9KAkI - but after all, it's still a marketing video :)

shreddy said:
I've an early '08 17" MBP (pre unibody). I first replaced the stock 5400rpm drive with a 7200rpm one when I decided I couldn't justify the crazy cost of the G1 X25-M. When the priced pretty much halved with the G2 I ordered it as soon as it came out - and damn glad I did too!

For me, almost everything is faster. But really it depends on what kind of tasks you run on your MBP. If you're mostly CPU bound then you won't see a huge improvement in the amount of time it takes to complete those CPU bound tasks.

If you're a Firefox tab junkie you'll find Firefox launches significantly faster with all those tabs. Generally the computer is 'snappier' and you'll rarely see the beachball.

Others have said that if you've already got a fairly current machine, upgrading to an SSD is the best upgrade you can make.
Click to expand...

I mostly run Win7 + Visual Studio in a VirtualMachine..and that's where the HDD comes to play (I hope).

Anyway, no negative opinions so far.. so I guess I'll place an order and see how it goes :)

Thanks for the help.

Cheers
 
I ran CrystalDiskMark on my Intel X18 G2 Raid0 (160GBx2) and these are my results - the 4k Read speed seems to be about 10x lower than it should be, slower than the 4k write speed -- although I can't notice it since it is so much faster than anything I have worked on previously:

--------------------------------
Sequential Read : 469.045 MB/s
Sequential Write : 155.626 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 253.068 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 133.743 MB/s
Random Read 4KB : 10.294 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 55.438 MB/s
Test Size : 100 MB Date : 2010/03/10 1:54:0
 
I think I finally decided to buy the i7 with regular screen with the regular HDD in it. I will buy the optibay and an intel X-25M g2 80go and use both drive.

SSD will be for primary OSX partition with OS and application

HDD will be for /users and bootcamp partition (would be bootable right?)

Since I really seldomly use the superdrive, that free external usb2 enclosure will do just fine :)
 
Lixia said:
I think I finally decided to buy the i7 with regular screen with the regular HDD in it. I will buy the optibay and an intel X-25M g2 80go and use both drive.

SSD will be for primary OSX partition with OS and application

HDD will be for /users and bootcamp partition (would be bootable right?)

Since I really seldomly use the superdrive, that free external usb2 enclosure will do just fine :)
Click to expand...

This is kinda off-topic, but well, you can replace a few parts of your MBP (RAM, HDD etc.), but screen might get difficult. I'd buy the i7 with a nice screen - and afterwards, when the budget fits, upgrade the single components.
 
needlz said:
This is kinda off-topic, but well, you can replace a few parts of your MBP (RAM, HDD etc.), but screen might get difficult. I'd buy the i7 with a nice screen - and afterwards, when the budget fits, upgrade the single components.
Click to expand...

I didn't think it was this much off-topic, since you asked for people opinions regarding SSDs. I've been reading for a while and that's what I decided to do.

As for the screen, I want to play some games too (and things not at native res are blurry), and the 1400x900 screen that I have now on my MPB is fine, beside bragging about more pixels, I wouldn't really want my interface to get even smaller :p
 
The Kingston SSD is faster than Intel X-25M G2 ? :eek:

EDIT : Sweet holy mother of Jesus, its got a 128 MB CACHE !?! That's like an Elephant's scrotum !!!
 
just bought the 160GB intel x-25 g2 - I can say it's TOTALLY WORTH IT.

real world benefits:

. Machine is silent (unless watching flash videos, in which case the fans will rev up)

. No worry about a "drop" causing my HD to crash

. boot time is about half (yeah but who really cares?), but app launching times are crazy (everyone cares!). Photoshop is about 2.5 seconds for a cold launch, and this is currently in a 2ghz macbook core2duo. FIrefox now loads as fast as safari.

. Compilation time reduced (I program, this is a big deal)

The performance boost will be noticeable on any machine. So if you can handle the $$s, and the smaller sizes (move your media onto external drives), then there's no reason not to have one.

Only thing is, not all SSDs are equal in terms of performance. Tom's hardware has a nice write up of the latest SSD range, and you will see that the intel kicks all the others at most tasks. Read up first
 
the.snitch said:
just bought the 160GB intel x-25 g2 - I can say it's TOTALLY WORTH IT.

real world benefits:

. Machine is silent (unless watching flash videos, in which case the fans will rev up)

. No worry about a "drop" causing my HD to crash

. boot time is about half (yeah but who really cares?), but app launching times are crazy (everyone cares!). Photoshop is about 2.5 seconds for a cold launch, and this is currently in a 2ghz macbook core2duo. FIrefox now loads as fast as safari.

. Compilation time reduced (I program, this is a big deal)

The performance boost will be noticeable on any machine. So if you can handle the $$s, and the smaller sizes (move your media onto external drives), then there's no reason not to have one.

Only thing is, not all SSDs are equal in terms of performance. Tom's hardware has a nice write up of the latest SSD range, and you will see that the intel kicks all the others at most tasks. Read up first
Click to expand...

But be aware that the X25-M is more expensive and that the Toms Hardware SSD Test (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/6gb-s-ssd-hdd,2603-3.html) compares the Kingston SsdNow V, not the SsdNow V+ (2. Gen) Edition.

If anyone is looking for a less expensive alternative to the X25-M, make sure you check some reviews about the Kingston SsdNow V+ ;)
 
Very interesting conversation going on here. I have an SSD drive for my desktop and it is definitely worth it, especially since there is room for more than one drive. I don't like the idea of carrying an external, although I may consider it if I can find a good small one, and I am probably not going to do the optibay option.

My best bet is to wait until 500gb+ is affordable. Right now, I guess it would have to be treated as an investment which WILL be used in future laptops. In that case I would have to keep the original drive.

So many choices. I guess I should read up more on the optibay also before ruling it out.
 
needlz said:
If anyone is looking for a less expensive alternative to the X25-M, make sure you check some reviews about the Kingston SsdNow V+ ;)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't touch anything but an Intel - their SSD controller holds up better over time, so the performance drop without TRIM support in OSX isn't that significant. All the other controllers seem to crawl when dealing with well used drives.

That said, I would wait for the G3 drives that should increase capacity and lower costs/GB.
 
Okay I just read somewhere that the Kingston uses the "crappy" JMicron controller that everyone loathes. Intel it is for me then.
 
I will probably be buying the 13" or 15" base model soon.. Haven't really decided wich one.. It's tearing me apart..
but anyway, have anyone replaced their DVD-drive with an extra HDD or SDD? I really want an SSD for mostly OS and Apps but they are so expensive.. So the Intel 80 GB is really atractive! But it would be nice with some extra storage space.. I do have a 500 GB external 7200 rpm drive but it's so tedious to connect and bla bla bla.. I just.. It's way better to always be able to have anyhing on the go kinda.. And reeallyy, who uses the DVD that often? Can I get some pros and cons what people think of that?

Hope I'm not stealing the thread too much here...
 
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