Mid-2010 17" MBP 2.66 i7 - which is the best SSD?

[ProMod]

I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but which SSD is the best for this setup? I know things change rapidly in the SSD world, and I'm looking for a recommendation on the best SSD based on current firmware, etc. Overall reliability and performance for price is most important.

Looking at getting either around 64GB or 128GB and replacing the optical drive. This is a Mid-2010 MBP 17" 2.66 i7.

Thanks!

 

[Wattser93]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1177020/

That's a good link to read. I'd go for 128GB if I were you, 64GB is fine for an iPad, but not for a full function computer IMO. After the OS and basic applications are installed, you'll basically be full.

EDIT: Just saw you plan to optibay it and use the SSD as your boot drive, and have a spinning for storage. 64GB would be fine then, but I would still recommend a 128GB just because I think the price differential is worth doubling the storage. (All IMO)

 

[ProMod]

Great info. Thanks for the link, Wattster93. It looks like the Intel 320 lineup is the way to go based on the recommendations in the link and elsewhere in these forums.

Now to decide whether to spring for 128 GB. Also, is there any advantage to moving the 500 GB 7200 RPM stock drive to the optical bay and placing the SSD in the stock HDD location? Or is that extra work for nothing, and I'll see the same performance by installing the SSD in the optical bay?

 

[Legion93]

Great info. Thanks for the link, Wattster93. It looks like the Intel 320 lineup is the way to go based on the recommendations in the link and elsewhere in these forums.

Now to decide whether to spring for 128 GB. Also, is there any advantage to moving the 500 GB 7200 RPM stock drive to the optical bay and placing the SSD in the stock HDD location? Or is that extra work for nothing, and I'll see the same performance by installing the SSD in the optical bay?

Depends on the type of SSD you get. If it uses SATA 3 connection you're going to get substantially higher speeds but this will work only if you put it into the main HDD bay as the optibay uses SATA II which will not benefit your SSD. Ultimately it does matter where you put your hard drives.

My setup is a Vertex 3 60GB in the main bay as the boot drive and a Momentus XT hybrid in the optibay (acts as storage). I've used an Intel X25-m 160GB in my 2010 13" MBP and it was flawless however seeing read/write speeds of 500mb from the Vertex 3 it was hard to resist buying it, especially at a price of just £99.

Samsung 470, Crucial M4, intel 320 are all good SSD's but I believe from benchmarks OCZ's Vertex 3 is the winner. It uses the Sandforce controller and has aggressive garbage collection so there's no need for a TRIM hack.