Mid 2010 MacBook Pro Samsung SSD Pro vs. Evo

[JonIrenicus]

Long time reader, but first time poster for this great community!

I own a 15" Mid 2010 MBP and am looking to replace my optical drive for a SSD drive, but had a few questions:

1. Is the Samsung 840 Pro SSD worth it for my older MBP with only SATA II support? Specifically, I'm debating between a Samsung 256GB Pro vs. a 500 GB Evo.
2. Where should I install the SSD? It looks like it makes sense to keep my existing HD in its original slot and replace my optical bay with the new SSD because of the Sudden Motion Sensor.
3. Anyone have experience with battery life with this setup? How much percent decrease should I expect running both of the hard drives?
4. I use Time Machine for my backups. Once I have both drives installed in the MBP, is it possible to use Time Machine for both drives on one single external drive? Is there a more straightforward backup solution for Macs with multiple drives?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

[Wuiffi]

I can answer 1 and 2.

1. Both will be limited to SATA2, so the Pro is wasted money.
2. Afaik it doesn't matter where you put it (it does on the 2011 models!)

 

[JonIrenicus]

Thanks for the prompt response, Wuiffi.

I'm thinking about getting the Pro anyways because I could always take it out and put it into a newer MBP when I buy a new one. I don't need the extra storage because I'll be using the existing platter drive (500 GB) as a media one.

Does anyone have any other feedback on questions 3 or 4? Additionally, should I look into a RAID 0 setup with 2 SSD's in my MBP or would that be wasted money?

Cheers!

 

[gobigorange]

I'd still go with the 840 EVO. As of now, you could only replace the 13" classic MBP's hard drive with a standard SSD. That is, most likely, your next MBP will be unable to use the 840 Pro.

 

[JonIrenicus]

Fair enough ... I'd imagine my next Mac would be a MBA and those usually have the SSD's soldered on and non-upgradable, correct?

 

[whitedragon101]

I'm thinking about getting the Pro anyways because I could always take it out and put it into a newer MBP when I buy a new one.

Even though it is called the Pro it is not faster than the Evo. It was called Pro because it was the higher model to the 840. So Samsung 840 was low end 840 Pro was high end. The Evo came to the party later and is a different animal altogether.

The Evo is for most purposes faster than the Pro. Anandtechs storage benchmark puts the Evo between 19% and 48% faster than the Pro depending on the drive size.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7173/...w-120gb-250gb-500gb-750gb-1tb-models-tested/7

The only reason to go for the Pro is if you are using it for super high workload enterprise use where it is constantly being written to. This is because the Pro uses MLC nand (2 cells) rather than TLC (3 cells) of the Evo. TLC nand wears out faster than MLC. However, for a 500GB drive it will take you 31years at 50GB of writes a day (every day) to wear out the Evo (TLC nand) drive. So its really not a problem for non enterprise use.

 

[ecschwarz]

Fair enough ... I'd imagine my next Mac would be a MBA and those usually have the SSD's soldered on and non-upgradable, correct?

The Airs and Retina Pros have SSDs that are blade-style (basically little modules that looks kind of like RAM modules) and connect via PCIe, instead of SATA. They are removable, but not practical to at this point.

 

[alphaod]

Just get the 840 EVO.

 

[JonIrenicus]

Just get the 840 EVO.

Will do! Just waiting for a good deal.

 

[Freyqq]

Since you are stuck on SATA II, the speed difference will not be visible. Both can saturate SATA II, so just get the EVO.