OCZ Vertex SSD in MacBook Pro i7

[Mark Booth]

After I purchased my 2.66GHz Core i7 yesterday, the first order of business was to open it up and remove the 500GB factory drive and replace it with my OCZ Vertex 128GB SSD drive. I was hoping I could simply drop in the Vertex (which had been in use in my previous MacBook) and boot away. But, as I suspected might happen, the OS X already on the Vertex didn't have the necessary support for the new model/CPU. I had to format the Vertex, install a fresh copy of OS X from the DVD supplied with the Core i7, and then use Migration Assistant to move over my data from a backup drive. No biggie.

Anyway, this baby SMOKES with that SSD drive in there! Check out these boot times:

From the moment I press the power button to a fully loaded Finder/Desktop: 19 seconds
From the moment I hear the startup bong to a fully loaded Finder/Desktop: 13 seconds
From the moment the spinning wheel first appears below the Apple logo (the beginning of drive access) to a fully loaded Finder/Desktop: 7 seconds

Shutdown time is awesome as well:

From the moment I confirm shutdown by clicking "OK" (pressing Enter) to a fully shut down computer: Less than 3 seconds!

The 19 second figure is roughly equivalent to what I was getting with my previous MacBook Pro. However, on that older model, the time between pressing the power button and hearing the startup bong was about 3 seconds. The new MacBook Pro takes 6 seconds for that part of the boot process. So, the boot process from the startup bong is actually 3 seconds faster with the Core i7 model.

I will never own another laptop computer without an SSD drive. Even if I couldn't afford a 128GB drive, I'd get a smaller one and use an external drive for data. Once you go fast Fast FAST, there's no going back!

Mark

 

[Gorilla Power]

Can you please post a link to the SSD you're referring to ?

 

[johnnymg]

snip..........

I will never own another laptop computer without an SSD drive. Even if I couldn't afford a 128GB drive, I'd get a smaller one and use an external drive for data. Once you go fast Fast FAST, there's no going back!

Mark

How do/did you manage garbage collection with the SSD on the MBP's?

thanks
JohnG

 

[MBHockey]

Garbage collection is done by the SSDs own controller. There's nothing to do as an end user. It's OS and user independent.

 

[johnnymg]

Garbage collection is done by the SSDs own controller. There's nothing to do as an end user. It's OS and user independent.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Does this SSD cause any problems when the computer is 'put to sleep'?
Which model do you have?

I'm considering this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820227470

thanks
JohnG

 

[MBHockey]

I had tons of problems with an OCZ vertex this past summer. Problems sleeping my computer and then after 5 months of ownership it just died. Sent it back to OCZ and they determined it was a hardware failure. If that wasn't bad enough it took them an entire month to refund my money.

I purchased a G2 intel after that and have not had a single issue with it since I installed it in september/october. I couldn't recommend the intel SSDs any higher. I got one for my brother about two months ago and he also has had no issues whatsoever.

 

[Mark Booth]

The OCZ Vertex SSD that I put in my Core i7 had been in my previous MacBook Pro (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo) for about 18 months. I've never had any issues with the Vertex SSD. Both MacBook Pros sleep perfectly and behave completely normally, other than being a lot faster!

From reading the OCZ forums, I know there are MacBook Pro owners that have had problems, particularly with sleep. I don't know why it has not been an issue for me. Lucky I guess.

Mark

 

[Lyshen]

Just chiming in, but I don't use Vertex (used on my PC desktop).

Currently using Crucial's C300 256GB in my 15" i7... and just like the Vertex, super speedy as well. Loving it and it is a definite nice upgrade.

C300 doesn't have the sleep problem from what I've seen so far and I think it supports Garbage Collection. Not entirely sure since I know it does support Trim. (Not sure if a SSD can support GC & Trim at the same time, since Vertex as of firmware 1.4 or so, the end-user had to choose to flash with GC or Trim)

 

[Mark Booth]

C300 doesn't have the sleep problem from what I've seen so far and I think it supports Garbage Collection. Not entirely sure since I know it does support Trim. (Not sure if a SSD can support GC & Trim at the same time, since Vertex as of firmware 1.4 or so, the end-user had to choose to flash with GC or Trim)

OCZ offered firmware 1.4 with Trim and firmware 1.41GC with Garbage Collection. You had to choose which one you wanted (for Mac users, the 1.41GC was a no brainer because OS X doesn't yet support Trim). However, effective with OCZ firmware version 1.5 (released in January), Trim and GC are in the same firmware revision. I upgraded my Vertex SSD to version 1.5 before installing it in the MBP Core i7.

Mark

 

[Gorilla Power]

Mark, I'm very new to the SSD world. Can you please tell me how you upgrade your disk's firmware ? Is there a program you download from the manufacturer's website ? Is it OSX compatible ?

Also, the sleep problem some mention about -- is it affected by all SSDs or is it like a problem from the past that has been all figured out ?

Thanks

 

[Lyshen]

OCZ offered firmware 1.4 with Trim and firmware 1.41GC with Garbage Collection. You had to choose which one you wanted (for Mac users, the 1.41GC was a no brainer because OS X doesn't yet support Trim). However, effective with OCZ firmware version 1.5 (released in January), Trim and GC are in the same firmware revision. I upgraded my Vertex SSD to version 1.5 before installing it in the MBP Core i7.

Mark

Oh nice, good to know... I should upgrade the Vertex in my desktop PC to 1.5. Although really it doesn't matter since I rarely use the PC, just when I feel like gaming, otherwise the PC stays off.

@Gorilla:
Upgrading a SSD firmware usually requires the usage of Dos or Windows, and additionally most of the time needs to be done with a PC (needs BIOS, not EFI). I have yet to see a SSD firmware capable of being flashed on a Mac.

 

[Maximus434]

I, too, have installed an OCZ Vertex 120Gb in my new Core i5 MBP.

This baby is blazing fast and it's true, I'll never go back to a regular HDD. The difference is night and day.

Mark there are some things to do when installing an SSD drive to a mac, which you may not know.

First, disable the sudden motion sensor, it can only cause problems and I've heard of macs freezing with sudden movements with SSDs installed. Google it and you'll find the terminal command.

What I do aswell is change hibernatemode to 0. This changes the MBPs sleep mode to NOT dump the contents of RAM to the disk each time you sleep. Results in a faster getting-to-sleep time. I rarely have use for this feature and I've read reports of it not working for SSDs either. You don't really need it anyway because the batteries are built-in and it's unlikely you will lose power during sleep.