OWC SSD still good deal with new, faster SSDs?

[gregor.hoch]

Hi, I was wondering whether the OWC SSD (particularly, 115GB for $230) are still a good deal with the new SATA 3 6Gb/s SSDs?

Thanks!

 

[jetjaguar]

I had the older gen 120gb owc ssd and i thought it was blazing fast and had no issues on my 2010 mbp .. but the vertex 3 is way faster... but either one is gonna be so much faster than a mechanical hard drive

 

[Bigmacduck]

Stay away from SATA III

I recommend to stay away from SATA III until the open question regarding SATA cabling inside the MBP is clarified.

Fact is that:
- the SandyBridge chip set supports SATA III
- Apple has not disabled SATA III mode of the port
- Apple does not officially support SATA III
- Apple does not ship any SATA III stock SSDs
- Several sources stated that the cabling inside the MBP is not supporting the higher frequencies that SATA III requires.

So internal SATA cables are the weakest link in the chain. Problem with SATA II cables used for SATA III links is that it might work with some configurations and might not work with other configurations. It is quite a random gamble. This thesis is supported by the fact that some folks have no problem at all with SATA III, but other people have significant issues.

So I rather have a great SATA II controller-cable-drive link than a whacky dubious SATA III chain.

So from that perspective the OWC SATA II SSD's are a great choice.

 

[kobyh15]

I recommend to stay away from SATA III until the open question regarding SATA cabling inside the MBP is clarified.

Fact is that:
- the SandyBridge chip set supports SATA III
- Apple has not disabled SATA III mode of the port
- Apple does not officially support SATA III
- Apple does not ship any SATA III stock SSDs
- Several sources stated that the cabling inside the MBP is not supporting the higher frequencies that SATA III requires.

So internal SATA cables are the weakest link in the chain. Problem with SATA II cables used for SATA III links is that it might work with some configurations and might not work with other configurations. It is quite a random gamble. This thesis is supported by the fact that some folks have no problem at all with SATA III, but other people have significant issues.

So I rather have a great SATA II controller-cable-drive link than a whacky dubious SATA III chain.

So from that perspective the OWC SATA II SSD's are a great choice.

Those that own Vertex 3's on this forum seem to be doing just fine. Super quick drives and absolutely no compatibility issues. I honestly wouldn't worry about it, the MBP supports 6 Gbps. Wait till the new OWC SATA III drives come out and see what you think about them. If you're spending the same amount of money, I would rather get the fastest drive out of the deal.

 

[Kevin L.]

Hi, I was wondering whether the OWC SSD (particularly, 115GB for $230) are still a good deal with the new SATA 3 6Gb/s SSDs?

What about the optical bay adapter? OWC sells one bundled with the drive, or it looks like you can get cheapo ones on eBay for about $30. Does quality matter with these?
Also, is it best to put the SSD in the primary drive bay if it's going to have the OS, or can the SSD go in the opti-bay and still be the primary boot drive?