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Poll result : Sales of 17" UMBP with 128GB SSD are zero

S

SmokinJoe

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 28, 2009
11
0
Australia
OK, the title is misleading, but I have posted 2 new threads on this topic and so far nobody has reported buying, trying or testing one.

The first post on March 1 was called "128GB SSD in 17" MBP" and received 173 views and 0 replies.

The second attempt, on March 5, titled "Has anyone bought the 17" MBP with the 128GB solid state drive?" was viewed 240 times and received 7 replies. But none of the replies reported actually buying or testing the product sold by Apple.

There were suggestions about putting in my own SSD, and some discussion about Samsung versus Toshiba SSDs, but while the new 17" 256GB SSD is a Toshiba (apparently with disappointing specs), no-one seems to know what make of unit Apple puts into the 128GB.

My situation is that I ordered the 17" MBP with matte screen and ATA @7200 drive from a reseller in late January. They still cannot give me a delivery date, and after reading some of the comments about SSD, I decided to cancel my order and wait to see what the 128SSD is like - as supplied by Apple. And I am still impatiently waiting to hear a single report!

I don't want to buy one model then change the HD later. My employer will pay for the computer, but after spending that money they certainly wont pay for a change of HD shortly afterwards. Also, I don't think they will stretch to the cost of the 256GB model.

So, please, can anyone provide some feedback on their experience with this computer?
 
looks like your gonna have to look outside of MR.

Most people that get a new MBP dont want sucha small HD
 
Sorry abstract if it annoys you - or anyone else. But I would like some feedback and surely to goodness there is someone in the Forums that has bought or tried this model. Also, as you know, once your post gets past page 6 or so it's dead in the water.
 
What I don't get is the point of even asking this.

If you're considering that configuration, your own particular needs ought to be outweighing the results of any "survey" or "popularity contest".

If you're not storing lots of music and videos, 128gb is a lot of space.
 
mikes70mustang said:
Most people that get a new MBP dont want sucha small HD
Click to expand...

... nor do they want such an expensive one. I'd love the performance boost of an SSD, but I don't want to spend many hundreds of buckos on a hard drive. They'll have to get bigger than 300GB (I have a 320GB now) and cheaper than $200 before I can pony up that dough.
 
If the 128 SSD is the same one they put in the MBA I can tell you from using a 1.8/128SSD for the past 45 days it's very fast and so far zero issues. I just picked up the 17" MBP with the stock HDD but keeping my eye's open for a 256, or probably wait for a 512gig SSD maybe this summer. I'd pay the 1k price tag likely to come with the 512gig but the performance, silent running and instant opening apps, and boot times would make it worth it.

I think the price will drop over the summer and by then I'm sure there will be plenty of tutorials on how to, and some benchmarks.

While I enjoy the SSD in the MBA, it is to small for me to use as a primary drive (which is one of the reasons I purchased this MBP) but it shows how fast they can be.
 
jmark said:
What I don't get is the point of even asking this.

If you're considering that configuration, your own particular needs ought to be outweighing the results of any "survey" or "popularity contest".

If you're not storing lots of music and videos, 128gb is a lot of space.
Click to expand...

128GB is fine for me for a laptop or I wouldn't ask. But you must know from this Forum that not all brands of SSD have the same performance specs: indeed they vary enormously. What you suggest is like saying you want to buy a car. The type or performance doesn't matter, so long as it goes and has 4 wheels.

Thanks bossxii. I've read quite a few good reports of the 128GB SSD in the MBA. It is a Samsung, I believe. But I have still no idea what brand comes with the 128GB in the 17"
 
I ordered my 17" 2.9GHz, 8Gb RAM, 256Gb SSD, matte screen on April 1 through my local dealer... I've had a call this morning it SHOULD be delivered to them May 28!! 8 weeks.

My guess is its the SSD that is causing the delay although no one can tell me for sure. Reading various forums it seems that this is NOT a popular upgrade (probably because of the expense).

Having seen two Airs - one with and one without SSD - boot from cold the SSD-Air speed is awesome. Notably anything that requires large amounts of READ are especially quick, lots of small WRITEs are also very quick. However, large WRITEs appear to be near and even slightly slower than an HD.

Nothing scientific or stop-watch times, just using my eyeballs to see which machine finishes the task first.

When (and if) I ever get my machine, I'll do some real-world tests and post stop-watch times. However, I don't have another mac to compare against, but hopefully the nature of the tests will be something anyone can do to make valid comparisons.
 
Personally, I'm not about to drop a huge chunk of money on a MBP and then put such a small (and limiting) drive in the unit. I just added a 500 gig HD into my MBP because I out grew the 320.

now with that said, I'll echo what the others have stated. Don't buy a machine based on popularity, but on meeting your needs. If you're happy with the 128GB SSD and don't mind paying the extra $$ then go for it. My needs and requirements are much different then yours. For instance I have 20 gig of music, 75gig Aperture Library, 20 gig VMware instance for winblows and another 10 gig of assorted files and such - never mind the need for the OS.

One thing to keep in mind you'll use up what space do you have, so while you may think you don't need more then 128gb, you'll be surprised at quickly it shrinks.
 
I bought the standard HDD's and swapped them all out with 250Gb OCZ Vertexes. I would imagine that most of those selling with SSD's would be 256Gb's for the reason mentioned above.
 
If you want buying advice, don't buy the 17" with a SSD; go save that money and go buy an Intel SSD or an OCZ Vertex
 
Enterprise customers buying the ssd for whatever reason will undoubtedly go with Apple's choices especially if they don't have an IT department. Consumers like us, eh, not so much. Way to easy to go to NE or something and have a bit more say in the selection.
 
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