Questions about OptiBay

[TimBroers]

I've been thinking about installing OptiBay into my 2010 15" MacBook Pro (2,4 GHz i5) for a while now. I would like to install a 64 GB SSD for OSX and applications and keep the original 320 GB HDD for files, media, etc. There are a few things I need help with though.


-For starters: which SSD should I buy? I was thinking about buying a 64 GB SSD from OCZ. But should I buy a SATA-2 or SATA-3 drive?

-Second: where should I install what? Should I install the SSD in the original HDD-compartment to prevent sleep-issues with the MBP? And does the Sudden Motion Sensor still work then the HDD is in the OptiBay?

-I've read about RAID-0 or RAID-1, but what it is and what's the use?

-How do I move OSX from the original HDD to the SSD? If I should do a clean install then how do I move all my programs?

-My current hard drive is a TOSHIBA MK3255GSXF.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[awer25]

I use a few different OCZ SSDs and they all work fine. Your laptop can only utilize SATA2, so SATA3 won't be any faster. If you want to keep it for your next laptop (likely SATA3), then consider SATA3.

I'd just install the SSD in the original HDD spot.

You don't need to bother with RAID when using an SSD/HDD combo.

You should have a Time Machine backup of your data on a different drive. Do a clean install on the SSD, then wipe the HDD and install it. Move your home folder to the HDD. Use Migration Assistant to get your data back from the Time Machine drive.

 

[bb426]

I use a few different OCZ SSDs and they all work fine. Your laptop can only utilize SATA2, so SATA3 won't be any faster. If you want to keep it for your next laptop (likely SATA3), then consider SATA3.

I'd just install the SSD in the original HDD spot.

You don't need to bother with RAID when using an SSD/HDD combo.

You should have a Time Machine backup of your data on a different drive. Do a clean install on the SSD, then wipe the HDD and install it. Move your home folder to the HDD. Use Migration Assistant to get your data back from the Time Machine drive.

Just to emphasize, I think this would help you with this:

http://www.markc.me.uk/MarkC/Blog/Entries/2009/12/15_Redirecting_folders_on_Apple_OSX.html

 

[whitehat09]

I've been thinking about installing OptiBay into my 2010 15" MacBook Pro (2,4 GHz i5) for a while now. I would like to install a 64 GB SSD for OSX and applications and keep the original 320 GB HDD for files, media, etc. There are a few things I need help with though.


-For starters: which SSD should I buy? I was thinking about buying a 64 GB SSD from OCZ. But should I buy a SATA-2 or SATA-3 drive?

-Second: where should I install what? Should I install the SSD in the original HDD-compartment to prevent sleep-issues with the MBP? And does the Sudden Motion Sensor still work then the HDD is in the OptiBay?

-I've read about RAID-0 or RAID-1, but what it is and what's the use?

-How do I move OSX from the original HDD to the SSD? If I should do a clean install then how do I move all my programs?

-My current hard drive is a TOSHIBA MK3255GSXF.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

This is exactly what I just did. I bought a 120GB OCZ Agility, a lot of reports suggest the OCZ ssd's are the fastest on the market but still unreliable, but with a firmware upgrade there getting better. I've had mine for a week now with 0 issues. But if you dont want to risk it, I would suggest a M4 or Crucial. But dont waste your money on SATA-III (6GB/s) drives unless you think you will be upgrading your macbook soon.

Install the SSD in the hdd bay, not the optibay. When the OS is on the optibay there are hibernation/sleep issues. Also, Im not familiar with the 2010 setup but the optical bay might not support SATA-II so you would get faster speeds when the ssd is in the hdd bay.

RAID is a type of redundancy, its not anything would want to worry about. Just try to keep a TimeMachine backup.

After the hdd & ssd are installed you can use a program called carbon copy cloner to copy the OS from the hhd to the ssd. This worked perfectly for me. After that is complete use disk utility to format the hdd and then you have your os on the ssd and the hdd for media.