Sandisk Ultra II SSD vs Extreme Pro vs Samsung 850 EVO

[MattAKramer]

Looking to upgrade my mid-2012 MBP to an SSD to improve speed. My current machine runs incredibly slow; slow to wake, slow to load apps, slow to do almost anything.

I'm looking in the 1TB range so I don't have to keep all of my stuff on an external. Other than standard web browsing, I use the machine for Lightroom, some video editing, and a little steam gaming here and there.

Based on this, is it worth spending the extra money for the Extreme Pro, the Samsung 850 Evo, or the Crucial MX200 over the Ultra II?

Current Amazon Pricing:
Sandisk Ultra II 960GB - $379
Sandisk Extreme Pro 960GB - $479
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB - $419
Crucial MX200 1TB - $445


Thanks!

 

[Weaselboy]

Based on this, is it worth spending the extra money for the Extreme Pro, the Samsung 850 Evo, or the Crucial MX200 over the Ultra II?

Nah... just get the cheapest one. Unless you are sitting there with a stopwatch timing things, you will never notice the difference in day to day usage.

 

[MattAKramer]

Nah... just get the cheapest one. Unless you are sitting there with a stopwatch timing things, you will never notice the difference in day to day usage.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm new to SSD's, but I've read the cheaper Sandisk is a TLC drive. Some people had negative things to say about that aspect in particular. I'm not really familiar with the different types, is this really something I should be cautious over? It seems like people were saying it could effect the lifespan of the drive.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm new to SSD's, but I've read the cheaper Sandisk is a TLC drive. Some people had negative things to say about that aspect in particular. I'm not really familiar with the different types, is this really something I should be cautious over? It seems like people were saying it could effect the lifespan of the drive.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8520/sandisk-ultra-ii-240gb-ssd-review

That is true and the EVO also uses TLC NAND chips. TLC chips are rated for fewer lifetime write cycles, but even with that factored in the drive will likely last longer than your computer and is not a concern for most users. Read the article I linked and scroll down for a chart that has some lifetime estimates for the drive.

 

[MattAKramer]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8520/sandisk-ultra-ii-240gb-ssd-review

That is true and the EVO also uses TLC NAND chips. TLC chips are rated for fewer lifetime write cycles, but even with that factored in the drive will likely last longer than your computer and is not a concern for most users. Read the article I linked and scroll down for a chart that has some lifetime estimates for the drive.

The chart shows 50+ years on the largest drive which is great, however, if I'm loading 600gb the day I get the drive, is that going to significantly lower its lifespan? I'm not used to look at drives as having a finite amount of times it can be used.

 

[Weaselboy]

The chart shows 50+ years on the largest drive which is great, however, if I'm loading 600gb the day I get the drive, is that going to significantly lower its lifespan? I'm not used to look at drives as having a finite amount of times it can be used.

Nah... using the data from that chart, that would be about one month's worth or writes. So now your drive will only last 49 years and 11 months.

Everybody is a overly concerned about the SSD wear issue IMO. Just use it and don't worry about it.

 

[MattAKramer]

Nah... using the data from that chart, that would be about one month's worth or writes. So now your drive will only last 49 years and 11 months.

Everybody is a overly concerned about the SSD wear issue IMO. Just use it and don't worry about it.

Thanks so much for your help. Is there any reason whatsoever to get anything other than the Sandisk Ultra II at this point? It's at least 50 bucks cheaper than the samsung and 100 bucks cheaper than the Extreme Pro.

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks so much for your help. Is there any reason whatsoever to get anything other than the Sandisk Ultra II at this point? It's at least 50 bucks cheaper than the samsung and 100 bucks cheaper than the Extreme Pro.

The Crucial MX100 is also usually very price competitive, but they don't make on larger than 512GB... so I think the Sandisk Ultra II is your best bargain and a good drive. I see zero reason to spend more for the others.

 

[MattAKramer]

The Crucial MX100 is also usually very price competitive, but they don't make on larger than 512GB... so I think the Sandisk Ultra II is your best bargain and a good drive. I see zero reason to spend more for the others.

Awesome, I think i'm going to pull the trigger today. If I have a 3tb external drive backed up through time machine, what is the process of transferring the OS and all files to the new drive? Do I need to get a sata-USB cable to do the transfer, or can I just remove the old, install the new, and plug in the external? Are there any easy to follow guides?

 

[Weaselboy]

Awesome, I think i'm going to pull the trigger today. If I have a 3tb external drive backed up through time machine, what is the process of transferring the OS and all files to the new drive? Do I need to get a sata-USB cable to do the transfer, or can I just remove the old, install the new, and plug in the external? Are there any easy to follow guides?

I assume your TM backup is to a USB attached disk?

You can do a full restore direct from that. Just install the new drive then attach the TM disk and option key boot to it. Then use Disk Utility to erase the new drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and after quite Disk Util. Then click restore and the OS and all your apps and data will be moved to the new drive.

Then shutdown and remove the TM disk and power up. Last step is go to System Preferences and in the Startup Disk pane set the new drive as the boot drive.

 

[MattAKramer]

I assume your TM backup is to a USB attached disk?

You can do a full restore direct from that. Just install the new drive then attach the TM disk and option key boot to it. Then use Disk Utility to erase the new drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and after quite Disk Util. Then click restore and the OS and all your apps and data will be moved to the new drive.

Then shutdown and remove the TM disk and power up. Last step is go to System Preferences and in the Startup Disk pane set the new drive as the boot drive.

My time machine backup is on an external USB HDD. What is option key boot?

 

[Weaselboy]

My time machine backup is on an external USB HDD. What is option key boot?

Shutdown the computer and attach the TM drive then hold down the option (alt) key on the keyboard as you power up. That will bring up a boot selection menu where you can pick what drive to boot to. You should see the USB TM drive there in orange. Select that to boot from and off you go.

 

[MattAKramer]

Shutdown the computer and attach the TM drive then hold down the option (alt) key on the keyboard as you power up. That will bring up a boot selection menu where you can pick what drive to boot to. You should see the USB TM drive there in orange. Select that to boot from and off you go.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[MattAKramer]

Received and installed the SSD today. Super easy install and surprisingly quick to get everything up and running considering I already filled up about 800gb.

Apps that used to take ages to launch now launch almost instantly and everything is running super smooth. Huge improvement!

 

[Weaselboy]

Received and installed the SSD today. Super easy install and surprisingly quick to get everything up and running considering I already filled up about 800gb.

Apps that used to take ages to launch now launch almost instantly and everything is running super smooth. Huge improvement!

Glad this worked out for you. An SSD does make a huge difference.

 

[rupeshbk]

Glad this worked out for you. An SSD does make a huge difference.

Hi - I just bought a 960gb SSD Sandisk UltraII on amazon and planning to use on my Mac Mini (mid 2011). I have the mini backed up to a Seagate 4tb drive. I am assuming the instructions to connect, option key boot remain the same. My Mac mini is on El Capitan. Any thoughts?

 

[duervo]

I'm currently leaning towards the Sandisk Extreme Pro myself. The 10 Year warranty appeals to me more than the other characteristics.

 

[zerrisk]

Are you using a retina or non-retina mid-2012?

Just curious due to the fact that people have told me that SATA and mSATA SSDs are not compatible with mine.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Are you using a retina or non-retina mid-2012?

Just curious due to the fact that people have told me that SATA and mSATA SSDs are not compatible with mine.

The non retina are sata 3 for the 2012, the 2012 and early 2013 are some sort of mSATA OWC do do an upgrade kit for those rMBP's, it is late 2013 onwards that has no third party solution.

 

[rupeshbk]

Glad this worked out for you. An SSD does make a huge difference.

Hi - I upgraded my HDD to SDD and as you suggested I hit option key while powering on. I saw the Seagate external HDD which is use to backup through TM and upon selecting Seagate, nothing happens. I see an apple logo (one that you would see in boot up and then another logo (like a no entry sign) and then apple logo). Do I need to be doing anything or will it start from there?

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi - I upgraded my HDD to SDD and as you suggested I hit option key while powering on. I saw the Seagate external HDD which is use to backup through TM and upon selecting Seagate, nothing happens. I see an apple logo (one that you would see in boot up and then another logo (like a no entry sign) and then apple logo). Do I need to be doing anything or will it start from there?

Assuming the TM backup was made with OS X 10.7.2 or later, an option key boot like that should take you straight to a recovery screen. If it is not, something is wrong with your backup.

 

[rupeshbk]

Assuming the TM backup was made with OS X 10.7.2 or later, an option key boot like that should take you straight to a recovery screen. If it is not, something is wrong with your backup.

Yeah - It did not take me so I thought something was wrong. But I had a ElCapitan bootable USB and when I option keyed while powering on it showed me the bootable USB and Seagate. I selected the bootable USB and then I came to the recovery screen where I first erased the SSD (formatted) and then restored from the backup which was now visible. Finally it worked but not sure why it did not previously. It's working now but any suggestions on what I could do? Also, at times there is the fan noise which never used to be the case with the prior HDD. Do I have to reset NVRAM or something like that?

 

[Weaselboy]

Also, at times there is the fan noise which never used to be the case with the prior HDD.

How long has it been running on the SSD? Spotlight will need to reindex on the new drive and that can take up to a couple hours or so. NVRAM reset should not be necessary, but can't hurt.

 

[rupeshbk]

How long has it been running on the SSD? Spotlight will need to reindex on the new drive and that can take up to a couple hours or so. NVRAM reset should not be necessary, but can't hurt.

I thought it could be due to indexing but the noise is not there. When it comes it seems the fan is in full speed. How would I reset NVRAM? Some say PRAM also and some say it's the same. Should I, also, need to reset SMC?

 

[Weaselboy]

I thought it could be due to indexing but the noise is not there. When it comes it seems the fan is in full speed. How would I reset NVRAM? Some say PRAM also and some say it's the same. Should I, also, need to reset SMC?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Here is how to reset NVRAM and SMC.

Next time the fans ramp up, while it is doing it open Activity Monitor and go to the CPU tab and sort by %CPU and see if anything is using an unusual amount of CPU cycles.