I believe it's most prevalent on the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros. Digilloyd (at www.macperformanceguide.com) has written some blog posts about it. I think it's something to do with the SATA controller, and not the specific SSD.
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SSD Buying Guide
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I believe it's most prevalent on the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros. Digilloyd (at www.macperformanceguide.com) has written some blog posts about it. I think it's something to do with the SATA controller, and not the specific SSD.
Requesting for advice for late 2008 MBP
Hi forum members, greetings.
I am a long time lurker and first time poster, relatively new to the Mac world.
I have a 15" late 2008 MBP with 2.53 GHz core 2 duo processor and 4 GB of RAM with a HDD at 5400 RPM speed. It has become pretty slow and I do not have budget to buy a new one MBP. I went through every post on this wonderful thread about having a SSD to boost up the MBP performance.
One special requirement I have is that I need to close the MBP often during the day. So the SSD should not have problem of freezing when waking up from sleep.
By going through the advice here, this is what I am thinking :
1) Go for a Crucial M4 SSD
2) Install it in the optical bay, preferably with a Data Doubler from OWC
3) Use an enclosure for the DVD drive to be used as needed
4) Use "System preferences" to have SSD as the start-up disk
5) Install Lion on the SSD and keep the music/photos on the HDD
Based on this, I feel the following are the "most reliable" choices :
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-I...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327439452&sr=1-1
OWC Data Doubler Optical Bay Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Solution for select Apple Laptop Models - Item Number: OWCDDAMBS0GB
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/DDAMBS0GB/
Newer Technology 11 Piece Tool Set - All the screwdrivers/torx tools you need! - Item Number: NWTTOOLKIT11
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/TOOLKIT11/
OWC SuperSlim USB 2.0 Enclosure for Apple SuperDrive from MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody - Item Number: OWCVLSS9TOPTU2
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/VLSS9TOPTU2/
Would love to get confirmation/corrections from the knowledgeable members here.
Thanks for reading.
Hi forum members, greetings.
I am a long time lurker and first time poster, relatively new to the Mac world.
I have a 15" late 2008 MBP with 2.53 GHz core 2 duo processor and 4 GB of RAM with a HDD at 5400 RPM speed. It has become pretty slow and I do not have budget to buy a new one MBP. I went through every post on this wonderful thread about having a SSD to boost up the MBP performance.
One special requirement I have is that I need to close the MBP often during the day. So the SSD should not have problem of freezing when waking up from sleep.
By going through the advice here, this is what I am thinking :
1) Go for a Crucial M4 SSD
2) Install it in the optical bay, preferably with a Data Doubler from OWC
3) Use an enclosure for the DVD drive to be used as needed
4) Use "System preferences" to have SSD as the start-up disk
5) Install Lion on the SSD and keep the music/photos on the HDD
Based on this, I feel the following are the "most reliable" choices :
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-I...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327439452&sr=1-1
OWC Data Doubler Optical Bay Hard Drive/SSD Mounting Solution for select Apple Laptop Models - Item Number: OWCDDAMBS0GB
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/DDAMBS0GB/
Newer Technology 11 Piece Tool Set - All the screwdrivers/torx tools you need! - Item Number: NWTTOOLKIT11
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/TOOLKIT11/
OWC SuperSlim USB 2.0 Enclosure for Apple SuperDrive from MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody - Item Number: OWCVLSS9TOPTU2
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/VLSS9TOPTU2/
Would love to get confirmation/corrections from the knowledgeable members here.
Thanks for reading.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Attention owners of Samsung 830 or OCZ Octane! There are new firmwares available.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5460/samsung-updates-the-firmware-of-ssd-830-series-fixes-bsod-issue
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5459/...for-octane-increases-random-write-performance
Also, if everything goes as planned, I will be doing SSD reviews in the near future
Has anyone tried to install the Samsung 830 SSD firmware update (CXM03B1Q) using the DOS-based ISO image on your mac?
Go for the Samsung 830 SSD. You can update the firmware using Windows in a BootCamp partition.
Plus it's also over 100+ MB/sec faster than the M4 in terms of write speeds.
I was hoping to NOT have to install Windows on it. If the Samsung had an updater for Mac it would be no question.
I tried using the DOS-based ISO image for the second firmware release (CXM02) with no luck. Unfortunately, one of the libraries that Samsung uses in their DOS-based firmware update utility requires a BIOS. Mac's use an EFI acrchitecture, so a BIOS cannot be found, and the updater will fail to launch.
It's possible they changed it on the CXM03B1Q firmware release. I've also read that if you burn the ISO image directly from the Magican Suite onto a CD, it will work on a Mac. Though I'm not sure about that. (I read it in the comments on some blog somewhere) Worth a try I'd say if you can afford to waste a blank CD.
I've been umming and arming about an SSD for months now, asked many questions, but never got one. I was alway's thinking I would buy a new MacBook Pro. Well having had my Xbox 360 sine last February and I am getting a PSVITA, I really don't game at all on my Mac anymore.
So my priorities have changed and my Mac does more then enough for what I need. So I'm keeping it, I can't really afford a new one anyway and may get a new car
I have just ordered 8GB of Crucial Ram, but this is the year I MUST get an SSD. I really am fed up of the HDD churning away all the time.
So, questions:
Am I right in thinking my Mac (2010 Intel Core i7 2.66 MacBookPro6,2) supports up to Sata2 3GB/s?
And if that is the case, what is the most reliable trouble free best performing 300 gigabyte or more SSD? Is it still an Intel 320? I want the most reliable I can get really but with the performance.
Also, do you have to get special Apple versions of SSD drives like Intel's?
This isn't too bad a price, it's for an OEM model and you have to order it in, but it's not too bad:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/300g...gb-s-mlc-flash-read-270mb-s-write-205mb-s-oem
Or are there any others? What say you Hellhammer and the rest of you?
EDIT:
Actually, looking on online stores, I can see the Intel as my only option? I don't really need 512gb and they do cost a lot! and I need more then 256gb.
So I guess my question is, the Intel 320 300GB drive: can I update the firmware in OSX, is it a VERY reliable drive? And will it give good SSD performance, not after light speed, but good for an SSD? And do I have to buy a Mac specific model? Also will I ever need to worry about garbage collection on the drive?
And does my 2010 Intel Core i7 2.66 MacBookPro6,2 only support up to Sata 3Gb/s?
So my priorities have changed and my Mac does more then enough for what I need. So I'm keeping it, I can't really afford a new one anyway and may get a new car
I have just ordered 8GB of Crucial Ram, but this is the year I MUST get an SSD. I really am fed up of the HDD churning away all the time.
So, questions:
Am I right in thinking my Mac (2010 Intel Core i7 2.66 MacBookPro6,2) supports up to Sata2 3GB/s?
And if that is the case, what is the most reliable trouble free best performing 300 gigabyte or more SSD? Is it still an Intel 320? I want the most reliable I can get really but with the performance.
Also, do you have to get special Apple versions of SSD drives like Intel's?
This isn't too bad a price, it's for an OEM model and you have to order it in, but it's not too bad:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/300g...gb-s-mlc-flash-read-270mb-s-write-205mb-s-oem
Or are there any others? What say you Hellhammer and the rest of you?
EDIT:
Actually, looking on online stores, I can see the Intel as my only option? I don't really need 512gb and they do cost a lot! and I need more then 256gb.
So I guess my question is, the Intel 320 300GB drive: can I update the firmware in OSX, is it a VERY reliable drive? And will it give good SSD performance, not after light speed, but good for an SSD? And do I have to buy a Mac specific model? Also will I ever need to worry about garbage collection on the drive?
And does my 2010 Intel Core i7 2.66 MacBookPro6,2 only support up to Sata 3Gb/s?
Last edited:
Just to followup...I went with a Crucial M4 256GB from B&H Photo Video for $349. That's $15 cheaper than Crucial.com and I saved about $20 on sales tax. Not a bad deal.
I don't know about the ability to update firmware in OS X (check Intel's website to see if they have a utility for OS X), though I doubt it. However, Intel drives have been very reliable. They and Samsung are regarded as the two most reliable.
Intel is the only 300GB drive around. Other options are 240GB/256GB or 480GB/512GB.
Intel offers an OS-independent updater (i.e. an ISO) so yes, you can update the firmware without Windows.
Aside from the 8MB bug that has now been fixed, it's one of the most reliable SSDs around.
It's good as 3Gb/s SSD. Obviously, 6Gb/s SSDs are theoretically faster but the real world difference is negligible.
No, any drive can be formatted to HFS+, which is what OS X uses.
Well, you can really do anything about it anyway. You can always try the TRIM hack if you're worried.
Yes, it's limited to 3Gb/s.
Thanks guy's, looks like it's the way to go
I'm personally not fussed about the TRIM command hack, so if I have any issues I can always enable it. Is garbage collection an issue with the Intel 320?btw guys, if you want to give up on the lion recovery partition, you'll save 500 Mb on your SSD
i know, that's not much
but 500 Mb is always good to get
i know, that's not much
but 500 Mb is always good to get
Installation of Mac OS X on new SSD
I have not done this myself, but found this interesting piece of information on Amazon reviews:
Source:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3TCMY...4&nodeID=541966&tag=&linkCode=#wasThisHelpful
Quote:
All I had to do to replace my hard drive with this SSD (for my Macbook Pro) was to:
1) Download Carbon Copy Cloner (free, find it using google)
2) Open the Carbon Copy Cloner application
3) Insert the SATA connection (the SATA/USB connection is included in the box) into the Samsung 830 SSD, and plug in the USB connector into my MBP -> use Disk Utility to format the SSD (do your partitions once it's been formatted if you want)
4) Then using Carbon Copy Cloner -> clone my current hard drive into the Samsung 830 SSD (took me about 2 hours or less to copy over 140GB worth of data)
5) Test the Samsung 830 SSD by booting up through the external Samsung 830 SSD, by restarting the MBP, then holding onto the Option key before the gray screen appears, then boot it up
6) Once external booting through the external SSD is successful, shut down the MBP, open and swap out the hard drive with the SSD (make sure you have the necessary tools to open and access your hard drive in your MBP)
7) Power up your new MBP and enjoy your new and fast Samsung 830 SSD
*After I had cloned my hard drive to my new Samsung 830 SSD, it took me a whole 15-20 minutes to swap out the hard drive and I'm now using my MBP to type this review. I read some PC users installing their SSD's taking ages, reinstalling software and operating systems. This is the easiest and simplest solution for me (thanks to Carbon Copy Cloner as it copies everything including the operating system) and allows me to get back to work on my MBP with little to no down time and no hassles with reinstalling anything* Just in case people were wondering, this was my first time swapping out any hard drive, so I have little experience with computer components, yet it was super easy for me to do.
I have not done this myself, but found this interesting piece of information on Amazon reviews:
Source:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3TCMY...4&nodeID=541966&tag=&linkCode=#wasThisHelpful
Quote:
All I had to do to replace my hard drive with this SSD (for my Macbook Pro) was to:
1) Download Carbon Copy Cloner (free, find it using google)
2) Open the Carbon Copy Cloner application
3) Insert the SATA connection (the SATA/USB connection is included in the box) into the Samsung 830 SSD, and plug in the USB connector into my MBP -> use Disk Utility to format the SSD (do your partitions once it's been formatted if you want)
4) Then using Carbon Copy Cloner -> clone my current hard drive into the Samsung 830 SSD (took me about 2 hours or less to copy over 140GB worth of data)
5) Test the Samsung 830 SSD by booting up through the external Samsung 830 SSD, by restarting the MBP, then holding onto the Option key before the gray screen appears, then boot it up
6) Once external booting through the external SSD is successful, shut down the MBP, open and swap out the hard drive with the SSD (make sure you have the necessary tools to open and access your hard drive in your MBP)
7) Power up your new MBP and enjoy your new and fast Samsung 830 SSD
*After I had cloned my hard drive to my new Samsung 830 SSD, it took me a whole 15-20 minutes to swap out the hard drive and I'm now using my MBP to type this review. I read some PC users installing their SSD's taking ages, reinstalling software and operating systems. This is the easiest and simplest solution for me (thanks to Carbon Copy Cloner as it copies everything including the operating system) and allows me to get back to work on my MBP with little to no down time and no hassles with reinstalling anything* Just in case people were wondering, this was my first time swapping out any hard drive, so I have little experience with computer components, yet it was super easy for me to do.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
my MBP is completely silent thanks to the SSD
of course, its capacity is not much
but i would not recommend putting the old HDD instead of the superdrive if you want to get a very silent machine
unless you are very stuck with small storage capacity and that you really need to have space internally
of course, its capacity is not much
but i would not recommend putting the old HDD instead of the superdrive if you want to get a very silent machine
unless you are very stuck with small storage capacity and that you really need to have space internally
Need some insight....
Alright, this thread has my head spinning with what I may or may not need in an SSD. Clearly choices are abundant.
Basically my computer is for school use, I'm in IT for Databases and frequently running SQL, Visio, and will be jumping into Oracle and Java. I'm running VMFusion with Windows 7 (only for school). On the side I'm also running Photoshop, with some mild movie editing which I store off my MBP.
Clearly right now my life is on this laptop, reliability is key, and obviously size comes at a premium.
Thoughts? Data doubler and run two SSDs of medium size?
Alright, this thread has my head spinning with what I may or may not need in an SSD. Clearly choices are abundant.
Basically my computer is for school use, I'm in IT for Databases and frequently running SQL, Visio, and will be jumping into Oracle and Java. I'm running VMFusion with Windows 7 (only for school). On the side I'm also running Photoshop, with some mild movie editing which I store off my MBP.
Clearly right now my life is on this laptop, reliability is key, and obviously size comes at a premium.
Thoughts? Data doubler and run two SSDs of medium size?
Thanks guy's, looks like it's the way to go
Anyone? Is garbage collection important or poor on he Intel 320 SSD drive?
Here is a review from last year. Anand recommends using the 320 in an OS that supports TRIM, since the drive tends to run garbage collection as late as possible to preserve the longevity of the drive.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4244/intel-ssd-320-review/11
Ooohh, thanks mate very interesting. So on my Mac I can enable the trim command hack yes? I run Lion 10.7.2 and Windows 7 64bit.
But what do they mean by extending the drives longevity? Will it die after 3 years if using trim?
Yes, the TRIM command hack should work, or there is a new version of the Trim Enabler 2.0 software (Hellhammer linked to it, and it was also announced on AnandTech).
All SSDs have a limited number of write cycles (about 3000-5000). If the drive runs garbage collection too often, it uses up more of those cycles. TRIM operates whenever you delete a file. TRIM and garbage collection complement each other.
For the average user, even with TRIM and garbage collection in action, an SSD should last for several years before it becomes read only. SSDs use techniques such as "wear leveling" (moving files around between areas that are frequently written to and those that are infrequently written to) in order to maximize life. I wouldn't worry too much about reducing the life of an Intel drive if you use TRIM.
Regarding Windows 7, if you use it in Boot Camp, note that unfortunately Apple's drivers don't enable AHCI (which identifies your drive as a SATA drive), so TRIM won't run automatically like it normally would. There are techniques for activating AHCI. Here is one link.
Thanks for that, I didn't know about the AHCI not working issue. Is it really noticeable if you don't enable trim? I know that Anadntech article shows a graph with a flat line, but would you notice any difference in day to day use?
It certainly wouldn't be noticeable for a few months unless you write extensively to your drive. I had a late-2008 MacBook Air with one of the early Samsung drives and did notice longer reboot times and some performance degradation by the time I sold it in late 2010, though that drive wasn't exactly a speed demon to begin with. It was slightly faster than a 7200rpm hard drive, and garbage collection was primitive back then.
If this is your first SSD, my guess is you won't notice it much. If you prefer, you can leave TRIM disabled for a while, and then run one of the hacks to get it working, do an "erase free space" to run the TRIM command, and then disable TRIM. The hacks are all reversible. Don't do an "erase free space" with TRIM disabled, though. It will leave "garbage" all over the drive and you will notice a slowdown.
Thanks Kpom, all I need now is money to buy the drive haha. But I think I will be happy with the Intel. I am pretty technical, I was in I.T. for about 8 years a while back, but I have never had any experience with SSD drives so it's all new to me and I appreciate everyones help as it seems a mine field with them and Macs.
I put 8GB of Crucial memory into my Mac today as well
Some quick real world observations:
I have an early 2011 15 inch MBP 2.3. I had an intel 320 SSD for the last 4 months and recently changed to the Samsung 830. Needed something bigger and wanted to upgrade a coworker who was still running a HDD. You get to do stuff like that when you are in charge of IT !
The Intel 320 with the Trim Enabler was FLAWLESS the entire time. The firmware can easily be updated using a bootable CD you create from an ISO.
The Samsung 830, running with the Trim Enabler has also been FLAWLESS. I upgraded the firmware to the latest using the bootcamp partition.
Does the Samsung bench mark way faster than the Intel? Certainly, but day to day usage doesn't seem any more than a fraction of a second faster, if at all.
I sleep and wake the computer multiple times per day. Go to the office and back. Plug into a Thunderbolt display at work. Run all manner of Adobe, Office 2011, IT software, Remote Desktop, Aperture, iTunes, Video Encoding, you name it, it's all been perfect.
We are slowly replacing every company computer with a Mac as their PCs die or age out. It's fun times these days around here!
I can easily recommend both SSDs with the Trim Enabler.
I have an early 2011 15 inch MBP 2.3. I had an intel 320 SSD for the last 4 months and recently changed to the Samsung 830. Needed something bigger and wanted to upgrade a coworker who was still running a HDD. You get to do stuff like that when you are in charge of IT !
The Intel 320 with the Trim Enabler was FLAWLESS the entire time. The firmware can easily be updated using a bootable CD you create from an ISO.
The Samsung 830, running with the Trim Enabler has also been FLAWLESS. I upgraded the firmware to the latest using the bootcamp partition.
Does the Samsung bench mark way faster than the Intel? Certainly, but day to day usage doesn't seem any more than a fraction of a second faster, if at all.
I sleep and wake the computer multiple times per day. Go to the office and back. Plug into a Thunderbolt display at work. Run all manner of Adobe, Office 2011, IT software, Remote Desktop, Aperture, iTunes, Video Encoding, you name it, it's all been perfect.
We are slowly replacing every company computer with a Mac as their PCs die or age out. It's fun times these days around here!
I can easily recommend both SSDs with the Trim Enabler.
Upgraded my Mac Pro with a Crucial M4 128 SSD and 12GB of Crucial RAM.
No problems initializing an formatting the SSD and upgrading the firmware.
First start from SSD in bay 1 without any problems.
SSD booting procedure of Lion now takes about 30 seconds - instead of 51 seconds from RAID0 before to the desktop for user selection. Thought, that should be kind of faster? Is that due to SATA2 or would you say it is to slow at all?!
No problems initializing an formatting the SSD and upgrading the firmware.
First start from SSD in bay 1 without any problems.
SSD booting procedure of Lion now takes about 30 seconds - instead of 51 seconds from RAID0 before to the desktop for user selection. Thought, that should be kind of faster? Is that due to SATA2 or would you say it is to slow at all?!
Booting depends on various factors. Each component will be initialized during the boot up so if you have many hard drives, RAM DIMMs, PCIe cards etc, it will take longer.
You can try repairing permissions with Disk Utility, resetting PRAM and SMC, and checking that the SSD is your #1 boot volume from Sys Prefs > Startup Disk. Those usually speed it up a bit.
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