SSD Buying Guide

[new1macuser]

One option is to purchase a USB or Firewire enclosure. You can get them for about $6-20 from NewEgg or a similar supplier. It is also a good way to be able to use the old hard drive as a backup drive.

Thanks for the information with the link. Other than buying an external enclosure/SATA-USB connection, is there any other way please?

 

[iLukeJoseph]

That would not be a clean install. Instead install from Lion USB/CD or internet recovery. Some here report optimized performance with clean installs. That being said, I've used Time Machine to copy over to a new HDD before with no noticeable issues and others have found Carbon Copy Cloner to work fine.

Ok so a clean install would be: Throw the SSD in, boot off of the Lion Recovery USB. Install Lion, and then reinstall all my apps/updates etc.... Pretty much just like a Windows clean install.

 

[kopite19]

Got my 128gb M4.
CCC'd my existing harddrive onto my SSD. Only thing I had to do was log into DropBox again (??) but everything else is identical.

Boot times once I set the target disk are 10-12 seconds (8 wheel spins on the Apple logo screen) on my 2010 13" MBP.

In OS performance is great, very snappy. Have enabled TRIM so expect this drive to work well for the foreseeable.

Now to decide whether to Opti-Bay or not.

 

[KPOM]

Thanks for the information with the link. Other than buying an external enclosure/SATA-USB connection, is there any other way please?

This is another option.

 

[FuNGi]

Ok so a clean install would be: Throw the SSD in, boot off of the Lion Recovery USB. Install Lion, and then reinstall all my apps/updates etc.... Pretty much just like a Windows clean install.

Sort of. Except after installing Lion you can then use Migration Assistant to assist the move over to the SSD.

 

[new1macuser]

This is another option.

Ok, thanks a lot. I thought that its a good idea to get the enclosure and use the old HDD as the backup drive via Timemachine. Ordered one from Newegg. Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[new1macuser]

80 GB Intel 320 SSD special deal (MIR)

Saw this deal on Slickdeals and thought of sharing it here for those who may be looking for a SSD below $100.

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW080G3K5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $70 after mail in rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-20-167-047-_-Homepage2011

 

[pshifrin]

Any reports yet on how 10.7.3 affects trim enabler?

 

[iLukeJoseph]

Sort of. Except after installing Lion you can then use Migration Assistant to assist the move over to the SSD.

Well that is pretty slick. Already did the wipe and reinstall before I read the post. But next time! Laptop is pretty dang new in the first place, so it's not like I had a ton of info on it.

 

[pshifrin]

Any reports yet on how 10.7.3 affects trim enabler?

I'll answer my own question. Left trim enabler on, installed 10.7.3. System Info and Trim enabler still report trim on and functioning normally.

 

[new1macuser]

One option is to purchase a USB or Firewire enclosure. You can get them for about $6-20 from NewEgg or a similar supplier. It is also a good way to be able to use the old hard drive as a backup drive.

So once the carbon copy (using CCC from http://www.bombich.com/ website) of the HDD is made on the SSD and the HDD is replaced with the SSD, how do I clean up the HDD ? I would like to use it as the time machine for the MBP.

 

[KPOM]

So once the carbon copy (using CCC from http://www.bombich.com/ website) of the HDD is made on the SSD and the HDD is replaced with the SSD, how do I clean up the HDD ? I would like to use it as the time machine for the MBP.

You can put the HDD in the enclosure, connect it to your Mac, and then format it using Disk Utility.

 

[new1macuser]

You can put the HDD in the enclosure, connect it to your Mac, and then format it using Disk Utility.

Ok, thanks a lot for your help.

 

[iLukeJoseph]

Hey what is everyones thoughts on alignment? Been searching up and down and not finding a ton when it comes to OSX. Other than W7 does it automatically and OSX not so much.

So clean install of Lion on a new 256GB Crucial M4. According to what I am reading does not align to the page hand size correctly. This is due to the 256GB and 512GB M4 using 8KB Nand Page Size.

So now I guess if I want it to align correctly I need to move my partitions....

Current status:

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition
   2          409640       498848615   237.7 GiB   AF00  Lion
   3       498848616       500118151   619.9 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

 

[kkdart]

Question

Has anyone experienced a failed ssd and what the signs of it failing / the lifespan of the drive. I haven't heard of this happening to anyone but it seems to be the only downfall of a ssd. Thanks

 

[Hellhammer]

Has anyone experienced a failed ssd and what the signs of it failing / the lifespan of the drive. I haven't heard of this happening to anyone but it seems to be the only downfall of a ssd. Thanks

I've seen several SSDs fail but we are mainly talking about SandForce based SSDs which aren't the most reliable. A controller failure cannot be predicted, it just happens. One day it's working fine and the next day it's dead. The best way to avoid this is to buy a reliable SSD, e.g. Samsung, Intel or Crucial. Backing up your data is always recommended, too.

As for NAND wear out, that's a lot smaller issue. It takes years to wear out an SSD with normal usage.

 

[Sasha-1]

I still have not had a single problem with my SSD drive. Personally I think Apple's own firmware and the newness of firmware in the SSDs had everything to do with this. I have the largest SSD OWC makes, and I work with large art files all day long. Zero issues.

 

[Hellhammer]

Plextor M3 is on its way to be hammered in my test bench.

 

[Sardaan]

Early 2008 MBP 4,1...

Considering upgrading the 200Gb 5400rpm drive in my early 2008 MBP 4,1. Is a SSD over kill? If not is an intel 320 the way to go or are other drives more reliable?

I am kicking around a new MBP/Air later this year but I plan on keeping this one around for some time.

We use the computer for web browsing, email, photo editing (iphoto) and have some large photo libraries (most of which are stored and backed up on external drives due to size). Some HD home videos and minor video editing.

 

[pmz]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A406 Safari/7534.48.3)

Been reading through this thread and might I say it's a lot more informative than the marketing jibber jabber on manufacturers sites.

I'll soon be getting an Early 2011 15", and i think I want to go with a Crucial m4.

Definitely putting it in the main bay/formatting/clean installing Lion from my USB key.

Anything else I should do to get started? Is Trim Enabler worth it? Does it matter WHEN I start using Trim Enabler?

 

[geoffreak]

Intel 320 300GB

Hey all,

I'm considering purchasing an Intel 320 300GB SSD to replace my slowly failing HDD, but I just wanted to confirm a few things.

First, on NewEgg, there are 4 different models and I'm not sure which one would be the one I want.

Second, I have read in this thread that the 8Mb bug has been fixed with the Intel drives. Is this something that requires a firmware update still? I have heard that this requires booting into a CD (from an ISO), but this would be an issue for me as my CD drive doesn't work in my MacBook Pro. Would this be something I can do from a USB drive/stick?

Third, is the Intel 320 the best choice for an SSD? I don't really care about a 10% difference in performance between one drive and another and I'm more worried about cost and reliability. I do need at least 300GB of storage though.

I apologize if these questions have been answered in this thread already, but I'm still in the process of reading it and I'm racing against a failing HDD.

Thanks!

 

[new1macuser]

Firmaware update : Crucial M4

Based on all the information on this thread, I finally pulled the trigger on the Crucial M4 128 GB from B&H Photo for $169. It will be arriving early next week.

I would like to know how to replace the SSD with the HDD. There is an option to use the free App Carbon Copy Cloner but it needs a SATA/USB connection. I am not sure if the SATA/USB connection is included in the box.

Please guide what are the options for me.

Thanks

I have successfully installed my new Crucial M4 128 GB in the MBP using Carbon Copy Cloner. Now the HDD is being used as the time machine.
I would like to know how to find out if the Crucial M4 SSD needs a firmware update or not? Is there a place like Disk Utility which I can check on my MBP?

I checked the Crucial webpage but did not find any information there

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx

The online chat option also did not work even though I tried to chat during their normal working hours.

Thanks for your help

 

[thefizzle657]

Hey Hellhammer, have you had any hands-on time with the new Intel 520 SSD? I know that Intel has a great track record for reliability but I personally can't trust any Sandforce drives, even one that is made by Intel. Intel may write its own firmware but from what I understand after reading the Anandtech review is that Intel is only able to customize the firmware to a certain degree and that Sandforce did not supply it with all of the source code. There has been a post on the Intel forum already by a person complaining of random BSODs.

 

[szarkupacka]

help

please somebody help me some advise.

i am thinking about a new 240-256gb SSD.

Which is the best? OCZ vertex 3, Samsung 830, Crucial M4, or anything else?

i want to use in MacBook Pro 17" early 2011.

Thank you for your help.

 

[rockyroad55]

Look on Slickdeals. You can get a 128GB Crucial M4 for ~$140.

http://slickdeals.net/f/3910952-Cru...-140-tax-AC-and-PM-at-Staples-Best-Price-Ever