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SSD Buying Guide
- Thread starter Hellhammer
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Argh, I am in IL so I get taxed on Tiger Direct. Next best deal I have seen on the Crucial M4 512Gb is $599. $569 sounded better until it became $612.
Found it for $579 shipped, no tax to IL so purchased it.
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I have the funds, but I would never pay $600 for a drive.
Any reason why you couldn't just get a 256GB and wait for the price to drop?
Just curious. SSD's are a luxury.
Looking forward to your review.
Interesting that more and more drives are using Marvell controllers.
I have the funds, but I would never pay $600 for a drive.
Any reason why you couldn't just get a 256GB and wait for the price to drop?
Just curious. SSD's are a luxury.
My reasons (not that I need any): Photographer, travel a lot, ton of programs, I can afford it.
Prices have dropped enough that I'm comfortable with it and the time is now due to failure.
I find that a good thing. There are already so many SandForce drives and they are all more or less the same. Marvell can definitely be competitive, although in the end it's up to the firmware.
Yes, I'm leaning towards the M4 for its value, ease of firmware update. Benchmarks aside, is the difference in performance between this two noticeable?
Also, what do you think of the Electra? I understand it's a SandForce with asynchronous NAND SSD, but it actually has some pretty bench against the M4, native support for firmware update to boast. A pity there isn't a review by Anandtech on the Electra.
Preparation
Ook, I'm new here and just spent all day researching SSDs and what's the best for the late 2011 MBP. I am getting a 15" with the 2.5gz i7 and will be upgrading the ram on my own to 16gb. This is all assuming I can't wait long enough for the new MBPs to come out within the next month or so I only have a few questions, skipping the usual newby ones.
I have narrowed it down to 4 options from most likely to least.
Samsung 830 512gb
Plextor M3 pro 512gb
Intel 520 480gb
Crucial M4 512gb
I know Crucial is the good one that will for sure work and all that good stuff, but I'm looking for the fastest so thats at the bottom.
Intel? Lower storage and I had heard of some compatibility issues? I would like to get this one though if you can update the firmware on the OSX side vs having to get windows for the Samsung (had windows on my old iMac, never used it)
Plextor seems to be a great choice but it's hard choosing one over the other two big players.. Can anyone comment on its ability to have the firmware upgraded on OXS?
Samsung. Seems to be the fastest and the best, but the firmware issue.. If I get the most recent version, will the firmware even need to be upgraded? How much of a hassle would it be to (if possible at all) update its firmware without having windows on my own comp (taking it out etc etc)
Hopefully whatever SSD falls into the spot of the best here can also be used in the new MBPs when they come out if I can wait that long
Thanks so much!
Ook, I'm new here and just spent all day researching SSDs and what's the best for the late 2011 MBP. I am getting a 15" with the 2.5gz i7 and will be upgrading the ram on my own to 16gb. This is all assuming I can't wait long enough for the new MBPs to come out within the next month or so
I only have a few questions, skipping the usual newby ones.I have narrowed it down to 4 options from most likely to least.
Samsung 830 512gb
Plextor M3 pro 512gb
Intel 520 480gb
Crucial M4 512gb
I know Crucial is the good one that will for sure work and all that good stuff, but I'm looking for the fastest so thats at the bottom.
Intel? Lower storage and I had heard of some compatibility issues? I would like to get this one though if you can update the firmware on the OSX side vs having to get windows for the Samsung (had windows on my old iMac, never used it)
Plextor seems to be a great choice but it's hard choosing one over the other two big players.. Can anyone comment on its ability to have the firmware upgraded on OXS?
Samsung. Seems to be the fastest and the best, but the firmware issue.. If I get the most recent version, will the firmware even need to be upgraded? How much of a hassle would it be to (if possible at all) update its firmware without having windows on my own comp (taking it out etc etc)
Hopefully whatever SSD falls into the spot of the best here can also be used in the new MBPs when they come out if I can wait that long
Thanks so much!
I really don't see how any user could tell the difference as far as speed with any of the drives you listed. Absent running a speed test utility, you will not be able to tell the difference. All these drives are fast.
You should focus on reliability/compatibility. For me, that puts the Samsung 830 and Crucial M4 up front. The ability to upgrade firmware on a Mac gives the edge to the M4 IMO.
Huh, from the benchmarks it looked like the M4 was quite a bit behind in speed. You're saying that SSD speeds, although are different, are all so fast I wouldn't know the difference between the two? Keep in mind I am spending an extra 250 on .1 more gz and some more cache
Aunty is picking up the bill so price doesnt much matter.
Huh, from the benchmarks it looked like the M4 was quite a bit behind in speed. You're saying that SSD speeds, although are different, are all so fast I wouldn't know the difference between the two? Keep in mind I am spending an extra 250 on .1 more gz and some more cache
That is exactly what I am saying. Look at this comparison between the M4 and 830. The M4 is ahead in some tests while the 830 is ahead in others. In day to day use you are not going to be able to tell the difference between the two.
Thanks for that link, I was there earlier but didn't find that comparison tool. Very useful, although it has hurt your cause :/ unless updating the firmware is impossible with my setup with the other three SSDs and updating it is necessary I can officially cross the crucial M4 off my list
Thanks for that link, I was there earlier but didn't find that comparison tool. Very useful, although it has hurt your cause :/ unless updating the firmware is impossible with my setup with the other three SSDs and updating it is necessary I can officially cross the crucial M4 off my list
I would go with the Intel 520. I have the 240GB version in my MBP and its awesome, setup was simple and it worked great right out of the box. Plus with Intel you get an awesome 5 year warranty!
Plextor's firmwares come in ISO packages so you can update the FW on a Mac as well. I've been using the M3 (regular one, M3 Pro came earlier this week) as my boot drive for about a month and it's been solid. However, in terms of bang for the buck, Crucial m4 wins.
Sweet, just what I wanted to hear. Plextor M3 Pro it is, assuming your review of it is positive like the regular M3. Seems like it's the best all around out right now. Fast, relatively cheap for its performance (vs Samsung and Intel), works well and updatable.
Right now im in possession of an m11x r3 and using it for day to day uses and looking to use it for video editing capture and the like, so im going to upgrade anything i can, the ram is pretty straightforward and i cant change the cpu all that is left is the HDD.
Right now i have a 500gb 7200rpm its hindered my system for video editing and capture as it seems i need read/write speeds far greater than 50mb/s as im trying to capture in 1080p mostly, my drive is far from enough.
Going by this alone i can tell this will be the speeds ill want to be getting from the ssd i purchase,
Ive heard of the intel 520, ocz vertex 3, crucial m4 and the samsung 830
i assume these are the best
so guys which ssd should i buy if those arent fast enough what is my best bet?
All help and suggestions appreciated *price is not an issue atm
Right now i have a 500gb 7200rpm its hindered my system for video editing and capture as it seems i need read/write speeds far greater than 50mb/s as im trying to capture in 1080p mostly, my drive is far from enough.
Going by this alone i can tell this will be the speeds ill want to be getting from the ssd i purchase,
Ive heard of the intel 520, ocz vertex 3, crucial m4 and the samsung 830
i assume these are the best
so guys which ssd should i buy if those arent fast enough what is my best bet?
All help and suggestions appreciated *price is not an issue atm
Conflicting information
Despite the best efforts of the folks like Hellhammer I am still a bit torn regarding the SSD market. (It looks as though a few others on this board are, as well.)
I get conflicting data regarding the use of TRIM, its importance, and how this should affect my purchasing an SSD for the Mac. I am looking at the Crucial M4 (for price and reliability considerations), which as we know doesn't support TRIM in a Mac environment. People at Anandtech have said that should be enough to disqualify it from the Mac market but folks here say not so fast. Others say if it had aggressive garbage collection like the Samsung 830 it would be fine, but it doesn't.
I am a scholar in the humanities and I won't be doing video editing on this thing -- it will largely be a writing, presentation, and light photo editing machine. Does TRIM matter in this case? If get the drive with sufficient overhead (say, 50-100GB more space than I will likely NEED) will that mitigate the negative effects of lacking TRIM and aggressive garbage collection?
In advance, I have read the great material provided thus far in this thread and the review Hellhammer posted on the Plextor. Still, these things are not entirely clear to me. Thanks for any and all clarification!
Despite the best efforts of the folks like Hellhammer I am still a bit torn regarding the SSD market. (It looks as though a few others on this board are, as well.)
I get conflicting data regarding the use of TRIM, its importance, and how this should affect my purchasing an SSD for the Mac. I am looking at the Crucial M4 (for price and reliability considerations), which as we know doesn't support TRIM in a Mac environment. People at Anandtech have said that should be enough to disqualify it from the Mac market but folks here say not so fast. Others say if it had aggressive garbage collection like the Samsung 830 it would be fine, but it doesn't.
I am a scholar in the humanities and I won't be doing video editing on this thing -- it will largely be a writing, presentation, and light photo editing machine. Does TRIM matter in this case? If get the drive with sufficient overhead (say, 50-100GB more space than I will likely NEED) will that mitigate the negative effects of lacking TRIM and aggressive garbage collection?
In advance, I have read the great material provided thus far in this thread and the review Hellhammer posted on the Plextor. Still, these things are not entirely clear to me. Thanks for any and all clarification!
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Crucial CT128M4SSD2 m4 2.5" Solid State Drive - 128GB, SATA III 6Gb/s
On sale right now via Tiger Direct. $109.99 with free shipping.
((( Update ))) It looks like the price just went up by $10 less than 24 hours later.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=365475&sku=C19-8025
I've ordered this to put in my 2009 2.53 Ghz MBP. I know that my max is 3Gb/s but if I upgrade my MBP in the future I'll at least have a 6 Gb/s SSD I could possibly move over. I plan to put my current HD into an external case (SATA/USB) for time machine backups.
Once the SSD arrives, what is the basic "to do" list as it relates to this particular SSD? I'd really like to do a clean install with Lion via my Lion USB, then adding my programs, followed by my files. But, I've heard mixed comments about trim with this SSD & when exactly is the ideal time to turn this feature on. Also, I'm not exactly sure at what point updating the firmware comes into play. Do I do it before installing Lion and I can only do it via CD?
On sale right now via Tiger Direct. $109.99 with free shipping.
((( Update ))) It looks like the price just went up by $10 less than 24 hours later.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=365475&sku=C19-8025
I've ordered this to put in my 2009 2.53 Ghz MBP. I know that my max is 3Gb/s but if I upgrade my MBP in the future I'll at least have a 6 Gb/s SSD I could possibly move over. I plan to put my current HD into an external case (SATA/USB) for time machine backups.
Once the SSD arrives, what is the basic "to do" list as it relates to this particular SSD? I'd really like to do a clean install with Lion via my Lion USB, then adding my programs, followed by my files. But, I've heard mixed comments about trim with this SSD & when exactly is the ideal time to turn this feature on. Also, I'm not exactly sure at what point updating the firmware comes into play. Do I do it before installing Lion and I can only do it via CD?
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Few questions I'm hoping someone could enlighten me on:
I'm holding out for Mountain Lion to upgrade my HDD and add an SSD (1TB Samsung and 128GB Crucial M4 are what I'm looking at now, if it matters). For starters, I'm not sure what order I'm supposed to do these in- I'm running SL now, and it seems unlikely ML is going to come out on a disk, so how do I get ML on the SSD? Right now the only option I can think of is 1) install the two new drives, 2) use SL disk to install OSX and 3) Use SL to download and install ML. I'm sure that would work, but are there any ways I can do it so I don't have to install one OS just to download another?
I'm also going to be using Bootcamp for gaming pretty extensively, and I'm wondering how that works with dual drives. Should I partition the SSD into, say, 64GB for OSX and 64GB for Windows 7, and partition the HDD into 500GB/500GB, leaving me with 4 visible drives?
Or should I leave the SSD for OSX system files, and split the HDD between OSX storage and everything for Windows? (Is that even possible?)
Finally, while I'm updating I'd like to give my macbook as much security as possible, but I'm unsure of the best way to do that with multiple Windows and OSX drives. Can I encrypt everything with Filevault 2, or just the OSX drives? Does Filevault even encrypt partitioned drives or does it encrypt the entire physical disk?
I'm holding out for Mountain Lion to upgrade my HDD and add an SSD (1TB Samsung and 128GB Crucial M4 are what I'm looking at now, if it matters). For starters, I'm not sure what order I'm supposed to do these in- I'm running SL now, and it seems unlikely ML is going to come out on a disk, so how do I get ML on the SSD? Right now the only option I can think of is 1) install the two new drives, 2) use SL disk to install OSX and 3) Use SL to download and install ML. I'm sure that would work, but are there any ways I can do it so I don't have to install one OS just to download another?
I'm also going to be using Bootcamp for gaming pretty extensively, and I'm wondering how that works with dual drives. Should I partition the SSD into, say, 64GB for OSX and 64GB for Windows 7, and partition the HDD into 500GB/500GB, leaving me with 4 visible drives?
Or should I leave the SSD for OSX system files, and split the HDD between OSX storage and everything for Windows? (Is that even possible?)
Finally, while I'm updating I'd like to give my macbook as much security as possible, but I'm unsure of the best way to do that with multiple Windows and OSX drives. Can I encrypt everything with Filevault 2, or just the OSX drives? Does Filevault even encrypt partitioned drives or does it encrypt the entire physical disk?
I'm really new to this whole SSD thing, and I've been wading through this thread but I'm still feeling a bit lost. Hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I see that Newegg has this Crucial M4 256GB SSD for $249.99 right now http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443, which seems like a really good deal. When reading through the reviews on the Newegg site, though, there seemed to be a lot of problems with it dying soon after installation, and people with 2011 MBPs seemed to have trouble with the firmware.
I have an early 2011 15" MBP. I've never swapped out a drive before, but my hubby has, though neither of us has any experience with an SSD. I do a lot of work in Photoshop and Illustrator, and I want an SSD mainly for faster boot/launch times. Will this Crucial M4 be a good choice? Will I need to update the firmware if I get it? Is there a good how-to out there for installing the new drive? I'm sure I'm asking questions that have already been covered, but I really want to make sure I purchase the right thing since Newegg's return policy is basically nonexistent. Any advice is appreciated.
I have an early 2011 15" MBP. I've never swapped out a drive before, but my hubby has, though neither of us has any experience with an SSD. I do a lot of work in Photoshop and Illustrator, and I want an SSD mainly for faster boot/launch times. Will this Crucial M4 be a good choice? Will I need to update the firmware if I get it? Is there a good how-to out there for installing the new drive? I'm sure I'm asking questions that have already been covered, but I really want to make sure I purchase the right thing since Newegg's return policy is basically nonexistent. Any advice is appreciated.
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