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SSD Buying Guide

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drewyboy said:
Ok, that's what I was thinking. I had read though that the notebook version comes w/ a "installation kit" which is basically an adapter to fit into the 12mm spot in the mbp because the drive itself it actually only 7mm thick... I guess I'll have to look more into that, unless some one here installed the samsung 830 and vouch that it doesn't need any adapter.
Click to expand...

I have seen several posts in here from MBP users that installed this drive with no adaptors or anything and it fits fine. The drive is held in by little nubs that screw into the side, so being a little thinner does not matter.
 
Hello everyone,
I don't want to make a new thread for my question and I guess that this thread topic fit my problem the best. I am about to buy my first Macintosh system and I am having some trouble choosing the right model.

Actually I am about to buy a "Retina" Macbook for the purpose of coding and graphical editing (video and photo). My goal is to use it for quite a while...

My budget is 2500€, that's why I have the following options:
2.3GHZ + 16GB Ram + 256GB SSD- 2150€
2.6GHZ + 8GB Ram + 512GB SSD. - 2500€

As I will install Windows and Linux on my system I wonder if 256GB would really be enough space for all my applications. I do not plan to install a bunch of games onto the laptop, but If I do, I would try to install them on my external USB 3.0 1TB Drive. I could although use the SD-Card Slot for Movies and Photos. Anyway... I don't want to be caught back because of the lack of data space.

...so what is more important?
Twice the since of SSD-Space or more RAM for intense operations?
Actually I wonder if a 16GB RAM configuration even makes sense as the SSD (Samsung 830) is quite fast, I know it cause I own one... and so I guess that the transfer rates of virtual memory wouldn't be really noticeable.

What do you guys think?

Edit: Its kind of a drawback that there is no 2.3GHZ + 512GB-SSD version... but it seems like it is possible to upgrade the SSD in the future... so maybe its best to chose the 2.3GHZ, 16GB Ram and 256GB SSD and switch to 1TB SSD (who knows) in the future?
 
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Sahee said:
Edit: Its kind of a drawback that there is no 2.3GHZ + 512GB-SSD version... but it seems like it is possible to upgrade the SSD in the future... so maybe its best to chose the 2.3GHZ, 16GB Ram and 256GB SSD and switch to 1TB SSD (who knows) in the future?
Click to expand...

I would go for the 2.3GHz, 16gb. And use the remaining 350€ on a usb3 external drive. Install a "slim" os on the Internal, then install the space consuming apps on the external drive..
 
Crucial m4 512 on sale on amazon

I have a question regarding installing the SSD and cloning using the Cale versus doing a fresh install as I do not have a lion disk....I read somewhere I can create one but can't. I just clone my 500 gb HDD to the Crucial? Also has anyone experienced the problems I was reading about in regards to the crucial and firmware or trim? Apologies but I am a novice at SSDs and the more I read the more I wonder if RAM should be upgraded first or if the Crucial SSD is still number 1 as HammerHell stated last winter.
Thanks o this is a mid 2012 13 MBPS

Thanks in advance.
 
I have an SSD in the main bay and a HDD in the optibay, but I'm getting kind of tired of constant spin-ups, that's why I'm considering putting an SSD into the OPTIBAY as well (thus I'd have 2 SSDs and a quiet computer).

What would be the best SSD for OPTIBAY (late-2011 15" MBP)? I believe it would be best to get a 3gb/s SSD, since 6gb/s is still pretty unreliable in the optibay.

P.S.: or perhaps just get a Crucial m4 (512GB) for $350 and put it in the main bay and put the Superdrive back into its place and call it a day??
 
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Skjetne said:
I would go for the 2.3GHz, 16gb. And use the remaining 350€ on a usb3 external drive. Install a "slim" os on the Internal, then install the space consuming apps on the external drive..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I already own a 1TB USB-3 external drive. So there is no reason the make money spare for this device. I am leading towards the 2.3GHZ with 256GB RAM + 16GB... but I hope that the data space will be enough.
 
jon08 said:
What would be the best SSD for OPTIBAY (late-2011 15" MBP)? I believe it would be best to get a 3gb/s SSD, since 6gb/s is still pretty unreliable in the optibay.

P.S.: or perhaps just get a Crucial m4 (512GB) for $350 and put it in the main bay and put the Superdrive back into its place and call it a day??
Click to expand...

Definitely SATA 2 (3gb/s) in Optibay, not SATA 3 (6gb/s). Lots of evidence for flaky performance with 6gb/s in the optical bay

But after much chopping and changing I have done what is in your PS...512Gb Crucial M4 in main bay, and ODD back in the optical bay. No more jumping through hoops to update the firmware (firmware updaters won't boot from external optical drive).
 
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ugp said:
It will work with it no problem. As long as you put the drive in the Primary Bay and not the Optical Bay.
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That sounds good, thanks for your responce. I will be replacing the HDD that sits inside to the new SSD, so it's a relief it will work on the 2012 model.
 
I meant Crucial I have read the thread and am more confused???

WD007 said:
I have a question regarding installing the SSD and cloning using the Cale versus doing a fresh install as I do not have a lion disk....I read somewhere I can create one but can't. I just clone my 500 gb HDD to the Crucial? Also has anyone experienced the problems I was reading about in regards to the crucial and firmware or trim? Apologies but I am a novice at SSDs and the more I read the more I wonder if RAM should be upgraded first or if the Crucial SSD is still number 1 as HammerHell stated last winter.
Thanks o this is a mid 2012 13 MBPS

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again
 
Installed a Crucial m4 128 gb over the weekend in my aging MBP and it's like having a new computer. I love not hearing the hard drive grind and click anymore, plus VMware fusion is ridiculously fast. I don't reboot often so the boot time difference isn't a big deal to me, but it's awesome to have my Windows 7 VM start up in the blink of an eye
 
Would it be worth buying an SSD now? Or waiting for a few more months to see if the prices drop even further?

I'm after a 512GB drive, and have been keen on the Crucial M4. What i don't want to do is buy one now and then two months down the line have the price drop significantly...

Thanks
 
Could someone recommend a drive for a 2012 MBP based on the following:
reliability, speed, power consumption. main use would be for Adobe apps and light gaming.

I'm currently looking at the Crucial M4, Plextor M3 and Samsung 830, and it's very difficult to make a decision out of the three. :(

Also are there any advantages or disadvantages with the 7mm drives over a 9mm?
 
TomAndrews said:
Would it be worth buying an SSD now? Or waiting for a few more months to see if the prices drop even further?

I'm after a 512GB drive, and have been keen on the Crucial M4. What i don't want to do is buy one now and then two months down the line have the price drop significantly...

Thanks
Click to expand...

The prices went from 349 on amazon and 339 on newegg to 399 on both overnight last night!

Not sure if some Crucial promotion ended or what.
 
Hey guys,

I was planing to buy a new laptop but I am going to wait until next year. So I am deciding to upgrade my current one's HD to SSD and then replace SD with optibay/HD.

Will Crucial 512GB SSD work on late 2008 model? If not then what's the next stable and biggest SSD that would work? Also, any suggestion for cheap and stable optibay?

Thanking in advance
 
I don't have access to a windows computer. Is there any reason I would have to upgrade the firmware on the Samsung 830?

Or I guess a better question is: how would you update the firmware via windows? Could you do it via a USB enclosure or does it have to be installed IN the windows machine?

edit: has anyone bought the 830 from newegg recently? Was the firmware the latest?
 
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latestmonkey said:
I don't have access to a windows computer. Is there any reason I would have to upgrade the firmware on the Samsung 830?

Or I guess a better question is: how would you update the firmware via windows? Could you do it via a USB enclosure or does it have to be installed IN the windows machine?
Click to expand...

Not sure about updating but you would want to update the Firmware when they release it. SSDs are still a new technology and always being updated. With Crucial drives its a matter of booting a CD but the SSD has to be internal.
 
latestmonkey said:
I don't have access to a windows computer. Is there any reason I would have to upgrade the firmware on the Samsung 830?

Or I guess a better question is: how would you update the firmware via windows? Could you do it via a USB enclosure or does it have to be installed IN the windows machine?

edit: has anyone bought the 830 from newegg recently? Was the firmware the latest?
Click to expand...

I just bought one from Amazon last week and it came with the latest firmware. I tried to updated via usb boot.

I think its safe to assume that all new 830 are up to date since the firmware was released in January.

To answer your question, yes it has to be installed in a windows machine in order to be updated, either by usb boot or with magician.
 
Mike Boreham said:
Definitely SATA 2 (3gb/s) in Optibay, not SATA 3 (6gb/s). Lots of evidence for flaky performance with 6gb/s in the optical bay

But after much chopping and changing I have done what is in your PS...512Gb Crucial M4 in main bay, and ODD back in the optical bay. No more jumping through hoops to update the firmware (firmware updaters won't boot from external optical drive).
Click to expand...

But weren't there quite a few issues with Crucial M4s? How is the performance, btw? Would it be noticeably slower than my current SSD (OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G)?

P.S.: darn, the price of the 512GB one is up to $400 now.
 
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