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SSD Buying Guide

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bigpoppamac31 said:
I just think they are still pretty expensive right now though compared to HDD in price per GB.
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SSDs are the single biggest upgrade you can do to a computer to increase the responsiveness - the boot up times, app loading and file operations.

It's one of those things where once you've had a computer with an SSD as a boot drive, you will *never* go back to a mechanical drive (except for usage as large data stores).
 
SlCKB0Y said:
SSDs are the single biggest upgrade you can do to a computer to increase the responsiveness - the boot up times, app loading and file operations.

It's one of those things where once you've had a computer with an SSD as a boot drive, you will *never* go back to a mechanical drive (except for usage as large data stores).
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True. Hence why I would like to get an SSD. Still not sure I can justify the price though. I'm not exactly made of money. Took me a year to save for my MBP and that's buying a refurb model. It has served me well though. My only gripe is that the dGPU is only 256MB as opposed to a 1GB dGPU. Maybe I'll try and snag one around Christmas if one of the ones I want go on sale.
 
TRIM on an external SSD?

Is it possible to enable TRIM on an SSD in an external drive case, either firewire or USB? I assume not, but I am curious about that.
 
Hey all, I'm looking to purchase an SSD for a late 2009 unibody Macbook. I am on a bit of a budget and was looking for something sub $100, or around that with 160-240GB capacity. I was hoping to find an older SATA 3.0 Gbs at reduced cost, but approaching 240GB I notice that SATA 3.0Gbs begin to cost the same as SATA 6.0Gbs ($150 was the cheapest I could find today for the M500, Seagate 600 also the same price). Anyone know any 240GB SATA 3.0 Gbs for under $150?

My other option is the Intel 320 160GB which has been going for $75-80 used on ebay, which is a price point I'm very happy about, the caveat being reduced storage. Any tips from pros? I want a couple more years out of this Macbook (upgrading from HDD), is it okay to go used? Should I bite the bullet and go for a SATA 6.0 Gbs instead of the 3.0 if I'm looking for an SSD at that capacity? Thanks!
 
endlightend said:
... is it okay to go used? Should I bite the bullet and go for a SATA 6.0 Gbs instead of the 3.0 if I'm looking for an SSD at that capacity? Thanks!
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Buying used is always a bit of a gamble. On one hand the drives and technology are new enough that it's reasonable that people are selling because they're upgrading (rather than because the drive is acting up), and the total active time of the drive isn't likely to be that high. On the other hand, there's no way to know how much writing activity the drive has seen, which is the critical variable in determining how much life the drive likely has left. SSD technology has also advanced quite a bit in stability in recent years.

In other words, buying used might be providing a sense of "false economy." It has a cheap up-front cost, but there's a greater risk that the drive will fail sooner. What would you do if it failed within a year or two? Buy another? You'd have essentially doubled your expenditure at that point, not to mention time and productivity lost for data recovery. I don't think it's worth it; not for something like this.

I approach the question of SATA 6.0 Gbps vs. 3 Gbps in a similar line of thought. While there's no guarantee that you'll be moving the SSD into the next computer that you find yourself on, a 6 Gbps drive assures that you'll be able to do so and achieve the maximum performance from the drive. A 3 Gbps drive will hold you back, forcing you to buy yet another drive if you want to attain higher performance. If the cost difference isn't huge, 6 Gbps is the better investment.
 
Ledgem said:
Buying used is always a bit of a gamble. On one hand the drives and technology are new enough that it's reasonable that people are selling because they're upgrading (rather than because the drive is acting up), and the total active time of the drive isn't likely to be that high. On the other hand, there's no way to know how much writing activity the drive has seen, which is the critical variable in determining how much life the drive likely has left. SSD technology has also advanced quite a bit in stability in recent years.

In other words, buying used might be providing a sense of "false economy." It has a cheap up-front cost, but there's a greater risk that the drive will fail sooner. What would you do if it failed within a year or two? Buy another? You'd have essentially doubled your expenditure at that point, not to mention time and productivity lost for data recovery. I don't think it's worth it; not for something like this.

I approach the question of SATA 6.0 Gbps vs. 3 Gbps in a similar line of thought. While there's no guarantee that you'll be moving the SSD into the next computer that you find yourself on, a 6 Gbps drive assures that you'll be able to do so and achieve the maximum performance from the drive. A 3 Gbps drive will hold you back, forcing you to buy yet another drive if you want to attain higher performance. If the cost difference isn't huge, 6 Gbps is the better investment.
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Great tips- thanks so much!
 
Hi there!
I have planning to buy ssd to my 15" mbp mid 2010. Now i have upgraded memory to 8gb. But mbp work not very fast. Before this mbp i have owned the macbook white 2007 3gb memory with ssd cruical 128gb, and it worked very fast. mbp mid 2010 with core i5 and 8gb work slower than old macbook. My mbp have only sata II compatible hdd interface. So what hdd will better for my 15" macbook pro mid 2010. I want something from 160-254gb. I'm looking to cruical m4 (3years warranty), plextor not pro series(5 years warranty), intel 335(3 year warranty), and samsung 840(3 year warranty). samsung has using tlc nand memory, but apple use it at their macbooks. plextor and cruical has using mlc nand memory witch has more resources for writes. intel has best mlc memory but has not best controller. Please, help me to chose the best ssd for my 15" mbp mid 2010.
 
samapal said:
Hi there!
I have planning to buy ssd to my 15" mbp mid 2010. Now i have upgraded memory to 8gb. But mbp work not very fast. Before this mbp i have owned the macbook white 2007 3gb memory with ssd cruical 128gb, and it worked very fast. mbp mid 2010 with core i5 and 8gb work slower than old macbook. My mbp have only sata II compatible hdd interface. So what hdd will better for my 15" macbook pro mid 2010. I want something from 160-254gb. I'm looking to cruical m4 (3years warranty), plextor not pro series(5 years warranty), intel 335(3 year warranty), and samsung 840(3 year warranty). samsung has using tlc nand memory, but apple use it at their macbooks. plextor and cruical has using mlc nand memory witch has more resources for writes. intel has best mlc memory but has not best controller. Please, help me to chose the best ssd for my 15" mbp mid 2010.
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I have the same 2010 model as you, except mine was upgraded to i7 processor back then, and I've been putting it to very good use. I have a Sandisk Extreme I(Sandforce, not the newer Marvel) 240GB SSD in it which is working without issues for about a year, and before that I had a Crucial m4 in it for about 2 years.
As for your needs, since the 2010 MBP only has SATA II speeds go with whichever is the right price for you. If you want something around the 256GB capacity, I assume the 149.99$ for either a crucial m5 or Sandisk Extreme on discount at amazon would normally be the best deal. If money is no issue for you, maybe the Samsung 840 Pro or the Plextor M5P with 5years' warranty would do you better as you cannot take advantage of the speed of those drives.

I think Plextor M5S was 3year warranty, btw :)
 
blake2
At retail stores at my city plextor m5s have 5 years warranty such as at the pro model. Sandisk Extrem is only 2 version with Marvell 88SS9187 inside with price around 200$ for 240gb.
I thought that sandforce is not the best choice for the macbook. But you report that there is no any issue. What do you think about KINGSTON Now KC300 SKC300S37A/180G with SandForce 2281?
 
samapal said:
blake2
At retail stores at my city plextor m5s have 5 years warranty such as at the pro model. Sandisk Extrem is only 2 version with Marvell 88SS9187 inside with price around 200$ for 240gb.
I thought that sandforce is not the best choice for the macbook. But you report that there is no any issue. What do you think about KINGSTON Now KC300 SKC300S37A/180G with SandForce 2281?
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Nice. Plextor makes very solid products and I've been a fan of them ever since I got to know their optical drives. I only have a 256gb plextor M5P in one of my older Toshiba laptops, but I'm sure the M5S is no joke either. If the M5S has 5 years of warranty and isn't horrendously more expensive than Sandisk, then I say go for the M5S.

On the other hand, I know that 2nd gen SF controllers had had their share of problems but I've had some good experience with them. 2 Sandisk Extreme 240gb's, 2 Sandisk Extreme 480gb's and 1 intel 520 and 1 OWC electra 3G. Some of them stayed in my macs and some others went into my workplace/family PC's, but nothing ever happened to any of them. The oldest of them is the OWC electra 3G(which is a SF-driven drive, btw), and although it's run most of its life either in a mac without TRIM or in a Windows XP computer, it's still at 98% health with SSDlife.

I don't have experience with the Kingston KC300 so I can't say for sure. Generally Kingston makes good products and I have some of their memory products, but no SSD's from them :(
But as long as you keep the firmware up-to-date... I don't think the controller will be an issue for you. As I said, you might want to weigh out the price of the drive you want versus the warranty before you decide. Do you think you'll be running critical stuff on the drive 4-5 years later? Or will you be drooling at the 2tb SSD in that time(;))?

If I were you, though, I'd go with the cheapest in your store, as far as SSDs are concerned.
 
Hi,

Hoping to get some help. I have a 13" macbook pro that I bought new in 2011. From the sounds and the research I have done, the harddrive that I upgraded to when I first bought it is now done. (Western Digital 1tb). So I figured since I need a new harddrive I would go ahead and upgrade to an SSD.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Elect...-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

This is is the one I am interested as it is a decent price for the size of storage. Hoping to get some opinions and help on if this will fit or not. I have also read about the Samsung 840 Pro, is it worth the price difference?

Also, when I install it, I'm assuming I can dump in the gray disk that came with my laptop then from there upgrade to Mavericks again?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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cloroxbleach4 said:
Hi,

Hoping to get some help. I have a 13" macbook pro that I bought new in 2011. From the sounds and the research I have done, the harddrive that I upgraded to when I first bought it is now done. (Western Digital 1tb). So I figured since I need a new harddrive I would go ahead and upgrade to an SSD.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Elect...-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

This is is the one I am interested as it is a decent price for the size of storage. Hoping to get some opinions and help on if this will fit or not. I have also read about the Samsung 840 Pro, is it worth the price difference?

Also, when I install it, I'm assuming I can dump in the gray disk that came with my laptop then from there upgrade to Mavericks again?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

That drive will fit and work just fine. The 840 Pro uses a different NAND chip that can handle more write cycles and that is the main reason for the higher cost. Unless you are using the SSD in a way that will have extremely high write cycles, there is no need to spend the extra money on the Pro model.

Yes, you can just install SL from the DVD then update to Mavericks.
 
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Weaselboy said:
That drive will fit and work just fine. The 840 Pro uses a different NAND chip that can handle more write cycles and that is the main reason for the higher cost. Unless you are using the SSD in a way that will have extremely high write cycles, there is no need to spend the extra money on the Pro model.

Yes, you can just install SL from the DVD then update to Mavericks.
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Thanks for the help!

Looks like this is the one I'll be purchasing.
 
So, which is best for my MacBook Pro?

Samsung 840 EVO - $175
Crucial M400 - $190
PNY Prevail - $202
Kingston SSDNow - $165

(250 or 240GB Versions)

Thanks!
 
nakamoto said:
crucial M500 or samsung 840/ 840 evo will be a better buy ?

do i need to enable trim on these ssd?
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It's a matter of opinion as to which is the better buy. They all perform well, so go with the one that you can get the best deal on. The 840 EVO is newer than the 840 and performs a bit better, so if you find both for the same or nearly the same price, the EVO would be preferable.

TRIM is only automatically enabled on SSDs that Apple provides with their systems; you would have to enable it manually if you want it. It isn't difficult to do and can be done for free using software like Chameleon SSD Optimizer.

It is not a requirement that you enable TRIM, though. Performance may degrade over time, but the drive itself will not be harmed without TRIM.
 
firmware update

Hey guys
I'm thinking of getting either crucial m500 250gb or 840 evo. as far as i can understand, the 840 evo will give better performance, but what about firmware update? i dont have windows installed (or any windows machine), so can i update evo without connecting to windows? and is it important to be able to update firmware?
(sorry im so ignorant :) )

/Frederik
 
fredace said:
Hey guys
I'm thinking of getting either crucial m500 250gb or 840 evo. as far as i can understand, the 840 evo will give better performance, but what about firmware update? i dont have windows installed (or any windows machine), so can i update evo without connecting to windows? and is it important to be able to update firmware?
(sorry im so ignorant :) )

/Frederik
Click to expand...

Hi Frederik,
don't need to apologize for asking questions! I just upgraded my MBP with the 840 EVO. On Samsung's website they do have firmware updates for Mac's that you can download, it comes as an iso that needs to be burned onto a CD or a USB. Since the EVO just came out, there's only been one firmware update and it's not in relation to any major fixes/changes, so in my opinion you can skip this first one.
 
endlightend said:
Hi Frederik,
don't need to apologize for asking questions! I just upgraded my MBP with the 840 EVO. On Samsung's website they do have firmware updates for Mac's that you can download, it comes as an iso that needs to be burned onto a CD or a USB. Since the EVO just came out, there's only been one firmware update and it's not in relation to any major fixes/changes, so in my opinion you can skip this first one.
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Thank you for your answer, endlightend. since my post i think i've found out that the crucial 500 needs firmware update in the same way as the evo. can you confirm that? http://www.crucial.com/support/ssd/index.aspx

If that's the case, then i find the evo even more attracting of the two. My only concern is this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/23453284#23453284

In this, some people say that the evo can give problems on mb pros, that crucial 500 is to be prefered and that the speeddifference will not be noticed in normal use. furthermore, it is argued conflicts between samsung and apple need to be considered. can you tell me if these are something to worry about?
 
fredace said:
Thank you for your answer, endlightend. since my post i think i've found out that the crucial 500 needs firmware update in the same way as the evo. can you confirm that? http://www.crucial.com/support/ssd/index.aspx

If that's the case, then i find the evo even more attracting of the two. My only concern is this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/23453284#23453284

In this, some people say that the evo can give problems on mb pros, that crucial 500 is to be prefered and that the speeddifference will not be noticed in normal use. furthermore, it is argued conflicts between samsung and apple need to be considered. can you tell me if these are something to worry about?
Click to expand...

I would ignore any claims in that thread. The EVO uses a controller made by Samsung themselves. It does not use a Sandforce controller as that thread claims. There is no "conflict" between Samsung drives and Apple hardware. Many users here have installed the EVO and the M500 and they work fine.

Honestly, I would just get whichever one you can find the best price on.
 
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