I did a fresh install and used time capsule backup (migrate user). First I did not change anything and it worked.
Now I am using SmartSleep http://www.jinx.de/SmartSleep.html
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SSD for 2011 MBP: Summary
- Thread starter jijitrash
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I did a fresh install and used time capsule backup (migrate user). First I did not change anything and it worked.
Now I am using SmartSleep http://www.jinx.de/SmartSleep.html
OCZ Vertex 2 works with hibernate
I have an Early 2011 MacBookPro8,1 with an OCZ Vertex 2 180GB installed in the optical bay, and a WD 1TB Scorpio Blue in the regular HD bay.
All modes of hibernation and safe-sleep seem to work properly on the latest Vertex 2 firmware of 1.32, released about a week ago. hibernatemode 1, 3 and 25 all sleep and wake correctly. (The sleep delay as the SSD writes 8GB of RAM contents to disk is pretty impressive.)
There are outstanding issues with inactivity sleep, however. (This is similar to the OWC SSDs, also based on the Sandforce controller.)
Namely, when waking after a timed-out inactivity sleep, it often takes several opening/closing cycles of the lid to get the system to come back on. This issue is 100% repeatable. Because it is known to be present in more than one brand of SSD, I can only suspect that it has something to do with Sandforce.
That being said, this "issue" is not really a deal-breaker. It would be nice to have a 100% functioning system, but only once in a blue moon does my computer time itself off to sleep. (Alternately, you can just disable timed sleep entirely.)
User-initiated sleep and hibernate both have been working 100% since the software update.
In the absence of TRIM, this is maybe a small price to pay for the Sandforce based garbage collection and decent read/write speeds.
I have an Early 2011 MacBookPro8,1 with an OCZ Vertex 2 180GB installed in the optical bay, and a WD 1TB Scorpio Blue in the regular HD bay.
All modes of hibernation and safe-sleep seem to work properly on the latest Vertex 2 firmware of 1.32, released about a week ago. hibernatemode 1, 3 and 25 all sleep and wake correctly. (The sleep delay as the SSD writes 8GB of RAM contents to disk is pretty impressive.)
There are outstanding issues with inactivity sleep, however. (This is similar to the OWC SSDs, also based on the Sandforce controller.)
Namely, when waking after a timed-out inactivity sleep, it often takes several opening/closing cycles of the lid to get the system to come back on. This issue is 100% repeatable. Because it is known to be present in more than one brand of SSD, I can only suspect that it has something to do with Sandforce.
That being said, this "issue" is not really a deal-breaker. It would be nice to have a 100% functioning system, but only once in a blue moon does my computer time itself off to sleep. (Alternately, you can just disable timed sleep entirely.)
User-initiated sleep and hibernate both have been working 100% since the software update.
In the absence of TRIM, this is maybe a small price to pay for the Sandforce based garbage collection and decent read/write speeds.
Slightly off topic, but ... OK, so TRIM is supported in Lion for Intel SSDs. Does anyone happen to know the implementation details? Will I be able "trim" my current SSD as I might do now with repairing permissions?
TRIM support for any SSD
Just want to point to this one:
http://www.9to5mac.com/57965/how-to-activate-trim-on-any-ssd-in-macos10-6-7/
and
http://www.hardmac.com/news/2011/03/27/the-universal-solution-to-activate-trim
TRIM support for any SSD
Just want to point to this one:
http://www.9to5mac.com/57965/how-to-activate-trim-on-any-ssd-in-macos10-6-7/
and
http://www.hardmac.com/news/2011/03/27/the-universal-solution-to-activate-trim
TRIM support for any SSD
This is a good thread idea - but one that will be even more useful if the OP agrees to periodically update the opening post with an updated and well organized summary as accurate and updated information trickles in. Just a suggestion to help make it "sticky" worthy. 
I dislike CCC. I've tried it twice and once it just caused a slight lag in the machine. After opening apps etc there would be a nasty lag. Anyway, I prefer a fresh install and if you don't want to reinstall apps use Time Machine. TM works great for backing and transferring to a new SSD.
Anyway Vertex 2 no major issues except for the hibernation which I rarely ever have to worry about. Thus I've turned it off.
So the only problems with sleep you are/were having were caused by inactivity? And by that do you mean not using it so it goes to screen saver -> display sleep -> computer sleep? But just regularly putting it to sleep (closing the lid) works just fine?
My closing the lid has always worked fine. But now that I think about it I think inactivity sleep doesn't work well although I"ve never had to open/close multiple times to get it to wake. It just that the inactivity I don't think actual lets the computer go to sleep. Haven't tested it much though.
TRIM Enabler -> utility to enable TRIM in Snow Leopard.
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12259841/ -> Thread by the developer.
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12259841/ -> Thread by the developer.
+1 I'll be closely watching this oneThis is a good thread idea - but one that will be even more useful if the OP agrees to periodically update the opening post with an updated and well organized summary as accurate and updated information trickles in. Just a suggestion to help make it "sticky" worthy.
I've just purchased a new 15" Macbook Pro and plan on putting an SSD in to it. My wife has a early 2008 Macbook which I replaced the HDD with an OWC Mercury Extreme Pro late last year. It's been fantastic and I have not seen any drop in performance in OSX or Windows 7 (bootcamp & Parallels).
My first thought was to just purchase another OWC for my Macbook Pro because it has performed so well with no hiccups, no errors and no noticeable degradation in performance. Then I started reading about the Vertex 3 and other SATA 3 drives. I freely admit that I don't really understand how and why these SSDs are better and so have no idea of the extent of improved performance.
Is there going to be a noticeable jump in the performance of these new (or soon to be released) drives over the OWC? Also, is there going to be a significant price premium for this and do people think the performance improvement is worth putting up with any of the likely teething issues in OSX?
My first thought was to just purchase another OWC for my Macbook Pro because it has performed so well with no hiccups, no errors and no noticeable degradation in performance. Then I started reading about the Vertex 3 and other SATA 3 drives. I freely admit that I don't really understand how and why these SSDs are better and so have no idea of the extent of improved performance.
Is there going to be a noticeable jump in the performance of these new (or soon to be released) drives over the OWC? Also, is there going to be a significant price premium for this and do people think the performance improvement is worth putting up with any of the likely teething issues in OSX?
The 2011 MBP models use a newer SATA III connector for the hard drive and so theoretically can move 600MB/s of data vs. the old SATA II cap of 300MB/s. You would need to buy a SATA III SSD to see this. You can see the speed difference in this test of the Intel 510 SSD at Anandtech.
You will pay around $100 more for a SATA III vs. a SATA II SSD of the same capacity. If you want the absolute max speed, get a SATA III drive. All of that said, in real world, normal usage you will likely not notice much if any difference.
Nice, I hope to do something similar with the Vertex 3 and when/if I can scrap enough cash together.
Question: why put bootcamp on the HDD rather than the SSD? Simply to preserve space on the SSD as BC is non-critical to you?
I ask because I use both Mac and Windows, and the Windows side is critical (design software). If I were to upgrade to an SSD, I would like to have both OSX and Windows on the SSD. Bootcamp/Windows 7 would no doubt benefit from the SSD upgrade as well, correct?
Well I live in the real world so I think I'll stick with what I know and has worked well for me, a SATA II SSD (OWC Mercury Pro). Thanks (now to decide between the 115GB or 240GB).
Toshiba if I recall correctly. And while it's "stock" and only SATA II it's still stupid fast for what I use it for. Can't go wrong with the 128Gb. I went with the 256Gb but at that point I started pushing the bang for buck thought process.
Gonna toss a regular HDD in the optibay here shortly.
Gonna toss a regular HDD in the optibay here shortly.
160gb Intel X25-M G1 in Macbook Pro 13" 2011 (2.7ghz)
- EDIT: Ok, 160gb G1 has a problem where it lags on waking from sleep for about 20 second, in some cases but not all cases. Going to update the firmware to see if it fixes it.
- Works flawlessly (or so I thought - see above)
- SSD in the main drive bay, 500gb HDD in optibay
- Resumes fine from sleep, hibernates fine, etc etc - no issues (or so I though - see above)
- Installs flawlessly - follow 100% normal OS Install process
120gb Intel X25-M G2 in Macbook Pro 13" 2011 (2.7ghz)
- Works flawlessly
- SSD in the main drive bay, 320gb HDD in optibay
- Resumes fine from sleep, hibernates fine, etc etc - no issues
- Installs flawlessly - follow 100% normal OS Install process
For interest sake, on older machines:
160gb Intel X25-M G1 in Macbook Unibody (2.0ghz)
- Works fine in OS-X itself
- SSD in the main drive bay, 320gb HDD in optibay
- Initially had sleep and hibernation issues, but these fixed themselves after one of the updates for the Macbook - I don't know if it was an OS X update or a Firmware issue, but it now works.
- Initially had some weird installation issues - needed to do a clone onto the drive in an external enclosure. After a firmware update for the SSD, this problem was fixed.
60gb Sandforce based Drive in Macbook Pro 13" 2009 (2.26ghz)
- endless problems - instability in OS, challenges installing (tried cloning / etc), eventually gave up on this combination.
- From my experience this system (It's one of the ones that had the firmware update to enable full 3Gbps SATA performance, up from 1.5) has tons of wierd issues with SSDs
128gb and 60gb Mushkin Indilinx based Drives in Macbook Unibody (2.0ghz)
- Works fine in OS-X itself
- SSD in the main drive bay, optical drive in secondary bay.
- Sleep and hibernation issues that I could never solve, even with a 1 drive (non-optibay) setup. Main reason I went to Intel.
- Weird installation issues that I could never fix - needed to do a clone onto the drive in an external enclosure.
My experience and feelings on SSD:
- For 95% of people, TRIM support at this point is a red herring. Yes, it's a 'nice to have', and Apple should implement it, but it really does not matter that much. If you are not a hardcore user and buy a decent SSD (Intel X25-M, Sandforce / Indilinx based, etc) you won't notice the performance issue, even over years. If you are a hardcore user, I'm willing to bet that you format and reinstall your OS-X install for other reasons before you notice the performance degradation. (Yes, OS X is better than windows in this regard, but not perfect).
- Once again, for 95% of people, an Intel X25-M G2 or Sandforce 1200 drive is the way to go (or even the BTO apple drive - especially the 128gb on 15" or 17" systems is a great deal). The performance difference between this drive and a C300 / Sandforce 2200 / Intel 510 based drive, in real world usage, is really not noticeable. There are exceptions, but to my mind you must think very carefully if you are willing to deal with potential issues for a very small performance improvement.
- EDIT: Ok, 160gb G1 has a problem where it lags on waking from sleep for about 20 second, in some cases but not all cases. Going to update the firmware to see if it fixes it.
- Works flawlessly (or so I thought - see above)
- SSD in the main drive bay, 500gb HDD in optibay
- Resumes fine from sleep, hibernates fine, etc etc - no issues (or so I though - see above)
- Installs flawlessly - follow 100% normal OS Install process
120gb Intel X25-M G2 in Macbook Pro 13" 2011 (2.7ghz)
- Works flawlessly
- SSD in the main drive bay, 320gb HDD in optibay
- Resumes fine from sleep, hibernates fine, etc etc - no issues
- Installs flawlessly - follow 100% normal OS Install process
For interest sake, on older machines:
160gb Intel X25-M G1 in Macbook Unibody (2.0ghz)
- Works fine in OS-X itself
- SSD in the main drive bay, 320gb HDD in optibay
- Initially had sleep and hibernation issues, but these fixed themselves after one of the updates for the Macbook - I don't know if it was an OS X update or a Firmware issue, but it now works.
- Initially had some weird installation issues - needed to do a clone onto the drive in an external enclosure. After a firmware update for the SSD, this problem was fixed.
60gb Sandforce based Drive in Macbook Pro 13" 2009 (2.26ghz)
- endless problems - instability in OS, challenges installing (tried cloning / etc), eventually gave up on this combination.
- From my experience this system (It's one of the ones that had the firmware update to enable full 3Gbps SATA performance, up from 1.5) has tons of wierd issues with SSDs
128gb and 60gb Mushkin Indilinx based Drives in Macbook Unibody (2.0ghz)
- Works fine in OS-X itself
- SSD in the main drive bay, optical drive in secondary bay.
- Sleep and hibernation issues that I could never solve, even with a 1 drive (non-optibay) setup. Main reason I went to Intel.
- Weird installation issues that I could never fix - needed to do a clone onto the drive in an external enclosure.
My experience and feelings on SSD:
- For 95% of people, TRIM support at this point is a red herring. Yes, it's a 'nice to have', and Apple should implement it, but it really does not matter that much. If you are not a hardcore user and buy a decent SSD (Intel X25-M, Sandforce / Indilinx based, etc) you won't notice the performance issue, even over years. If you are a hardcore user, I'm willing to bet that you format and reinstall your OS-X install for other reasons before you notice the performance degradation. (Yes, OS X is better than windows in this regard, but not perfect).
- Once again, for 95% of people, an Intel X25-M G2 or Sandforce 1200 drive is the way to go (or even the BTO apple drive - especially the 128gb on 15" or 17" systems is a great deal). The performance difference between this drive and a C300 / Sandforce 2200 / Intel 510 based drive, in real world usage, is really not noticeable. There are exceptions, but to my mind you must think very carefully if you are willing to deal with potential issues for a very small performance improvement.
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Strictly speaking, this is true, but we shouldn't let Apple off the hook that easily. The new MBPs are capable of accommodating SATA-III drives, but OS X obviously has problems with the SATA-III drives that are currently available. Apple MUST fix this ASAP, even if SATA-II drives are fast enough "for 95% of people".
I don't think it's OS X. From another thread about beach balling Intel 510s, it seems that some of the SATA 3 cables are faulty and can only handle SATA 2 speeds. It's strange, I know.
But if you have a beach balling SATA 3 drive, compare the cable model with the poster in that thread to see if it's the same.
I've read that too, but I'm not sure this cable theory has been confirmed. And to be honest, Apple using sub-par SATA-cables that are unable to push SATA-III speeds would be an even bigger scandal than them screwing it up at the OS-level.
re: OCZ Vertex 2 (fw 1.32) on Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" Core i5
Yes.
Hibernation (sleep to disk) works in all modes (1, 3, 25) with the latest firmware update.
A user-initiated sleep (whether by closing the lid, keyboard shortcut, sleep menu, etc.) will let you wake the computer just fine. But if the computer went to sleep because of inactivity, I often have to do the open/close lid dance with jumbled video on screen for a while.
Yes.
Hibernation (sleep to disk) works in all modes (1, 3, 25) with the latest firmware update.
A user-initiated sleep (whether by closing the lid, keyboard shortcut, sleep menu, etc.) will let you wake the computer just fine. But if the computer went to sleep because of inactivity, I often have to do the open/close lid dance with jumbled video on screen for a while.