SSD or Momentus XT

[jlc1978]

As long as I can be certain that I will be getting SATA III read/write speeds then I will get the Samsung, otherwise I may as well just go for a SATA II SSD.

While you should get the speeds, you probably would not notice any difference; unless you have very very large files. Think of it this way:

Your on a motor way with a 100km/hr speed limit (you SATA Interface)
You have the choice of two cars - one tops out at 50km/hr, the other at 100km/hr. (The drive).
You, however, only go 100 meters before you stop (loading a normal file). While the second car will get there first, the difference will not be noticeable.
No, if you are going a 100km, then there is a difference. (Loading large files.)

Not trying to sway you one way or the other, just providing a real world perspective.

As for the Crucial, their forum has some discussions on that drive:

http://forums.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/What-a-nightmare-Crucial-M4-512GB-DOA/td-p/61027

It looks like it is fixed, based on the last post. I can't verify that since I have a Patriot SSD.

Whatever SSD you get you will be happy. Enjoy.

 

[BiggAW]

I thought you didn't need TRIM if you have GC on a Sandforce drive.

 

[Higney85]

I got the XT 750 in my stocking and couldn't be happier. I like the SSD'S but you are limited to 512GB. I'm at 480ish (movies/pics/music) and the momentus is working great (and super fast). I'm running the 13" with the 750GB momentus XT and 16GB ram with W7 pro running in parellels. Major improvement over the 750GB 5400rpm.

I'll go SSD when 1TB doesn't cost the same as the entire laptop. In time the bugs will get worked out between cost and firmware.

 

[iBrody]

Just an update,

I purchased the Apple/Toshiba 512gb SSD from eBay in the end which cost me £480.

TRIM was already enabled (bonus!), and the mbp normally boots in a much speedier 17.5 secs now.

Pretty happy so far, and no obvious problems.

Cheers for everyone who provided input, much appreciated.

 

[FuNGi]

SSD. I have a dual setup, with SSD for boot and applications and HDD for space, but ultimately, I would like to go all-SSD with an OWC Extreme drive. Probably a few years down the road, as what I have now works pretty well.

Just an update,

I purchased the Apple/Toshiba 512gb SSD from eBay in the end which cost me £480.

TRIM was already enabled (bonus!), and the mbp normally boots in a much speedier 17.5 secs now.

Pretty happy so far, and no obvious problems.

Cheers for everyone who provided input, much appreciated.

Yeah, torn between buying an 128GB Samsung 830 for OS, apps, and photos' versus waiting a few years until I can afford a 512GB and not have to deal with splitting up my computer. How do you guys handle backups now? What does time machine do with two drives?

 

[BiggAW]

Yeah, torn between buying an 128GB Samsung 830 for OS, apps, and photos' versus waiting a few years until I can afford a 512GB and not have to deal with splitting up my computer. How do you guys handle backups now? What does time machine do with two drives?

Don't wait. They both get backed up.

 

[FuNGi]

Don't wait. They both get backed up.

Killer. Thanks, I ordered the 128GB 830.

 

[zatix]

Would a Momentus XT, which has SATAII at 6gbps, be compatible with my mid 2009 macbook pro that has SATAI at 3gbps?

thanks

 

[nikhsub1]

Would a Momentus XT, which has SATAII at 6gbps, be compatible with my mid 2009 macbook pro that has SATAI at 3gbps?

thanks

Yes... rotating disks can't even come close to reaching 3GBPS speeds...

I just replaced my XT with the Crucial M4 512GB SSD. Let me be the first to say that there is no contest between any platter based drive and an SSD in terms of speed. This SSD is blindingly fast, I would sometimes have to wait 8-10 bounces for google chrome just to open, other apps as well. Now they open instantly, like no waiting at all its ridiculous. Sure the $$ per GB is way more but hey that is the price you pay for speed. I have the Sandybridge 17" MBP with 8GB of RAM and I couldn't be happier at this point.

 

[mzjin]

Thanks.

If the Crucial runs fewer problems with a firmware update, will the following be a further hurdle?

1. My MBP shipped with SL
2. I upgraded to Lion via the App Store
3. I will want to do a clean install of Lion with the new SSD (Lion OS X from pen drive at launch) .

How do I make sure that the SSD works out of the box in the MBP should the SSD have been shipped with an older firmware installed (and also Lion will understandably not be 10.7.2 when initially clean installed)?

Thanks

1) Create a clean Lion Install USB - Google this. All you need is an 8GB USB stick and OSX's disk utility.

2) Install SSD

3) Clean install Lion from your USB (no network connection or downloads required)

4) Profit

 

[nikhsub1]

1) Create a clean Lion Install USB - Google this. All you need is an 8GB USB stick and OSX's disk utility.

2) Install SSD

3) Clean install Lion from your USB (no network connection or downloads required)

4) Profit

I made a DVD of Lion way back... I clean installed Lion as well. But the first thing I did was update the firmware to the latest version.

 

[BiggAW]

Would a Momentus XT, which has SATAII at 6gbps, be compatible with my mid 2009 macbook pro that has SATAI at 3gbps?

thanks

Yup. I have a SATA 2 SSD in a SATA 3 laptop. Just uses the lower speed.