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ltzraymond

macrumors member
Original poster
May 16, 2008
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Hello, I'm new to the ssd market and I have some questions that I hope you guys can answer for me. I plan on installing dual drives, ssd in the main bay and my old hdd in the optical drive. I've done some research on these forums and I'm leaner towards a Crucial m4 6G.
1. What size would be adequate if I had the hard drive for storage?
2. Where can I purchase the other tools I need to install my old hard drive and how would I do it?
 
Spink10

Spink10

Suspended
Nov 3, 2011
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Spink10

Spink10

Suspended
Nov 3, 2011
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ltzraymond said:
thanks dude!

----------

Late 2011
Click to expand...
Yeah you will get sata 3 speeds with that model

Also - you may need the optical drive to update firmware on Crucial m4 - check this out before removing the optical drive - not sure if a usb optical drive enclosure would work - you may be completely find - im just unsure how to update firmware on the crucial m4 - I know that it can be done through OS X :)
 
yusukeaoki

yusukeaoki

macrumors 68030
Mar 22, 2011
2,550
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Tokyo, Japan
Or you can buy a USB enclosure and put your SSD in it.
Then go to Lion Recovery mode (option key on boot) and install Lion through there.
 
Ifti

Ifti

macrumors 68020
Dec 14, 2010
2,322
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UK
al821 said:
You would need to make a bootable USB
Click to expand...
Very easy to dothis - its how I've just set up my new SSD.
Create a bootable USB (I have created a video in my YouTube channel - link in sig).
Install SSD and reboot with the USB.
Install afresh.
Use a TM backup to restore all your apps, data, and settings etc.

SnowLeopard2008 said:
The Samsung 830 is better IMO.
Click to expand...
I concur - Just installed one into my MBP and its a scorcher!
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
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In the land of no hills and red dirt.
SnowLeopard2008 said:
The Samsung 830 is better IMO.
Click to expand...
Hellhammer, our resident SSD guru and SSD reviewer for Anandtech, recommends either the Samsung 830 or the Crucial M4.

He rates both roughly equal in terms of reliability.

I seem to recall the 830 does have better performance specs, but you'd have to be Mr. Data to tell the difference between the two, unless you're moving a lot of large blocks of data, especially if it's uncompressed (i.e., video editing).

Samsung requires windows to do firmware updates, Crucial can be done on a Mac. (Though there have been issues reported doing so in the past.)

Crucial is generally priced cheaper, $400 for 512gb; the cheapest you can find a same sized Sammy is $530 at B&H.

I think the general consensus is that the average consumer can buy either with little regret, and that you should look for the best deal for the money.

Lately, Newegg's been aggressive with pricing the Mushkin Enhanced Chronos (special of $179 for a 240 gb). Not as well known as Crucial or Samsung, but good specs and a lot of happy Mac campers weighing in on it on Amazon and Newegg.
 
SnowLeopard2008

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,773
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clyde2801 said:
Hellhammer, our resident SSD guru and SSD reviewer for Anandtech, recommends either the Samsung 830 or the Crucial M4.

He rates both roughly equal in terms of reliability.

I seem to recall the 830 does have better performance specs, but you'd have to be Mr. Data to tell the difference between the two, unless you're moving a lot of large blocks of data, especially if it's uncompressed (i.e., video editing).

Samsung requires windows to do firmware updates, Crucial can be done on a Mac. (Though there have been issues reported doing so in the past.)

Crucial is generally priced cheaper, $400 for 512gb; the cheapest you can find a same sized Sammy is $530 at B&H.

I think the general consensus is that the average consumer can buy either with little regret, and that you should look for the best deal for the money.

Lately, Newegg's been aggressive with pricing the Mushkin Enhanced Chronos (special of $179 for a 240 gb). Not as well known as Crucial or Samsung, but good specs and a lot of happy Mac campers weighing in on it on Amazon and Newegg.
Click to expand...
AnandTech's last SSD recommendation for consumers was the Samsung 830. I was able to get the 128GB model for $90 from TigerDirect. Also, Apple is currently using a variation of the 830 in their Macs. Apple usually chooses the best component available. The Crucial is cheaper but if you look on Amazon, the price doesn't differ by much except for the extreme high end 512GB model. Also, Samsung makes all of the components from flash to controller in-house. We all know from example (Apple) that this usually produces a top-tier quality/performance product. I'm not saying the Crucial SSD is not as good, just that the Samsung one is one of the best if not the best SSDs on the market right now.

Firmware doesn't change so often like software does. SSDs should be ranked in terms of performance/price not whether the firmware can be upgraded using a Mac and/or Windows PC. And in this performance aspect, the 830 wins. In price, Crucial is cheaper by a little bit to moderate, depending on models.
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
SnowLeopard2008 said:
AnandTech's last SSD recommendation for consumers was the Samsung 830. I was able to get the 128GB model for $90 from TigerDirect. Also, Apple is currently using a variation of the 830 in their Macs. Apple usually chooses the best component available. The Crucial is cheaper but if you look on Amazon, the price doesn't differ by much except for the extreme high end 512GB model. Also, Samsung makes all of the components from flash to controller in-house. We all know from example (Apple) that this usually produces a top-tier quality/performance product. I'm not saying the Crucial SSD is not as good, just that the Samsung one is one of the best if not the best SSDs on the market right now.

Firmware doesn't change so often like software does. SSDs should be ranked in terms of performance/price not whether the firmware can be upgraded using a Mac and/or Windows PC. And in this performance aspect, the 830 wins. In price, Crucial is cheaper by a little bit to moderate, depending on models.
Click to expand...
Not downplaying raw performance, but unless you're copying a lot of data, I doubt most people would notice the performance difference between the two. Synthetic benchmarks aside, this is getting close to arguing how many angels you can fit on the head of a pin.

And to update the firmware on the sammy, I would have to take it out, put it in an enclosure, hook it up to a PC and then reinstall it. Doing one firmware upgrade on it is a PITA compared to the Crucial, IMHO.

Uh....I got the extreme high end.:eek: And had I not been able to get it for $.75/gb, I probably would have gone with Samsung. But the same size would have cost me at least $150 more.

I think this is a classic 'honda vs. toyota' argument. And like those two brands, most people can't go terribly wrong with choosing either.
 
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