Suggestion for an 160 Gb SSD to replace MBP HDD

[PoianaNana]

Hey all!

As the title says, I'm pondering to replace the standard MBP HDD with an SSD.
I think a 128 Gb - 160 Gb (better 160) would be fine...
I made some research but wasn't able to determine the best deal, so I'm begging for your help!

What would be the best SSD for performances?
Which one should I avoid and why?
And what should I consider as the best compromise between price and performances?

Thanks in advance to everyone,

 

[aarond12]

You're thinking of the "TRIM" function. Until Mac OS X fully supports it, I would recommend not getting an SSD unless you have a really good reason to get it.

Without the TRIM function, your SSD will continue to get slower and slower over time.

-Aaron-

 

[PoianaNana]

Oh gosh, really?!?

I actually heard of TRIM but I don't have a clear idea of it... yet!
Anyone willing to help? If so, try to speak with me as you would do with a 3 years old child! Thanks!

I've heard that TRIM will be implemented soon, probably with the next version of Snow Leopard...
Is it true? Or was it only someone else expectation?

Thanks again,
Ste

 

[Giuly]

If you delete a file (actually blocks and pages, but let's say files) on a spinning harddrive, the data actually stays on the disk, it just get's marked as deleted. That's why there are tools, which can recover deleted files. Over time, the space on the disk where the file was gets overwritten by new files.

On SSDs, the Cells have to be completely empty before they can be written, and that's basically was TRIM does, it tells the SSD to complete wipe a certain part of the SSD. If you don't do this, the data stays on the disk, you need to clear a certain part of the disk where the file was first before it gets overwritten, and that's what slows the disk down.
Those undelete-tools don't work anymore if a file gets deleted by TRIM.

Have you had alternatively a look at the Seagate Momentus XT? It's a regular harddrive with 4GB onboard SSD cache, in some situations nearly as fast as a SSD, but offering 500GB of space at about 130$.

 

[PoianaNana]

I've heard of Momentus drives... but they still have rotating parts, am I right?
They seem to be good, so far as I can understand, but I was considering to switch to a SSD to extend the battery duration...

Tnx anyway!

 

[GoCubsGo]

You're thinking of the "TRIM" function. Until Mac OS X fully supports it, I would recommend not getting an SSD unless you have a really good reason to get it.

Without the TRIM function, your SSD will continue to get slower and slower over time.

-Aaron-

After 7 months of use my Intel X25 G2 is just as fast. Read these forums of actual users and their reports who likely support my experience (because I've read them. )

I would go SSD in a heartbeat, TRIM or not and who knows when Apple will get their heads out of their asses and offer TRIM support.

 

[Mal]

I've heard of Momentus drives... but they still have rotating parts, am I right?
They seem to be good, so far as I can understand, but I was considering to switch to a SSD to extend the battery duration...

Tnx anyway!

From everything I've seen, using an SSD vs a mechanical hard drive does not affect battery life, at least not significantly. They should be more reliable, but don't get one to get better battery life, that advantage doesn't exist (yet).

jW

 

[Vantage Point]

If I believe what I read, OWC drives do not get slow with time

 

[Makosuke]

If I believe what I read, OWC drives do not get slow with time

Here's a 3rd party test by a respected Mac professional, based on real-world-type data patterns and an approximation of a lot of use, that backs that assertion up:

http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld-Compare-fill-volume.html

The read/write speed on the MacOS over time is dead flat, TRIM or no. Were I personally going to buy an SSD, it'd be a Sandforce-based drive like the OWC, for exactly this reason. You pay for the performance and overprovisioning, but the speed is massive.

 

[strausd]

You shouldn't worry too much about degredation over time if you know this. Also, the OCZ vertex 2 seems to be a decent amount beter than the intel x25-m from what I've heard. Anandtech did some tests and it really showed the great performance of the vertex 2.