Those of you who use a MBP with a SSD! How do you like it?

[DrJames]

I'm contemplating on purchasing a MBP. Originally I wanted a MBA because of the SSD but I think I'll need the Pro for other purposes.

How does it compare in speed with the Air? Do you like the SSD better? Why or why not?

I'd really like some opinions before I purchase mine!

 

[thundersteele]

SSD is awesome. I have one in my MBP.

In my opinion, it is stupid to buy a new PC without SSD. HDDs are too much of a bottle neck for modern laptops.

Before buying, I went to an Apple store to compare application launch times between the Airs and the "faster" MBPs. The time it took for the MS office suite to launch on the MBP was enough to walk over to the airs, fully launch all the same applications, and walk back.

It's also very quiet.

Other people might prefer more storage space, and one might argue that launching applications is not such a significant part of the daily routine. The above is just my personal experience and preference.

 

[dusk007]

Depends on what you are doing.
An SSD boots up in 15sec a hdd needs 3 times as long but how often do you boot the system once a month. Usually you just use Standby.

If run Apps like Browser, Office Word, itunes you see little benefit from an SSD. Yes the apps starts faster but given enough ram how often do you launch it fresh. Once it runs in RAM with the low and mostly asynchronous IO an SSD makes little to nothing faster. Reaction is mostly CPU bound. Though the Air Sinlge Core trubo should compare quite well in this situation.

For heavy use an SSD makes everything feel a lot faster though. Some IO heavy stuff like video/music editing, compiling or just using many little thinks in multitasking gets a tremendous speed boost. An SSD is the equivalent of a multi core CPU. You can throw lots of stuff at it at the same time and never have to wait.

For light usage though the benefits are heavily exaggerated. Unless you are stupid enough to constantly restart and relaunch you apps there is very little to no difference in speed. The faster CPU buys you more.
An SSD only helps were an App cannot hold enough of its working data in RAM. Once data is in RAM there is no difference.

 

[anirudh]

I don't use a MB Pro with a SSD (I did switch over from a Pro to an Air), but one of the reasons why I prefer the SSD would be the lack of moving parts make it less susceptible to damage. I can pick up and move the SSD immediately after closing the lid or even without putting the laptop to sleep and not worry about damaging the drive head and whatnot. And the added Silent Operation is also a much welcome plus

 

[Shredder-]

Depends on what you are doing.
An SSD boots up in 15sec a hdd needs 3 times as long but how often do you boot the system once a month. Usually you just use Standby.

If run Apps like Browser, Office Word, itunes you see little benefit from an SSD. Yes the apps starts faster but given enough ram how often do you launch it fresh. Once it runs in RAM with the low and mostly asynchronous IO an SSD makes little to nothing faster. Reaction is mostly CPU bound. Though the Air Sinlge Core trubo should compare quite well in this situation.

For heavy use an SSD makes everything feel a lot faster though. Some IO heavy stuff like video/music editing, compiling or just using many little thinks in multitasking gets a tremendous speed boost. An SSD is the equivalent of a multi core CPU. You can throw lots of stuff at it at the same time and never have to wait.

For light usage though the benefits are heavily exaggerated. Unless you are stupid enough to constantly restart and relaunch you apps there is very little to no difference in speed. The faster CPU buys you more.
An SSD only helps were an App cannot hold enough of its working data in RAM. Once data is in RAM there is no difference.

i'm sorry, what? you don't quit the apps that are not in use? Thats stupid my friend

 

[simsaladimbamba]

i'm sorry, what? you don't quit the apps that are not in use? Thats stupid my friend

Why?
If there is enough free and inactive RAM, why not let some applications open.
I have almost always 15 applications open at the same time and still have no slow downs (except in Safari, but that is to be expected on some wrongly coded webpages) and enough free RAM (3.33 GB currently).

Anyway, I have a Vertex 3 SSD in my 2009 MBP along with an HDD and the machine still feels like an almost new machine.

 

[maflynn]

I like it, but I'm a little a unhappy with the size. I have a 120gb SSD and that's too small to hold the OS, Apps, my Virtual Machines, LightRoom library and Music.

Yeah, I'm asking too much of it, but I love the fact that I have an all digital machine, that is I don't have to worry about moving it around while on - no head crash.

The speed is a huge plus.