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Your Opinions Please - Buying new MB Pro - Apple SSD vs Aftermarket.

M

Matt S

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 23, 2011
4
0
Sydney
Hi All,

I would appreciate your opinions and help on the following scenario:

I am going to purchase a new 17 inch MBP in the coming days.

I would like to go for a SSD for the operating system, and intend to replace the Optidrive with a HDD.


My questions are -

Considering the issues people are having with the aftermarket SSD's, do you think it makes more sense for me to purchase the computer with standard apple SSD considering I only want approximately 128 gb capacity?


And,
Which HDD would you recommend for the Optibay? My initial thoughts are a 7200rpm drive with a capacity of 750 gb. Are there any drives I should look to with regard to heat/performance/power use etc?


Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer, or any links you might be able to provide for me to make a more informed decision.
 
Matt S said:
Hi All,

I would appreciate your opinions and help on the following scenario:

I am going to purchase a new 17 inch MBP in the coming days.

I would like to go for a SSD for the operating system, and intend to replace the Optidrive with a HDD.


My questions are -

Considering the issues people are having with the aftermarket SSD's, do you think it makes more sense for me to purchase the computer with standard apple SSD considering I only want approximately 128 gb capacity?


And,
Which HDD would you recommend for the Optibay? My initial thoughts are a 7200rpm drive with a capacity of 750 gb. Are there any drives I should look to with regard to heat/performance/power use etc?


Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer, or any links you might be able to provide for me to make a more informed decision.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but I'm almost certain Apple doesn't make the hard drives in their machines, in fact I don't believe they make any of the components.

Buy after market unless you just have money to burn.
 
At this point Apple SSDs have the advantage of having TRIM support so they're a good option. TRIM support for all SSDs is rumored to happen with Lion but it is just a rumor. Nobody knows for sure. Also the price isn't too bad. Aftermarket SSDs do benchmark faster but the difference in speed is negligible in day to day use. At least with SATA II connections. SATA III SSDs seem to be hit or miss so far. Plus, Apple SSDs also have the advantage of being under warranty. All in all, I say go for it. You can always upgrade to something bigger, faster, and/or better in the future.
 
josh1231 said:
I could be wrong, but I'm almost certain Apple doesn't make the hard drives in their machines, in fact I don't believe they make any of the components.

Buy after market unless you just have money to burn.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your input. I am well aware that apple don't manufacture their components, my question was more aimed at ascertaining the pro and cons of buying an SSD preinstalled by apple vs purchasing an aftermarket unit and installing it, then moving the Mac HDD over to the optical bay.

And as far as the money is concerned, by my calculations it actually works out to be relatively similar, if not cheaper to buy an apple SSD preinstalled, and then purchase an aftermarket HDD and a data doubler/optidrive caddy; plus this situation enables me to install a 750gb HDD @ 7200, opposed to apples 500gb unit.
 
trigonometry said:
At this point Apple SSDs have the advantage of having TRIM support so they're a good option. TRIM support for all SSDs is rumored to happen with Lion but it is just a rumor. Nobody knows for sure. Also the price isn't too bad. Aftermarket SSDs do benchmark faster but the difference in speed is negligible in day to day use. At least with SATA II connections. SATA III SSDs seem to be hit or miss so far. Plus, Apple SSDs also have the advantage of being under warranty. All in all, I say go for it. You can always upgrade to something bigger, faster, and/or better in the future.
Click to expand...

Thank you. This was in essence the sort of reassurance I was looking for.

Any suggestions on HDD?
My initial thoughts were the WD Scorpio Black 750 gb; the general consensus seem to be positive for these units.
 
Matt S said:
My initial thoughts were the WD Scorpio Black 750 gb; the general consensus seem to be positive for these units.
Click to expand...

Running the Black Scorpio 750gb in my optibay as I type. Great drive, runs quite and doesn't add any noticeable heat to my 15" 2011 MBP.
 
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