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Your preferred SSD upgrade?

RockPortTech

RockPortTech

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 10, 2011
136
7
South Texas
Greetings All,

I was wondering which size and brand tends to be the most popular choice when it comes to upgrading the MacBook Pro's HDD to solid state? I was leaning towards Crucial but noticed there are possible compatibility issues?

I have not ordered a SSD yet but I really want the performance involved with the swap and was wondering which choice is fast and without any issue with compatibility.

I have the entry 2011 i5 13" MacBook Pro with no options configured at time of purchase.

Thank you in advance.
 
Intel's are popular, with the G2 drives having the best track record to date. I myself just upgraded from a 160GB Gen2 to a 300GB Intel 320 series... loving it. Got it two days ago and now have everything transferred over to the new drive.
 
i'm more of a sandforce boi

each ssd has it's own pros and cons

i have an old 120gb owc ssd and it is blazingly fast . .. instant app loads, boot-up in 7-10 secs

the v3s have been reported to work well with the sata3 ports in the '11 MBP and are unrivaled in terms of performance - intel 510 have been plagues with sata 3 incompatibility issues, however previous models have been rock solid

owc should be releasing their new sf2000 range very soon, this will help stomp down prices as the v3 prices has actually inflated due to massive demand and the poor trickling in of supply
 
In the same boat as you, just got my high-end 13" earlier this week. Picking it up this weekend from my parents' house as I am in school and had it sent to them! I know the Intel drives have been great, but I think the new SF-2000 series drives are going to be the drive to get this time around. Those that have gotten the Vertex 3 on these forums have had no issues at all. I'm with the poster above who said to wait for OWC to release their drive so the Vertex 3 will finally get some price competition, it's really inflated right now. If you have a 2011 MBP, I think it's a smart investment to take advantage of its SATA III interface.

And also, if you can afford it, I think the 240 GB is the best performing drive of both the Vertex 3 and probably the OWC offering too.
 
So, no one recommends going with Apple's SSD? Is theirs noticeably inferior? I have a 3yr old SSD Macbook Air and love it, but an going to get a MBP soon. I will definately get a SSD but just expected to get it thru apple. Is that a mistake?

Plus, do I lose all Apple Care if I put in an aftermarket SSD? I would assume so...

So, Apple SSD or no?
 
Nothing is wrong with the Apple SSD. It's fully compatible with the system and won't give you and issues. People aren't loving on Apple's SSDs because of speed. All SSDs are fast, but the ones that come in Macs just aren't the fastest.
 
bozz2006 said:
Nothing is wrong with the Apple SSD. It's fully compatible with the system and won't give you and issues. People aren't loving on Apple's SSDs because of speed. All SSDs are fast, but the ones that come in Macs just aren't the fastest.
Click to expand...

Ahh. Thanks. I will stick with "slow" and be happy with the compatibility and warranty. If I was not getting a new mac then I would consider options.
 
2807 said:
So, no one recommends going with Apple's SSD? Is theirs noticeably inferior? I have a 3yr old SSD Macbook Air and love it, but an going to get a MBP soon. I will definately get a SSD but just expected to get it thru apple. Is that a mistake?

Plus, do I lose all Apple Care if I put in an aftermarket SSD? I would assume so...

So, Apple SSD or no?
Click to expand...

RAM and HDD are user-replaceable parts. They will not void Apple Care. It just makes more sense from a price/performance aspect. For the same money you can get a faster SSD that takes advantage of the SATA III interface while also getting an external drive by using the stock HDD in an enclosure. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the Apple SSD, complete compatibility and you don't have to open up the computer. If you don't mind tinkering a little bit, then I think that going the 3rd party route is definitely the way to go.
 
bozz2006 said:
Nothing is wrong with the Apple SSD. It's fully compatible with the system and won't give you and issues. People aren't loving on Apple's SSDs because of speed. All SSDs are fast, but the ones that come in Macs just aren't the fastest.
Click to expand...

I saw a video of an Apple 128GB SSD in a 2011 13" MBP and the bootup time was 15 seconds and the apps took about a second to load with only one bounce. It seems like really any SSD you get will be super fast regardless of what benchmarks say.
 
Last edited:
Yep. They're all fast. And when people compare them, they always use benchmarks, and the Apple drives aren't the fastest in benchmarks. But benchmarks don't even begin to tell the whole story on speed. There's a lot more to it than benchmarks.
 
Can you buy the Apple SSD separate or can you only get it if you add it as an option when you buy the computer? I haven't seen the 128GB drive on apple.com.
 
Vertex 3 is definitely the top all around performer right now (by virtue of being first Sandforce 2000 drive to market). You'll want to read up on compatibility issues with MBPs though.
 
For your particular computer, you might as well use the SATA3 so go for something like the Vertex 3 or Crucial C400 (or other SATA3 designed SSDs). The C400 is underrated speed wise, but with that said the Vertex 3 seems to still be faster.
 
NickZac said:
For your particular computer, you might as well use the SATA3 so go for something like the Vertex 3 or Crucial C400 (or other SATA3 designed SSDs). The C400 is underrated speed wise, but with that said the Vertex 3 seems to still be faster.
Click to expand...

That's what I'll get when newegg gets the 120GB Vertex 3 in stock. I'm assuming that to use SATA3 the SSD will have to go in the hard drive bay and not in an optibay. Is this correct?
 
LSUtigers03 said:
That's what I'll get when newegg gets the 120GB Vertex 3 in stock. I'm assuming that to use SATA3 the SSD will have to go in the hard drive bay and not in an optibay. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

I think I read somewhere that using SATA3 in the optibay is possible w/ the 15 and 17s, but is more involved than most would prefer to do and has the potential to impact warranty, but I may have been dreaming. Either way, I'd rock it in the main hard drive bay and run your OS and common programs off of it as your load times become ridiculously quick.
 
amarcus said:
If I had the money I'd go for a 240GB Vertex 3 - even though I only have a 2010 MacBook pro.
Click to expand...

I got C300 256GB in my MacBook Pro 15" 2010, it's *as fast* as in my old noisy MacBook Pro 15" 2,2 GHz 2011. :)
 
2807 said:
So, no one recommends going with Apple's SSD? Is theirs noticeably inferior? I have a 3yr old SSD Macbook Air and love it, but an going to get a MBP soon. I will definately get a SSD but just expected to get it thru apple. Is that a mistake?

Plus, do I lose all Apple Care if I put in an aftermarket SSD? I would assume so...

So, Apple SSD or no?
Click to expand...

If you order the SSD with the MBP, it will come with TRIM enabled (where otherwise you hack for TRIM or wait for it in the next OS).

I'm thiking about getting the 128GB Apple (Toshiba) SSD and eventually putting a OCZ Vertex 3 256MB when they're not sold out at the lower cost joints.
 
stonyc said:
Intel's are popular, with the G2 drives having the best track record to date. I myself just upgraded from a 160GB Gen2 to a 300GB Intel 320 series... loving it. Got it two days ago and now have everything transferred over to the new drive.
Click to expand...
A friend just installed a 300GB Intel 320 series in his MBP, it's as fast as my OCZ Vertex 3 I put in my PC. I've just switched to a new MBP, I think I'll try the Intel 320.
 
Seems like the storage size of the drive plays a not-insignificant factor in the overall speed. The larger the capacity, the faster the drive.
 
RockPortTech said:
Greetings All,

I was wondering which size and brand tends to be the most popular choice when it comes to upgrading the MacBook Pro's HDD to solid state? I was leaning towards Crucial but noticed there are possible compatibility issues?

I have not ordered a SSD yet but I really want the performance involved with the swap and was wondering which choice is fast and without any issue with compatibility.

I have the entry 2011 i5 13" MacBook Pro with no options configured at time of purchase.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

At the moment there are a number of next generation SSDs coming out, for example the Vertex 3 from OCZ. These drives offer much much higher performance over the last generation. You might want to wait for these to be available and fully bench marked before making your decision.
 
bozz2006 said:
Seems like the storage size of the drive plays a not-insignificant factor in the overall speed. The larger the capacity, the faster the drive.
Click to expand...

Yeah Anand did a good write up about why that is...i think they use less NAND devices to cut the capacity (versus using the same number of a lower capacity) on the smaller drives, and it adversely impacts performance.
 
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