SSD worth it?

So I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a 15" MacBook Pro. The only thing I'm considering upgrading beyond the baseline specs is the HD from the default 320 GB 5400 RPM HDD to the 128 GB SSD. Is it worth it? Space isn't a huge concern for me, and it seems like the speed gains from the SSD would be substantial enough that they'd be noticeable in everyday use (as opposed to processor upgrades where the difference only shows up in benchmarks). Thoughts?

Edit: Not really related to the topic title, but I also prefer to use a mouse with my laptop(s). The USB mouse I have now barely works from heavy use so I think I'll get a new mouse too. Should I just get a generic USB laptop mouse or is it worth getting the Mighty Mouse? I'm inclined to go this route so I can get the best of the multitouch stuff without using the trackpad, especially if I don't get the SSD. Is it worth it?

Lastly it's worth mentioning that I'm coming from Windows though I am fairly tech savvy, just haven't used macs much. The computer in my sig is the one I'm on now.

 

SSDs make a massive difference in terms of general system performance. Launching applications, especially after a reboot when everything hasn't been cached yet, will be much faster on an SSD. Working with disk-intensive applications like Photoshop will be much faster as well (assuming the files you're manipulating are on the SSD, of course).

However, OSX does not yet support TRIM. That won't make or break the performance improvements of an SSD, but it will have a negative effect on disk performance, similar to fragmentation, that amplifies over time. Will it ever make your SSD slower than a hard drive? Not even close. Is it a concern? Possibly. It depends on the disk. Intel's, for example, are more dependent on TRIM than OCZ's. Anantech has an excellent article on it, if you feel like hunting it down.

 

Yeah that's what I figured as far as performance, though I've yet to see it in person. The other sticking point for me is that Apple decided to use a 5400RPM drive as the stock rather than 7200, now I understand why they'd do this (less heat) but I don't like the idea of downgrading in that department especially given the alternatives.

Other than the usual everyday tasks, the only intensive thing I'd use this machine for is some occasional gaming (where an SSD = faster load times). I'm pretty sure this machine will be able to do everything I need, but just so you know where I'm coming from.

 

I don't know if the Apple SSD is the best one on the market. If you do some research, you'll be able to figure out which one would best suit your needs as a user.

For $200, it's not that bad of a deal to get their 128GB drive, but it probably isn't the best tech on the market. You'll probably get better performance out of one of the Intel X25-Ms or one of the new OCZ Agility 2s/Vertex 2s.

 

SSS will make a huge difference. Even if the OS does not support trim, if you spend extra and get a better SSD with the newer SandForce controller, you will be fine. Most SSDs slow down over time due to the way they save and delete data. These drives have the Indilinx controller. Altrough there is secrecy around how the Sandforce controller actually works, it trims on the fly and hence does not suffer from slowdowns, as reported by many users, such as myself. Drive examples are the OWC Mercury Extreme or the OCZ Vertex 2. Although more expensive, they are worth it!

This thread may also be of interest to you:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/app...40gb-vertex-ssd-installed-video-included.html

as for the mouse - can't beat an Apple Magic Mouse!

 

Buy the MBP from Apple and then buy the Vertex 2 online and have it installed. Yes, it is worth it or at least worth it to me

 

or get an Agility 2 to save a few bucks if you don't care who made your NAND flash. Yes, the SSDs make a huge difference; if you want the best bang for the buck get an Intel X-25M G2 80gB.

Enjoy your new laptop!

 

I've been going back and forth between SSD and HDD a couple of times. My opinion: for light users SSD isn't really worth it. The heavier the programs you run the more SSD becomes worthwhile.

Also consider Seagate Momentus XT which offers near SSD performance on your most use tasks at a price slightly higher than HDDs. Possible downsides of this drive are slightly higher power consumption and vibration levels.

 

If you're worried about the $30 difference, I guess that would be good. The Vertex 2 has a special firmware flashed to it that makes it perform better than the Agility 2 in certain situations.

 

I would not define any SSD that I've seen as massively better. Things are a bit quicker here and there, but as much as they've been relentless hyped, I don't see it. The Intel drives are the best I've seen in terms of snappiness. I've not seen any of the newer drives like the Vertex 2. which are supposed to be as good. I like mine mainly because it's quiet. My machine is so small, any hard drive noise tends to be heard. If you're a with a little bit better performance and some of the other benefits like quiet operation or more sturdiness, then go for it.

 

Thanks for the input, I'm open to the idea of buying an SSD separately and installing it. I haven't done much research on SSDs so I don't know much about them, but I'll hop over to Newegg and check it out.

What is this TRIM I keep hearing about? I read in another thread tha it's equivalent to fragmentation on disk based drives but I thought fragmentation was irrelevant on SSDs since there's no seek time involved.

 

TRIM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The best advise is to learn as much as you can until you are comfortable with your purchase...

 

About the mouse, I strongly recommend you the Evoluent vertical mouse. I bought two, one for work and one for home, 3 or 4 years ago and never went back. The position of the hand is natural and your forearm is not twisted. Get one of those.

http://www.evoluent.com/vm3.html

 

Sandforce controllers, such as those in the OWC Mercury Extreme and the OCZ Vertex 2, do TRIMming on-the-fly, so do not slow down over time - although they are a little more expensive then other drives.

I have a spare 240GB Vertex 2 SSD arriving in the next day or two - will be brand new and sealed - which I will be selling as I have no need for two drives (had planned to RAID them originally). If you are interested in it give me a shout, or keep an eye in the selling section as I will be creating a thread to sell it very soon......

http://forum.notebookreview.com/wan...313-price-check-240gb-vertex-2-ssd-2-5-a.html

 

The only problem is that people in the US can get that drive for $660 on Amazon brand new. For a UK buyer that price that you posted sounds good.

 

Things are always cheaper in the US! lol

 

Yeah, dude, I know. Hopefully, for your sake, the price goes back up for a little bit.

 

Does anyone know what SSD model Apple uses?

 

Probably a cheap one since people rarely open the system to check anyways! Also lowers their costs of production!

 

They're old SSDs that should be skipped over. People on the Apple support forum say that it's a mixed bag as to what you actually get, but now the 256GB and 512GB SSDs are Toshiba made.

Just buy your own SSD after you buy the laptop.

 

Agreed, it's usually better to buy your own SSD. It's usually cheaper and you get to pick the best.

 

If you can afford it go SSD. I have some 7 month old SSDs from samsung in my Dell m6500 and is most definatly faster response time allround with the SSDs vs the high end hitachi 7k500 that I have in most of my other laptops.

But if going for HDD go to hitachi or segates hybrid

*always research the part # if fromOEM or aftermarket.. you learn a lot about firmware and support. Some earlier (pre 2010) didn't support TRIM ouch -- not that it matters with os x though

 

I looked at the SSD's on Newegg and the cost/GB on the good ones (Intel, OCZ) is pretty steep given that the tech is still fairly new and OS X still doesn't fully support them.

I suppose it's not worth asking what Apple uses for regular HDD's, not that it matters much since that tech is pretty well established.

 

The Toshiba, Samsung, and Indilinx ECO drives are the best if you want maximum battery life and lowest cost per performance. For performance, the best are the Sandforce, Intel, and Marvel (SATA/600).

 

Maybe what I'll do is just get the regular drive now and upgrade it once the warranty expires (since opening the case would void it anyways). I just wish I could trade off some of that extra space that I don't need for performance gains since I really don't need it. I have a 100 GB HD on my laptop now, a 500 GB on my desktop, a 320 GB external and some USB sticks to top it off. I don't store large amounts of music/video so space is of little concern to me.

 

I don't think upgrading the RAM or Hard Drive voids your warranty. You can always put the original HDD back if something goes wrong

 

According to the Mac Switchers thread here, upgrading the RAM and/or HDD doesn't void your warranty with Apple. The post probably isn't 100% up-to-date but I doubt they've changed their policies.

 

From what the tech at the Apple store told me two days ago, the warranty is invalid if you have any sort of non-Apple products in the machine when you take the computer in. Fortunately, they won't be able to tell if you have taken off the back cover, so you could just put all of the stock parts back in and still have a valid warranty for repairs.

 

Ohhh, that's new to me... Thanks for the info!

 

The impact an SSD has largely depends on how powerful your system is to begin with. Its not rocket science people its all about eliminating the bottleneck in your particular system.

I'm currently typing this on my x-25m equipped notebook with a Windows Experience Index score of 1.0. For those that don't know, this is as low as it gets. Now this is what the SSD does for me: I'm running Win 7 with a measly 1gb ram but the SSD is so fast that it makes it feasible to do so. I've also tried a bit of CS4 and Capture NX2 photo-editing and while not great, its usable. BAsically, it suffices for all my general computing tasks. I won't try gaming since that would be silly

Plonking an SSD into a top of the line system will likely show only slight benefits (depending on use). For general computing, you may not notice a difference if you've got the latest Core i7 and more than 4GB ram. If you're doing loads or RAW file conversions, etc an SSD will still make its presence felt.

I intend to move my SSD into whichever new laptop i get in the next few months because it ensures i'm not waiting for the disk, EVER. From the research i've done, the graphics will be the weakest part of my system (comparatively) and since i'm not a hard core gamer, I can live with that.

Basically, If you can afford one then its a no brainer to me. If something needs to be upgraded, the SSD is usually the best bet. SSD + 4GB ram is better than HDD + 8GB ram, SSD + i5 processor is better than HDD + i7 processor (for most users) and so on and so forth.

Edit: My bottleneck is my Pentium M processor or graphics

 

Memory and hard drive are user replaceable for the Macbook Pro. It doesn't void the warranty.

 

Yes, that is correct, but Apple will not service a laptop with aftermarket HDDs, SSDs, or RAM.

 

or so they claim... but they often do. They just will not service anything relating to the aftermarket part. Like if you have a different hard drive in there.. they will not mess with hard drive or OS problems... but if oyu have a bad logic board, they'll still replace it.

I've heard stories varying from Apple store to Apple store on wether they will do this though.

AASPs are usually the best bet... most do just about anything they want.

 

I do not believe that to be true even though one Apple rep said so.

 

Why would they service something related to an aftermarket part?

 

Who said they would?