SSD's for MacBook Pro

Im after a SSD for my MacBook Pro 13. I hav ethe 2.66GHz version which I purchased recently - I think its a 2010 model.

Whats the best SSD drives for this system? Which ones do Apple recommend?

 

The best and sold specifically for the system are the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro and Pro RE drives. They test very well and are sol by Other World Computing, a Mac affiliate. Their rive had great results when reviewed.

 

Looks like an awesome drive - but cant find anywhere in the UK that sells them!

 

They are only sold through OWC themselves but you may want to give them a call. They got mine to me next day and I am in a diff country as well.

 

My Vertex 2 SSD has been running pretty good so far.

 

Have you noticed a massive speed boost in real usage, or is it only under heavy use with large files etc?

 

Also Ive read that SSD drives slow down a little over time - is this true??

 

Google is your friend. Look up one article and it may answer questions that you didn't even have.

 

My old Vertex never slowed down on me. This new one is pretty darn quick. I'm looking forward to getting my second Vertex 2 SSD and having raid on my Macbook Pro next week.

 

Are the OCZ Vertex any good then?

 

I have been very happy with mine.

 

I can't speak on the other brands, but my 160GB Intel G2 SSD is amazing.

 

So - Vertex or Intel?!
Which to choose!

 

Does OS X support that TRIM function/feature that some SSD's provide? I think Intel's SSD has that function, but not sure if OS X takes advantage of it. I know Windows 7 uses it if it exists.

 

No, it doesn't. Windows 7 supports TRIM, but Snow Leopard doesn't.

 

Snow Leopard does not. but I wouldn't skip the Intel because of it. it's very possible (likely?) that the next OS refresh will support it.

 

Does anyone know if an Intel 1.8" 160GB SSD would work in a MacBook Pro 17 2010 model? Would I even need an OptiBay or the like if I tape it in place or rig some other way to fix it in place? I see better deals for the Intel X18-M on Ebay and I am guessing it would run lighter without the Optical Drive or OptiBay and extra 2.5" SSD drive size? Also, it would save the $100 OptiBay price.

 

you could tape it in place. people have done that. kinda bootleg, but it works.

there are also $40 alternatives to Optibay...or you could buy a $8 caddy off of eBay and make it fit.

all have been done before.

 

OK, sounds like great advise. And what about the 1.8" connector. Comparing the 2 visually, it looks like the 2.5" SSD has a 15pin and a 7pin male connector. The 1.8" SSD has a 9pin and a 7pin male connector. The 7pin males look identical. I wonder what the MacBook Optical SATA connector looks like? Back to google for me unless you can recall?

 

You need a 1.8" to 2.5" adapter to make it fit (including power connector).

 

Both are good choices.

I'd probably go with Intel because I've seen less reports of failed drives.

Battery life of Intel isn't great though. I got more battery life with a Seagate 5400.6

Another downside of Intel is that it may be replaced soonish.

 

I read that if you put a boot drive in the OptiBay that hibernation will no longer work. Is this still the case? If so, I suppose it best to put the SSD in the normal drive bay, and put the HDD in the OptiBay?

Also, can a MBP 17 2010 model fit a 12mm 1TB HDD in either the OptiBay or the normal HDD bay?

 

I am not sure about what you mean by the hibernate but what I do know is that I can close my lid on my laptop and when I open it back up it opens immediately with no lag using SSD running raid.

 

it works with proper configuration.

 

OCZ really do make great drives, I'm running one in my 2010 MBP with firmware 1.5 (which has Trim and Garbage Collection built into one Firmware) so if i ever wanted to install windows 7 on this then the drive will be able to clean itself using TRIM in windows and GC in OSX. IMO OCZ have a really good support forum and pretty constant updates to FW to enhance usability and lifetime on the drives.

 

Hang on, so I could use a program called Garbage Collection for TRIM? Or is it all built in to the drive now?
It will only be used on my MAC with snow leopard, so how can I take advantage of TRIM to keep the SSD in top form?

If not, would I be able to install Windows 7 in a BootCamp partition just to use for TRIM?
So I could, for example, boot into Win7 once a month and let the trim process do it's thing on the SSD? Would rather not install windows just for this function though to be honest!

 

Ahhh GC is something that OCZ or the firmware makers have devised and made for OS's that don't support TRIM, ala, Windows XP,Vista,OSx, linux etc etc. It does the same job as TRIM but without the OS support, all firmware based, its not as efficient as TRIM as it doesn't do it "on the fly" but works when the machine is idling.

As far as booting into Windows 7 and letting TRIM work there, which i don't think will work, but don't quote me on that. And the GC is wholly firmware based, and only works on OCZ SSD's

 

So GC just runs in the background when the system is idle?

I keep reading miced reviews - some say the Vertex 2 is like the OWC Mercury Extreme, where tests showed that there was hardly any degradation or slowdown over prologed use?

Also, Im not sure if the vertex 2 even has GC...

 

The Sandforce based drives have very little degradation and should also perform just as well when they are full.

 

Thanks. Thats what the guys over on the OCZ forums said as well. Apparently the SandForce drives do not need to use TRIM etc as much, since they do not suffer from the slowdowns etc as much as the other drives.

 

At a higher cost, in the end you pay for what you get.

 

Just received my Vertex 2 SSD, so will see how things go!

 

I think you will love it. I love mine so far. It is like having a 997TT