Very interested in replacing my SuperDrive with an SSD - AppleCare voiding?

MDJCM · Dec 3, 2010

Anyone know if taking the SuperDrive out of a MBP13" and replacing it with an SSD would void the AppleCare? I dont wamt to ask them in case they make a note on my records

Might put a 1TB drive in too, I hear some of you guys have done this

bobtomay · Dec 3, 2010

Can"t speak for Apple, but yep, I"d say it would. The only things Apple lists as user replaceable are the hard drive and RAM. The MBP model I have, the hard drive was not classified as user replaceable and doing so, did indeed void the warranty.

iggibar · Dec 3, 2010

Applecare is definitely voided, but It's not like one of those voids that makes them not fix anything else if something breaks. Most of the geniuses at the store actually were very impressed with the ssd in my bay(My "D" keyboard key popped out, and they still replaced the top keyboard track because the scissor spring had snapped). But, I did mine after the warranty ran out, so I didn't care. IMO, the optical drive is as easy to remove as the hard drive in the uni macbook/pros.

Make friends with the apple store's workers...it really helps!

TheGreatApple · Dec 3, 2010

On the actual subject note, I had a friend who just changed his 13 inch macbook pro hard drive over to a 128GB SSD (from crucial I think) and said that it did end up voiding out his warranty. Def something you will want to double check but I second everyone here that it does.

Not to push the post into another direction, but I'm curious what brand of SSD and how big you're thinking of putting in there.

I want an SSD really bad, but can't find them in over 256GB of space. I need at least 500GB. Also, still trying to work though opinion after opinion on whether or not SSD's these days still have limited writes. The cost is still hard to justify.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2010

TheGreatApple said:
On the actual subject note, I had a friend who just changed his 13 inch macbook pro hard drive over to a 128GB SSD (from crucial I think) and said that it did end up voiding out his warranty. Def something you will want to double check but I second everyone here that it does.

Not to push the post into another direction, but I'm curious what brand of SSD and how big you're thinking of putting in there.

I want an SSD really bad, but can't find them in over 256GB of space. I need at least 500GB. Also, still trying to work though opinion after opinion on whether or not SSD's these days still have limited writes. The cost is still hard to justify.

NewEgg. Linky to 1TB SSD. They have 500GB and higher obviously. In honesty it's not worth it. SSD should only be used for the OS, and the applications you will be using. All of your storage needs should be on an external HDD, and back up HDD.

s2odin · Dec 3, 2010

CrimsonRequiem said:
NewEgg. Linky to 1TB SSD. They have 500GB and higher obviously. In honesty it's not worth it. SSD should only be used for the OS, and the applications you will be using. All of your storage needs should be on an external HDD, and back up HDD.

That's a desktop SSD

But holy jesus, look at the speeds on this one: Newegg.com - OCZ RevoDrive X2 OCZSSDPX-1RVDX0360 PCI-E 360GB PCI-Express x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

And I think 512gb is the highest capacity laptop ssd: Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Hard Drives,SSD,512GB

TheGreatApple · Dec 3, 2010

CrimsonRequiem said:
NewEgg. Linky to 1TB SSD. They have 500GB and higher obviously. In honesty it's not worth it. SSD should only be used for the OS, and the applications you will be using. All of your storage needs should be on an external HDD, and back up HDD.

Why is that? Why do so many recommend not storing on an SSD just using it for the OS and for applications?

Is it just a cost to value issue, or an actual hardware/performance issue?

s2odin · Dec 3, 2010

TheGreatApple said:
Why is that? Why do so many recommend not storing on an SSD just using it for the OS and for applications?

Is it just a cost to value issue, or an actual hardware/performance issue?

Take a read through this: SSD Endurance - the Big Lie

TheGreatApple · Dec 3, 2010

s2odin said:
Take a read through this: SSD Endurance - the Big Lie

Wow! Awesome read thank you!

I'm not sure what to think on the benefits though now lol. I'm surprised to see how unreliable (generally speaking when compared to a normal disk) SSD's are, but then again we're not talking about a 8 month life span either. If I can get 3-5 years out a drive I would be more than happy with that, especially since I would probably be switching to a new machine and drive well before that.

Overall though, speed aside it seems that SSD's are rather disappointing right now simply because of the cost and hype behind them. Sure I would still love one, but I just can't justify the huge cost behind them yet.

iggibar · Dec 3, 2010

s2odin said:
Take a read through this: SSD Endurance - the Big Lie

Referencing this is not really that relevant to todays SSD drives. Those are all based off old opinions, which are not comparable to SSD's of today that are designed to prevent damage or short life spans. Take a look at the OWC lineup of SSD's. Most of the ssd's that are talked about in that post are related to ssd's that have NO features to preserve block life...which was something that companies weren't even aware of when ssd's first were designed for mass consumer use. There's a reason why there is a huge argument on there about the article being valid with ssd's during the time the thread was created, and the ssd's that are available today.

Thing is though, if you had to bet money on which would last longer, it would be a safer bet to put your money on an SSD over a platter drive.

s2odin · Dec 3, 2010

idrinorbarsaku said:
Referencing this is not really that relevant to todays SSD drives. Those are all based off old opinions, which are not comparable to SSD's of today that are designed to prevent damage or short life spans. Take a look at the OWC lineup of SSD's. Most of the ssd's that are talked about in that post are related to ssd's that have NO features to preserve block life...which was something that companies weren't even aware of when ssd's first were designed for mass consumer use. There's a reason why there is a huge argument on there about the article being valid with ssd's during the time the thread was created, and the ssd's that are available today.

Thing is though, if you had to bet money on which would last longer, it would be a safer bet to put your money on an SSD over a platter drive.

That's what is being debated in this thread.

And if you search the thread, OWC is never mentioned once...
And I'm not saying this is the be all to end all discussions. SSDs will always be discussed and things will be stated that might not be true. This is just one thread that is discussing them. And Mac's don't support TRIM so it's stupid to spend money on a Sandforce controlled SSD when they don't utilize it. You would be better spending your money on an older SSD that is a little cheaper, which might have these problems.

And the thread was created on 11-30-2010 fyi so it was created a few days ago. Yes, the OP is referencing a Vertex (not Vertex 2) which is older so I don't understand how 3 days a whole new slew of SSDs became available.

iggibar · Dec 3, 2010

s2odin said:
And if you search the thread, OWC is never mentioned once...

I never said that OWC was mentioned there, but OWC does have measures to prevent data damage/loss, maintain speed, and prevent short drive life spans...something that they seem to argue about, but have no clue of what is out in the market! You don't even need TRIM when OWC has their own controller(DuraWrite), which also is supported(in fact, it was actually designed specifically for macs!) by macs.

I mentioned old because I remember someone referencing a drive from 2006! That's good amount of time imo. It was one that was referenced along with the drives total life, wear cycles, and amount transfered.

My main point is, with a thread that has opinions ranging from A to Z, referencing it to help someone's judgement is not really good. If it had a definitive answer as to how reliable they were, then I would agree with referencing it.

s2odin · Dec 3, 2010

idrinorbarsaku said:
I never said that OWC was mentioned there, but OWC does have measures to prevent data damage/loss, maintain speed, and prevent short drive life spans...something that they seem to argue about, but have no clue of what is out in the market! You don't even need TRIM when OWC has their own controller(DuraWrite), which also is supported(in fact, it was actually designed specifically for macs!) by macs.

I mentioned old because I remember someone referencing a drive from 2006! That's good amount of time imo. It was one that was referenced along with the drives total life, wear cycles, and amount transfered.

My main point is, with a thread that has opinions ranging from A to Z, referencing it to help someone's judgement is not really good. If it had a definitive answer as to how reliable they were, then I would agree with referencing it.

I was simply referencing it to give the OP some information on the topic of SSDs, which he was inquiring about. He can see some real world information on them and not just "Z0MG BEST ESS ESS DEE EVAR" and what he can expect if he purchases one.

It is good to reference and it shows peoples experiences with an item he is considering purchasing. Should it turn him off from buying a SSD? If he decides it's worth the possible frustration and short life.

Would I buy a SSD based on that thread? No. I will wait until they come down in price. It is simply another thread regarding SSDs that someone can read and inform them self about.

iggibar · Dec 3, 2010

Ok then. Seems like we're on the same boat

I wouldn't normally jump the gun on an ssd over 100 bucks, but I couldn't stop myself when I found a new OCZ agility for 60 bucks shipped(130 on newegg). Knowing this ssd, I would easily pay 130 for it, it's just that many people can't associate the price of one, along with its speed because they've never experienced it. Can't wait till prices come down!

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 3, 2010

s2odin said:
That's a desktop SSD

But holy jesus, look at the speeds on this one: Newegg.com - OCZ RevoDrive X2 OCZSSDPX-1RVDX0360 PCI-E 360GB PCI-Express x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

And I think 512gb is the highest capacity laptop ssd: Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Hard Drives,SSD,512GB

Thanks for pointing that out. I was just using it as an example to show that there are indeed larger SDDs out there. The OP just needed to look a little harder.

Yes that OCZ SSD is quite impressive.

iggibar · Dec 3, 2010

It's fast, but only because of the onboard raid0. You could hardware raid other ssd's for cheaper and get those results.

MDJCM · Dec 4, 2010

TheGreatApple said:
Not to push the post into another direction, but I'm curious what brand of SSD and how big you're thinking of putting in there.

Just a 64GB for OS and programs, need to get a realistic opinion on whether it is a worthwhile upgrade. Keeping in mind i'm keeping the 500GB internal main drive for storage.

Dont know what brand yet. The whole thing sparked when i saw how fast the new little MacBook Air is on SSD, despite just a 1.4Ghz processor

iggibar · Dec 4, 2010

This is the best SSD money can buy right now for a mac drive(or any other PC) in laptop form: OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD Serial ATA 2.5" Solid State Drives using High Performance SandForce Processor solution

Aptmunich · Dec 5, 2010

I just replaced my Superdrive this week with my regular harddrive and have installed an SSD as primary drive.

I'll be writing a post for the mac-forums blog shortly detailing the whole process...

bobtomay · Dec 5, 2010

Aptmunich said:
I just replaced my Superdrive this week with my regular harddrive and have installed an SSD as primary drive.

I'll be writing a post for the mac-forums blog shortly detailing the whole process...

With boot time and load time comparisons??? Against a good 7200RPM drive I hope and not one of the stock 5400 drives like OWC used in their video - that was a waste of video there. And how snappy the machine feels in general use after a few days.