The SSD Thread

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Way... way too many specs to list.
My advice, skip the SSD, skip the 7200rpm drives. Stick with 5400rpm. It's just as fast..


umm well, not really. No wait...
 
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Links please. That's a pretty broad statement composed of absolutes to just toss out there. Just because you say it is so, does not make it so.



As do you at this point.



Again with the absolutes. Oh, and "should be"... not quite as definitive as your earlier statements. At least be consistent. Leaving open a back door only magnifies the holes in an already baseless argument.
.


I guess you just like to argue.

Have fun, I'm done with this thread. I just hope others here realize that the emperor has no clothes.
 
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HEY, I'm Back. This was really bugging me, so I re-checked with my mid-level source at Apple, and also sent a specific query to DigiLloyd. They both concurred that, except in very rare cases,

AN SSD BOOT DRIVE WILL NOT CAUSE AN APPLICATION TO RUN ANY FASTER.

He's Lloyd's response: (since I got it in an email)

" (A faster boot drive) helps only if I/O goes to the SSD... for example a Photoshop job that is too big to fit into memory, and using the SSD as the scratch volume.
It's a big help for Lightroom catalogs (no need to put the original images on the SSD though)."

- Note that no one but a complete newb amateur would use the boot drive as a scratch volume, so that's not even a real-world scenario.

------------------------------------

Granted, for some folks, having apps launch faster might be worth it (especially for DAWS and FCP) but people on a budget need to understand what they will NOT be improving, and spend their money accordingly.

------------------------------------

CWA, your mistake is understandable (and extremely common) but your "obvious" fact is simply wrong, and it's a source of MASSIVE confusion for people.
 
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cwa107

cwa107


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CWA, your mistake is understandable (and extremely common) but your "obvious" fact is simply wrong, and it's a source of MASSIVE confusion for people.

I will agree to disagree and in an effort to not further derail this thread, let it go at that.
 
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Hi - This is my first post, so I hope I'm not posting it in the wrong place. I have a simple question about my SSD.

I have an iMac (mid 2011) with a single factory installed SSD. There is no internal HDD in the machine. I'm considering replacing the existing 256GB SSD with an Intel 520 Series 480GB SSD. I have some experience modifying electronics (not computers), so I was thinking about doing the install myself. The question is simply...

Once I open the machine, can I simply remove the existing SSD and plug the new SSD in its place? Will I have to make any modifications to brackets, cables, etc.? Or is it plug and play?

Thanks for your help,
Bryon
 

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Replacing a SSD or hard drive in a 2011 iMac is not plug and play. The drives used by Apple and the connector are proprietary. You run the risk of not only voiding your warranty, but could also experience problems with the heat sensor and fan. Also, you need to take a look at the instructions for opening up an iMac and gaining access to the interior. Check the instructions at iFixit: The free repair manual.
 
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I put an 480GB OWC Mercury 3G Pro drive in my MBP13m2012. Sure, it boots faster, but I don't see what the big deal is really - esp. for the cost. It didn't do a thing for my battery life, which is about 4 hours (tops).

If I had it to do over again, I think I would just stick with a hard drive.
 
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I looked at the link you provided and read some of the articles. Everything I can find are instructions to install an SSD in place of an existing HDD. But that's not the situation I'm in. I already have an SSD that was factory installed. I just want to replace it with a larger capacity one, or possibly one from a 3rd party.

I was hoping that, because my machine already has an SSD, the process of swapping it out for a larger capacity one wouldn't be that difficult. Maybe you or someone else can help me with the particulars of what is involved...

--Once I remove the LCD (which I see how to do from videos online), will I have direct access to the SSD, or will I have to remove the optical drive to access the SSD?

--Once I remove the existing SSD, what modifications, if any, will be required?

--Is the formfactor for the Intel 520 different than the formfactor for the apple stock SSD? And if it is, does anyone know if there are any 3rd party SSD's with a formfactor that's identical to the apple SSD?

Thanks!
Bryon
 
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SSD Installation

Hi all, I'm new to these forums, I have bought an SSD OCZ Vertex 2 to install. My plan is to keep all parts in the Imac 21.5" the plan is to install it under the super drive. I've been reading loads about whether to enable trim or not. What do you all think?

Also has anyone managed to complete the task that could help me or give best practises.

Robbie
 
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I was hoping that, because my machine already has an SSD, the process of swapping it out for a larger capacity one wouldn't be that difficult.
It's not difficult. But it's also not any different than if you had a HD installed.

The process is very very very simple in a MBP or MB. You pop the top, you take out a couple of screws, unhook a cable, remove the drive. Then attach the new drive, put the screws back in and put the top back on. The whole process takes all of five minutes, if you're slow.

On an iMac - not so much. More complex. Can't help you there.
 
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Upgraded my macbook Pro Unibody last week with a Kingston SSD. The MBP is a 2008 model C2D 2.53gHz which I've already added 4 gigs of 3rd party ram to. It's now the proud owner of a Crucial M4 6GB/s drive and boots.... like nothing I've seen before (think the MP 2008 2.8gHz 8 core in my basement allows me to say that!) All I did was use Disk utility to restore the drive from the mac onto the SSD in an external enclosure, repaired disk permissions on the SSD and swapped them over. Can't ever consider going back to a 2.5 inch mechanical drive on my macbook again. Now considering the same option on the Mac Pro, but think that might just be taking the pee. Oh and Dreamweaver boots in 4 seconds now, firefox before the icon even jumps for a second time, webpages are faster (remember pages are designed to cache to your drive), no more spinning wheel and saving any doc is done instantly. The MBP is a 5,1, so think it's sata 2 and the drive's sata 3, so not even getting max throughput!
 

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Please do not double post. Your post has been merged together here in the SSD thread.
 
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crutial m4 firmware upgrade

I've replace the hard drive on my mac book pro 13, early 2011 about a week ago. No issues, great improvement in loading up PowerPort and other large graphics files.

I received an email from Crucial late last week indicating they revised the firmware to 01MG. I downloaded the file, burned the image to a CD using the OSX disk utility. Booted off the CD, program loads and then aborts indicating that no drives were found, but lists the m4 drive particulars and firmware rev - 000f. Then advises to use another tool. The service bulletin makes a vague reference to this issue being related a tool - controller incompatibility, but offers no real solution. Does anyone know know a work around for this?

thanks, Rob Combs
 

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Hi there, I am willing to replace my 1TB HDD (IMAC 2011 27) with a SSD. As far as I have read, I will need more than just the disk, but also a cable and some kind of support to keep the disk in place. The problem is that I dont'y know if this part of a regular SSD package or if I have to buy those items separetely. Besides, I found it difficult to find exactly wich specification I will need, since there are so many options on offer (i.e. SATA/600, Micro SATA, Sata III interface, SATA interface, etc.). What would be the right choice for my desktop ?? (Of couse, given my complete lack of knowledge, I intend to have someone installing the disc for me...).

Thanks in advance and sorry for being so "basic"...
LBM
 
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OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD + 2007 MBP = Speed Demon!!!

This is almost word for word what my review was on NewEgg one month ago when I purchased the OCZ Vertex 4 SSD:

Pros: The Vertex 4 SSD made my older 2007 3,1 C2D MacBook Pro (OS 10.6.8) a new notebook all over again! This SSD fit perfectly in my MBP and my boot ups went from 1 minute 27 seconds with the 320GB 5400RPM WD platter drive to a blazing 12 seconds with the SSD! Opening applications happen as soon as I double click an icon. No more long waiting for app execution and spinning pinwheels for me! Also, shutting down my MBP is now instantaneous... well ok... 2 seconds but it's better than 48 seconds with a platter HD. lol

I researched for months and visited just about every SSD and Mac forum/blogs to find a reliable SSD but there hardly is any info out there for the older Mac notebooks with SSDs. I found a bunch nay sayers and as well as praisers about the OCZ brand. I for one will be a long time consumer of OCZ products from my first and only experience.

At first I was hesitant about installing an SSD with SATA III 6Gbit/s speed in a SATA 1.5GBit/s connection to the motherboard (Logic board) but all is still working great and faster than the older WD 5400RPM HDD.

Cons: Updating the firmware. Not so much a con, but make sure you update the firmware (1.5) for the Vertex 4 SSD before you start to format the drive. There is excellent step-by-step info on the OCZ forum about booting from a thumb drive to update the firmware.

Other Thoughts: If you are going to add your first SSD to your Mac, follow these steps by Googling for more information and the correct procedures for Terminal:
- turn off time machine snap shots
- turn off hibernation
- turn off the sudden motion sensor
- turn off hard drive sleep
- delete sleepimage file (I freed up 6GB)
- don't defrag the SSD!
- secure delete everything in the Trash (I've always done this even with the platter HD)

As for TRIM, I found on other forums/blogs that some people say to enable it and others say not to enable it. I tried with and without TRIM and didn't really noticed any differences. It has the Indilinx branded controller so I left TRIM enabled.
There are donationware apps on the web to help you to enable TRIM on your Mac.

Another thing I'd like to add, I use my MBP as my main Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and for DJing. The SSD is so much snappier and quick when music programs store and retrieve my music projects using an external FW800 HDD.

I'm trully glad I made the switch to an SSD! :D
 
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So I purchased a Kingston Hyper X 3K from Amazon on sale a couple days ago for 65$. It arrived and I installed it, everything fine and can tell the huge difference from spinning drive. I downloaded BlackMagic to test speeds and it's writing at 170mb/s and reads at 440mb/s. Why is the write not as fast? Is it my 13" MBP late 2011 not being able to handle those speeds or is it the SSD. I saw that the SSD is rated 500/500. I know write should prob be slower, but that's a big difference from Read/Write.

Thanks
 
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I want to upgrade to a SSD but not sure which one I'd need for my PowerBook :(

PowerBooks will require a PATA interfaced SSD. You will need a PATA to SATA converter as no one manufactures these anymore.

Inversely you can use a CF card and a CF card to PATA interface as a "SSD".
 

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