Need more info on OWC and other SSD's for Macbook pro use

[len0475]

But the Intel are probably the most reliable.

I think I'm going to be a guinea pig and jump on the new Marvell bandwagon. ;D

 

[MrKay]

I think I'm going to be a guinea pig and jump on the new Marvell bandwagon. ;D

go for it and let me know how good it is and hopefully i will be getting one soon

 

[iggibar]

Q: What is different about OWC's Solid-State Drives that separates them from the rest of the market to earn the "Made for Mac" title?

OWC's Mercury SSD uses "SandForce DuraWrite," which prevents unnecessary garbage files from accumulating in random spots of the ssd, which can decrease the ssd's read/write speeds. It allows the computer to build space in organized sectors of blocks, and not just in random sectors, as would happen on a regular ssd. This allows for less "garbage files," which means that the ssd will have to perform less read-modify-write processes to correct deleted files when that space is need to write a new file over it. When ssd users complain of their ssd performing as slow as their regular hdd, it's because the drive has been greatly fragmented with garbage, and is going through lots of constant read-modify-write processes. This is the main thing that puts the Mercury SSD over all the others, it will work on the random read-modify sectors that aren't being worked on by the computer user, fixing anything that is fragmented, or otherwise useless, leaving the user with only the need to write over the sector that had just previously been "cleaned." In other words, while you are casually working on something, the SF-DW part of the drive is constantly working to clean it us like a house nanny. It is the main reason why this is the only drive out that is able to sustain CONSTANT ultra high read/write speeds, because the drive is either instantly ready to read, or write. All thanks to the SandForce DuraWrite.

Technically speaking, this kind of makes TRIM obsolete, but is still in the minority category.

One thing to note, if you are installing a new SSD, do your self a huge favor and install a fresh copy of OSX.

Hope that helps. You won't find all this info ^^^ on just one website, this knowledge comes from thoroughly understanding how it works.

IMO, there is no good enough reason to buy some other ssd over an OWC Mercury SSD. If you want to learn about something else, that will totally want to make you go broke, read about the Mercury Pro RE set in RAID0. Will probably make you cry

 

[fleurya]

Any opinions on hybrid drives that offer a small 4GB of flash storage for most used applications? Seems much more cost effective for an average user. In some cases like one guy who said he was going to go with a small SSD and put all his real data on an external drive, it sounds like basically the same thing.

 

[iggibar]

Any opinions on hybrid drives that offer a small 4GB of flash storage for most used applications? Seems much more cost effective for an average user. In some cases like one guy who said he was going to go with a small SSD and put all his real data on an external drive, it sounds like basically the same thing.

I don't have a problem with them. I believe you are referring to the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid, right? I have 2 of them. 1 is used in conjunction with an ssd inside my macbook pro, the other is used as the TimeMachine for the MBP. The SSD handles all the main application/OSX files, while the XT drive handles the Home file, documents, and etc. There's no denying that SSD's are fast, but even I think they are still pretty expensive for the amount of data space they hold. The ssd has 32gb, and the XT has 500gb. I have setup my computer to now where it starts up(fully loaded desktop) in 26 seconds consistently. I still have 17.3gb available on the SSD. That size might have change about .5gb since I first did a fresh install, and installed all the programs manually. It's not changing much!

The main thing with the XT is that it is slightly louder than the regular 5200(pretty normal since it spins faster), and it cause slightly more vibrations(again, pretty normal for a speed gain almost 1/3 faster than the last). I hope these 2 XT's of mine last a while, because I don't plan on getting rid of them any time soon. As for the OCZ Agility ssd that I have, I could care less about. I'll continue using it until the price of the 160gb+ ssds drop. It's not like I'm running out of space anytime soon...lol.

 

[MrKay]

@idrinorbarsaku thank you very much for your post really helped me and will most likely help others to which one can you recommend me the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro or OWC Mercury Extreme Pro-RE if i get the pro version i will go for the 60gb and if i go for re version i will go for a 50gb to 100gb just to keep my os and few apps thanks

 

[iggibar]

@idrinorbarsaku thank you very much for your post really helped me and will most likely help others to which one can you recommend me the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro or OWC Mercury Extreme Pro-RE if i get the pro version i will go for the 60gb and if i go for re version i will go for a 50gb to 100gb just to keep my os and few apps thanks

Go for the regular pro version. The main reason to go for the RE version is that it is fully compatible and enhanced for RAID setups. I'm willing to bet you wont need that.
I would also pick the regular Pro version for myself...if that says anything.

 

[MrKay]

@idrinorbarsaku

thank very much again i will be getting one after xmas

 

[iggibar]

You're welcome

 

[brairden]

You're welcome

Would you mind giving us a walkthrough on how you set this up? Once you do a fresh OSX install, did you also do a new install of every application or copy them over form the HD? Did you move (or re-assign locations to) segments of your home folder or the entire thing? Are you using some sort of monitoring program to log what is being written to the ssd?

I know the process I would use, but you have the benefit of already setting it up once. Just trying to pick your brain a little.

 

[harryb2448]

Personally did it using Migration Assistant after clean install of OS X.6.3 and updated to X.6.5. Whatever you do, DO NOT clone the SSD as this will slow it down enormously.

 

[XJ-linux]

Hi,

i am one of those Macbook pro users who hasn't been able to bring themselves to buy a Macbook Pro (or other) with an SSD. I got a lot out of the OWC SSD review, but am not sure I got everything I need regarding garbage collection and long term use degradation when using such a drive on a Macbook pro

The main question I have is:

Will I get garbage collection (not necessarily 'Trim', but I assume there are other techniques) with any of the available SSD drives when used with a Macbook pro (I am willing to pay up for an enterprise class drive if that is what it takes)?

thanks

I'll just add that I've been running a 128GB Samsung/Super Talent GX SSD for over two years now with zero issues.

 

[MrKay]

I'll just add that I've been running a 128GB Samsung/Super Talent GX SSD for over two years now with zero issues.

thanks for letting me know

 

[iggibar]

Would you mind giving us a walkthrough on how you set this up?

Sure thing! My OCZ Agility ssd replaced my optical drive via a mounting bracket. The Hybrid drive stayed in the regular hdd bay. The company I bought the bracket from also included an external enclosure for the optical drive(looks exactly like the macbook air external drive). You plug in the optical drive while the computer is still running off the regular drive, slide the cd in, and turn the computer off. Hold option key as you reboot so you can select to boot from the external cd. Then, I just followed all the steps to format the ssd, and installed OSX10.6 on it afterwards. Sounds simple, but I've been reading a lot on how people seem to easily mess up the formating part. Next step below...

Once you do a fresh OSX install, did you also do a new install of every application or copy them over form the HD?

I have used migration assistant the first time, because I needed OSX running with all my programs ASAP for class. All migration assistant does is shift data from one hdd to another. If you have corrupt files, those get transferred too. You won't know the difference unless you try a clean install as well. After that, I did a clean install. I have separate hd's that I use to keep my own, manual backups, of pictures/media and music. I installed all my programs individually. I know you will get people who say I am wasting time, but really, this is a fool proof way of guaranteeing a perfect new OS install just how you had it, if not better. I actually don't mind doing this, because I know exactly what I did on the OS, instead of relying on a program to move hundreds of thousands of files over...you're bound to get a messed up file.

Also, after talking to bobtomay a while regarding this, I took the time(just because I had it) to redo new backup via migration assistant from my previous, after doing a clean install, because I had neglected to record the bootup times. With the migration assistant backup, a complete startup to a fully loaded desktop never came under 29-30(with a slow finger) seconds. After getting those numbers, I reinstalled all the programs again, reloaded 2000+ photos and videos, 500 songs, reset all the bootup starting programs, and checked the complete startup time again. It is a VERY consistent bootup of 26 seconds plus or minus .5 seconds. That's enough of an argument for me to take the time and do everything the way I do it. But, If you read other online stuff, I'm not alone.

Did you move (or re-assign locations to) segments of your home folder or the entire thing?

I reassigned the "Home" folder(the one with the house picture) to my XT harddrive(thanks to bobtomay's suggestion), as well as the iTunes library of music and apps(you don't notice their speed. It's the actual app I want to open at the flick of a finger).

Are you using some sort of monitoring program to log what is being written to the ssd?

Nope. Just the built-in data viewing that can be accessed by right clicking on the desktop, click on "show view options," and select "show item info." This shows how much of what total capacity is used up.

I know the process I would use, but you have the benefit of already setting it up once. Just trying to pick your brain a little.

Haha...no problem. I might pull the ssd out of my mbp and try it out on the G5...I've been reading online that it awakes the sleeping beast inside

 

[MrKay]

Sure thing! My OCZ Agility ssd replaced my optical drive via a mounting bracket. The Hybrid drive stayed in the regular hdd bay. The company I bought the bracket from also included an external enclosure for the optical drive(looks exactly like the macbook air external drive). You plug in the optical drive while the computer is still running off the regular drive, slide the cd in, and turn the computer off. Hold option key as you reboot so you can select to boot from the external cd. Then, I just followed all the steps to format the ssd, and installed OSX10.6 on it afterwards. Sounds simple, but I've been reading a lot on how people seem to easily mess up the formating part. Next step below...


I have used migration assistant the first time, because I needed OSX running with all my programs ASAP for class. All migration assistant does is shift data from one hdd to another. If you have corrupt files, those get transferred too. You won't know the difference unless you try a clean install as well. After that, I did a clean install. I have separate hd's that I use to keep my own, manual backups, of pictures/media and music. I installed all my programs individually. I know you will get people who say I am wasting time, but really, this is a fool proof way of guaranteeing a perfect new OS install just how you had it, if not better. I actually don't mind doing this, because I know exactly what I did on the OS, instead of relying on a program to move hundreds of thousands of files over...you're bound to get a messed up file.

Also, after talking to bobtomay a while regarding this, I took the time(just because I had it) to redo new backup via migration assistant from my previous, after doing a clean install, because I had neglected to record the bootup times. With the migration assistant backup, a complete startup to a fully loaded desktop never came under 29-30(with a slow finger) seconds. After getting those numbers, I reinstalled all the programs again, reloaded 2000+ photos and videos, 500 songs, reset all the bootup starting programs, and checked the complete startup time again. It is a VERY consistent bootup of 26 seconds plus or minus .5 seconds. That's enough of an argument for me to take the time and do everything the way I do it. But, If you read other online stuff, I'm not alone.




I reassigned the "Home" folder(the one with the house picture) to my XT harddrive(thanks to bobtomay's suggestion), as well as the iTunes library of music and apps(you don't notice their speed. It's the actual app I want to open at the flick of a finger).


Nope. Just the built-in data viewing that can be accessed by right clicking on the desktop, click on "show view options," and select "show item info." This shows how much of what total capacity is used up.


Haha...no problem. I might pull the ssd out of my mbp and try it out on the G5...I've been reading online that it awakes the sleeping beast inside

@idrinorbarsaku

any idea what the boot up time is when you hit the power button on for the owc mercury extreme pro ssd if you just have installed snow leopard and few apps do you think you can boot in by 10sec cause with my kingston ssd drive i boot in by 16sec and shuts down in 2.4sec i want a ssd drive for good boot in time and shut down time and app time to thanks

 

[MrKay]

does anyone hear know if i ditch the optical bay and put in a 500gb 7200rpm on my macbook pro 13in mid 2009 2.26ghz is there a external case i can put on the optical drive and use it when i need to burn data on it that way i can use the extra hd drive for writing files and downloading data on it and keep the owc ssd for boot up and apps and that way the ssd should last a very good time

 

[iggibar]

@idrinorbarsaku

any idea what the boot up time is when you hit the power button on for the owc mercury extreme pro ssd if you just have installed snow leopard and few apps do you think you can boot in by 10sec cause with my kingston ssd drive i boot in by 16sec and shuts down in 2.4sec i want a ssd drive for good boot in time and shut down time and app time to thanks

16 seconds? Which kingston model is it? I find 16 seconds a little hard to believe. The fastest kingston you can buy right now has a max read speed of 250mb/s. The fastest OWC ssd has a max read speed of 285mb/s. The OWC can boot as low as 16 to as high as 21 seconds depending on how you have your mac set. At 285mb/s, there isn't anything more you can remove from the operating system to make it boot any faster. 10 seconds, won't happen unless you run RAID. Also, shutoff speeds don't depend on the ssd/hdd, it is always consistent. It only depends on the amount of apps you have open that need closing.
My ssd has max speeds of 185mb/s read, and 100mb/s write, and it boots in 26 seconds.

does anyone hear know if i ditch the optical bay and put in a 500gb 7200rpm on my macbook pro 13in mid 2009 2.26ghz is there a external case i can put on the optical drive and use it when i need to burn data on it that way i can use the extra hd drive for writing files and downloading data on it and keep the owc ssd for boot up and apps and that way the ssd should last a very good time

This is where I got mine from. Came with the internal mount for the ssd, as well as the external enclosure for the optical drive.
maxupgrades.com: MaxConnect Optical Bay kit for MacBooks & MacBook Pros Unibody Models
It's a little more expensive than the others, but it is a direct match to the macbook pros.

 

[MrKay]

16 seconds? Which kingston model is it? I find 16 seconds a little hard to believe. The fastest kingston you can buy right now has a max read speed of 250mb/s. The fastest OWC ssd has a max read speed of 285mb/s. The OWC can boot as low as 16 to as high as 21 seconds depending on how you have your mac set. At 285mb/s, there isn't anything more you can remove from the operating system to make it boot any faster. 10 seconds, won't happen unless you run RAID. Also, shutoff speeds don't depend on the ssd/hdd, it is always consistent. It only depends on the amount of apps you have open that need closing.
My ssd has max speeds of 185mb/s read, and 100mb/s write, and it boots in 26 seconds.



This is where I got mine from. Came with the internal mount for the ssd, as well as the external enclosure for the optical drive.
maxupgrades.com: MaxConnect Optical Bay kit for MacBooks & MacBook Pros Unibody Models
It's a little more expensive than the others, but it is a direct match to the macbook pros.

@idrinorbarsaku

hi i have a KINGSTON SNV425S264G drive that i bought used from ebay just for testing how good a ssd drive is when i put the ssd drive in i done a zero out data erase then installed a clean snow leopard on it not a clone from my hard drive and at the moment i have few apps like plex,appdelet,vlc etc nothing big like photo shop or any 3d software and i don't have a login password once i hit the power i go straight in and nothing is running unless i click the app i want running hope this helps

 

[MrKay]

everything else is on my external hard drive like movies,anime,music etc

 

[MrKay]

I have tested the boot up time with my iphone 4 stopwatch done it a few times and i get 16.4sec just done it now as well