Trim Considerations: Mavericks vs. Yosemite

[lclev]

I just aquired a Mac Pro 2009 with a 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD. My dilemma now is do I leave Mavericks on it and use Trim Enabler or do I install Yosemite and not worry about Trim?

Is there that much of a difference or need for Trim on an SSD? And as some of you know Apple, in their infinite wisdom, modified the KEXT in Yosemite and it will now only accept Apple approved drivers. So will my system eventually grind to a halt if I run Trim Enabler on Yosemite and disable KEXT - which is a safety feature. Or do I stick with Mavericks and go that route?

Lisa

 

[harryb2448]

Apple enabled TRIM on SSD's fitted to the various models, but it is inactive on an after sales SSD installed. Have a read of this Lisa:-


http://www.nick-p.info/enabling-trim-on-a-new-ssd-on-os-x-mavericks/

However Cindori has this to say about disabling kext in Yosemite:-


http://www.cindori.org/trim-enabler-and-yosemite/

 

[IWT]

If I may be permitted to "squeeze" into this discussion....

The thing that interests me is the partly unanswered question from Lisa—how important is Trim? (my words, but reflecting her question).

My older iMac shipped with separate SSD and HD and my newest iMac has fusion SSD/HD. Everything works fine, but merely out of interest, do I have Trim? Does it matter. Should I care?

Trivial, I know, but interested to hear from you if you have the time.

Grateful thanks.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

If you look here, there are some stats that claim that without TRIM a "used" SSD is about 10% slower than a fresh drive. And if you read the link from Cindori that harryb2448 posted, you'll see that the developer said

It is important to note that disabling the kext-signing to enable Trim is best described as taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and for most users it will not be worth it.

From what I can see, the TRIM function moves pages from some blocks to others to free up the block for reuse. If you do that with TRIM, it's done in the background, but if you don't, it still gets done when a write takes place and needs the space. That's why the slowdown over time. Frankly, I'm not sure I'd notice a 10% drop in write speeds on my SSD, given how fast it is anyway, so I'm not going to fret over it unless someone comes along with a more compelling reason for TRIM.

 

[lclev]

For me it is still a dilemma. I want Yosemite but I see the relevance of TRIM. Supposedly OWC makes drives that do not have to worry about this. I am considering replacing the Samsung with one of the OWC drives. As of now I am planning to keep the Samsung drive and see what happens.

I just think it is unreasonable for Apple to not let manufacturers in on the TRIM factor. I understand their desire to keep out bad drivers and other issues but really? They use Samsung to manufacture some of their drives for them.

Lisa

 

[IWT]

Thanks Jake et al.

Ian

 

[harryb2448]

I thought Cindori answered the question precisely with the 'not be worth it' stateement and their inablity to get around the problem.

Sorry Lisa if it did not fill the bill. More and more of Apple's decisions not to let owners tinker with their machines.

 

[Checco]

I just aquired a Mac Pro 2009

Is the 10% really going to be noticeable on a 2009 machine? I would run it as is...

 

[harryb2448]

Yes probably on a 500GB hard drive and it will not run on Yosemite which Lisa asks after.

On a 50GB, say 10GB for formatting, less 50GB for that 10%, and then at least 20% free space reduces the drive to 340GB practical use.

 

[Checco]

Yes probably on a 500GB hard drive and it will not run on Yosemite which Lisa asks after.

On a 50GB, say 10GB for formatting, less 50GB for that 10%, and then at least 20% free space reduces the drive to 340GB practical use.

That's 10% in performance, not capacity.

 

[MacInWin]

That's 10% in performance, not capacity.

Exactly!

 

[RadDave]

Hi All - I've been enjoying this thread (thanks Lisa) and have a basic understanding of TRIM and also have looked at a number of the links. BUT am curious as to several issues involving my own MBPro's SSD and also about TRIM.

I have an early 2011 r-MBPro w/ the system info on the SSD shown below - my drive is defined as an Apple SSD SM256E Media - not sure if this is an Apple SSD or something Apple bought from a third party? This laptop started out on 10.8 and is now on the present Yosemite OS - I have no idea how TRIM even applies to my machine and I've done nothing regarding adjusting this function or using TRIM enabler (if even needed)?

My other question concerns the ability to retrieve 'trash deleted' data w/ disk recovery software (a common question on this forum) - if TRIM is NOT being used then deleted data may still remain on the drive for a while (until overwritten) and possibly be recovered; if TRIM is used, then these pages/blocks are cleaned up quickly and thus this deleted data is removed - SO, what is the best option?

Just a few questions that I hope can be addressed - sorry to be a 'PAIN' but still a more matured NEWBIE at this point. Thanks - Dave
.

 

[lclev]

I have discovered if you go to About this Mac -> System Report -> SATA/SATA Express this is where you will see if TRIM is enabled on your SSD. (See Picture of my Macbook AIr's Apple SSD)

I installed Yosemite and I have installed Trim Enabler - for now. It means I will have to pay attention to turning it on and off. I am still playing with the idea of replacing it with an OWC SSD. I will post anything I discover on this journey.

I will be using my new mac pro to edit videos and I am hoping it will impress me with faster encoding speeds. On a weekly basis I have to create at least four different encoding formats for each recorded service. This week that meant nine encoding projects. That takes some time. On my current system approximately 3 hours give or take.

On a humorous note - this is my first time to get my hands on a Mac Pro. I had to google how to open the case, install my second data drive, and open the DVD burner tray to put a disk in. I did manage to pair my magic mouse with great skill and superior ease.

I still haven't figured out where the SSD is installed. It is not in any of those little pull out drive bays. Those drive bays are amazing! Just mount and plug in - no cables to hassle with.

Yeah, I know some of you are reading this and laughing - go ahead, glad to be of service.

Lisa

 

[RadDave]

I have discovered if you go to About this Mac -> System Report -> SATA/SATA Express this is where you will see if TRIM is enabled on your SSD. (See Picture of my Macbook AIr's Apple SSD)

I installed Yosemite and I have installed Trim Enabler - for now. It means I will have to pay attention to turning it on and off. I am still playing with the idea of replacing it with an OWC SSD. I will post anything I discover on this journey...........

Thanks Lisa - just went into my system information to the item you pointed out above and my MBPro's SSD also states that TRIM is enabled - so that has answered my question - now do I need to do anything? This laptop really does little intensive computing (web browsing, email, and occasional projects) nor is there a lot of SSD erasing/writing. Dave

 

[MacInWin]

The short answer is "no." TRIM is a background function and if you have an Apple-installed SSD, it's supposed to be working.

 

[IWT]

This has been an incredibly useful discussion thread. I just want to add my thanks to all those who have taken so much trouble over these issues. I've gained a lot.

Ian

 

[RadDave]

The short answer is "no." TRIM is a background function and if you have an Apple-installed SSD, it's supposed to be working.

Thanks Jake - I like 'short' answers - that was my thought - Dave

 

[lclev]

I did my first video project on my "new to me" mac pro. It was very smooth and very fast. Biggest issue is getting use to using a magic mouse. I may have to switch to the magic trackpad. There is a lot of right and left clicks which I am having trouble doing smoothly. The video was only a promo for an upcoming event so it 1:20 minutes in length. Encoding just zipped by. I will be curious to see how it hands a larger video - like an hour or better. Or using multi-camera..... I digress...sigh...

I did install Trim Enabler and now when I look in About this Mac -> System Report -> SATA/SATA Express, it shows TRIM as enabled. Of course in order to do that Trim Enabler disabled KEXT.

According to the Trim Enabler website, if I do hardware maintenance or reset my PRAM, I will have to turn it off first. I am not sure what is meant by hardware maintenance??? Does running disk repair or repair permissions qualify??

If this becomes a big hassle I will just disable it and take the performance hit which seems to be minor in the long run.

Lisa