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Good non-expensive SSD for a mid-2010 MacBook Pro

S

sergeytodorov

Junior Member
I'm a complete novice when it comes to SSD, so I would like to ask for some help. I want to upgrade my MacBook Pro (mid-2010 model) with something that's relatively inexpensive, reliable and with good performance (to warrant the upgrade).

Here are my main criteria
—*120GB
—*proven MacBook Pro compatibility
—*reliable
—*good performance (though I don't need the fastest around)
—*available now

Also I've seen some reports about performance degradation with SSDs. I'm hoping that newer drives somehow address this issue?

I guess related to that is TRIM support. I understand that OS X 10.6.6 and the upcoming 10.7 are supposed to support it, but are all SSD drives the same when it comes to that? That is, do all SSD drives support TRIM?

What else should I consider when choosing a drive?

Thanks!
 
only the most ancient of SSDs do not support TRIM. And most likely you will not find them new in a store, only used somewhere. I haven't got confirmation but I suspect that lack of TRIM causes vastly accelerated lifespan degradation to the point where it is actually a problem. This is based on both how the technology works, some math I did, and some (I honestly can't remember if it was one or two people) people I came across with no TRIM who had actually managed to run out of writes in a few years on home usage. TRIM's effect on write amplification has never been tested or discussed by anyone in the industry yet so I have no concrete confirmation of that. I really wish anandtech would do some tests on it... it is also highly plausible that this was a bug in the implementation of a specific drive/firmware version rather then something universal for TRIM. This is plausible because I imagine it would be occurring much more often if merely not having trim caused it.

At the rate this technology changes I would wait until there is an actual shipping MacOS with TRIM. The DAY apple released it come back here to the forum and ask the same question you just did. The answers would be different (up to date)

At 120GB you are not getting "cheap"... although cheap is relative, the fact that you own a mac in the first place suggests your "cheap" is my "too expensive". What you can get is "best bang for the buck" and then decide for yourself if it is cheap enough to justify buying. A price range helps.
 
Last edited:
Emulex said:
10.7 supports trim. otherwise you get what sata-1 no trim
Click to expand...

Sort of incorrect. 10.6.6 supports TRIM on first party drives. Also, you'll get SATA 3Gbps speeds with whatever drive.

I used an 80GB Intel X25-M G2 for about a year in a unibody MacBook Pro, worked great. I completely assume the 120GB version would work as well. Just stepped up to a 2011 MacBook Pro and am currently waiting on next-gen drives...
 
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