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SSD worth it on the MBP?

xanis

xanis

Lifer
I'm going to be ordering a new MBP pro this week (15", 2.2GHz, high-res screen) and I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to get a 256GB SSD in place of the normal 750GB 7200RPM drive.

Has anyone gotten a MBP with a SSD (or installed one into an older model) that can speak to it's advantages and disadvantages? Upgrading to the SSD will set me back $600, so you can see why I'm hesitant. 😛
 
Don't order it through Apple. You can get a decent 256GB SSD for under $300 from anywhere else and it's super easy to install.

But yes, it's worth it, as long as you don't need massive amounts of storage. It's quite possible the single best thing you can do to your computer these days. I think I'd even opt for a SSD over a faster processor.
 
bearxor said:
Don't order it through Apple. You can get a decent 256GB SSD for under $300 from anywhere else and it's super easy to install.

But yes, it's worth it, as long as you don't need massive amounts of storage. It's quite possible the single best thing you can do to your computer these days. I think I'd even opt for a SSD over a faster processor.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I checked the guide on iFixit and it looks about as easy (if not easier) than on my old MBP. Going to take a look at a few SSDs now.
 
In a system with a SATA port, an SSD is always worth it. On older systems with ATA drives, the SSDs are so expensive as to make them generally not worth as the system is probably at the end of its useful life anyway.
 
110% worth it. nothing but amazing in my 2011 15" mbp. easily the best upgrade ive ever done to it!

however, the apple branded SSD do have trim enabled, and there is a 3rd party program (called TRIM enabler) that will allow 3rd party SSDs to join in on the TRIM fun. however, on my patriot wildfire, it kept freezing every so often so i had to turn it off, probably because of the aggressive garbage collection the sandforce controller does or something along those lines.

regardless, like the others have said - buy your own from newegg or somewhere! so much cheaper and its very easy to install (you just need both torx and phillips screwdrivers to open up the mbp.
 
Definitely worth it. You'll be amazed at the speeds and silence. If you want the best go with crucial m4, Samsung 830, or the intel 520. I have the m4 and all the kinks have been ironed out and it's rock solid. It works with my mbp and it doesn't have stutter problems.
 
Definitely worth it. I put a slow (but fast at the time) OCZ Summit in my MBP in summer 2009 and it was blazing fast. I upgraded it to 8 GB ram about a year later. It is still going strong (my wife is using it now).
 
I have two 15" 2011 mbp's one with crucial c300 256mb ssd and corsair 8gb ram and one with only the 8gb of ram.. I can not stand to use the one with NO SSD.. (The Wifes)
 
Hell yes if you can stomach the loss in space. Don't buy from Apple, and get your SSD elsewhere. The only drawback is lack of Trim on non-Apple drives.

I've been using Trim Enabler myself, but I never really tested to see if it is actually doing anything or not.
 
I put an SSD into an OG MacBook, that thing flies. Not quite as snappy as my MacBook Air, but pretty close. The biggest difference in usability between the two comes down to the increased RAM and better GPU in the MBA.

But seriously, totally worth the upgrade to get a few more years of usable life out of the laptop.
 
I don't want to use SSD for two reasons:

- Don't want to tear my brand new laptop apart (even though it's simple removal of back panel).

- Cost to size ratio is terrible on the SSD compare to the hard drive.
 
cheez said:
I don't want to use SSD for two reasons:

- Don't want to tear my brand new laptop apart (even though it's simple removal of back panel).

- Cost to size ratio is terrible on the SSD compare to the hard drive.
Click to expand...

All a matter of opinion I guess. Disassembling the MBP isn't exactly difficult or what I'd call "tearing it apart". A couple screws and two cables are all that's standing in the way.

Seems like the SSD is a good upgrade. I'll pick one up on Amazon or the Egg once my wallet recovers from the main purchase. 😀
 
FiLeZz said:
I have two 15" 2011 mbp's one with crucial c300 256mb ssd and corsair 8gb ram and one with only the 8gb of ram.. I can not stand to use the one with NO SSD.. (The Wifes)
Click to expand...

yep.. I put a C300 in my 2011 macbook pro.. it really flies..

I took out the optical drive and put in an optibay hdd mount for the stock 750GB hdd and installed 8G of ram..

This is a very fast machine.. and I have plenty of storage.
 
cheez said:
I don't want to use SSD for two reasons:

- Don't want to tear my brand new laptop apart (even though it's simple removal of back panel).

- Cost to size ratio is terrible on the SSD compare to the hard drive.
Click to expand...

once you go ssd, you can't go back. the difference is price is worth it in my opinion.
 
Even my 2500k desktop felt like from the stone ages until I put an SSD in it. Its a pretty good time to be an SSD user considering the cost of mechanical drives skyrocketing and SSDs being affordable now.
 
60-90gb SSD for OS/Apps + Standard HDD in the optical bay for data = best laptop experience I've ever had
 
There is a kit to replace the optical drive with another HD. SSD for OS/apps and a larger one for data.

Other options is to pack and external drive for either optical duties or data.

The Momentus XT hybrid SSD's are well reviewed as well as a middle ground.
 
In that spirit, is it possible to install Windows 7/8 on the SSD, and remove the OS X partition completly? (No need to tell me to buy a Windows laptop, the Macbook is still the best in class design)

If so, how?
 
NoWorthWhile said:
In that spirit, is it possible to install Windows 7/8 on the SSD, and remove the OS X partition completly? (No need to tell me to buy a Windows laptop, the Macbook is still the best in class design)

If so, how?
Click to expand...
Yes, just install win7/8 like you would on a non-mac PC. I for one hate doing that as all the drivers apple supplies for winX suck. Sound, even after all of these years, is still way too low for my taste.
 
Oyeve said:
Yes, just install win7/8 like you would on a non-mac PC. I for one hate doing that as all the drivers apple supplies for winX suck. Sound, even after all of these years, is still way too low for my taste.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated.
 
Oyeve said:
Yes, just install win7/8 like you would on a non-mac PC. I for one hate doing that as all the drivers apple supplies for winX suck. Sound, even after all of these years, is still way too low for my taste.
Click to expand...

That's funny, as I always found the default sound levels in Windows to be higher than their OS X equivalents. I wonder if that was just the old Core Duo ones that exhibited this as I haven't really messed with Windows on my Air. Or maybe it was just XP... who knows.
 
2011 17" MBP with an SSD here - Awesome. I actually did get the 128GB one from Apple, was $100, not that much of a premium. Figured it was worth it rather then having to mess with Trim Enabler and copying the OS over from the stock drive.

I still had to take my MBP appart to put the 16GB of RAM in it 🙂
 
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