Should I get a Solid State Drive.

Hello,
Im still wondering if I should get a ssd for my macbook pro, im not sure if its slow ( and I mean super slow at times) because of the hardrive or is it because I have 1,761 photos and 69 movies. What do you guys think?
My computer specs:
15inch early 2011
512mb storage
Processor  2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory  4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics  Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB

See this on tuning OSX performance.  You could certainly add an SSD which would speed up your disk operations, however, if there are other issues, you want to take care of those first. 

Similar Messages

  • Should I install a Solid State Drive..?

    Hello I am editing and rendering HD 1080p and sometimes 4k video from an XD Cam in Final Cut Pro 7 running on a 17" 2011 MacBook pro i7 2.2ghz, 8GB DDR3 1333mhz RAM with 720GB 5400rpm Hard Drive. the video is captured on an external 2TB Hard Drive connected via Fire Wire 800. What I would like to know will it be worth me installing a OCZ Vertex 4 512GB SATA 3 Solid State Drive inside my computer and putting 16 GB of RAM in. will it make a difference in the performance of quality, rendering times and other functions on my software and video I output to Blu-Ray..? remembering that the video is coming from the fire wire 800 drive and going back on there until I burn it to blu-ray. Would I need to set my scratch disk to my SSD to see any benefits of having a SSD instead of a normal HDD. Cheers Danny.

    Why not use a Thunderbolt drive? Adding ram isn't going to help but won't hurt. FCP 7 address only a max of 4 GIGs of ram. Your weakest link is the 5400 rpm drive.
    I'm thinking about getting 2 Thunderbolt drives. One for the System OS and the other for media storage.

  • SOLID STATE DRIVE, WHICH ONE TO GET?  I NEED HELP me please!

    So I am looking to get a SOLID STATE DRIVE but not sure which one to buy, I had gotten the intel x25 80gb but its too small and not too much different from my stock hdd. I mean sure its fast but not worth $200 thats for sure. I need a top quality, flying fast and worth the money SSD, SO WHICH ONE DO YOU RECOMMEND? I was going for the c300 from crucial the 128gb to be exact, but I have heard so many bad things.
    My current setup is 13" i5 2011 version, with 8gb ram upgrade.
    Im running OS X 10.6.7 and Windows 7 boot camp as well.
    I need to know before I go to store tonight.
    thanks!

    Many users on this forum are very happy with OWC's line of SSD. They're located in the greater Chicago area but I don't think they have a retail store you can drop into. Great vendor in that they offer good prices, they specialize in Macs, great service and they're stuff is high quality. You can visit the SSD section at:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internalstorage/Mercury_Extreme_SSDSandforce
    BTW please don't type in all caps, it comes across as yelling. We can hear you fine.
    Roger

  • 500 gb 7200rpm hard drive vs 128 gb solid state drive

    I am considering buying a macbook pro laptop the 15 inch with the i7 processor. I will probably get the anti glare screen. What I am on the fence about is whether it is worth the extra money to get the solid state drive or the 7200 rpm drive. I would like something that might be faster than the standard 5400rpm drive, I have read these are laptop drives & they are a bit slower than a 7200rpm drive which seems to be standard in desktops. With performance & speed being very important to me; (I will be doing video editing in both standard def & high def) I would consider upgrading the hard drive to the 7200 rpm or the solid state. Another factor is the hard drive capacity, this is not as big an issue as I keep most of my content on external hard drives.
    I need a little help in deciding, I am new to macs I am coming from a 7 year old windows xp home desktop PC. this will be one of my biggest purchases.
    would I feel a big difference in performance getting the solid state drive? would it be a lot better than the 7200rpm drive? or should I just stick with the stock 5400rpm drive?
    If anybody knows of any issues or known failures with one of the hard drives, I would like to be clued in as, this computer will have to last me at least 5 years, I am getting a one time allotment of financial aid from my school, I want to make the right choice.
    Message was edited by: Sossity

    I bought a 160 Gbyte Intel SSD, replaced the internal drive and that in a case to use as an external. I also have an SSD in my Mini. Using an SSD is a major improvement. Fragmentation is no longer an issue. Applications start up very fast, some instantaneously. The computer starts up in less than 10 seconds. In short, all operations requiring disc reads are lightning fast. There really is no downside, unless you are bothered by using an external drive for very large files (but then, you would probably use an external drive for that purpose regardless).
    The Intel SSD may be above your budget (it is about twice the price for 160 Gbytes than the built to order with 128 Gbytes). If that is the case, just get the built to order and you can add an external drive for very little money if an when you need it.
    I bought a 15" i7 and used it for a couple of days before I swapped the drives. In comparison, the stock drive made the computer feel sluggish. With the SSD, it is snappy, fast and responsive.
    Others may disagree, but personally I do not believe that you will get anywhere near the improvement with a 7200 rpm drive. The SSD is tops. Also, by the way, they are silent, which I like.

  • Upgrading laptop hard drive to solid state drive. (i am a noob)

    So my laptop (HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC) was running slowly for around 6 months, i had enough so i went to the store and upgraded my ram from 4 gb to 8 gb thinking this would fix the problem but the guy told me that my hard drive was slow because it is dting, we talked about what i can do to fix the problem and he said that i should get a new hard drive, he told me that i should get a solid state drive as it fails dramatically less than a regular hard drive and is much faster. I just wanted to know what kind of hard drive i should get, as i dont want to buy an incompatible hard drive. Also if anyone could reference me to some good online stores that would be awesome, thanks for your time.

    Yes the 500 will work fine. Just go to the second link in my post above, for the 250gig Samsung 840 Evo, and over to the right are links to get the 500 gig version and even the 750 and 1 TB. See the little gray boxes? The 500 gig is about $315. 
    Hard drive replacement instructions start on Page 54 of this Manual:
    Manual
    If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it. 

  • Solid State Drives on a Mac

    I am thinking of getting a Solid State drive for the OS only.
    Problems that may a Solid State drive may have with the OS.
    1) Defrag I never thought that Leopard needed to or did Defrag the Drive but a Sales rep for apple at Best buy said he thought that they did once the mac was shut down. This was done he said to make defraging easier were unlike windows you had to tell it to or schedule a time to do it and leave it on.
    From what I read you are not suppose to Defrag Solid state drives.
    If this is true is ether a way to disable it in the OS and if so is their a way to tell it what drives to not defrag?
    2. I also see programs for sale for the Leopard OS that parts of programs that are left over from installs and when you delete something if this is true this is also not good because it will slowly fill up the drive.
    3. If any of the issues above are true I hope the is a work around for it or a update to it to correct this. Hard drives have been the bottle Neck for any OS for a long time and these solid State drives even though new tech seem to be the answer for this.

    Network 23,
    Well, "never" may have been too strong, but I stand by my statement. OS X just doesn't "defragment" in the commonly accepted sense of the word.
    First, it uses "delayed allocation" to reduce the amount- in many cases to zero- of fragmentation that ever occurs.
    Second, it does use "adaptive hot-file clustering," whereby an elite class of the most frequently accessed files are written to the drive's "hot band." The limitation on size is <= 10 MBs (if I am not mistaken), and this does occur dynamically. Since this necessarily eliminate any fragmentation for these files, one could state that dynamic fragmentation is occurring. The amount of data we're talking about here is very small, however, so to classify this as generic "defagmentation" would be a stretch.
    Third, there is one very limited case when a file will actually be rewritten. Several conditions must be met, the most important being that the file in question must have an allocation of over 8 extents. Since this still applies only to files <= 20 MBs, and given the other fragmentation-prevention measures in place, the conditions under which this occurs will be very, very rare. I will grant, however, that in the rare case that these conditions are all met, the file is indeed relocated to an unfagmented allocation when/if it is opened. Yes, this is dynamic defragmentation.
    All this said, "defragmentation" is generally considered to be when a volume is scanned for fragmented file, and those files are all relocated to elimate all fragmentation. This does not occur in OS X.
    Scott

  • Where and what type of solid state drive should I buy for my early 2008 Mac Pro Desktop??

    where can I buy and what type of solid state drive should I use to upgrade my early 2008 Mac Pro Desktop??

    Rick,
    When you get a chance.... DSLReports is off line: their SQL server decided to take its indexes and access to data. Power. Not enough of the right kind of UPS. Same happened to StorageReview's "Drive Reliability Database" about 8-9 yrs ago.
    dslreports.com is offline
    Fri Apr 20 09:05:55 EDT 2012
    SSD: Loading CS5 plus other little monsters might matter.
    Lots of small I/Os
    latency of 1/100th where nanoseconds replace those "long" milliseconds
    System: Small and fast.
    DLLoyd even goes for short-stroking drives to get and maintain highest I/O
    The new 10k VRs hit 200MB/sec - I still use them and still find them useful, long lasting, feel responsive with whatever I ask of them. I know they get criticized and "cost too much"
    Just bought a new WD Black and yes it is better than the 2008 model I was using.
    600GB 10K $200 vs $150-220 for WD Black. your choice
    I can destroy a 7.2k drive, I have brought ever 10K drive back after a simple WD Extended Test in Lifeguard.
    I don't really care about $$/GB or I wouldn't have just bought Intel 128GB $149
    Database: the pros put the index in memory and page fix (virtual volumes in memory; cache; hold disk drive index in memory). Caching storage has been around for almost 40 yrs.
    Today you can use SSDs as front end cache to hold DB indexes and frequent data for web servers and such adn use slower secondary storage.
    SSD + SAS + 4TB storage
    Separating the system from data: #1 must
    Having data on array: been what I use
    I put a large photo library on 2 x 10K VRs vs SSD and couldn't tell much difference (SSD is soundless of course) But my WD Blacks make as much noise and run 15*C hotter than those 10K (not what you expect?)
    While 10K and 7.2K are in the 140-180MB/sec range, they are in 3.0 to 12.0 ms seeks, not  0.01 ms.
    People wonnder why shrink a drive to 2.5" (or why not go down to 1.8".
    How long does it take to reposition a disk head? how often? the 10K VR travels on outer tracks at 70 MPH. Really trying to fly off into space.
    It uses one step to find the "zip code" and then another DSP to find the "house."
    True of any high density perpendicular recording mechanism.
    And of course while the Raptor-X tried to find a home with famers, Cheetah buyers, the WD 10K line has more of a home where servers and small form factor drives - and 100s of them - can fit in a rackmount server I imagine.
    Anyway.... if SR and DSLReports can drop out of site due to power and hardware failure and loss... we can learn some and hope to protect our own data and investments.

  • I have a 2007 20" iMac. Can I get a solid state hard drive installed?  Can the Apple store do it?  How long?  What cost?

    I have a 2007 20" iMac. Can I get a solid state hard drive installed?  Can the Apple store do it?  How long?  What cost?

    Sure-glad to help you. You will not lose any data by changing synching to MacBook Pro from imac. You have set up Time Machine, right? that's how you'd do your backup, so I was told, and how I do my backup on my mac.  You should be able to set a password for it. Save it.  Your stuff should be saved there. So if you want to make your MacBook Pro your primary computer,  I suppose,  back up your stuff with Time machine, turn off Time machine on the iMac, turn it on on the new MacBook Pro, select the hard drive in your Time Capsule, enter your password, and do a backup from there. It might work, and it might take a while, but it should go. As for clogging the hard drive, I can't say. Depends how much stuff you have, and the hard drive's capacity.  As for moving syncing from your iMac to your macbook pro, should be the same. Your phone uses iTunes to sync and so that data should be in the cloud. You can move your iTunes Library to your new Macbook pro
    you should be able to sync your phone on your new MacBook Pro. Don't know if you can move the older backups yet-maybe try someone else, anyways,
    This handy article from Apple explains how
    How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support''
    don't forget to de-authorize your iMac if you don't want to play purchased stuff there
    and re-authorize your new macBook Pro
    time machine is an application, and should be found in the Applications folder. it is built in to OS X, so there is nothing else to buy. double click on it, get it going, choose the Hard drive in your Time capsule/Airport as your backup Time Machine  and go for it.  You should see a circle with an arrow on the top right hand of your screen (the Desktop), next to the bluetooth icon, and just after the wifi and eject key (looks sorta like a clock face). This will do automatic backups  of your stuff.

  • Solid State Drive = Gets stuck

    Hello,
    I recently bought Intel's 520 Series Solid State Drive. I swapped my hard drive with the SSD, booted on a Snow Leopard disk. Opened Disk Utility, formatted my drive (Mac OS Extended Journaled)  and installed Snow Leopard. After I installed the applications I needed, I finally upgraded to OS X Lion. But now I can't browse the net, work on applications or do any other task without getting a beach ball every 2 - 3 minutes. My MacBook Pro gets stuck a lot for some reason. (I never had this issue with my older hard drive)
    I have the latest version of OS X Lion, but no firmware update was available for my SSD. I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro.
    Does anyone have any suggestions on how this can be fixed?
    Thanks.

    What model MBP do you have? Older systems don't handle SSDs as well as newer system. Especially systems that don't do the 6GB SATA interface, which is what the Intel 520 series is. Although they state the drive interface is baclwards compatible that does always mean it will work correctly on older systems that only do SATA 1 transfers, 1.5GB.
    You could try a Clean Fresh install of Lion without first installing SL. That may or may not work.
    Just boot to the recovery HD partition and erase the Macintosh HD partition then re-download and install Lion.

  • How do I get the Recovery partition onto a DVD set from my solid state drive?

    My Pavilion dv6 has only a solid state drive. I need to recover and reuse the 23  gb  currently partitioned for recovery. To do this I need to move the recovery files off the drive.  Can this be done?  Where do i find instructions on how to do it?
    Thanks,
    Bill Wright

    txi wrote: My Pavilion dv6 has only a solid state drive. I need to recover and reuse the 23  gb  currently partitioned for recovery. To do this I need to move the recovery files off the drive.  Can this be done?  Where do i find instructions on how to do it? Thanks, Bill Wright
    Hello txi, Your best bet would be to use a hard drive image program and perform a complete hard drive image.
    If you have Windows 7 on the SSD this would include the System partition, the C: partition and the D: Recovery partition.
    The D: Recovery requires some data from the Master Boot Record (MBR) in order to be accessed.
    Just trying to copy the data from the Recovery partition would not be successful if you wanted to use this data later.
    By making a hard drive imgae of the entire hard drive, and saving this image on an external hard drive, or a large enough USB drive, you could then delete the D: partition and expand the C: partition to recover the D: partition capacity.
    Then if you need to revert back as the system was when the hard drive image was created, the D: partition would be put back on the SSD.
    Please click the White Kudos star on the left, to say thanks.
    Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem.

  • Upgrade my Macbook Pro 17" with solid state drive and RAM?

    My MBP is a 17" mid-2009, 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory  4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3, Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512 MB.
    I am an architecture student. I use 3D modeling programs like SketchUp, Revit, AutoCad, etc. According to these software websites, my MBP is sufficient. However, when I'm running these programs, I get the apple "beach ball" a LOT, along with a lot of lagging even when I'm working on simple models. After doing some research, it appears that upgrading my RAM to 8GB (my model's max capability) and buying a solid state drive would help my MBP run much faster and much cooler.
    My questions:
    1. What brand and exact product #/link to this (if possible) of RAM (2 x 4GB sticks) and SSD should I purchase?
    2. Which SSD GB option should I purchase? I chatted with OWC online and was given this variety of SSDs.
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/SSD/Mercury_Electra_3G_Solid_Sta te
    3. I was also given this product bundle recommendation. It's cheaper than buying everything individually, but I'm not sure if I need the tools and I don't understand the purpose/advantage of having the "OWC Express Silver Enclosure".
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/YSSDMP240/
    I just want my MBP to run as fast as possible while running my modeling software w/o spending an arm and a leg if possible. But I don't know if it's worth the trouble and expense to upgrade my current MBP, which I love, or just getting a new MBP or Mac desktop. And if I should just get another Mac, I don't know which one I should get.
    Another thing I have seen is the Mac Mini. Is it possible to plug this or any other external device to my MBP in order to accomplish my performance goals without having to modify my MBP or buy another Mac?
    This is the first time I've posted any help questions to the Apple Support Community. I really appreciate any advise you Mac experts can give me. I called one of the Apple Stores, but I was definitely not satisfied with the inexperienced rep's answers.
    Thanks!

    1. OWC or Crucial are recommended sources for memory. You can usually find a 5% off and free shipping code for Crucial on retailmenot.com. On crucial just key in your system information in their memory selector.
    2. Your system likely supports SATA II speeds, so the SSD OWC pointed to would work. I installed one in our 2010 mac mini and it's working well. I originally installed their 6G drive however it ran at SATA I speeds. Turns out the 3G which is specd for SATA II is what was needed and works fine.
    3. The OWC package they recommended includes a case to put your existing hard drive in. That helps to be able to transfer your data back to the SSD then you can use it as a backup drive or as an external storage device.

  • I have an internal 256 Solid State Drive on my MacBook Pro. Can I upgrade it to a larger solid state drive? If so, how?

    I am trying to free up space on my solid state drive on my MacBook Pro, but am not having much luck. I have come to the point where I am asking myself, "is it possible to upgrade to a larger internal drive?" Please help. I appreciate the feedback.

    Yes you can upgrade it. Unless your MBP is one of the new Retina display models. Is it one of the new models with the Retina display?
    If not it is the same as changing a regular hard drive. you buy a new bigger SSD. Take the bottom off, aboput 8 screws. Take the part that holds the SSD drive inplace. Remove the cable connector. Remove the 4 mounting screws on the side of the original SSD and istall them on the new SSD Re-Connect the cable. Slide the drive into the drive area. Replace the hold down part. Then put the bottom back on.
    Then connect the original SSD to the compuiter with a SATA to USB adapter. Boot the system and hold down the Option key. At the screen that come up select the USB attached SSD and boot the system from it. Open Disk utility and Partition the new drive as 1 partition, format it Mac Extended (Journaled) giving the partition the name of Macintosh HD (or any name you like). Once that is done exit out of disk utility and get a copy of Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper then install that. Run it and clone from the USB attached SSD to the SSD you just installed inside your system. Once that is done shut the system down, disconnect the USB attached SSD and then power on the system. It should now boot to the internal SSD you install. To nbe on the safe side go into System Preferences, Startup Disk and make sure the internal SSD is selected. You are done.

  • Can I upgrade the solid-state drive in a MacBook Pro with retina display after purchase?

    There used to be an option to upgrade the solid-state drive when configuring a MacBook Pro on the Apple Store online, but it is now gone.  This makes me wonder if Apple's SSDs are built into the computer like the RAM is.  So, is it possible to upgrade the SSD later?  I don't want to pay so much more to upgrade everything else, so I'd love it if it's possible to just upgrade the SSD later.  Thanks!

    You will void the warranty. Here are the available post purchase upgrades. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-2012- Drive-Internal-Flash
    You should order it with as much storage as you can afford rather than doing a post purchase upgrade because of the warranty being voided.
    Message was edited by: BobTheFisherman  Sorry. I just noticed I posted the link to a 2012 retina flash upgrade.
    Here you go http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/SSDAP12R480/
    Read the specs carefully to ensure this will work for the model Macbook Pro you are getting.

  • Can I use a Solid state drive in my 21 inch iMac

    Can I use a Solid state drive in my 21 inch iMac if so what manufaturer is recommended?

    Yes. I have used and recommend OWC's Mercury models and OCZ's Vertex 3 models. They do work in Macs. Depending upon the model you have you should get either 3 Gb/s or 6 Gb/s drive. That will depend upon your computer's disk drive bus support - SATA II or SATA III, respectively.

  • Optimisation -Solid state drives

    Log Name:     
    Application
    Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Defrag
    Date:          5.1.14 15:27:29
    Event ID:      257
    Level:         Error
    Description:
    The volume System Reserved was not optimised because an error was encountered: The parameter is incorrect. (0x80070057)
    Should the system on Windows 8.1 try to optimise a solid state drive?
    Hope this helps, Gerry

    This issue could be caused if Defragment take operation on SSD. And as we know SSD cannot be defragged.
    I just want to mention that the above statement is not accurate as written.
    The general wisdom is that one SHOULD not defrag an SSD.  That's different than "cannot".
    A file system indeed can be defragmented on any drive, including an SSD, though common wisdom is that the payback in performance to doing so is negligible, so doing a defragment operation just wears out the flash memory without any
    real benefit.
    Defragmenting the file system can ensure the data is read using fewer low level operations - i.e., a big block of data can be read in one contiguous chunk instead of several smaller chunks.  Even as efficient as the most modern SSDs are, with near-zero
    seek time, it DOES take some time for the operating system to prepare SATA commands and get them out to the drive across whatever busses and controllers are in place.
    The difference in file system performance between a fragmented file system and a defragmented one can literally be hundreds of megabytes per second or even gigabytes per second when RAID is involved and the SATA link isn't a bottleneck.  I
    call your attention to the ATTO benchmark, which measures performance at various read sizes.
    Therefore there is some current debate on whether an occasional (e.g., once a year) defrag on an SSD can optimize performance enough that it could actually be a good thing to do.
    That said, with Windows 8 I'm not sure Microsoft's tools can actually be coaxed into doing a defrag on a (properly recognized) SSD.  It was possible in Windows 7.
    -Noel
    Detailed how-to in my eBooks:  
    Configure The Windows 7 "To Work" Options
    Configure The Windows 8 "To Work" Options

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