OWC 120GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD Solid State Drive Best SSD for a Mac?

ive read that OWC is the best for mac. Is this true. what is your recommendations for a SSD for an 08' Macbook

Yes. Your model has a SATA II bus that only supports up to 3 Gb/s drive interfaces. Thus, there is no point in spending more for a SATA III drive. If you expect you will soon want to move the SSD into a new model that does support the faster interface, then be sure the 6G model is downward compatible with the 3G bus. Most, but not all 6G SSDs are, so it's best to ask first.

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Can i install samsung 850 pro 1 tb solid state drive in my "macbook pro 2012 mid".

Hi, anyone know. can i install samsung 850 pro 1 tb solid state drive in my "macbook pro 2012 mid". any compatibility issues?

"In addition to TRIM, I just stumbled on this discussion. One of the posters is having some odd difficulties with that combination."
Yup and that's why I've avoided any 3rd party SSDs.
I only deal with:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC
I've done 6 so far and no problems at all; formatting, installing nothing. Total no brainer. I did have a small formatting problem on my last one but I called them and solved the problem before the guy got on the phone. He immediately offered a return sticker (RMA) but I didn't need it and the MBP is running fine.

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.

Considering a MacBook Pro... solid state drive for high altitude?

My 2.5 year old 13" MacBook just crashed its second HD in five months! I think it's time for a new setup, and I'm considering a MacBook Pro.
I'm an amateur photographer, and I use my computer almost exclusively for Photoshop, editing & printing large photos.
Here's what I need:
- LOTS of space for graphics files
- speedy to keep up with Photoshop (not editing movies, though)
- large, high resolution screen (but doesn't have to be 24")
- durable... I'm tired of crashes, and our altitude (above 7000') makes me consider going to a solid state drive... Would I get considerably less space to store files that way?
- portable would be nice, but less important than durable... I'd buy an iMac plus a mini laptop if Mac offered something like the 9"!
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

iMac + MacBook Air (or 13" MBP?)!
haha! That would be nice, but probably overkill for my purposes. If we went with the iMac instead of MBP, I might look for a glorified handheld for internet access and photo & document viewing (at least) on the road.
Kappy wrote:
Your altitude is not a relevant factor. Typical notebook hard drives (not SSDs) have a maximum operating altitude above 30,000 feet.
That's reassuring, as far as bringing a new computer up here. We hadn't had any crashes in the last decade, but we've had three since we moved up here a year ago. (The first was my brother's laptop when he came for Christmas.) We aren't throwing around our computers by any means. The only other difference (besides environment) is more usage hours, as I've started using Photoshop, and more JPG & PNG files on the disk. None of those would have affected my brother's laptop, though.
Would the iMac have better resistance than a laptop to whatever might be causing the crashes, whether it's the environment or usage issues?
Message was edited by: Pato7456

Solid state drive= wrong choice for the newmacbookpro 2010?

Hi
i've been exchanging on the logic pro forum about the ssd vs the hdd serial to configure a macbook pro for logic.
I would love to hear your point of view or experience about that .
also since it's the apple forum i hope there should be some advice from technician from apple.
since from logic pro forum i had the point of view of logic pro certified level 1 and 2
here is the links :
http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=57664
http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=55058&highlight=solid+state
thanks a lot for any comments or experiences.
june

but why is it bad to record internally today
I didn't say it was "bad" as such, I said I'd only do it when necessary (and I do) but I'd generally still record to external drives where possible.
imagine you're having a 500 GB internally you can still back up on a other drive after.
is there any consequence about that kind of configuration?
The thing is, the internal drive is the system drive, so it has all kinds of drive activity going on in addition to audio - swap file reading and writing, loading apps, utilities, logging functions and many more.
i heard about the lifetime too but more from some experience from 2009 but i don't know what
happen with the new model if they upgrade their ssd in anyway?
Time will tell I guess, these technologies are new and unproven over enough time yet.

Which SSD (Solid State Drive) is good for my 2011 MacBook Pro?

Okay I am looking for a good ssd for my macbook pro 2011 between the 150$ and 250$ price range. Which company and price would you guys reccomend?

None, at that price it would be so small as to be practically worthless.
You need about 500 GB to future proof and grow into, and those run about $1200-$1500
SSD's really don't offer that much more performance, it still takes the computer 20 seconds to boot and programs still have to set themselves up so. So although the computer and programs launch a bit faster, it's not instant.
Then to really take advantage of SSD speed, you need to have to have a large amount of files to transfer constantly, to another SSD (or else the slow hard drive slows everything down)
So if you have 500GB to transfer to another 500GB SSD, then that would take about 30 minutes compared to a hour if you had a hard drive instead.
And if you transfer a large amount of data often with a SSD, it wears it out prematurely. SSD's don't even have secure erase ability because allowing that would prematurely wear it out.
So the only thing SSD's are good for are OS boot and program only drives, where little changes, place one's user files on a external 7,200 RPM drive with more space and can handle a large amount of writes and rewrites.
Unfortuntly in a MacBook Pro you have only one space for a drive, you could use a kit to remove the Superdrive and replace it with the hard drive when you add the SSD. Problem with that is you can't boot from any OS X or Windows install disks that way.
So there you have it, SSD is crap.
But if you want to go the SSD + Hard drive with kit route, see Bmer (Dave Merten) who runs Mac Owners Support Group. he will walk you through it all.
And the fastest SSD's can be found on this chart
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/high_end_drives.html
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

MTron Pro 7000 64gb Solid State Drive (SSD) in my Mac Pro: Am I the first?

All -
Just purchased the MTron Pro 7000 64gb 3.5" SATA SSD drive a couple of days ago and popped it into Bay 1 of my Mac Pro (2.66ghz Quad - 4gb Ram).
Installed Leopard on it -- unbelievable! Boots in about 6-8 seconds! (I don't even see the swirling wheel appear under the apple symbol!).
Used bootcamp to partition it evenly (32gb/32gb) and installed Vista Ultimate and it is working nicely as well.
Under Vista, I've run into the Intel speed "Cap" and the drive tops out at about 75-78MBps (almost 10MBps slower than the Raptor it replaced) -- but with such low latency (.1 ms) it definately seems snappier than the Raptor was. I hope Intel issues a driver fix for this.
Under Leopard however, using XBench, I am seeing sequential reads in the 99-100MBps range!!! This is why I think the problem under Windows is an Intel driver issue.
Anyway -- just wanted to share my findings with you guys -- happy camper here!
Aaron
Message was edited by: NYCubby

Here's Xbench results for my RAID 0 SSD drives using a Mac Pro RAID card:
Results 379.72
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.5.2 (9C31)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model MacPro3,1
Drive Type APPLE RAID Card
Disk Test 379.72
Sequential 267.53
Uncached Write 431.98 265.23 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 385.73 218.24 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 121.23 35.48 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 557.09 279.99 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 653.98
Uncached Write 710.63 75.23 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 329.15 105.37 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2581.19 18.29 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 779.03 144.55 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Inspiron 20 3000 can I add a solid state drive to boot for speed ?

I'm looking to purchase an inspiron 20 3000. I asked sales if I could get it configured with an SSD drive, and they said no. I'd have to purchase it and then the drive myself. But on Dell's web site I don't see any SSD drives, or hybrids listed as compatible.
Anybody know if this is possible ?
Thanks,
Ed

Hi ekratz,
The system uses normal 2.5 inch mechanical hard drive with hard drive bracket (hard drive case) as the system can be used for SATA III technology hard drives the system should accept SSD drive but Dell has not tested this system with SSD.

Solid State Drive for Macbook Pro?

Just wondering how many people have experience with 3rd-party (not Apple installed) SSD's in Macbook Pros? I was looking at picking up one of the refurbished 13" Macbook Pro's (2.4ghz c2d + 4gb ram) and then add in a Solid State Drive. I'm considering getting a 240GB SATA2 SSD (OCZ), which is about $400. Just wondering if anyone has some hints, tips, or articles online that they'd refer to regarding this... and the benefits of doing this specific to Mac OS X.
Thanks,
Philip P

I am using OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 240GB SSD in my MacBook pro and I love it.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internalstorage/Mercury_Extreme_SSDSandforce

Recording audio onto solid state drive

Hi, I am interested in producing audio using macbook pro with solid state drive. With traditional HD, I had to record audio onto a separate hd. Would I be able to record audio onto the same partition of the system, by using a solid state drive? Thanks

Thanks for your reply Shoot,
It is not because it's full. Recording onto a separate hd has been a must in this field. Not sure exactly how it works but I believe it has something to do with the heads that physically have to write many tracks at the same time and reading system stuff. Everyone I know has been doing that with hard drives. If you do it on the same disc you will likely get lot of errors in writing and they sound like some clips or glitches on the recording. My question comes from the fact that SSD doesn't have to move any mechanical part around the disc as they have direct access to the memory (I believe?). Also with HD it was important that the writing had to be contiguous and perhaps that's not an issue anymore with ssd? Do anyone have experience with all this?
Thanks

Solid State Drive .vs. 2TB Hard Drive (Finder Sidebar)

Hello all,
I just purchased a new 27-inch iMac, which comes with a 256 GB Solid State Drive and a 2 TB SATA Hard Drive. Before purchasing the iMac, I had read that the Solid State Drive was designed to be used for the System and Applications, while the SATA Hard Drive would be used to store all application data files (Pictures, Movies, Music, etc.).
However, the Finder Sidebar icons (Documents, Pictures, Movies, Music, etc.) are linked to the associated folders on the Solid State Drive. So when I click on any of the Sidebar icons, I am directed to the folder contens on the Solid State Drive.
How do I set up my iMac so that the 2 TB SATA drive is the default storage drive. I'm guessing that there has to be a way to configure the Sidebar such that when I click on one of the icons (Documents), I'm directed to the Documents folder on the 2 TB Hard Drive and not the Solid State Drive.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Calvin

Calvin, I am in the exact same boat. Help us someone...

Problems with early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" 2.7 GHz / OWC Mercury Extreme Pro

*Has anyone else experienced issues getting their OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD working in the early 2011 MacBook Pros?*
I am having difficulties getting OS X installed on the new OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 240 GB. When I install the SSD in place of the factory HDD and boot from the 10.6.6 reinstallation DVD the SSD is not visible to the installation program. If I quit the 10.6.6 installer and run Disk Utility (from the 10.6.6 installation DVD) the SSD is not visible. If I quit Disk Utility and run System Profiler (from the 10.6.6. installation DVD) the drive is visible and firmware and serial numbers are displayed. So like the drive is visible to OS X but the installer / Disk Utility can not see it.
If I put the SSD in an external USB enclosure it is visible - I can format the drive and copy files to it.
I also tried installing the SSD in place of the factory HDD, putting the HDD in a USB enclosure, booting from the OS X installation on the HDD and running the OS X installer from the 10.6.6 DVD. I was able to select the SSD as the target for the installation and the initial file copy was OK, but when the laptop restarted during the installation the SSD would not boot. The grey folder icon with the flashing question mark was displayed instead. Holding down Option while booting only gave me the option to boot from the DVD.
I also tried resetting the NVRAM and SMC of the MacBook Pro - this did not resolve the issue.
I spoke to OWC support who said they did not know of any compatibility issues with the new MacBook Pros and suggested I request a replacement.
The firmware version of the SSD is 350a13f0

This is my exact problem. I have had 2 of these drives so far and both of them have had the same problem with installation internally. The first one I was able to get operational using the method you described, ie: put the OWC SSD in an external case (FW800 was my choice) and install it there. But I encountered the sleep issues, so I sent it back for a replacement.
The second drive I was finally able to install using the second method, but now the computer regularly locks up. So I'm going to call again and hopefully the third try will work.
Just to clarify. The first drive had sleep issues, but had the older firmware. The second drive had the newer firmware (360 I think it is) and didn't have the sleep issues, but locks up while running.
I'm so irritated on how many hours I've spent on this issue. And their support department, though very nice, wasn't helpful at all. It's as if they never heard of this problem.

2010 MID MBP 15" HD Hitachi to   OWC 960GB Mercury Electra MAX 3G SSD ?????.

Friends,
I am thinking to upgrade my 2010 MID MBP 15" HD Hitachi to
OWC 960GB Mercury Electra™ MAX 3G SSD 2.5" Serial-ATA 9.5mm Solid State Drive -
Is this SSD is competable and reliable with 2010 MBP MID model? ??
any one has any advice or past experience about this product OWC 960GB Mercury Electra™ MAX 3G SSD
I am thinking it is good to do more video and photo editing jobs!!!!!.
The product link is given below-
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDEX3G960/
My System cofiguration is
MBP 2010 MID 15" Hi-res Glossy, Intel i7,   2.66GHz, 8GB RAM, 500@rpm Hitachi HD
Thanks
JBTSA

Thanks Bimmer,
What about the -
OWC 960GB Mercury Electra™ MAX 3G SSD 2.5" Serial-ATA 9.5mm Solid State Drive
Is this suitable for MBP 2010 MID model.
MBP 2010 MID 15" Hi-res Glossy, Intel i7,   2.66GHz, 8GB RAM, 500@rpm Hitachi HD
thanks

Solid State Drive (SSD) on Recent Mac Book Pro

I bought a non-retina 15 inch MacBook Pro in late August / early September, with a 1 TB hard drive. Originally my intent was for the largest hard drive so I could keep my itunes music libarary (Approximatley 60 GB) on there. I've only used about 115 GB (xcode and a few macstore apps, and a lot of ios apps).
Recently, I've been getting paranoid about hard drive crashes due to it being a traditional drive rather than a Solid State Drive (SSD), (Thank you very much Phil Schiller), because I expect my storage level to stay at its existing level for sometime, I was considering swapping it out my existing 1 TB for a SSD. I'm assuming this can be done on a MBP, right?
Is it even worth the effort, or am I needlessly worrying?
Like I said, I bought it in late August / early September at the earliest, so the warranty is still in effect. I'm assuming swapping the drives would void the warranty. What if I took it into an apple store, and had them do the swap? Would it still void the warranty, or would it remain in effect.
Any thoughts?
Anybody from Apple or AppleCare have any thoughts or insight?
-Jeff

Apologies. I probably should have checked the link I sent you. I narrowed it down to 3 choices (Direct links below)
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT512M4SSD2
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT512M4SSD2BAA
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT512M4SSD2CCA
I didn't see anything about a transfer kit (or external drive dock) from your original post, or anything 3.5 inch adapter bracket. So your last post helps clarify things.
I'm assuming because I don't have an external drive dock, I should just go with the transfer kit, RIght?
At this point, due to the level of complexity, I'm thinking it may be easier to just take it in to the apple store and have them do it.
Do you know if they do this?
I'm sure if they do, they charge a premium, but even if its only $100 + cost of the drive, it would be worth it, not to have to deal with it myself.
Thanks,
Jeff

Solid State Drive Issue on Macbook pro mid 2012 extremely slow

I recently purchased a Corsair Force LS solid state drive and installed it on my laptop. The hard drive is extremely slow and I cant even install Yosemite on it. It's stuck at the installation screen and kept showing the remaining wait time is 12 mins. I left it over night but it's still stuck there. I thought the hard drive was defective so I returned and bought a Kingston ssd. I put it back in and have the same issue. I also bought the Hard Drive Caddy tray to replace the optical drive with the ssd. The hard drive works like charm when I swapped it with the optical drive. I was able to install Yosemite on it and works like charm. However, When I put it back to the hard drive slot. I was able to boot into Yosemite but It is extremely slow. I called apple and they said that they don't support that. It is so weird. I don't know what to do now

I recently purchased a Corsair Force LS solid state drive and installed it on my laptop. The hard drive is extremely slow and I cant even install Yosemite on it. It's stuck at the installation screen and kept showing the remaining wait time is 12 mins. I left it over night but it's still stuck there. I thought the hard drive was defective so I returned and bought a Kingston ssd. I put it back in and have the same issue. I also bought the Hard Drive Caddy tray to replace the optical drive with the ssd. The hard drive works like charm when I swapped it with the optical drive. I was able to install Yosemite on it and works like charm. However, When I put it back to the hard drive slot. I was able to boot into Yosemite but It is extremely slow. I called apple and they said that they don't support that. It is so weird. I don't know what to do now

OWC 120GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD Solid State Drive Best SSD for a Mac?

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