I picked up a 15" base model MBP yesterday...

and i've already had it apart :D

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/428943_10151006898497135_1305397245_n.jpg

5400 spinner replaced with a 7200 seagate momentus hybrid (that was in my 2007), and next up is a 16gb ram update (waiting on OWC delivery) - and after that...

replacing DVD with one of the SSD options.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a 240-256 or 500ish size SSD?

I've read that OCZ is a brand to avoid, but I'll admit i know very little about SSD's in general.

On a side note, this is my first experience w/ the multi-touch pad and now that i'm used to many of the gestures, my god, i could not possibly go back.

The OCZ Vertex 4 256 GB Is one of the fastest SSD's on the market today, at around ~$200.00. Some people have said their customer service for warranty claims is a bit shoddy and rather slow, but the drives themselves have been generally well received.

OWC SSDs (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/) are among the best especially for Macs. I run one in my Mac Pro as my boot drive, great fast drive. Not sure if your model of MBP will support the 6G versions or not but they if it will then that is the way to go.

http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/owc_ssd/6g_landing/mercury_electra.jpg

Good to know that these machines will take 16GB of RAM - I was fairly sure they would, but ordered soon after they were released and had forgotten to look into it until now. 8GB seems quite adequate at the moment though! I went with the 7200RPM 750GB drive - I need the space more than the speed of the SSD at the moment. Although I may consider trying one in my Mac Pro, like you have Screature.

16gb will allow me to use this as an "away from home" mini-studio using a good representative section of my sound libraries - heck, maybe all of the good ones once SSD prices come down.

the i7 has a LOT of jam.

Ok, 16gb installed - geekbenches at almost 11,000. I'm simply blown away at how capable this little slab of aluminum is. I haven't run a couple of my torture test logic sessions yet but i'm almost there.

A question about the spacer that the SSD goes in to - are these things all the same, with simply pass-through cabling, or do some of them have electronics in them possibly slowing it down from sata3 capability? (i was looking at units on Amazon from $19 and up).

I'm not against getting it all from OWC, just asking.

They're all more or less the same thing...just make sure you get one that fits your machine and is SATA not the older PATA models. I got mine off eBay cheap.

I've been using the OCZ Agility 3 drives, and they're quite fast. Not as much as the Vertex, but pretty darned close in real-life usage, and MUCH less expensive. If you want great speed, reliability and backing, the Intel 520 series is worth considering.

OWC SSDs are mediocre, as are the Agility 3's. Vertex is better, but the best value to performance I've seen (and I'd guess I've done 100+ SSD installs now) is Crucial m4. I regret not putting a Crucial in my iMac, and may remedy that shortly.

Be aware that doing the optical drive SSD bay will void your warranty.

thus far i'm leaning towards the samsung 830 drive, i've been reading many good things.

the crucial m4, in its' advantage.. is going for $400 on amazon for a 512gb version right now.

Price war!

FWIW, I've got a Crucial m4 250GB in my old unibody and am very happy with it.

FWIW, I've got a Crucial m4 250GB in my old unibody and am very happy with it.

i grabbed canada computers' last 512gb m4 from the kennedy location - CCC'ing it now - cant wait to put it in!

hard to beat $400 - and like the sucker i am, i bought their replacement warrantee (2 years no questions asked). it was still leagues cheaper than the samsung drive.

earlier someone mentioned warrantee voiding with replacement of the super drive - does that include just swapping the HD out for this? i'm going to wait on the dvd replacement.

Hard drive is user replaceable, so you won't void the warranty doing a direct swap... Obviously, Apple won't provide any warranty coverage on the SSD, but the remainder of the hardware is covered.

The Crucial m4s have a 3 year manufacturers warranty, and Crucial will do an advanced replacement for about $10, it usually takes about 3 days... If you can refund that Canada Computers warrantee I would!

I have the 180 GB OCZ-AGILITY3 after recommendations here and I am more than happy with everything about it.

Could you elaborate on how the Agility 3 drives are mediocre? I agree that performance isn't as good as a Vertex or an Intel SSD, but the difference between the two is not very perceptible in typical use (I have used all three, as well as built-in SSDs in MBAs and rMBPs).

Seems to me like saying that the 2.3 GHz rMBP is mediocre just because the 2.7 GHz is slightly faster in benchmarks.



OWC SSDs are mediocre, as are the Agility 3's. Vertex is better, but the best value to performance I've seen (and I'd guess I've done 100+ SSD installs now) is Crucial m4. I regret not putting a Crucial in my iMac, and may remedy that shortly.

Be aware that doing the optical drive SSD bay will void your warranty.

They are mediocre because the performance to price just isn't there... They produce middle of the road R/W results (199/167) for a 6Gbps drive. You can get (marginally) better results from a cheaper Kingston SSD and even some high end 3Gbps SSDs. With the Crucial (or other higher end SSDs) I see zero bounce application launches, instant shutdown and 15s (or less) boot times. Given the day, week and supplier (NewEgg, Amazon, Tiger Direct, Canada Computers) you've recently been able to get an m4 for only $10-15 more than the "equal" storage Agility 3. For that difference, you get a drive that R/W at 515/235 and day-to-day noticeably different performance. That makes the Agility 3 mediocre... IMHO.

fwiw, now that i have (most of) komplete8ultimate installed (ugh, again - takes forever) - my god, *what* load times? jeeebus, it's awesome.

i dont know what i'll do if i have to go back to spinners.

I went with Agility 3 for the power consumption. Sure the performance leaves a lot to be desired but I can still boot my system in 28 seconds and apps open instantly.

I have a Crucial M4 512 G SSD in my MBP and I've been extremely happy with the performance.

the write speeds aren't as fast as other options out there, but i'd be lying if i said i could tell. this thing is a rocketship now.

I have a Crucial M4 512 G SSD in my MBP and I've been extremely happy with the performance.

same here. just installed the same SSD in a 2012 13" MBP base model and added 16GB ram. total cost for the upgrades was $500.00.

Prior to the Crucial M4, I had purchased a 500GB OCZ Octane and had to return it, it would not boot. after spending some time on the OCZ forums, it turns out that there is a firmware issue with the OCZ Octane, Petrol, and Octane S2 SSDs and ML.