OCZ Vertex 250GB for my MBP?

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OCZ Vertex 250GB for my MBP?

Im about to purchase a OCZ Vertex 250GB SSD for my 2010 MBP 13".
I hope to increase speed and battery life while reduce temperature.

I chose this over the Intel drives as i wanted the extra space - especially since its the only drive in my system - and it seems better value for money.

Before I purchase, should this drive work OK with my MBP?
Any special things to note? I'll be creating a SuperDuper image of my current drive, then restore the image once the new SSD is installed, since I only re-installed my system about a month ago, so its still pretty 'clean'.

Any other recommended software/procedures to keep my SSD in good form?

MacBook Pro 13" 2.66GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.3), / Magic Mouse / 32GB iPhone 3Gs

Posted on Jun 7, 2010 8:27 AM

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Answer 1

a brody

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Jun 7, 2010 9:16 AM in response to IftiBashir

Since you are under AppleCare for the first year, best to let an authorized service technician do the install and document they did it. There is less risk of damage that might be consider warranty voiding. Keep your old hard drive in case you start seeing issues that may be related to the drive so you can put back in the original drive and ensure the problem isn't the SSD. Keep the original drive in an antistatic bag like the one the SSD comes in for safe storage in a closet that doesn't get too warm or too humid.

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Answer 2

IftiBashir Author

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Jun 7, 2010 9:45 AM in response to a brody

Thanks. Yes I will be keeping the old drive safely just in case.
I'm pretty confident with IT (I work in the IT industry) and can upgrade the drive myself. I have the proper precision tools etc also, and rest assured I'm very careful when opening my MBP!
If I did ever require any warranty work I would just replace the drive with my old one beforehand anyways.

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Answer 3

IftiBashir Author

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Jun 7, 2010 10:03 AM in response to a brody

Also, which is better - SLC or MLC??

I hear SLC does not suffer from slowing down after some use?

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Answer 4

IftiBashir Author

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Jun 7, 2010 10:30 AM in response to IftiBashir

Just been checking the OCZ site - I may go for the Vertex 2, since the drive is faster and cost is not too much more.....

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Answer 5

IftiBashir Author

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83 points

Jun 7, 2010 3:13 PM in response to IftiBashir

Another question!

As the Vertex 2 supports TRIM and Snow Leopard does not support trim, would I be able to install Windows 7 in a BootCamp partition just to use for TRIM?
So I could, for example, boot into Win7 once a month and let the trim process do it's thing on the SSD?

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Answer 6

Jun 7, 2010 5:42 PM in response to IftiBashir

SLC has faster read/write speeds and a greater durability but less storage density and higher cost.

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Answer 7

a brody

Level 10

85,356 points

Jun 8, 2010 4:57 AM in response to IftiBashir

Interesting question. Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM

It appears FreeBSD supports it, where Mac OS X does not. Since Mac OS X uses FreeBSD at its core, I wonder if anyone has integrated FreeBSD's commands to make it useful in Mac OS X. That might be a question for people at http://www.sourceforge.net , or the Unix board:

http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=735

As for Boot Camp compatibility, you may find people in

http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1244

Might know better.

Message was edited by: a brody

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Answer 8

IftiBashir Author

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83 points

Jun 8, 2010 5:11 AM in response to a brody

Not going to bother with BootCamp now.
Ive been in contact with OCZ, who state that the drive does not suffer as much from slowdown issues, and since it uses the SandForce controller, it doesnt need the 'Garbage Collector' utility/firmware that the standard Vertex drives use. the SandForce controller does it on-the-fly.

Ive ordered the drive, should receive it in the next day or two!

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