Vertex 2 SSD Upgrade in MacBook Pro 13 - video review/test

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Vertex 2 SSD Upgrade in MacBook Pro 13 - video review/test

Hi all

I upgraded my stock HDD today to the 240GB Vertex 2 SSD, which uses the SandForce controller.
Ive yet to update the SSD to the latest firmware - as it can only be done through Windows!!

Nevertheless, pretty happy with how much quicker the applications start up.....

Speed test times (in seconds):
Boot Up - HDD - 28.5
Boot Up - SSD - 21.7
Opening PhotoShop CS4 - HDD - 11.1
Opening PhotoShop CS4 - SSD - 3.4
Opening Word 2008 - HDD - 9.1
Opening Word 2008 - SSD - 2.4

Heres a video showing the unboxing, install process, and basic testing.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPSGyDpMKpY

Not sure if updating the firmware would increase the performance much more, but Im hoping Apple bring an update along with better support for SSDs. This Vertex 2 SSD runs even faster with Windows 7 apparently!

MacBook Pro 13" 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 240GB Vertex 2 SSD -, Mac OS X (10.6.3), / Magic Mouse / 32GB iPhone 3Gs

Posted on Jun 11, 2010 4:25 PM

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Answer 1

IftiBashir Author

Level 1

83 points

Jun 12, 2010 1:57 PM in response to IftiBashir

After a couple of reboots, my SSD performance has INCREASED!!

Ive shaved another almost 5 secs off of my boot time. Im not sure how this has happened? Maybe the drive needed to settle in??

My new boot time is now 16.9 secs!!!

Ive created a new update video here.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brjqztMvde0

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Answer 2

IftiBashir Author

Level 1

83 points

Jun 14, 2010 11:12 AM in response to IftiBashir

Do you think a firmware update will improve speeds??
There is a newer firmware available, but you can only update in Windows - which I do not have. I would need to remove the drive, connect it to a PC (not via enclosure, but via an internal sata port) and then update the firmware.
As Im happy with performance I dont know if I can be bothered with the firmware!

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Answer 3

jlyall

Level 1

9 points

Jun 15, 2010 8:43 PM in response to IftiBashir

Fantastic videos sir

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Answer 4

Jul 21, 2010 3:36 AM in response to IftiBashir

Hi IftiBashir,

just the post i was looking for. i'm thinking of doing the same upgrade for my 15"MacBook Pro which is currently a 120Gb SSD, but i'm currently having to delete stuff as i'm running at 110Gb capacity all the time.

Do you know if the Vertex SSD is the same regardless of whether it's a 13" as you have, or a 15"? And could you describe the process please of doing the actual swap over from one drive to another - is it easy for an amateur to do, or something you should hand to a shop?

cheers, J.

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Answer 5

Rheptor

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2010 4:07 PM in response to jonowales

Hi all,

I'm searching for information concerning upgrading to an SSD. Maybe i can share my result to help you.

Based on the price, size (GB), r/w performance i think the best option is indeed upgrading to an OCZ Vertex 2 SSD. SeqRead: 285 MB/s, SeqWrite: 275 MB/s which is AWSOME :P. More about the specs in the 1st link below.

About the firmware there is more in the second link. Key things are indeed, only upgradable through a Windows machine. The site (and also the upgrademanual) says that it is not expected to lose data during upgrade, but a backup is strongly recommended.

The need for this upgrade is found when you compare several reviews, if you ask me it is worth the effort. For example google: "ocz vertex 2 v1.10 review"

Good luck with the upgrade, i can't wait till mine arrives!

On the OCZ site there is more info:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid-state-drives/sata-ii/2-5--sata-ii/pe rformance-enterprise-solid-state-drives/ocz-vertex-2-sata-ii-2-5--ssd.html

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssdtools/OCZ_Vertex_2,_Vertex_LE,_Agility2/

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Answer 6

Rheptor

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Jul 27, 2010 4:13 PM in response to Rheptor

And about the thing that the speed as increased over time?

Assuming that you loaded up the complete disk the first day you got it. I read something about the SSD uses idle time to restore itself.

Also the firmware upgrades include TRIM, or at least improvement for this function. This is also used to minimize degradation of the chips.

Again, upgrade is the best thing you can do, but before read some reviews and info.

Good luck!

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Answer 7

mtr0212

Level 1

0 points

Aug 9, 2010 4:02 PM in response to IftiBashir

Hello:

I did just the same, I have a dual drive macbook pro 5.5 13" (mid 2009), no optical drive (just usb), ocz vertex2 60gb + hdd 320Gb.

So far so good, really fast boot. All performs superb except the firs backup on time machine, it really *****, it´s like 1.5mb/second... hope this get better.

I´m also wondering if it´s worthy to update the firmware, although maybe my drive comes already updated. Does anybody knows if it´s possible to see the current firmware version included in my ssd through osx without using windows?

thanks.

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