Problem with Samsung SSD 830 in MacBook Pro 5,3

Then perhaps I should ask the store to send me a replacement and try that out.

Otherwise, I had given up. Ok, I will ask the store for a replacement. See if they can send me one because I hear that this model is now out of production.

Thank you.

Might your issues be resolved with a firmware update? Unfortunately, you would have to connect the drive to a Windows PC in order to do it. This is why I don't recommend Samsung SSDs to Mac owners. Crucial, Intel, and OCZ are the best choices because their firmware updates are either OS agnostic or all-out Mac friendly. OCZ offers a suite of tools that you can install on a thumb drive and boot from. It allows for firmware updates, as well as the ability to secure erase the drive (not the same as Disk Utility's secure erase), which returns it to its "out of the box" state.

So do you thikn I should try OCZ drive instead?

I have heard of reliability issues...

For OCZ, I would only consider the Vertex 4 at this point. It's crazy fast (Black Magic speed test shows 450 MB/s reads and writes on my late 2011 MacBook Pro) and comes with a 5-year warranty.

If you're leery of OCZ, which I completely understand, then the Crucial M4 would be the next best alternative. It's not the fastest, but it's among the least expensive while having a proven track record.

Considering that I have Macbook Pro 15" of Late 2009 vintage - Macbook 5,3, does speed matter - because I only expect 3G speeds.

Is OCZ something to be concerned about because their warranty may not be honored? Or is it because their reliability is less than Crucial?

I would rather go with the one more reliable. Any opinions?

I replaced the Samsung (MBP Mid 2010) that didn't work for me with a Crucial V4 and It works fine!!!

V4 - hmm. Did you explicitly decide against the M4?

Probably because the V4 is cheaper on account of the fact that it's a SATA 3 Gb/s drive. That would certainly be an option for you as well since you have pre-2011 MacBook Pro. I would personally still get the M4 because if and when you do decide to upgrade your machine, you should be able to take advantage of 6 Gb/s speeds. Of course, that's assuming you buy a classic MacBook Pro whose storage is can actually be upgraded.

Yeah, I think I will also go with the M4 - the prices appear like will soon converge.

One question for you:

Is OCZ something to be concerned about because their warranty may not be honored? Or is it because their reliability is less than Crucial?

Thanks!

Personally, I have no experience with OCZ RMA/warranty support because I've not needed to utilize it (knock on wood). The company's reputation took a pretty bad hit a couple years ago when they switched to a different manufacturing process for their Vertex 2 SSDs without changing part numbers or otherwise informing the public they had done so. There was also the debacle revolving around the unreliability of the second-generation Sandforce chipset, which OCZ relied heavily upon before its acquisition of Indilinx. Of course, that was a problem with Sandforce that affected more brands than just OCZ, but it only served to compound the issues the company was having in the wake of the Vertex 2 incident referenced above.

I figured the Vertex 4 was worth a punt because OCZ offers a Mac-friendly utility suite. Plus the drive was very cheap at the time - I got the 512 GB model for well under $400 brand new.

Still, the M4 is a great choice. I think you'll be very happy with it.

I have a 512GB Crucial m4 series - I installed it the month after I bought my new machine this past March. I can attest to their reliability and just the overall 'niceness' with Mac's. Easy to upgrade the firmware on a Mac, reliable, not the absolute fastest but terrific speeds for my needs.

I would recommend the m4 series without hesitation. They just work - and you'd want to get the m4 so that when you do upgrade your MBP you can use that 6.0Gbps speed.

My 2¢...

Clinton

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

So then I will buy m4. Will be traveling for some time, but as soon as I am in station for a week, will buy M4.

I assume M4 is Mac friendly based on your inputs - and that I will be able to upgrade Firmware while M4 is in the MB Pro.

Returning the Samsung 830 for sure now.

So this might be a dumb question, but I read on Amazon that the m4 works on the latest macbook pro. If I have a 2010 will it still work?

Just to confirm, this is the m4 your talking about right? Crucial m4

Yes - the Crucial m4 series will work in your 2010 model - it just won't take advantage of SATA III (6.0 Gbps) speeds, since your 2010 model uses a SATA II (3.0 Gbps) connection. Still, I thing that it's best to go with a SATA III drive rather than a SATA II drive because they are backward compatible and should you ever decide to upgrade, you'll be able to do so at full SATA III negotiated speeds.

Good luck,

Clinton

Just be add something here;

Just got a Samsung 840 256 GB, and it's *not* working with my Mac Book Pro mid 2009.

It fail upon formatting the drive. Have tried with different drives, and the drives in external cabinets.

If I format the drive with a newer Mac and then tries to write on it with the older one, it fails with error -50.

Conclusion: For an older Mac, don't buy the newest SSD's.

/$0.02