iMac Mid 2011 BTO SSD speed disappointingly slow

Question

Hi there,I have an iMac12,2 with an i7 at 3,4 GHz, 16 GB of RAM and a BTO Apple SSD TS256C running OS 10.8.5.Now Blackmagic Disk Speed Tests results are disappointing: Write about 170 MB/s, read about 210 MB/s. For example an external Lacie Thunderbold RAID gets me 350 MB/s write/read performance.In the Web I am finding iMac 2011 SSD result at about 250 MB/s write and 480 GB/s read! So I am getting half the performance by using Apple&#x27;s own SSD?? or might there be some other issue with the drive? I am using no encryption and tried using different locations on the drive for the test.Any suggestions?Thanks!

nbar · Answer

1) Attempt a disk repair via disk utility. Note you will have to do this in recovery mode to repair your boot volume-you can still verify without doing so* ..Never hurts. 2) Please run this program and post the output in your reply:http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Gerd Majora · Answer

Thanks for the quick reply!Disk Utility checks didn&#x27;t change performance.Here is EtreCheck Log:Hardware Information:          iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)          iMac - model: iMac12,2          1 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores          16 GB RAMVideo Information:          AMD Radeon HD 6970M - VRAM: 2048 MBSystem Software:          OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) - Uptime: 0 days 0:4:57Disk Information:          Hitachi HDS723020BLA642 disk0 : (2 TB)                    disk0s1 (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209,7 MB                     VideoDisk (disk0s2) /Volumes/VideoDisk: 1,85 TB (217,13 GB free)                    BOOTCAMP (disk0s3) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP: 151,05 GB (61,7 GB free)          APPLE SSD TS256C disk1 : (251 GB)                    disk1s1 (disk1s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209,7 MB                     SystemSSD (disk1s2) /: 250,14 GB (48,98 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk1s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MB           OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H            ST4000DX000-1CL160 disk2 : (4 TB)                    disk2s1 (disk2s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209,7 MB                     ThunderDisk (disk2s2) /Volumes/ThunderDisk: 4 TB (481,25 GB free)USB Information:          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)           Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub                     Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller           SanDisk Cruzer Facet 16,01 GB                    disk4s1 (disk4s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209,7 MB                     Kundschaft USB (disk4s2) /Volumes/Kundschaft USB: 15,66 GB (3,17 GB free)          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub                     Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard           Apple Internal Memory Card Reader           Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver FireWire Information:          FREECOM Hard Drive Quattro 3 800mbit - 800mbit max                     disk3s1 (disk3s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209,7 MB                     ArchivDisk (disk3s2) /Volumes/ArchivDisk: 3 TB (110,63 GB free)Thunderbolt Information:          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus                    LaCie d2Kernel Extensions:Startup Items:          Jaksta: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Jaksta          Jaksta Music Miner: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Jaksta Music MinerProblem System Launch Daemons:Problem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS3.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.daz3d.content_management_service.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.intego.BackupManagerPro.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.wdc.drivemanagerservice.plist 3rd-Party support linkLaunch Agents:          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.intego.backupmanagerpro.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist 3rd-Party support linkUser Launch Agents:          [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link          [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link          [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist 3rd-Party support linkUser Login Items:          iTunesHelper          EyeTV Helper          Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2          Dropbox          handyPrintDaemon          WDDriveManagerStatusMenuInternet Plug-ins:          OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 3rd-Party support link          AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 3rd-Party support link          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16   - SDK 10.8 3rd-Party support link          AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 3rd-Party support link          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.04 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link          AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin101749: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20125.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.04 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 45 3rd-Party support linkAudio Plug-ins:          AirPlay: Version: 1.7 - SDK 10.8          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.83rd Party Preference Panes:          Adobe Version Cue CS3  3rd-Party support link          Flash Player  3rd-Party support link          Flip4Mac WMV  3rd-Party support link          handyPrint  3rd-Party support link          Java  3rd-Party support link          Perian  3rd-Party support linkBad Fonts:          NoneOld Applications:          Audacity:          Version: 2.0.3.0 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link                    /Applications/Audacity/Audacity.app          Microsoft AutoUpdate:          Version: 2.3.6 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app          /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MERP2.0                    Microsoft-Fehlerberichterstattung:          Version: 2.2.9 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link                    Microsoft Ship Asserts:          Version: 1.1.4 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link          Amazon MP3 Downloader:          Version: INFO_PLIST_VERSION - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link          Angry Birds Rio Bonus Version:          Version: 1.0.0 - SDK 10.0 3rd-Party support link          Icons Express:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.0 3rd-Party support link          DVD2oneX2:          Version: 2.4.2 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link          World of Goo:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.0 3rd-Party support linkTime Machine:          Skip System Files: NO          Mobile backups: OFF          Auto backup: YES          Volumes being backed up:                    VideoDisk: Disk size: 2  Disk used: 1                     SystemSSD: Disk size: 232.96 GB Disk used: 187.34 GB          Destinations:                    Airport Time Capsule [Network] (Last used)                    Total size: 2                      Total number of backups: 50                     Oldest backup: 2013-10-01 05:41:36 +0000                     Last backup: 2014-01-03 10:03:50 +0000                     Size of backup disk: Too small                              Backup size 2  &lt; (Disk used 2  X 3)          Time Machine details may not be accurate.          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.Top Processes by CPU:              14%          mds               2%          EtreCheck               1%          WindowServer               0%          Creative Cloud               0%          WebProcessTop Processes by Memory:          147 MB          mds          115 MB          Dock          98 MB          WebProcess          82 MB          Mail          82 MB          SafariVirtual Memory Information:          13.03 GB          Free RAM          1.34 GB          Active RAM          172 MB          Inactive RAM          1.46 GB          Wired RAM          398 MB          Page-ins          0 B          Page-outs

nbar · Answer

SystemSSD (disk1s2) /: 250,14 GB (48,98 GB free)Free up some of that disk space and you will see R/W speeds go up. 75% isn&#x27;t too full, but reduce it to 50%, as a test, and I guarantee you will see a performance boost on those R/W tests. The smaller the SSD, the more impact filling it up will have on its&#x27; speed. Additionally, any background processes running on your internal SSD during the BlackMagic Test will skew its results.

Gerd Majora · Answer

I guess thats most of it. Freed up some space and transfer rate went up by 30-50 MB/s! I thought this only applied to hard disk drives. Thanks nbar!

Joni-Pekka · Answer

I have a similar problem. Same specs as original, but with SSD+HDD and now running Yosemite 10.10.2. My 256 GB SSD has 200 GB of free space, so that should not be an issue. I&#x27;ve done a fresh install of Yosemite less than a week ago. BM Disk Speed Test is only showing 150-180 MB/s write and 200 MB/s read, which is slower than my HDD on 2009 iMac (200M/200M screenshot) that I just sold before I bought this 2011 iMac. Xbench is showing even slower speeds than the BM Disk Speed Test.