Best COMPATIBLE ssd for NVidia MCP79 chipset?

The conflict between the Nvidia MCP79 SATA controller and Sandforce is well documented and articles are out there. Google is your friend.

I have an early 2009 Macbook using the MCP79 controller in which I have installed a Samsung (non sandforce) 840 (pre evo) SSD and the negotiated link speed is indeed 3Gb/s. It,s simple, don't use sandforce drives with an Nvidia controller.

You don't need to compare the speed. All 6gb/s SSDs will be limited to 3gb/s due to the Nvidia chipset.

I purchased a Samsung 850 EVO 1tb, and I'm very happy with it.

JDW1 asked me to chime in on this thread, I didn't mean to imply any comparison. As noted above if you attempt to use a 6Gb SSD that uses Sandforce with the Nvidia MCP79 it will only operate at 1.5Gb/s. Samsung SSD's don't use Sandforce, that's why they work well. I like my Samsung 840 as well as the Mercury 3G in my late 2009 iMac.

Thank you again for your helpful replies, Mike!

pgleesonuk wrote:

You don't need to compare the speed. All 6gb/s SSDs will be limited to 3gb/s due to the Nvidia chipset.

I purchased a Samsung 850 EVO 1tb, and I'm very happy with it.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Samsung EVO 1TB, but I disagree about performance comparisons. We do need to compare speed of SSDs even when we intend to install them in an older SATA II 3Gb/s Mac. The reason is because the theoretical speed of SATA II is 375MB/s. Overhead drops that to 300MB/s, and latency drops that further to about 275MB/s. Therefore, to get the most from your SSD and your older Macs 3G interface, it is only common sense to select an SSD that gets offers sustained READ and WRITE speeds of 275MB/s. Of course, that is not the only speed criterion to compare (iOPs are important too), but it is an important point of comparison nevertheless. And that is why I posted the performance comparison link in my previous post. Here it is once again.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD/260

As of right now though, you're right. The Samsung EVO 850 1TB offers the best performance and capacity for your money, and as Mike said, it is compatible at 3Gb/s speeds on older 3G Macs with the Nvidia disk controller chipset. (There is even a 2TB edition selling on Amazon now.) It may be different a year from now, so those coming late to this thread should stay up to date with the latest performance comparison data.

I also want to install a new SSD into my Macbook Pro mid 2009 (MacBookPro5,5) with the NVidia MCP79 controller.

After reading many discussions including this one, I have narrowed my choices to the following SSD brands which are said to be compatible with the NVidia MCP79 controller and will perform at a "negotiated link speed" of 3 Gigabit (not 1.5 Gigabit):

1. Crucial MX200 or BX100

2. Samsung 850 EVO

3. OWC Mercury Electra 3G (SATA 2 only)

Has anyone successfully used any of these SSD models in a MacBook Pro with NVidia MCP79 and can confirm you received a "negotiated link speed" of 3 Gigabit? I have read people having success with the older Crucial M500 and Samsung 840 EVO so I am hoping these latest models will work too. Can anyone confirm?

Many thanks.

TP

Yes, TP33, the OWC 3G will give you true 3G speeds in a MacBook Pro 5,5 (we have one at the office with an OWC installed). But be sure to get the 3G, NOT the 6G. The 6G will drop down to 1.5Gb/s because of its SandForce controller. Basically, if you choose an SSD WITHOUT the SandForce controller, I have been told that pretty much any 6G SSD will give you true 3G speeds on your MacBook Pro 5,5 (or any Mac with the Nvidia chipset). But since OWC uses SandForce, you have to be careful.

You also need to be aware that OWC's 3G 1TB drive is twice the price of the 6G 1TB because the 3G edition is designed differently. Even so, their 3G 1TB has been benchmarked to be slower than most other SSDs on some tests, so you may wish to avoid that one.

Thank you JDW1 for confirming the compatibility of the OWC model. I am looking for a 500GB SSD so no worries on the price.

The OWC 3G is my 3rd choice in the list because it is SATA 2 only and I would prefer a SATA 3 SSD which I can re-use after I replace my MacBook Pro 5,5 with a newer laptop in a few years.

What about the Crucial MX200/BX100 or Samsung 850 EVO? Can anyone confirm they do work at 3G "negotiated link speed" without any issues with the NVidia MCP79 controller? If not, then I will get the OWC model to be safe.

Thanks.

TP

TP33, the OWC SSD we are using at the office right now in a MacBook Pro 5,5 is only 240GB in size, so we are now contemplating either a 500GB or 1TB SSD replacement. I asked various people online (here and on Amazon) asking about the Samsung EVO 850, mainly because it has the best performance in its class. Because it does NOT use a SandForce Controller, it is apparently compatible with the MacBook Pro 5,5 at full 3Gb/s speeds, despite the EVO being a 6G SSD.

I am planning to put either a 500GB or 1TB EVO in an early iMac 9,1 and in my own home iMac, an 11,1 (from 2009). Once done, I will of course post a Black Magic Disk Speed Test result screenshot to show you the throughput. All said, if the test shows around 275MB/s, then it is getting 3G speeds. The only thing I am NOT sure of at this point is if my home iMac 11,1 has a dual channel SATA II connection (one 3G channel for the internal HDD and another separate 3G channel for the optical drive). If it is dual channel, then theoretically, I should be able to get 6G speeds by installing two 500GB EVO 850's in my iMac 11,1 and then using something like SoftRAID to raid them together. But if it is only a single channel SATA II connection, then an internal RAID would have no meaning.

OWC sells optical drive bay kits for MacBooks and iMacs, so you could consider the same. But I am not sure if the MacBook 5,5 is single or dual channel SATA II.

Anyway, here are some SSD benchmarks (use the popup menu in the upper left to choose different tests):

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD15/1195

TP33, another consideration is TRIM. If you install an OWC SSD with a SandForce controller, you don't need to worry about TRIM. But if you install the Samsung EVO 850, you will need to activate TRIM to prevent the SSD from slowing down over time. Here is how to accomplish that in El Capitan:

http://www.howtogeek.com/222077/how-to-enable-trim-for-third-party-ssds-on-mac-o s-x/

Thanks JDW1.

I am currently leaning towards the Crucial BX100/MX200 models.

Because the OWC 3G is more expensive, slower and uses a SandForce controller as you mentioned.

As for the Samsung EVO, I have read a few reported issues with regards to the MCP79 controller and TRIM support. But if it works for you, please update.

this is my speed disk from my Evo Samsung 850

Hi Switch900,

Is your SATA controller an NVidia MCP79? That's the controller we are having issues with. Yours says "Intel 5 Chipset" I believe?

if you go to where system settings in the apple logo upper left right and click Sata and Sata express tab it should tell you what controller you have I do have a intel 5 chipset so yeah I don't have a problem with adding two SSD and doing a raid array.........

TP33 wrote:

Thanks JDW1.

...I have read a few reported issues with regards to the MCP79 controller and TRIM support. But if it works for you, please update.

TP33, if you have time, would you mind posting a link to the Samsung EVO TRIM "issues" you cited?

I've not yet made my SSD purchase yet. I am still mulling my research over one last time. But I must admit that TRIM support is an important issue. I wouldn't want my TRIM implementation to be incompatible with future OS X updates. That is a concern for most SSDs, but of course not for OWC drives because they take care of TRIM without any required work on our part.