Level 1

8 points

Best COMPATIBLE ssd for NVidia MCP79 chipset?

I'm having a **** of a time searching for an answer.

I recently purchased a Toshiba Q Series SATA3 SSD, only to discover my MBP will negotiate it at 1.5 Gigabits only. That's when my crusade began.

I've read that SATA3 is backwards compatible with SATA2. I've proven that false, at least with mine.

I've read that some SATA3 SSDs will indeed work with MCP79, but I've only found hearsay, not real people who have done it and guarantee it.

I've been looking at SATA2 SSDs, but the ones I've seen benchmark well below 3 Gigabits... so what's the point?

Posted on Feb 23, 2014 8:44 PM

Top-ranking reply

Dureaux32

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Sep 18, 2017 7:33 PM

Hi Guys! for those attempting to also answer this question like myself in 2017- I can confirm other users success with Samsung Evo 850. Since swapping drives (was using a Sandisk plus and was only pulling 1.5 Gigabit), my Mini has consistently negotiated 3 Gigabit on AHCI version 1.2. speeds and read and writes are somewhere around 225-260mbps.

Currently running on a Mac Mini 3,1 A1283 early '09.

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117 replies

Oct 27, 2016 10:00 PM in response to Rodmanjonez

Same problem here.

Crucial MX300 installed in optical bay on a 10.1 late 2009 Imac with the MCP79 Chipset.

Link Speed: 3 Gigabit

Negotiated Link Speed: 1.5 Gigabit

I was just comparing the different SSD controllers on this site http://www.johnnylucky.org/data-storage/ssd-database.html

If one of the earlier posts is correct and the following drives work at full SATA2, it was interesting to note that the

1 Crucial --> M500 uses the Marvell 88SS9187

2 OCW --> Mercury Electra 3G uses the JMicron 562

3 Crucial --> BX200 uses the Silicon Motion SM2256

Even though the root cause of these issues is with the MCP79 chipset, maybe using a drive that has a controller that plays nice with the chipset is the key?

The MX300 I have only achieves SATA1 and it uses the Marvell 88SS1074-BSW2

Might see if I can return the MX and swap to a BX series....

Invisible E Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 24, 2014 8:32 AM in response to BobRz

Switch900

Level 2

238 points

Nov 16, 2015 10:37 AM in response to JDW1

this is my speed disk from my Evo Samsung 850

Switch900

Level 2

238 points

Nov 16, 2015 10:42 AM in response to JDW1

TP33

Level 1

0 points

Nov 20, 2015 2:11 PM in response to Switch900

Thanks. Is TRIM required? Can I disable it later if I don't want to use it anymore.

Screenshots attached. I see some "x" marks in the Blackmagic test. What does it mean?

Switch900

Level 2

238 points

Nov 23, 2015 10:41 PM in response to JDW1

jbchem

Level 1

20 points

Dec 5, 2015 2:10 PM in response to Invisible E

These are the results for OCZ ARC100 240gb on a MBP5,5 mid 2009 with Nvidia mcp79 sata controller running Snow Leopard 10.6.8

Switch900

Level 2

238 points

Nov 23, 2015 10:49 PM in response to JDW1

Drivers upgrade for Nvidia MCP79 (Intel SSD 330 working on 1,5gb/s)

check that link

Invisible E Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 1, 2014 1:22 PM in response to Invisible E

The Crucial M500 works great. Thanks!

keg55

Level 6

11,755 points

Mar 1, 2014 3:43 PM in response to Invisible E

Fantastic! My pleasure.

Invisible E Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 16, 2014 9:58 AM in response to jan259

My M500 continues to work great after 6 weeks. I purchased it from Newegg. If it hadn't worked, I would have given up.

jan259

Level 1

0 points

Apr 16, 2014 10:11 AM in response to Invisible E

Thanks, I suppose I just had a dud.

Pi11ip

Level 1

0 points

Oct 8, 2014 1:13 PM in response to Invisible E

Just thought I would report that I have been using the Crucial M500 for nearly three months without any issue. Thanks everyone for your input!

Nov 9, 2015 4:01 AM in response to SeaPapp

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.

TP33

Level 1

0 points

Nov 16, 2015 10:50 AM in response to Switch900

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?

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Best COMPATIBLE ssd for NVidia MCP79 chipset?