Q: Best COMPATIBLE ssd for NVidia MCP79 chipset?

Jan529-

I am not telling you what to do, what to say, or what to think.

What these forums are best at is group brainstorming. Brainstorming, by definition, produces some divergent ideas that are not exactly what the User intended, and may not be useful. Ultimately, YOU will be doing the decision-making based on what you know and possibly SOME of what others have to add.

I shared some of my experiences and observations. If those do not fit with your views, feel free to ignore them!

The original APPLE SSD that is in the MBP now does not use TRIM

TRIM is supported directly in Mac OS X for all Apple-branded devices. No configuration is available. That is why there is TRIM support sitting there to be patched. The patch removes the check for Apple firmware, and allows Apple TRIM to apply to all your SSD devices.

It doesn't help when you diverge from listening to what other people have already said.  Your sanctimony is not adding anything to the thread.  Nor, are your comments about TRIM relevant considering the sypmtoms and system settings as reported.  How many times do I have to tell you I had TRIM enabled before you stop trying to convince me that it may have been a TRIM issue. 

Furthermore, you are completely wrong about TRIM support with my system.  I have a mid 2009 Macbook Pro 5,3.  It came with OS X 10.5 and the apple TS128A SSD.  It predates TRIM support in OS X.  I have never enabled TRIM with that drive.  In my sytem profiler it still says TRIM = NO and that is with a fresh rebuild using OS X 10.9 and all current firmware.  Both the drive and the OS that came with my MacBook predate TRIM.  I have never had an issue with the fact TRIM is not now nor has ever been enabled on my system with the TS128A installed.  With the new M500 drive I immediately enabled TRIM as soon as it was installed.  So, without TRIM I had no problems, with TRIM I had lots of problems.  If I were to start looking at TRIM as the source of the drive failure I would conclude that TRIM is bad.  However, I know TRIM is not the problem. 

The real issue and the one that I was providing RELEVANT information about is this:

The problem associated with upgrading mid 2009 MacBook Pro's with the NVIDIA MCP79 chipset is very specific and you should only post here if you can give real first hand accounts of something working or not.  What this thread is about is whether or not specific drives will work.  As other people have noted upgrading the SSD in these particular systems is very iffy.  We know sandforce SSDs and most SATA III will not work well with the NVIDIA MCP79.  Beyond that it is just try-and-see. 

What anyone who has one of these systems needs is first hand information about what drives do and do not work.  What I and others need is real reports from people that have had success or faliure with specific model drives in their Apple systems built with the MCP79 chipset.  If you don't have anything to add within this context you are off topic.  Basically, TRIM is not the issue, it is not the topic, stop talking about TRIM in a general sense.  Unless you have some very specific TRIM related issue involving a real build including an SSD and the NVIDIA MCP79 SATA bridge you have nothing to add to this discussion. 

You are just one of those people at the "brainstorming" session who likes to talk about unrelated issues and more often than not derails the entire meeting; there's always one.  I am done wasting my time with you.

Now guys, put your differences aside, let's focus on the most important thing: finding a solution for affected MacBooks.

I ran into the exact same problem a few days ago when I wanted to upgrade my Early 2009 17" MacBookPro (MCP79 chipset) with an SSD.

I chose the Transcend TS512GSSD320 as it was listed being compatible with that specific MacBook. Unfortunately it is NOT. Negotiated Link Speed 1.5 Gbps instead of 3 Gbps.

I tried all the proclaimed solutions out there: Resetting the SMC, shutting down and booting up instead of restarting the system, disconnecting the optical drive, spilling 23 drops of a purple lizard's blood on the Apple logo while singing "Yellow Submarine" backwards... you name it. :-D

OK, serious business... at the moment I don't have a satisfying answer for all you guys out there, but I can rule out one more SSD for sure and that hopefully brings us closer to a final answer. I just orderd a Samsung MZ-7TE500BW which IS SAID to be working. But I want proof. As soon as I have got results I will post them here.

Cheers

Doc M.

Hi Doc,

The replacement Crucial M500 I ordered to replace the one I returned is working great after 5 days of use.   It linked at 3Gbps and hasn't had any stability issues.  I was able to clone my TS128A and be up and running in less than 2 hours after I unboxed the new drive, including the firmware update to MU5.  The first M500 I installed had immediate problems during cloning and couldn't last more than 3 days after a fresh install.  My experience tells me that if you have a drive that is compatible it will go as smooth as you would expect for a simple HDD/SSD install.

As you've learned none of the fixes out there will get an incompatible drive working and the only way to discover if it will work or not is just try it and see.  If I were doing this all over again I wouldn't waste an hour on a drive that started giving me problems right from the beginning, like the Sandisk Extreme II and the first Crucial M500 I tried.

I've seen reports of the Samsung 840 and 840 Evo both working and not working.  If you run into problems try an M500.  As long as you don't get a faulty drive it should work out for you.  Sandisk also released a firmware update specific to the problems associated with the MCP79 for the Sandisk Extreme (not Extreme II).  I don't know for sure that the Extreme will work, but if you don't want to mess with a manufacturer with known quality issues it may be worth a shot. 

Best of luck with the Samsung.  If it works for you I'm sure future MCP79 owners will want to know.  Thanks for sharing.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaa!!! :-D

Ladies and Gents,

I am here today to tell you that your suffering has come to an end:

The Samsung MZ-7TE500BW works like a charm in my Early 2009 MacbookPro! Negotiated Link Speed 3Gbps, 2-2-5x the throughput of the Transcend 320 SSD. I like!

I hope this is an experience that lasts, I will keep you posted.

Cheers

Doc M.

A little more experience to add to this discussion for anyone else having Nvidia MCP79 SATA issues.

I've got an early 2009 Mac Mini (MacMini3,1) as well as a Zotac Zbox ND22 (PC running Linux) that both use MCP79.  I've tried 3 SandForce SF22xx-based SSDs with mixed results.

The BAD:

OCZ Agility 3, 60GB, F/W 2.25 => Only SATA-I speed.

Corsair Force GT, 480GB, F/W 5.07 => Only SATA-I speed.

The GOOD:

MicroCenter SATA-III, 120GB (re-branded Adata S510), using Adata F/W 5.0.7a => Works perfectly.

OCZ Vertex Plus, 60GB, F/W 3.55 => Works perfectly; has Indilinx controller (Barefoot2 generation?).

What I'd like to try is the newer 5.2.x SandForce firmware to see if that makes a difference, because Adata's firmware history says version 5.2.5 has "SATA stability" fixes.  Does anyone have a SandForce SSD with 5.2x firmware to test?

Hi Everybody !!

I just received my Vertex4 256G yesterday and installed it into the main HD bay in iMac 10.1 core 2 duo 27 inch mac. I thought it was as simple as

1- Install in iMac

2- Boot from USB

It appears that's its not as easy as i could not pass the white screen to booting option after the chime.

Tried everything from resetting NVRAM and PRAM, SMC reset even Verbose and single user modes wont work.

So after i got sick of it i installed it in a MacBook Pro 8.1 and it worked like a charm, first thing i ran the mac tool box and did

1- Firmware update. The SSD was shipped with 1.5 but i re-updated it anyways.

2- Secure erase.

The problem was not solved by Apple Support Communities or by OCZ support.

I replaced the DVD drive for the SSD, SATA II or SATA III is the same for me, just want to do a clean install of Mavericks in the SSD  and use the Hitachi HD (1TB) only for storing data.

My Imac 27" is 10.1 Late 2009 and EFI version is IM101.00CC.B00. Not update available

Nvidia Chipset 79 !!!

OCZ  manager says:

RyderOCZ KalamazooSupport Manager

12:36AM

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!

Hi all!

I have an early 2009 MBP 17" with the Nvidia MCP79 chip set, and am considering an SSD upgrade (along w\ RAM) vs. replacing.  I am need 1TB and am looking at the OWC 3G or Crucial (BX100 and MX200 show as compatible on Crucial's site).  Does anyone have experience with these or any other 1TB SSDs and the MCP79 chip set (esp. 2009 models)?

The OWC is significantly more expensive, but given it is 3G my thought is likelihood issues negotiating to 1.5G should be less; downside is being stuck with 3G if I later want to use elsewhere with SATA III.  Also OWC's free storage management is supposedly better than others in the absence of TRIM (based on their description); I want to avoid having to disable kernel driver security checking with current OSX versions to enable TRIM.

Thanks in advance!

Since no one in this thread gave the courtesy of a reply to nullterminator, I post my own query with skepticism that I will fair any better.  But I won't know if I don't try, so here it goes...

It's now November 2015.  I have the following 3 Macs in need of 1TB SSDs:

• MacBook Pro 5,5 (June 2009)
• iMac 9,1 (March 2009)
• iMac 11,1 (October 2009, QuadCore 2.8GHz)

NOTE: Both iMacs above will need the NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket.  And the Late 2009 iMac will also need an Inline Thermal Sensor Kit (when mounting an SSD in the hard drive slot.

All 3 Macs listed above are SATA II (3Gb/s).  The 5,5 and 9,1 use the buggy Nvidia MCP79 controller that does not play well with most 6G (SATA III) SSDs, insofar as it will stupidly drop speeds down to SATA I (1.5Gb/s).  (I don't know the late 2009 i7's SATA controller because I don't have the machine in front of me now, but supposedly it is NOT the MCP79 controller.  Even so, I don't know about compatibility with SATA III 6G SSDs.)

I read every post in this thread.  People are saying the Crucial M500 should work at 3Gb/s speeds.  But does that apply to ALL in the M500 series?  Are some capacities of the M500 incompatible (i.e., will they drop down the 1.5Gb/s speeds)?

So why this question?  Because prices have come down.  Let's face it.  If you can get 1TB of storage for a reasonable price, you're going to do it.  So I specifically want to know about 1TB Crucial M500 drives such as this:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455734,00.asp

Currently, you get 1TB for $345.  A pretty amazing price.  But is it 3Gb/s-compatible with the 2009 Macs I listed above?

Lastly...      Yes, I am aware of the OWC Mercury Electra 3G 960GB.  But there are 2 problems with it right now: (1) The 3G 960GB about twice the price of the 6G 960GB SSD sold by OWC, and (2) the 3GB 960GB is reported to be much, much slower than most other SSDs of the same category.  That's really the only reason I am investigating SSDs that are not from OWC.

The incompatibility problem when you use the Nvidia chip with a sandforce SSD controller capable of 6gb/s

In this case the controller defaults to 1.5gb/s. This is why OWC try to sell you overpriced 3gb/s SSD's with sandforce controllers.

If you put a 6gb/s SDD (without a sandforce controller) you will get the maximum 3gb/s that the Nvidia chipset supports

pgleesonuk wrote:

 

If you put a 6gb/s SDD (without a Sandforce controller) you will get the maximum 3gb/s that the Nvidia chipset supports

Is there proof?

Please read through the previous posts in this thread.  One person said that an Intel SSD (which uses an Intel controller) wouldn't boot OS X.  And in page 2 of this thread, some people are saying they have heard Samsung EVO SSDs that work and do not work.  Samsung SSDs use Samsung controllers — not Sandforce.

All said, I (and not doubt everyone else) seek the fastest and cheapest 1TB SSD that will communicate at 3Gb/s with the iMac9,1, iMac11,1, and MacBook Pro 5,5.

And to give you an idea of what's available, here are a large number of SSDs benchmarked, side by side:

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

If it is really true (and someone can prove it), then clearly a Samsung 850 EVO 1TB would be the best all around deal ($345 currently) and best performer too (understanding fully that it won't get 6G speeds on 3G, but it would give you the best 3G speeds, if indeed it works flawlessly on the Nvidia chipset in 2009 Macs):

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E1T0B-AM/dp/B00OBRFFAS/

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.