2010 MacBook pro 13 - 240GB Vertex SSD installed - Video included...

Hi all

I upgraded my stock HDD today to the 240GB Vertex 2 SSD, which uses the SandForce controller.
Ive yet to update the SSD to the latest firmware - as it can only be done through Windows!!

Nevertheless, pretty happy with how much quicker the applications start up.....

Speed test times (in seconds):
Boot Up - HDD - 28.5
Boot Up - SSD - 21.7
Opening PhotoShop CS4 - HDD - 11.1
Opening PhotoShop CS4 - SSD - 3.4
Opening Word 2008 - HDD - 9.1
Opening Word 2008 - SSD - 2.4

Heres a video guide showing the unboxing, install process, and basic testing.....

YouTube - MacBook Pro 240GB Vertex 2 SSD Unbox, Upgrade & Testing

Not sure if updating the firmware would increase the performance much more, but Im hoping Apple bring an update along with better support for SSDs. This Vertex 2 SSD runs even faster with Windows 7 apparently!

Bedsides the firmware, and although Im pretty happy with the results so far, anything else I could try to tweak performance?

EDIT:
UPDATE!!!

After a couple of reboots, my SSD performance has INCREASED!!

Ive shaved another almost 5 secs off of my boot time. Im not sure how this has happened? Maybe the drive needed to settle in??

My new boot time is now 16.9 secs!!!
Ive created a new update video here.....

YouTube - MacBook Pro 240GB Vertex 2 SSD - Part 2 - Performance Increase!

Very happy with the performance now. I also read someone else had a sudden speed increase after a little usage. Not sure why this happens, but Im happy!!

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing. That's a drive that I have my eye on too.

 

excellent stuff. I really should get around to making video of my Intel G2 160GB startup. I think you gentlemen will be similarly impressed.

 

+1 for English accent

 

I have a couple of comments on my other videos about my accent as well! Lol. Someone even sent me a message to ask me to make more videos on anything at all so she could hear me!
Personally I like the American accent better!

Anyways, after a bit of heavier usage, I've noticed temps stay pretty low. Around 30 idle and 34 under heavy use. Palm rests always stay cool/cold to the touch.

 

Sounded more Australian to me.

 

lol - never even been to Australia before.
Im in London, UK

 

Another note - I will have one of these SSDs for sale shortly - another 240GB, brand new and sealed in plastic etc.
I will create a sale thread in the selling section in the next few days.....

 

Edited first post with Update!

 

Do you think a firmware update will improve speeds??
There is a newer firmware available, but you can only update in Windows - which I do not have. I would need to remove the drive, connect it to a PC (not via enclosure, but via an internal sata port) and then update the firmware.
As Im happy with performance I dont know if I can be bothered with the firmware!

 

If you are happy with the speed then don't bother. I also have a Vertex SSD and I used it on the older firmware for quite some time without any performance degradation. I recently updated the firmware only because I was doing a fresh install, else I wouldn't have bothered lol

 

It does seem a lot of hassle to update the firmware, especially when Im happy with how its performing as it is!
Cheers.

 

I would not worry about the firmware upgrade. I had the older Vertex SSD in my older 15" MBP and never had a problem. My new Vertex 2 SSD which I have running raid in my MBP has been great so far as well. Enjoy your new SSD

 

Cheers - how is your Vertex 2 RAID set running?
I was going to do the same, but I may just sell the second drive instead as Im happy with just the one now TBH.

 

Thanks for the video. I just ordered a 120GB version of this - however I've just discovered information on the SandForce sleep failure issues people have been experiencing on their Mac laptops! How is the Vertex 2 doing after a few months?

Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English - A problem with deep sleep mode for SandForce Controllers

 

I tried a Samsung PM800 256GB. It boots OSX in about 21 seconds also. That Samsung didn't benchmark very well in Windows. WEI score is a miserable 5.9, which is what a regular hard drive gets. The Intel scores a 7.7, which is around what I expect all SSDs to score.

Dumped the Samsung and put an Intel G2 160GB in my MBP13. OSX boots in 17 seconds, this is with the timer starting from when I press the power button. If I start the timer when the gray Apple logo appears, it's about 9 seconds! And this is not on a clean OSX install, I got Parallels 5 and other stuff going on. In fact this OS installation was cloned over to the Intel from the Samsung SSD.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for the drive?

I see it on newegg at $660, if it's this one you have.

 

Knock on wood there has been no problems with my Vertex 2 SSD's yet on my MBP. I have 2 of the Vertex 2 100 GB SSD's running raid in my MBP

 

post deleted.

 

TBH mine is still going fine. Its just as fast as it was when new. No problems whatsoever. I usually close my system lid to put teh system to sleep, and its behaviour has been fine.

Yup, thats the same one I have

 

Did you clone the drives?

 

You really shouldnt, you should do a fresh install on a SSD........but yes, I couldnt be bothered to reinstall so I cloned. I had done fresh reinstall only a week or so earlier, and didnt have much software installed on the system at all, so decided to just clone an image across for simplicity sake!

 

I am not sure how it was done and did not know how to set them up myself either so I just took them in to the Apple shop and one of the technicians there set it up for me. Here in Asia the sales at Apple are very helpful (at least so in Taiwan).

 

It really takes you 9 seconds to open word? Seems really long.

 

I just did the same on a SSD drive, just the reason why I did it was because I could not bother to call Microsoft to reactivate my Windows 7.

 

hard drives store things.... apart from each other, around the idea of a spinning disc and how fast it can read info off of it. When moving data over to a SSD, which does not work at all like that, your data will be totally in a messed up and mixed up state on your SSD, thereby making it take longer to read off your data. You might find it easier to clone, but its going to put more wear and tear on your SSD, and its going to be slower (minorly)

 

You -we- should, because I just watched the video, and when I hit the power button on my MBP with Intel 160GB G2, the spinning wheel under the Apple logo NEVER passes more than 3 circles before moving to the desktop (sometimes, it stops at "half" circle). Furthermore, MS Word takes 3.45 seconds on average to open.

Am I missing something? Isn't the SSD in question here supposed to be faster than the Intel drives?

EDIT: I just saw the Part 2 and the drive seems to be faster compared to the first video. Interesting... I haven't experienced any "settling in" with the Intel drive