Macbook Pro SSD

Hi! Sorry if this has been asked before but I have recently got a Macbook Pro and I would like to upgrade the HDD. So far I have thought of two routes : Replace original drive with a Momentus XT (only for Music,Movies,etc.) and the get an SSD instead of the SuperDrive
Replace the original HDD with an SSD

For me the advantage of the first route is the more storage space however my concern is if the MBP will be slower due to the HDD (combined with SSD) than just an SSD. Can any give me some advice on this pls?

Thanks

 

So long as the SSD is installed in the SATA 6 spot thus replacing the main hard drive, it won't slow down at all. The SSD drive won't operate at full speed when it is installed where the SuperDrive goes as (last I heard) that is a SATA 3 port and not SATA 6. Most SSD drives will step down their speeds to fit within SATA 3 restrictions whereas SATA 6 is much faster. An SSD drive hooked up via SATA 3 is still going to be faster than the hard drive that came with your MBP but you really want to get a SATA 6 SSD and use it to replace the primary hard drive.

I recently purchased an OptiBay kit along with a 1TB hard drive. It is the first 2.5" 9.5mm 1TB drive to hit the market and I am going to replace my SuperDrive with that. Then, when 256GB SSD drives hit the $200-$250 price range, I am going to replace my primary HD with one of those.

 

Thanks for the info Do if I install the SSD instead of the original HDD and the HDD in the caddy I will get the full SSD performance right? For now I think that I'll get the Momentus XT alone and buy an SSD when they get a little bit cheaper

 

Yes. As I said, you will get full performance out of a SATA III (I am sorry, I previously had my numbering wrong, SATA III is the fastest offered right now with a bandwidth of 6Gbps whereas SATA II is 3Gbps) SSD if you replace the primary hard drive in your MBP with it. It doesn't matter if you have a hard drive or SuperDrive in the optical bay, neither the MBP nor the SSD care. Using an SSD paired with a hard drive won't magically decrease its read and write speeds.

 

From what Ive read those with the 13" MBP can have full Sata III speeds in both the optibay and hdd space.

MacBook Pro 2011 Models and SATA 3.0 (6.0Gb/s) - Update - 5/27/2011 | Other World Computing Blog

 

That isn't quite what the article says. According to OWC, it is the luck of the draw whether you get a dual 6Gbps SATA MBP or one that has SATA III in the main bay and then SATA II in the optical bay. They have reported success installing SSDs in the optical bay but you never know if it will be a SATA III or SATA II connection. They suggested that earlier 2011 MBP models, 13" or not, have SATA III for primary hard drive bay and SATA II for optical bay. They did state that the 13" MBPs seems to be more reliable than both the 15" and 17". The 17" is currently experiencing some hit or miss performance even when working with 6Gbps SATA in the main hard drive bay. The 13" and 15" work 100% of the time with 6Gbps in the main hard drive bay and the 13" will do 6Gbps SSD in the optical bay if it has an actual SATA III connector. The 15" isn't getting 6Gbps in the optical bay with SSD though.

Either way, there doesn't seem to be any confirmation that a 13" MBP is going to use two SATA III connectors or if one is going to be SATA III and the other will be SATA II. OWC even reports that they purchased a 13" MBP in May, supposedly when Apple switched to having two SATA III connectors, and it still used SATA III for primary and SATA II for optical.

 

Well yea I mean its sort of implied that if the 13" has both Sata 3 ports then it will work. Cant really get Sata 3 speeds on a Sata 2 port.

Anyways it seems like most of the people with any 2011 MBP now are getting both Sata 3's in their HDD and ODD.

OP if you head over to mac rumors there are a lot more posts about the optibay.