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    Apple OEM SSD(on the MBP 15) vs Samsung 470

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Karant-rex, Jul 24, 2011.

  1. Karant-rex

    Karant-rex Notebook Consultant

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    Okay I am deciding between the 2 drives, Apple charges 90$ to upgrade from 750gb 5400rpm to a 128gb SSD. Seems like a good deal, but how are the speeds on the Apple drive?? How does it compare to something like the Samsung 470, which costs 210$?? But the price difference can be kind of neglected as if i buy the Apple SSD i will spend an additional 100$ on the Samsung 1TB drive(i will be using 2 drives using a optical caddy) as if i get the samsung SSD i will use the stock apple drive as a media drive. Basically it is a faster SSD(samsung 470) + smaller 5400rpm HDD(apple stock 750gb drive) vs Apple SSD + large Samsung 1TB HDD. I certainly would appreciate a 250gb storage boost but my first priority is the SSD speed. What SSD does Apple use?? Does anyone have the read/write figures for the Apple SSD. And what would be the real world performance differences between the Apple SSD and the Samsung SSD
    PS : I am limiting my selection to SATA 2 drives as SATA 3 has a few issues on the MBPs, so please do not suggest SATA 3 drives like the M4 or Vertex 3, but i am open to cheaper SATA 2 alternatives to the 470(if there are any)
     
    Karant-rex, Jul 24, 2011
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  2. madmattd

    madmattd Notebook Deity

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    M4 issue on MAC has been fixed in case you didn't know. Phil reports great success with FW 0002 as does most everyone on the Crucial forums.

    That said, I cannot comment on the MAC SSD. I don't know what brands they are using.
     
    madmattd, Jul 24, 2011
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  3. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I'm pretty sure I answered this question on Macrumors :) I can't find it right now but this is a similar topic.

    And yes Matt is right, Crucial M4 works perfect on MBP 13" and 15".
     
    Phil, Jul 25, 2011
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  4. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Unless something changed recently, Macs were using a variation of the Toshiba controller that Kingston employs in the SSDNow V+ 100 line. It's the one with very aggressive garbage collection since OS X didn't support TRIM at the time. Based on reviews of the Kingston version, it wasn't the most power-efficient SSD out there. With OS X Lion supporting TRIM, it would make more sense to get the M4.
     
    saturnotaku, Jul 25, 2011
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  5. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    As far as I know Lion only supports TRIM on Apple branded SSDs. You can use the TRIM hack though.

    That said, I'd still prefer the M4 w/o TRIM over the Apple SSD with TRIM.
     
    Phil, Jul 25, 2011
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  6. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Ya officially OS X only supports TRIM on Apple branded SSDs. Didn't Apple once use Samsung mini PCI-E SSDs or their 2.5" drives at one point?
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Jul 25, 2011
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  7. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Phil, Jul 25, 2011
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  8. Karant-rex

    Karant-rex Notebook Consultant

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    Lol, r u Philflow from MR?? I posted the question here cause i was expecting more insight here, did not know that you were also there Phil, your answers cleared most of my doubts, thnx for that.
    Ok so new question, what exactly is the SATA 3 issue on the MBPs?? I thought it had nothing to do with the SSDs but actually the MBP did not support SATA 3. Don't I have to use something like Aluminum foil shielding or what not??
    Also if i buy a M4 today will it come with the 0002 FW or will i have to update it myself, dont people have issues updating in OSX, will have to update using bootcamp right?? Also would TRIM on the M4 work in Lion??
    But is it really worth all the trouble to get the M4, I mean if the Kingston performs like the Apple SSD then according Phils review on the website the real world performance is not too different from the M4.
     
    Karant-rex, Jul 25, 2011
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  9. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Yes that's me :)
    The real SATA III issue with MBP is (almost) only on 17".
    Updating the firmware should be no problem on MBP. It's a bootable ISO.
    TRIM will work on M4 if you use TRIM enabler.
    And yes real world performance differences will be very small.
     
    Phil, Jul 25, 2011
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