Member of the Month

X_MEMESWERVE_XX
March, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

SSD in MacBook Pro

profile picture
S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,405
I currently have a 2011 13" MBP running 8gb ram with a 2.7 ghz i7 processor. I do a lot of video and photo work, and take my laptop to and from school everyday and use it in the car.

I have a few questions about SSDs.

Is there a noticeable difference in speed when using an SSD?
Are SSDs a lot better for use in a car and less prone to damage?
Has anyone used one with their MBP?
and Is this a good deal? http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I8QH6FE6INJY4&colid=PSHMK74DTGRM
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,405
no bites?
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
special_k10101
Posts: 1498 - Karma: 72
ssds are quite a bit faster than hard drives and quite a bit more damage resistant since they have no moving parts.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
PeterWojnar
Posts: 3937 - Karma: 678
This is the kind of question that would probably get a better audience in M&A, but the short answer is yes. An SSD doesn't have to spin, the way a hard drive does, which means several things:
1. It's faster. This isn't debatable, it's a simple fact.
2. It isn't as prone to damage. An HDD spins, which means that it has moving parts. An SSD doesn't. Moving parts are, as a general rule, more prone to breaking than non-moving parts.
3. SDDs are more expensive, though, and you'll still want to have a backup of your data, because like anything else, they can still fail.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
swan3609
Posts: 99 - Karma: 11
For video and Photo work, you wont notice that much of a difference in your editing.. You will notice a difference in how fast you open programs but in Photo editing and Video, most (read: All) of the work load is on the RAM and GPU.. However when doing video work and you use up the RAM and GPU then your comp will resort to the swap space on your HDD.. this on a standard HDD brings things to a standstill.. Here is where a SSD would be nice.. But If I were you I wouldnt bother with a SSD as a primary hard drive..

1) Video and Photos take up a shit ton of room and having to carry a Portable hard drive or even a flash drive all the time sucks..
2) A decent SSD that actually has enough space for your programs, videos, Photo, Music, and all you other shit is going to be really expensive..
3) As I said, you are already running a sick system that will run very well for a long time..

you will notice a difference but the cost vs. performance isnt there for me to say to make the up grade..

My current situation is that I am on a 2 year old HP Laptop that was top of the line 2 years ago.. i7, 4gb RAM, 1Gb GPU, 500Gb HDD and I have my 500Gb HDD almost full and I am going to take out my DVD drive and throw in a 100Gb SSD in place of the DVD drive, use the SSD for programs and OS and then upgrade to a 750Gb HHD for media storage (Music, Video, Photo, Games, Etc) .. Then upgrade to 8Gb of RAM.. and I will have a modern machine.. Almost..

If you could install 2 HDD in a Mac then I would say to just get a small SSD and load the OS and your programs on it, but you will run out of room if you try and use a SSD as your one and only drive unless you drop major cash on a big SSD..
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,405
I can take the disc drive out and put in another drive there, or I could replace the hard drive and use my external drive for vids and stuff
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
swan3609
Posts: 99 - Karma: 11
I was not sure how attached to your DVD drive you were.. I seriously never use mine.. and if I ever do need to, USB drives are cheap.. If you are serious about the upgrade and dont need your DVD drive then I would say go for it.. I would grab the biggest SSD you could afford but I would think ~100Gb would be more then enough for your OS and any Programs you would even need. and then you could have the HDD as your media drive..

And the Portable HDD would work just fine.. I just always hated being somewhere and going "shit, I forgot my Portable HDD" or the cable for it or some stupid shit like that.. I am a big fan of keeping all the stuff local on the computer until you no longer need the RAW photos and video and then can just keep the Finished products on the HDD and move all the RAW Photos and Videos onto the Portable HDD incase you want them later and as a back up in case your computer ever takes a shit on you.. I just would hate having a i7 laptop with only 100Gb of space..
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
i have a 120gb ssd and its fine when i do editing. significantly faster on boot, opening aswell as saving big files.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
When i got my new MacBook Pro in the summer I immediately replaced the stock drive with a 120GB OCZ Vertex 3.

I removed my Superdrive, and placed an HDcaddy there with the stock 500GB drive.

I only put programs, boot and important documents on the SSD.

Compared to my friends identical MacBook (apart from the SSD of course.)
Mine boots faster. (under 15 secs.)
Mine loads programs way way quicker.
And it reacts more snappy, everything is more instant.

I can't tell you if it's worth it for you but for 200 euros, (+40 for the caddy) it's one of the most noticeable improvements you can make on your MacBook.
14 years ago
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 4:32PM