mid-2010 15" MacBookPro drive upgrade: SSD vs fusion? 2 drives?

[NancyP]

I am still quite happy with my mid-2010 15" MBP v.6.2, dual core i7, 2.8 GHz, 8 GB RAM, but I am getting cramped with its 500 GB 7200 RPM HDD. I am still (STILL) running OS 10.6.8 very happily, I don't care about multi-touch pad. It drives my 27" NEC monitor just fine. I would prefer to keep my images consolidated on one HDD, using external HDDs only for backups. (I have two 2 TB backup drives and a 500 GB traveling minidrive).  I have considered two relatively inexpensive options to get more space onto the MBP and also to get a little more speed out of the machine over and above the speed generated simply by having more free disc space (I am at 440 GB full of 500 GB total).

1. Decent sized SSD (480 GB?) in main bay as the boot/programs/computational space drive. Move current HDD and all photo files to the optical bay, move the optical drive (SuperDrive) out and use as an external for the few times I load programs via CD. Bigger SSD gives some growing space for photo files to spill over from the HDD.

2. Get a very large (1 TB or more) HDD with onboard SSD buffer, and install in main bay. Keep current HDD as an external back up drive. Leave the optical drive where it is. I am less clear on the details about what sort of HDD/SSD hybrid would work on my MBP v.6.2.

Suggestions? I am completely clueless about modifying laptops, I have only fiddled with desktop boxes, and not too much there.

[Steve Weldon]

I would hesitate to continue using your current HDD.  First, it's much slower than newer HDD's of 2013, and second it's got a few years of use on it.    A 500gb is like $50.. 1tb's for $80.. not a place to save money.  Replace it while you're in there.

If you work mostly mobile, loading your laptop up with two drives would make sense.  If so, I'd go with either a OCZ Vector or a Samsung 840 pro as a system drive, and a Samsung 1tb evo ($440 or so) for your storage drive.


If you work mostly at home.. strongly consider a 256gb system drive, leave the rest along, and instead get a quality NAS unit that fits your budget.  By quality I mean Synology or better.. not WD or Lacie or any of that type.  You can easily surpass your HDD's speeds through a NAS connected to your LAN port with such a device and properly sized, you can use it for backups, storage, etc.   

[NancyP]

Thanks for the information. I use the Mac both as a standalone away from home and as a desktop unit attached to a 27" monitor, printers, Just-A-Bunch-Of-Discs hand-swapped backup drives. I am definitely not a power user. Are you a Mac user? Do you know if there are any incompatibilities with using the models and brands of drives you mention with the Mac OS 10.6.8, or later OSs 10.7.x and 10.8.x? Do SSDs cause the laptop to run hotter, cooller, or same temperature as the original HDD? I take it that you recommend the "enterprise grade" SSD for the boot drive and the ordinary SSD for the data drive, for reasons of reliability.
I hadn't thought about the old HDD crashing, other than to do my duty and back up regularly. Yes, I should just retire it to JABOD road warrior duty, along with my current road warrior JABOD 500 GB HDD.

[Steve Weldon]

Thanks for the information. I use the Mac both as a standalone away from home and as a desktop unit attached to a 27" monitor, printers, Just-A-Bunch-Of-Discs hand-swapped backup drives. I am definitely not a power user. Are you a Mac user? Do you know if there are any incompatibilities with using the models and brands of drives you mention with the Mac OS 10.6.8, or later OSs 10.7.x and 10.8.x? Do SSDs cause the laptop to run hotter, cooller, or same temperature as the original HDD? I take it that you recommend the "enterprise grade" SSD for the boot drive and the ordinary SSD for the data drive, for reasons of reliability.
I hadn't thought about the old HDD crashing, other than to do my duty and back up regularly. Yes, I should just retire it to JABOD road warrior duty, along with my current road warrior JABOD 500 GB HDD.

1.  Part of the time yes.

2. I've used the Samsung 840 Pro, Crucial C300 (not recommended any longer, but it was hot in it's day), Vertex 3 and 4, Intel 510, 520, 530, and others with Mac's.. no issues with compatibility.  The OCZ Vertex and Vertex 150 are too new to know for sure, but I wouldn't expect issues of compatibility.

Compatibility with files in another issue, this is where you'd have problems IF you didn't delete any partition the disk came with, made a new one, and formatted it with the Mac OS.  Typically  hard drives come unpartitioned and ready to format in any system.. in contrast external drives often come formatted for PC/Mac out of convenience, but either one can be wiped clean and formatted for the other.

You might run into compatibility issues where the thickness of the drive is concerned.  I think you're safe with 7mm and 9mm drives with any modern Mac product, though I tend to really like the 7mm drives (all I recommended are 7mm) when adding a second drive to a Mini with an OWC kit.. makes it easier.

3.  Power = Heat.  Because SSD's use less power they'll run cooler and your battery will last longer.  In some cases like when watching a movie from a HDD.. A LOT longer.  The more your program accesses the drive, the longer your battery will last over a mechanical HDD.. and movies/video access the drive continuously. 

4.  Any mechanical driive that's been in use over 3-4 years should really be replaced if you depend on that drive for work or backing up files.  I use these small mobile drives for one of my annual backups.. Everything I created or worked on in 2013 will go on a 300gb drive (light year) I picked up for I think $29.. I'll write the data twice, put it back in it's static free bag, and it goes in a fireproof safe offsite.  This is just one of three.. I consider it a last ditch effort.  I figure the small cubic safe I bought just for storage will last an entire career.  And if the format is every threatened I'll invest in replacement media and make the transfers.. then back in the safe..

People tend to think of mechanical hard drives as devices that last forever.  They shouldn't instead consider them disposable with a 3 year usage life..


Hope this helps. 

[NancyP]

It helps quite a lot. I have wondered if I should replace the whole computer, but nothing has gone bad. It will cost about $1,000.00 to add a 512 G 840 PRO and a 1 T 840 EVO to my computer, not counting any toolkits/ anti-static wristband.

[Steve Weldon]

It helps quite a lot. I have wondered if I should replace the whole computer, but nothing has gone bad. It will cost about $1,000.00 to add a 512 G 840 PRO and a 1 T 840 EVO to my computer, not counting any toolkits/ anti-static wristband.

Personally I'm okay with 256g as system drives, especially if my storage drive is also an SSD.  But you know your needs better than I.

Look at it this way, do you know if your current computer has SATAII or SATAIII ports?  And does it otherwise do everything you want it to do as fast as you want it to do?   If you have SATAIII ports you'll realize the maximum performance increase possible from your system, if SATAII's about 70% of that.  But let's say you buy these nice drives and later find out you need to upgrade your computer.. you can carry these drives with you, not a dollar lost.  Though, I've heard Apple is going to start selling the MBP with the memory non-upgradeable.. soldered in memory.  I'd check to see if they're doing something equally selfish with SSD's..

[NancyP]

SATA II. Yes, I know I won't get faaaabulous speed with my machine, but any SSD will make it seriously faster than it is now.

Beef. Why can't Apple make MBPs with matte screens? I don't like the highly reflective screens for image editing work, even the non-color-critical first image sort-out. I'd consider upgrading the laptop. But as it is, I am retrofitting an old machine with a matte "high resolution" screen.

I am not sure how much space my programs take, 256 GB for boot drive with programs probably is good enough.

Apparently I have to run the drive with "TRIM Enabler" program, the OS 10.6.8 and following OSs don't provide for general TRIM function, only for specific Apple-branded, Apple-installed SSDs.

[jduncan]

SATA II. Yes, I know I won't get faaaabulous speed with my machine, but any SSD will make it seriously faster than it is now.

Beef. Why can't Apple make MBPs with matte screens? I don't like the highly reflective screens for image editing work, even the non-color-critical first image sort-out. I'd consider upgrading the laptop. But as it is, I am retrofitting an old machine with a matte "high resolution" screen.

I am not sure how much space my programs take, 256 GB for boot drive with programs probably is good enough.

Apparently I have to run the drive with "TRIM Enabler" program, the OS 10.6.8 and following OSs don't provide for general TRIM function, only for specific Apple-branded, Apple-installed SSDs.

It seems that they don't sale.  I am old enough to remember : For years people used glossy screens for color critical work.  People at the business side  used glossy screens too, and buy those anti reflective panels  (http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=SSSSSuH8gc7nZxtUM8_ZP82vevuSeChshvTSevTSeSSSSSS--&boundedSize=310). 

When the LCD appear people insisted on staying with the CRTs because of gamma and other characteristics. The fact that the CRTs were glossy was not an issue. Professionals were controlling the workplace light, so reflection was just something control for.  The medium was print on those days and doing critical color in a randomly illuminated room was not an option.  Price for proper lighting was not an issue either, as the computer was a godsend in terms of production costs. We are talking the late 90s.

LCDs were popularized by laptops, that are used outside. Under the Sun a glossy panel is a liability. Videos, and web pages are as important as print today, and the consumption is done in glossy screens. Glossy screen "look sharper" and people love them.

I hope when the 4K migration is completed that we still have some non glossy panels left for professionals that learn and love the strengths of the mate screens.

Best regards,
J.  Duncan