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I have been looking at installing a solid state hard drive into my Mac Pro. I see there are kits available to mount the smaller SSD unit into so it can be inserted into the drive bay. Anyone have any input on this? If so; where to buy what... one brand I have looked at is the OCZ Vertec from maxupgrades.com
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I have no SSD experience but I have had good luck with Other World Computing with hard drives, cases, batteries, ram etc. Had one external case with a bad fan and exchanged it very quickly.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1356 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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Interesting that you pose this question. I just talked to an Intel representative (young geeky kid) at Best Buy the other day... and I asked him what he thought about SSD's because I was interested in trying one out.
He said they will definitely boot your system faster, but he was not personally recommending them from a practical standpoint yet.... his reasoning is that they are still generally very expensive per storage capacity verses a traditional hard drive. Capacity needs to get larger, and price cheaper. The (relatively) affordable variety has 'limited writes' to the drive... They aren't forever. If you planned on replacing it every 2-3 years, you'd probably be safe... but definitely keep backups like any storage solution.
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Wow Todd. I've read that the virtual keyboard and the holographic display were coming in the near future, but I didn't think it would be this soon. Shouldn't be much more than a year away at most.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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I haven't had any experience from a mac point of view but to be practical mac or pc either one the hardware remains the same and so do the industry standards for that`hardware. A normal solid state hardrive should fit into the same bay as a normal spinning disk traditional drive, the industry` standards for the drives are the same and the specs state that` they should fit in the same space no matter what form they are ssd or standard drive. In order to be sold as parts they have to fit in the same space or "bay" and use the same industry plugs and receptacles. as for performance there is no comparison as to speed, the ssd drives are measured in nanoseconds seek and read times and the normal drives in milleseconds,...thats like comparing feet`per hour to miles per hour,the ssd drives leaving the older technology way far behind in performance.(please note punctuation at end of sentence,..ie the period)Both times I have installed a ssd on a normal system both the boot time and performance speeds are notably affected for the better.
On another note any increase in performance on the part of the drive can only relate to less delays elsewhere on the system, thus a faster performing machine.
[ October 28, 2011, 02:06 AM: Message edited by: Tim Barrow ]
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC Posts: 2224 | From: Winston-Salem,NC,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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That's quite a video Todd. Thought I was watching a CSI episode...lol
Thanks for the responses. I checked out that site Bill mentioned. They appear to carry the replacement brackets as well as the different SSD's.
Thanks for the input Tim. The Mac Pro has four drive bays side by side and the drives screw onto a tray which slides into the tower. The smaller SSD requires a replacement tray so it can be inserted into the proper spot.
Maybe i will end up being the test pilot on here to see how well one works in a system like i have.
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Your SSD drive "should" have an adapter kit included in the box to mount into a regular drive bay. Yes they are tiny and virtually heat free.
quote: but he was not personally recommending them from a practical standpoint yet...variety has 'limited writes' to the drive...
He is full of it. SSD drive are now going for about $1.00 per gig. That is a 120 gig SSD drive is at $129 including shipping now.
He is so far behind the curve on his info. That is why I personally ignore most of what those geeks say. That so called "limited number" is a myth that would never affect most users. SSD Drives sold today have firmware that eliminates that problem. That firmware spreads the usage over the entire drive instead of in one small sector. Furthermore.. All drives including regular old styles have a limited number of writes. Also, most users have a second large data drive that does all that write work on files anyway.
I just installed an SSD in a new I7 2600 machine with a 1 terabyte SATA 3 drive. It is frigging fast. I open Vectric Aspire as fast as the mouse click. I mean instant. Corel X5 opens in about 2 seconds. Artcam opens in about 3 seconds.
I render a large 3d graphic as fast as the enter key. On a core duo it takes about 7 seconds. Getting the latest technology in CPU and SSD drives with a modern motherboard is well worth it.
By the way.. Right now there is a huge price increase on regular hard drives.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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Even at $1 per gb, that puts a 750 hard drive at $$$.
Or are you thinking in terms of using an SSD as the boot drive only... where you might see most of the speed benefits on opening windows, loading programs, running program filters etc?
My Boot Drive is a 136gb SAS drive and I have 20 gb of space left on it.... I don't think a 120 gb SSD drive would be a wise choice... few more programs, etc and it's maxed out.
My cousin builds his computers with SSD boot drives, but he says he redirects his 'temp' file directory and a few others that get written-to quite often onto his secondary drive, which is a traditional hard drive. His theory is that it reduces his 'writes' to the SSD drive by quite a bit, thereby increasing the longevity of the drive.
What do you think of this?
I don't think the Intel rep is 'full of it' as you say.... I talked to him for a while and he struck me as a brainiac of the third dimension. He has been with Intel for about 7 years and they school him on a regular basis.
I think his point was, that dollar for dollar, considering storage space - SSD's are still quite expensive. They are constantly improving them, but like anything, a person has to way cost per perceived benefit.
Personally, I'd prefer to put a 250 gb SSD in my computer as the main boot drive... but a good one runs closer to $500 verses a traditional hard drive at $90. Five times the cost.
I'd like to give one a try, but I think I'll wait till the price per storage unit ratio gets more mainstream.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Tood, Why is it that its always a someone you chatted with, buddy, or a cousin that has all the answers?
I along with many others talk with Intel, Mocrosoft and AMD and other software and hardware reps all the time. I know what they say. You fail to remember I won awards for my past work with software and hardware development.
While you agonize over some meaningless jargon FUD such as "write counts" others will be moving on enjoying the values and benefits of technology.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Why is it that its always a someone you chatted with, buddy, or a cousin that has all the answers?
Does this include my questions and chats with you?
I appreciate your computer knowledge, as I do others. And there are 'others' with knowledge, and personal perspectives to offer...believe it or not.
I'm simply considering the thought that, while SSD's are an emerging force, which will likely overtake the moving and bulky components of traditional hard drives - they are still a ways from being perfected in a capacity/price-point which will appeal to the masses.
I enjoy discussing technologies, and am always open to engaging conversations in an attempt to learn more. I am no genius and make no claims to be.
I also enjoy your input, as I feel there is knowledge to gain from that as well.... but there is really no reason to interpret my questions as some sort of medieval challenge to your self-worth. I am very proud of you for any awards you have attained.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Here's a link that may be of interest to you....if you sort by "Best Rating" and then check the reviews of some of the SSD's you'll find a lot of constructive reviews.
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well, not to burst Curtis' bubble but I did forward his response to a friend who is a chemist at Micron. He said that a SSD does indeed have less writes than a traditional hard drive, not a myth. But........ he said that since a traditional HD has moving parts which are prone to failure, SSD's may in reality outlast a hard drive in alot of cases. He said that SSD's aren't far from eclipsing the write limitations though. But, then again.....he's also just a buddy.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 910 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Nope. No bubble burst here. I have said and posted. An 80 gig SSD drive is not actually 80 gigs. It is likely a 150 gig drive but is limited to a smaller size usage by the firmware. . This is true of all hard drives as well. When a sector starts to go bad the hard drive reassigns a spare sector into usage and locks out the failing sector.
Want to see that for yourself. Get two drives of different size of the same type by the same company. Swap out the electronic panel. You will see the size follows the electronics.
Thus,,, The myth is in the fear of an early failure. As I posted. There is firmware within those drives that spread the usage over the entire drive. That plus the redundant space allows for a normal time frame of usage. Thus the fear of early failures for a typical user is a myth.
Common knowledge on the web is only about 18 months years behind the facts.
By the way. The usb keys are the same. They have limited writes too. But you rarely see a failure with them any more for the same reason as above. The technology is proven.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Actually - I have had two USB keys (thumb drives/flash drives) go bad.
Wouldn't you say that you rarely see a failure with USB keys because they get used far less than a hard drive?
I only use mine on occasion to transfer a file from one computer to another.... whereas, I am saving / writing to my desktop hard drive constantly.
I'm not saying that SSD's are going to fail you immediately, and I have been tempted to give one a try.
In your experience, what do see as a typical life of an SSD for someone in our field where computer use is steady, and writes are fairly constant throughout the day? (not talking about a home-user who surfs the internet a few times a day)
Could a person expect to see 3 years of robust use? And how do you tell if it starts going bad? Will errors pop up? What are the warning signs verses a traditional hard drive? You wouldn't hear the 'click of death' on an SSD, because there's no moving parts - so would you discover files you thought you saved, not present?
Thanks Curtis.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Appreciate the input from everyone. This has been very interesting.
I've decided to give an SSD a try. Placed an order through the OWC site that Bill mentioned. I found their site to be very informative for the Mac hardware so hopefully I have purchased the proper stuff.
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