SSDs in MBP
So I'm about to go ahead and buy a new MBP 15", but was wondering about Apple's current SSD offerings. I tried looking around and couldn't seem to find what brand of the 256GB SSDs.
I'm also curious about the pros vs cons of the current SSD offerings. Besides the speed, are there any other benefits to getting an SSD? And besides the price, are there any other cons to getting an SSD?
I read somewhere that some of the SSDs didn't play well with bootcamp, and was curious if that problem had been resolved or not. I was also curious if the current problem with fragmentation issues of the flash SSDs had been resolved or not.
Sorry for all the questions or the wall of text, just don't want to make a "leap forward" but end up with a lot of problems later on down the road.
I'm also curious about the pros vs cons of the current SSD offerings. Besides the speed, are there any other benefits to getting an SSD? And besides the price, are there any other cons to getting an SSD?
I read somewhere that some of the SSDs didn't play well with bootcamp, and was curious if that problem had been resolved or not. I was also curious if the current problem with fragmentation issues of the flash SSDs had been resolved or not.
Sorry for all the questions or the wall of text, just don't want to make a "leap forward" but end up with a lot of problems later on down the road.
Comments
So I'm about to go ahead and buy a new MBP 15", but was wondering about Apple's current SSD offerings. I tried looking around and couldn't seem to find what brand of the 256GB SSDs.
I'm also curious about the pros vs cons of the current SSD offerings. Besides the speed, are there any other benefits to getting an SSD? And besides the price, are there any other cons to getting an SSD?
I read somewhere that some of the SSDs didn't play well with bootcamp, and was curious if that problem had been resolved or not. I was also curious if the current problem with fragmentation issues of the flash SSDs had been resolved or not.
Sorry for all the questions or the wall of text, just don't want to make a "leap forward" but end up with a lot of problems later on down the road.
Pros:
1. Excellent performance, low latency, high sequential throughput and with Intel's SSD gonzo random read/write performance. Any fragmentation issue (which really only affected the Intel SSD) have been fixed. Also note the fragmentation issue is a tempest in a teapot as SSD do not have rotating discs so even with some fragmentation they are still better than HDD.
2. Quiet and lower power consumption
Cons:
1. Size and price - 80GB SSD can cost $360 80GB HDD cost $40 or so.
2. Longevity- SSD have a set limit to how many times the drive can be written to. In practice this limit hasn't been easy to reach for most computing uses save for high end Enterprise. SSD uses wear leveling to move data around to areas where there haven't been much write traffic.
I'd say that if you want the performance benefit now and the size doesn't matter get an SSD. If you want to wait do so knowing that SSD continue to get faster and cheaper and you will be able to get the size you want with the great performance.
2. Longevity- SSD have a set limit to how many times the drive can be written to. In practice this limit hasn't been easy to reach for most computing uses save for high end Enterprise. SSD uses wear leveling to move data around to areas where there haven't been much write traffic.
256GB is plenty for me, as I have a few external storage for most of my important files. About the Longevity, I'm still iffy on the life of these SSDs. Yes they have a set limit, but do you think it would be something I'd find myself experiencing in regular everyday use? I plan to get 3-4 years out of this notebook, that would easily be possible using the SSD, correct?
Thanks for your response hmurchison, very helpful! [:
256GB is plenty for me, as I have a few external storage for most of my important files. About the Longevity, I'm still iffy on the life of these SSDs. Yes they have a set limit, but do you think it would be something I'd find myself experiencing in regular everyday use? I plan to get 3-4 years out of this notebook, that would easily be possible using the SSD, correct?
Thanks for your response hmurchison, very helpful! [:
SSD haven't been in the market at today's sizing to get a more clear picture though I will say that I've read that Wear Leveling really doesn't become to pay dividends until you hit about 256GB.
I think under normal computing use we're not going to see many consumers hitting the write limits on the larger drives. I think you'd likely hit that 3-4 years with little problem.
Just to be sure, is there any limit on the number of reads too ?
I'll be using the MBP for heavy graphical presentations in the classroom (large textures, high resolution 3D models, etc).
I'm also on the verge of buying one new MBP 15" with the 256 MB SSD. The writes limit is a concern to me.
Just to be sure, is there any limit on the number of reads too ?
I'll be using the MBP for heavy graphical presentations in the classroom (large textures, high resolution 3D models, etc).
No limit on reads.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...SD,2012-5.html
The capacity used in the equation equals the typical data written per day (20 GB of data in this example) over five years. Intel rounded up the 36.5 TB result to 40. If you look at the results, you?ll understand Intel?s statement about drastically improved wear, while these features certainly also help to avoid random writes and to maximize performance.
20GB a day and the Intel drives will still write for years. I know I don't come close to writing 20GB a day. These numbers should improve as Intel and others increase the size of the SSD as well.