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Re: taking the SSD plunge

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Jolly Roger

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Jul 8, 2012, 9:31:54 PM7/8/12
to
In article <a5ulgu...@mid.individual.net>, Tim Lance <no...@nada.com>
wrote:

> I1m about to give in and buy an SSD for my MacBook Pro (8,2 early 2011). At
> the moment I1m figuring a 240 GB and then put the stock HDD into a bracket in
> the optical bay.
>
> I1ve read reviews on Amazon, egghead, and such and while I1m not stupid I can
> process only so much. More, the vast majority of discussion, no matter the
> POV, is Windows based. So I come here to hear what sort of Mac-centric views
> you folk might have.
>
> I have looked at
>
> Corsair ($185 locally)
> <http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Force-2-5-Inch-Solid-
> State/dp/B005IZ4IRS/ref=pd_cp_e_0>
>
> Intel
> <http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Series-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-
> Drive/dp/B006VCP9G6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top>
>
> Samsung
> <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B005T3GPXY>
>
> I am tempted to go with the OWC for its Mac-ness.
> http://eshop.macsales.com/search/Mercury+Extreme+6G+240GB

I love my OWC SSD. Decent price, great performance, and no issues to
date.

A couple things you need to be careful of with SSDs. Not all SSDs
support File Vault 2 full disk encryption. OWC support has told me that
they don't support it, but I've used it without issue for years in my
Mac Pro.

SSDs typically lack support for the hard drive sleep function in Mac OS
X (or perhaps it's the Mac OS X's hard drive sleep function doesn't
support SSDs). Often, you need to disable that feature of Mac OS X with
SSDs.

--
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JR
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Justin

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Aug 8, 2012, 1:58:58 AM8/8/12
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On 7/8/12 9:31 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:

>
> I love my OWC SSD. Decent price, great performance, and no issues to
> date.
>
> A couple things you need to be careful of with SSDs. Not all SSDs
> support File Vault 2 full disk encryption. OWC support has told me that
> they don't support it, but I've used it without issue for years in my
> Mac Pro.
>
> SSDs typically lack support for the hard drive sleep function in Mac OS
> X (or perhaps it's the Mac OS X's hard drive sleep function doesn't
> support SSDs). Often, you need to disable that feature of Mac OS X with
> SSDs.
>

Interesting, I'll have to make a note of the above.
Is the HD sleep function still a problem in Mountain Lion?

Jolly Roger

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Aug 8, 2012, 6:36:38 PM8/8/12
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In article <jvsv72$ik8$2...@dont-email.me>,
No idea, it's a compatibility issue between Mac OS X and certain
non-Apple SSDs - or so I've been told by OWC support.

Salvatore

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Aug 13, 2012, 10:00:46 AM8/13/12
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On 2012-08-08, Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> No idea, it's a compatibility issue between Mac OS X and certain
> non-Apple SSDs - or so I've been told by OWC support.
>

There shouldn't be a need for a solid-state disk to go to sleep. It uses
much less power, and it isn't as if it needs to spin down to go to sleep
anyway.

The drive ought to work in any computer that has support for hard
drives. I purchased a SSD from OWC earlier this year and it works just
fine. It even works on an old PATA (think giant ribbons) controller.

--
Blah blah bleh...

GCS/CM d(-)@>-- s+:- !a C++$ UBL++++$ L+$ W+++$ w M++ Y++ b++

Jolly Roger

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Aug 13, 2012, 10:38:55 AM8/13/12
to
In article <k0b1ae$hth$3...@yojimbo.hack>,
Salvatore <s...@yojimbo.hack.invalid> wrote:

> On 2012-08-08, Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > No idea, it's a compatibility issue between Mac OS X and certain
> > non-Apple SSDs - or so I've been told by OWC support.
>
> There shouldn't be a need for a solid-state disk to go to sleep. It uses
> much less power, and it isn't as if it needs to spin down to go to sleep
> anyway.

In a perfect world, the OS disk sleep function shouldn't cause problems
with SSDs; unfortunately it most certainly can and will in some
configurations.

> The drive ought to work in any computer that has support for hard
> drives. I purchased a SSD from OWC earlier this year and it works just
> fine. It even works on an old PATA (think giant ribbons) controller.

I called OWC support to begin with was because my wife's brand-new
17-inch MBP was freezing up after sleep with the SSD installed. OWC
support told me to disable the sleep function in Mac OS X, because it
can cause their SSDs to misbehave. If you don't believe it, take it up
with OWC support.

M. John Matlaw

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Aug 13, 2012, 11:39:14 AM8/13/12
to
On 8/13/12 10:38 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <k0b1ae$hth$3...@yojimbo.hack>,
> Salvatore <s...@yojimbo.hack.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 2012-08-08, Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> No idea, it's a compatibility issue between Mac OS X and certain
>>> non-Apple SSDs - or so I've been told by OWC support.
>>
>> There shouldn't be a need for a solid-state disk to go to sleep. It uses
>> much less power, and it isn't as if it needs to spin down to go to sleep
>> anyway.
>
> In a perfect world, the OS disk sleep function shouldn't cause problems
> with SSDs; unfortunately it most certainly can and will in some
> configurations.
>
>> The drive ought to work in any computer that has support for hard
>> drives. I purchased a SSD from OWC earlier this year and it works just
>> fine. It even works on an old PATA (think giant ribbons) controller.
>
> I called OWC support to begin with was because my wife's brand-new
> 17-inch MBP was freezing up after sleep with the SSD installed. OWC
> support told me to disable the sleep function in Mac OS X, because it
> can cause their SSDs to misbehave. If you don't believe it, take it up
> with OWC support.
>
I'm sort of wondering whether this may be related to problems I'm having
with a MacMini running 10.6 with an OWC ssd. Just to make sure I've got
it right, in the energy saver panel you've got - Put the hard disk(s) to
sleep when possible - unchecked but the Computer sleep is not set to
Never (sorry for the double negative)?

Jolly Roger

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Aug 13, 2012, 12:21:07 PM8/13/12
to
In article <k0b735$pfq$1...@dont-email.me>,
Yes. OWC support instructed me to clear (uncheck) the "Put the hard
drive(s) to sleep when possible" checkbox. And I do have "Computer
sleep" enabled.

M. John Matlaw

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Aug 14, 2012, 2:22:37 AM8/14/12
to
Thanks for the info. Hope it clears up my MacMini's sleep problems.
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