I pulled the trigger on two Samsung 840 pros and two Apricorn x2 adapters. Lets see how that goes.
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Advice on SSD needed
- Thread starter MacProFreak
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That might work, I've never tried it. Are you asking based on doing this from a PC or from a Mac with Windows on it?
If it's a Mac, you don't need to use Windows to upgrade them. Samsung has the OS X firmware page here. You can download the ISO and burn it to disc and run it.
It was first connected from a PC itself but it must be connected via the internal sata connectors. No flashing can be done with Sata to USB kits for ease of quick use outside of the tower. It's not possible. As you can see from the pictures.
It did come with the latest firmware though.
That's where I was going with my other post; firmware updates can only be done from the main SATA bus. Glad it ended up working for you.
Apple-Brand SSD?
Hello everyone,
Interesting thread, I have been considering an SSD for my Mac Pro for a while now.
One of the posts to this thread mentioned that the Apple-branded SSD was a flashed Samsung unit.
Does anyone have any more specifics about the Apple unit?
In particular, I am interested in the over-provisioning level for the unit.
I'm not an SSD expert, but I am aware that the main difference between "consumer" and "enterprise" SSD's is the level of over-provisioning, which improves write wear-leveling and reliability.
Consumer SSD's are usually over-provisioned 5% or so, from what I understand, but enterprise units can be as much as 50%.
If the Apple unit were to be more like an "enterprise" unit, then it might be worth the price differential.
If anyone has more information, I would be glad to learn.
Hello everyone,
Interesting thread, I have been considering an SSD for my Mac Pro for a while now.
One of the posts to this thread mentioned that the Apple-branded SSD was a flashed Samsung unit.
Does anyone have any more specifics about the Apple unit?
In particular, I am interested in the over-provisioning level for the unit.
I'm not an SSD expert, but I am aware that the main difference between "consumer" and "enterprise" SSD's is the level of over-provisioning, which improves write wear-leveling and reliability.
Consumer SSD's are usually over-provisioned 5% or so, from what I understand, but enterprise units can be as much as 50%.
If the Apple unit were to be more like an "enterprise" unit, then it might be worth the price differential.
If anyone has more information, I would be glad to learn.
Hmm... I'm also considering an SSD to my 15" early 2011 MBP.
I'm currently on a 7200rpm drive that came with the MBP when I ordered it. Now I'm looking around for an SSD.
From what I've read online, quite a number of users reported that the MBP fans were running quite high after installing 3rd-party SSDs.
Is this true? I'm considering the Kingston HyperX 3K 480GB or a Samsung 840 Pro 512GB. Not sure whether these two will make my fans go up or not.
I'm currently on a 7200rpm drive that came with the MBP when I ordered it. Now I'm looking around for an SSD.
From what I've read online, quite a number of users reported that the MBP fans were running quite high after installing 3rd-party SSDs.
Is this true? I'm considering the Kingston HyperX 3K 480GB or a Samsung 840 Pro 512GB. Not sure whether these two will make my fans go up or not.
I'm not sure if your model suffers from the fan issue or not. It just depends on the model year and how Apple set it up with the HDD temperature sensor. If you do have the problem after an upgrade, I have a software solution that I developed that corrects this. I had to do it on my 2010 iMac because they used a sensor cable that plugged into the jumper block of the HDD.
Controlling the fan speed in Mac models after an SSD upgrade.
The MBP that I want to upgrade is an MBP 8,2 (Early-2011 15", 2.3GHz i7, 16GB RAM, antiglare). I've heard of SMCFanControl before.
Okay, this thing will control my fans from revving out of control. The problem is, will the fans speed up when the drive gets hot? I know it will when the CPU gets too hot though.
If the temperature sensor is disconnected, you will need to use smcFanControl to keep it well, under control. So if that's the case, it will need to set the fan at a pre-determined RPM. With the temp sensor disconnected, the computer will not know if it's getting too hot or not. My HDD fan is set to about 1500 RPM's and I don't seem to have any problems with heat on my SSD.
Accroding to this review, the Samsung 840 has an opertating temperature of -55 to 90C
As it happens, I added an SSD to my Mac Pro 3,1 in the optical bay over the weekend and migrated my system software. I did not go the step of adding a PCIe card to use SATA 3, but am happy with the results nonetheless. The operating system loads much more quickly and other programs are performing faster as well.
For anyone who is interested in doing upgrading to an SSD on a Mac Pro 3,1, I will note that the information out there on doing it is less than illuminiating as to where to find the SATA slots on the motherboard (they happen to be right behind the right edge of the fan housing about two inches down from the from the HDD array, a decidedly inconvenient place for plugging in a SATA cable). The SATA cable also has to be snaked through a slot with other cables in the lower rear corner of the optical bay, a chore for fat fingers. The worst part is the removal of the fan assembly to get to the SATA slots. The screw that holds the assembly to the motherboard was easy enough to find, though difficult to remove. The other screw, which I had to search to find since the descriptions just said two screws without a clue where, is at the front bottom right of the fan housing and connects the fan housing to the processor housing requiring a 90 degree screwdriver to remove. The rest of the information was adequate, so I was able to install it with only a little sweat.
I tried using Apple's Disc Utility to copy the operating system over to the new drive, but it was slow and I didn't trust it. I used SuperDuper, a free app, to clone the drive, which was more geared to my ability, clearly described steps, and it automatically made the new drive the startup disk and when I rebooted, all was well.
Even though I expect that when Apple finally brings out a new Mac Pro this year, I willing be getting one, I am decidely happy that the life of my current one has been extended through the use of an SSD. A worthy addition.
For anyone who is interested in doing upgrading to an SSD on a Mac Pro 3,1, I will note that the information out there on doing it is less than illuminiating as to where to find the SATA slots on the motherboard (they happen to be right behind the right edge of the fan housing about two inches down from the from the HDD array, a decidedly inconvenient place for plugging in a SATA cable). The SATA cable also has to be snaked through a slot with other cables in the lower rear corner of the optical bay, a chore for fat fingers. The worst part is the removal of the fan assembly to get to the SATA slots. The screw that holds the assembly to the motherboard was easy enough to find, though difficult to remove. The other screw, which I had to search to find since the descriptions just said two screws without a clue where, is at the front bottom right of the fan housing and connects the fan housing to the processor housing requiring a 90 degree screwdriver to remove. The rest of the information was adequate, so I was able to install it with only a little sweat.
I tried using Apple's Disc Utility to copy the operating system over to the new drive, but it was slow and I didn't trust it. I used SuperDuper, a free app, to clone the drive, which was more geared to my ability, clearly described steps, and it automatically made the new drive the startup disk and when I rebooted, all was well.
Even though I expect that when Apple finally brings out a new Mac Pro this year, I willing be getting one, I am decidely happy that the life of my current one has been extended through the use of an SSD. A worthy addition.
I've got that exact same MBP, albeit with just 8 GB RAM. I'm using a Crucial M4 (and before it, an Intel 330) without any fan problems.
Thanks for that. I put an SSD in my MBP 4,1 a while ago & noticed that the fans were noisier when I was running Snow Leopard but since I upgraded to Mountain Lion they have been driving me mad howling away far noisier than my Mac Pro. I had been running SMCFanControl but was disappointed that it wasn't possible to lower the fan adequately.