SSD for a MacMini Core 2 Duo

[xllobet]

Hello, this is my first post here.

My family we have all MacMinis (mid 2007) Core 2 Duo (bought them at once so nobody is jealous), running Lion with 2GB, and I am thinking of upgrading them with ~120GB SSD.

I guess that the 6G models (SATA-3) would be an utter waste, so the models left are "Mercury EXTREME™ Pro 3G", "Intel 320", maybe OCZ. Or maybe not, and 6G models are worth considering.

Any informed opinion would be most helpful. Thanks!

 

[wrinkster22]

If you are already opening them all up, and spending a lot of money for SSD's you might as well put in more RAM

Any SSD will give you a high performance boost, especially with more ram. I would get the cheapest one.

 

[xllobet]

All have already 2GB of RAM, the official maximum.

 

[mdgm]

All have already 2GB of RAM, the official maximum.

It will take 2x2GB sticks but it will address 3GB (.3GB is reserved for other things and Mid-2007 Mini is 32-bit): http://www.macsales.com/maxram

A RAM upgrade would be a good idea to do.

I've upgraded my mid-2007 MacBook (similar components I think) to 4GB (2x2GB) RAM and it works fine even though 2GB is the official maximum.

I have an OWC SSD and am very happy with it.

 

[xllobet]

OK, I'll get more RAM. What about the SSD?

mdgm, from your signature I see that you chose a 6Gb/s SSD, even if your machine has only a SATA-2 (I think). Any reason?

 

[MJL]

Intel is the most reliable, others have far higher failure rates. Garbage collection is not aggressive so you'll have to enable TRIM - use Grant Pannell's method, lloeki has transformed it into a very easy to use script to do it for you.

 

[xllobet]

Thanks MJL...

... and now I begin to know a little too much. Googling for "Grant Pannell" I've found his TRIM enabler for Lion, with 194 messages in the thread.

If I have understood correctly, Intel and Crucial SSDs need Grant's patch to have TRIM enabled, while OCW's work well without.

Getting there...

 

[Ice Dragon]

Intel X-25M G2 or Samsung 470 for those Minis.

 

[xllobet]

Ice Dragon: if I get it right, the Intel 320 is the latest version of the X-25M. Are you suggesting that the older version is better?

The Samsung 470 is a SATA-I, which of course fits the MacMini; but Samsung does not sell them in Europe :-( Anyway I am adding it to the candidates list.

 

[AndrewHF1]

Mid 2007 Mac Mini Upgrade

I have upgraded my Mid 2007 Mac Mini to 4Gb memory system recognises all 4Gb, although 64Mb is used for the graphics.
I use an OCZ technologies Vertex 2, which gives the system a noticeable improvement in response/performance etc. for a Mac Mini.
Also run the OS X Lion (64bit)
See included screen shots

 

[xllobet]

AndrewHF1: in other posts I've read that the system recognizes the 4GB, but it cannot use them: only 3GB are usable.

About your SSD, I see that you have TRIM not enabled. Some disks suffer a degradation in performance. See this post, for example. How long have you had it?

 

[MJL]

You may want to read up on "over provisioning" on Intel's website. People here on MR go on about performance however 96% of the work on a SSD is working (actually reading) 4 K blocks so the sequential stuff is more or less meaningless. All the tests are not that revealing anyway because most of the lags in a HDD is when the heads need to move (seek => normall 10 - 12 mS) which with SSD is in the order of uS (factor 10,000 smaller).

However if you study over provisioning then you discover that by keeping 40 % unallocated on the Intel X25M you gain an approx 5 times longer life expectancy but more importantly gain a similar increase in performance.

Samsung is also not available here in New Zealand. You may want to investigate also the Toshiba's SSD. In addition Kingston has rebranded Toshiba and Intel drives so that is another option for you. One item which is important as well is the reputation of the seller: OWC has a very good service reputation when things do not work out as expected.

 

[Ice Dragon]

Ice Dragon: if I get it right, the Intel 320 is the latest version of the X-25M. Are you suggesting that the older version is better?

The Samsung 470 is a SATA-I, which of course fits the MacMini; but Samsung does not sell them in Europe :-( Anyway I am adding it to the candidates list.

I've heard the X-25M G2 is better than the 320; the 320 still has issues.

The 470 is SATA II not SATA I and you can't order from Newegg in Europe?

 

[AndrewHF1]

Trim enabled in OSX Lion

I have had the SSD just over a year on the MacMini system with no (humanly) noticeable drop in performance over this time. Even though I have had the system mini for a number of years I have never solely used the Mac for all computer needs I need a Windows (don't shot me) for some of my research. So have not had the time to play more (i.e. lift the bonnet/hood and tinker) with OSX etc.
I looked into TRIM Enabler for Lion; Lion only automatically does it for Apple supplied SSD. I used the information at this URL: http://digitaldj.net/2011/07/21/trim-enabler-for-lion/ to successfully enable TRIM for my SSD (see attached)!

You were correct about the memory size of the usable memory, only 3Gb usable (see attached). I'll have to substitute one of the 2Gb SODIMM's with a 1Gb (when I get the time), which is what Apple used to sell one 2Gb and one 1Gb together as an upgrade. I just had two 2Gb DDR2 SODIMM spare after a Win PC upgrade so used them, they worked.

Cheers!

_______________________________________________________________________________


"Not all those who wander are lost"
J.R.R. Tolkien

 

[dolphin842]

Hi xllobet, and welcome to the forums

If you're looking to 'play it safe' and stick to an SSD with specs similar to Apple's official drives, I'd recommend the Kingston V+100 series (not V100 or V+, Kingston's naming system is insane). V+100 drives use the same Toshiba controller as Apple's drives, which is to say they have very aggressive garbage collection. You'll sacrifice some speed in small random reads compared to newer drives, but honestly the jump from hard drive to SSD is so dramatic, you won't likely notice the difference.

 

[xllobet]

Thanks to everybody. After reading as much as I could digest, I think I'll pick the Kingston V+100 128GB. It does not need the TRIM support, uses the same controller as the MacBook Air, and it appears that as long as you leave over 20% of free space you are safe, which suits me fine (the present 80GB disks are far from full). The alternative are the OCW SSDs, that receive unanimous praise, and do not need the TRIM neither.

With the TRIM patch I could have the Intels and Crucials, but I am partial to minimal fiddling with the OS.

Thanks again, and have y'all a safe Halloween/All Saints Day/All Souls Day.

 

[mdgm]

mdgm, from your signature I see that you chose a 6Gb/s SSD, even if your machine has only a SATA-2 (I think). Any reason?

I'm planning on getting a new machine (maybe next year) that I plan to move the SSD over to.