www.xlr8yourmac.com

Mac Upgrades/Repairs | Storage | Video & Displays | Audio/Home Theater | OS Updates/Tips/Wi-Fi
Return to News Page
2010 MacBook Pro SSD Info/Feedback (Apple OEM SSD and Others)
Posted April 21st, 2010
Last Updated: May 26th, 2010



This page has reader mails/reports/info on SSDs in the 2010 MacBook Pros.

(added 5/25/2010 - notes updated 5/26)
"Here are some screenshots from a 200MB OWC Mercury Extreme RE SSD on my new (2010) 15" Core i7 MacBook Pro. (ASP, xBench and AJA System Tests.) System profiler does not say anything about SSD or Trim.

ASP info

I don't seem to see the 260-270MB/s promised but it's a speedy drive nonetheless.
Small reads and writes are off the charts, as expected.
(FYI - I asked if he'd test again with a Firewire 800 device connected, after reports that Core i7 MBPs have reduced internal SATA performance unless a FW800 device is connected. He tried that and it didn't really matter (benchmark differences were within normal run-run variations).
Regardless, I'd love to have the 220+MB/sec read and write speeds from a single drive he's seeing in his kona test.
)
Applications launch instantaneously and booting/shutdown is fast.

AJ Kona tests

Xbench scores

I'm waiting for OWC to post a mac firmware tool for this drive so I can secure erase and manage firmware updates without Windows.

I would have purchased one of the new "Pro" versions of this drive if I had known OWC were going to launch them. (As posted in the main news page a few weeks ago, OWC added another series to their Sandforce-based SSD line - the Extreme Pro SSD line (60GB-480GB) has 20% higher capacity but with 7% over provisioning (vs 28%) and 3 year warranty (vs 5 year) compared to their Extreme Pro RE SSDs (50GB-400GB)) The limited capacity is my only complaint and the 28% over provisioning on this version seems excessive. (I wonder if the difference in capacity/provisioning is just firmware.) Still happy with my new machine, though.

(I asked if he'd had any sleep/wake problems.)
No, no issues with sleep/wake. But I ordered it only a couple of weeks ago so I suspect OWC applied the SF-1200 based firmware that resolves the sleep problems. (The ASP info above notes firmware version "305A134F0")
Please don't publish my name/email..."

I never post email addresses and unless specifically asked - normally only first name and last initial.


(added 4/21/2010)
"Snow Leopard delivered with new MBP 13" supports TRIM command for SSDs?
I just picked up my new 2010 MacBook Pro 13" (base model).
First thing I did was to swap the 250GB HDD for an Intel 160GB SSD (2nd gen). Then I re-installed Mac OS X "Snow Leopard" from the DVDs delivered with the new machine (build 10D2125) and fired up the System Profiler. What immediately cought my eye were the new lines added under the section "Serial-ATA":
    Medium Type: Solid State
    TRIM Support: No

Although this particular intel SSD does support the TRIM command, the OS states "NO". but somehow this new release delivered with the 2010 MBPs seems to be aware of SSDs and the TRIM command. I just don't know how one could trigger the TRIM command now... maybe OSX will do this if there's an Apple installed SSD?
Regards, Michael
(berne, switzerland)
http://bosshard.be

(Here's his ASP screenshot, which I trimmed down in size for posting here)
ASP trim info"

And another 2010 MacBook Pro owner today wrote regarding his OEM (apple shipped) 128GB SSD. The linked page he included has a System Profiler screenshot of his "Apple 128GB SSD" System profiler info and it does not show any Trim info (yes or no). Unlike the above, it also lists no support for Native Command Queuing (there was some debate on that with SSDs in the past), but is shown as 3Gbit link speed.
(The Core i series use a different chipset (Intel) vs Nvidia in the Core 2's - in case that's a factor.)


(added 4/21/2010)
"17in MacBook Pro (Core i5) with Apple/OEM 128GB SSD
On Monday I received my 17-inch MacBook Pro with 128GB SSD, ordered within the first hour of availability. I ran xbench and ATTO Bench to evaluate the disk speed. The results can be found at http://kaylan.org/?p=213
(here's his Apple 128GB SSD ASP info)
apple128GB SSD info

The SSD disk is good, but not great. It is nowhere near where intel's SSD offerings are. (there's actually even faster SSDs than Intel's. The Apple CTO 512GB SSD is reportedly made by Toshiba (spec'd at 220MB/sec read, 180MB/sec writes per Toshiba H2 series PDF, but not sure if the 128's and 256's are also Toshiba H2's. If anyone has one and opens it up to check, let me know.) There is also a boot video in the link above.

xb scores

(ATTO benchmark scores in Windows XP)
atto scores

Interestingly, I also noticed that i5 Mac Book Pro is still booting in 32 bit kernel and kernel extensions mode. (Snow Leopard defaults to 32-bit kernel boots on all macs I've seen. You can change that by holding the 6+4 keys at boot or using one of the several freeware utils/pref panes for Snow Leopard.) I am sure that is also the case for i7, as there are very few differences between the CPUs. See here: http://kaylan.org/?p=234 for screen shot.

(He later wrote)
The 6+4 trick does indeed boot in 64 bits. I am disappointed however that Apple still chooses 32bit by default even on these latest crop of machines for reasons I do not get.
-Ali"

I can only assume they do that in case someone has drivers that are only 32bit. (Over time more are getting updated w/64bit support though - even my cheapo (under $20) 3132-based eSATA expresscard has 64bit drivers. Although honestly I usually boot in 32bit, for now at least. My main work machine is running 10.5.8 though.)

FYI (for 2010 15/17in MBP owners) - Last week Apple posted a MacBook Pro Software Update 1.3 that included what I assume are updated graphics card drivers but they also note "other bug fixes":

"This update is recommended for all 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro mid 2010 models and contains improvements for graphics stability for high-performance video and gaming applications as well as various bug fixes."

Ali later wrote he had also applied that update.


= Popular Links =

macOS Updates
and also
iOS/iPadOS/tvOS


Mini-ITX Hackintosh


Dual M.2 NVMe
SSD PCIe Card
(Mac Pro 5,1)


Apple Guides


Display Tips


LG OLED TV Firmware


LG OLED TV Tips


Audio/Home Theater Updates


TV, AVR, and Disc Player Tips


= back to www.XLR8YOURMAC.com =


= Other Site Topic Areas =
Mac Mods/Upgrades | Storage | Video Cards/Displays | Audio/HT | Tips/OS Updates/Wi-Fi


Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved.
All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies.

Legal: Site Privacy and terms/conditions of use.