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Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
I see the point of the trouble free install (changing a HD is nothing that hard by the way), but I do know something about SSDs and what really matters to measure the improvements are random read and write values (xbench isn't great but gives an idea about that), sequential results are meaningful only for file transfers, not for loading and saving stuff in a multi tasking environment. I would be afraid that those "SSDs" suffer in random writes as the first Jmicron based SSD did, with terrible performance and caused random pauses in the OS usage due to this problem.
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
OK, I found a test made on this disk, but it's a bit sad: X25-M 80 GB with latest firmware (note that this drive is the best random read-write performer and one of the worst sequential write performers):
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
I have no doubt at all that an internal SSD is faster than an ExpressCard SSD. But it's also a heck of a lot more money, especially for a fast SSD like that one -- $300 vs. $165.
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
It's surely nice (most ExpressCard SSDs are a lot worse than that, but good 3.5 HDs have a similar performance to the one I got for that SSD), but given the price per GB I'd absolutely go for the internal one. The labor required to install it depends on the machine, I am a lucky owner of a Late 2008 MBP Unibody so it takes me extactly 4-5 minutes to swap HD (pull one lever, loosen one screw and move 4 "pins" from the old the new hd, screw back, close), so I'd say the major advantage of using the ExpressCard is actually not having to sacrifice the other HD or DVD Writer. On other machines a lot of work is required, but in my experience is just the first time that il may look scary, otherwise it's a 10m job.
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
For comparison, here is my Kingston SSD Now! 128 GB according to X-Bench:
Disk Test 72.81 Sequential 101.32 Uncached Write 115.53 70.93 MB/sec [4K blocks] Uncached Write 138.55 78.39 MB/sec [256K blocks] Uncached Read 52.34 15.32 MB/sec [4K blocks] Uncached Read 222.21 111.68 MB/sec [256K blocks] Random 56.83 Uncached Write 16.50 1.75 MB/sec [4K blocks] Uncached Write 135.07 43.24 MB/sec [256K blocks] Uncached Read 1819.53 12.89 MB/sec [4K blocks] Uncached Read 551.78 102.39 MB/sec [256K blocks] ---
vacuums do not suck. they merely provide an absence that allows other objects to take the place of what becomes absent.
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
As for the possibility of "OS pauses," I've been using this one now for 48 hours, pretty much constantly, and it hasn't hiccuped a single time. Time will tell, of course, but I'm thrilled with the performance to date.
Boot some MacBook Pros via an ExpressCard solid state drive
I'm almost sure that if you use all the space on that SSD there may be performance problems in time, but I'd like to use that in my MBP for secondary virtual machines and maybe as secondary SSD, but most ExpressCArd SSDs I can find here in Italy are really terrible performers. |
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