The Need for Speed (Part 3)...

In the continuing saga about optimising my Macs to get the maximum speed possible....

Checkout my previous blog posts Need for Speed... and Need for Speed (Part 2)... for some background.

Real World SSD Speed Comparisons
As promised, I did some very unscientific timings of my MacBook Pro (2.66 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4GB RAM, but the generation before the sealed battery) with both the supplied SATA 320GB drive and the 256GB SSD drive.

Just to remind you, I've installed a 256GB SSD (Solid State Drive) to replace my standard drive. The timings were done on the MacBook Pro with my standard account and applications setup. To install the SSD drive, I replaced the SATA drive, formatted the SSD drive and then did a fresh install of Snow Leopard on the SSD. I then used the migration assistant to copy my user account and applications across from the original drive to the new SSD. This should mean that the timings are comparable.

Before letting you in on the timings, I'd just say that my Voyager Q Interface has been a tremendous boon, allowing my to swap drives around for backups, test installs, creating a SL boot drive - marvellous. I used it in this instance to mount the original 2.5" SATA drive via Firewire to copy across my setup to the SSD. A really great bit of kit!

OK, so on to the timings!

First, the operation of the MacBook Pro

Sleep and Wake don't look that different but just look at the boot from cold to login panel result! Almost a minute quicker. The login panel to last icon bounce result was also hugely impressive although I'm not sure if all is as it seems. I have several applications loading on boot and for some reason, LittleSnapper seems to take an age to load on the standard drive.

OK, let's look at some application loading.

As I say, pretty unscientific, the number of bounces for the SSD is the number taken for the application to be loaded and the screen drawn. Obviously, in the case of Mail, it takes longer for the mail to be updated but we're just looking at application loading times here. Interestingly, with the eSata drive, on Mail and iTunes, the applications hadn't been drawn on the screen even when the icon had stopped bouncing, taking a few seconds more in each case.

It's really hard to visualise what these speed increases mean without actually trying it out, but I think you'll agree, there are some pretty significant improvements to be had if you're fortunate enough to have the spare cash for an SSD card. I've no doubt that the cost will drop dramatically over the next few years.

I wonder if the fabled iPad or Apple tablet could be fitted with an SSD drive as standard. Well we know that Snow Leopard has been slimmed down for a reason, it's just the price premium that's the blocker I would imagine. But a 10" tablet with Snow Leopard and a 64GB SSD....

Now the next project to try out is the 10,000RPM hard drive for the Mac Pro as mentioned in a previous post. I have to admit though, I'm wondering if the improvements on the Mac Pro would be as dramatic using an SSD.

I'll have to think about that!

Comments

[Don McAllister]

Thanks Dave,

Some great information!

I always wondered why the Apple SSDs didn't attract as much attention as I thought they should. I'm still happy with my Crucial SSD in my MacBook Pro.