SSD Drives For Apple Mac Computers

Last Updated: February 25th, 2013

2013 appears to be the best year ever for the PC and Mac SSD drive market. The latest generation of SATA III interface Solid-State drives are delivering fantastic Read AND Write performance on OSX thanks to the latest generation of SSD controller chipsets. With the exception of the Mac mini - Apple now offers either bundled SSD drives in the MacBook Air and Retina Display models - or as Build-To-Order options for other MacBook Pro laptops, the iMac and Macintosh Pro desktop line. For those with a dying Mac hard drive or looking for the single best performance upgrade: SSD capacties are up and price points are down to well below $1 per Gigabye. It's a great opportunity to upgrade to ultra-fast SSD performance in your aging Mac computer.

Best 2013 SSD's For Mac

           
SandForce Vertex 4 SSDHybrid SSD Drive
Large Size + Speed		SATA III Intel SSD
*FAST* OCZ Vertex4

Highest I/O Performance! 		Seagate SSD Hybrid

750GB + 4GB SSD 		Intel's New Value SSD

SATA III 330 Series


As solid-state performance rapidly evolves, flash disks easily outpace even the highest performing mechanical spinning platter drives. Recent SSD costs per gigabyte has fallen rapidly towards 75 cents per Gigabyte. For many, a 120GB SSD drive is a very affordable upgrade or replacement for a dead Apple hard drive. The transition to 6GBps SATA III is well underway. Apple is currently using SATA III controllers on their logic boards, making 6GBps drvies the best near and long-term choice for maximum performance. If you have an older Mac, backwards compatibility with legacy SATA II and I controllers assures the SSD will perform the best it can, no matter what SATA controller your Mac has.



MacBook, iMac, SSD For Mac Mini

Mac models 2-3 years old - consumer systems like the Mini and White MacBooks had a slower SATA I speed interface. More recently or Pro models now ship with SATA II speed interfaces. Older SATA I interface Apple computer models can't really take full advantage of a truly modern high-speed SSD of 2013. So, while you may not need a bleeding-edge drive, it's still best to think LONG TERM about getting the best performance possible while keeping an eye towards the prospect of moving your solid-state drive into a faster Mac a year or three down the road. Extremely high performing solid-state drives with a SandForce or Indilinx controllers and large on-disk cache can meet your needs for years to come. SSD's just don't have the mechanical failure rates many of us has experienced with conventional spinning-platter hard drives.

Bargain 2013 Mac Solid-State Drive Deals

           
OCZ Agility 4
Faster, Lower-Price		128GB Drive
Value Performance		Sweet-Spot
Size + Speed
Agility 4 Solid State Drive

Current Generation Value SSD 		Patriot Signature Series

Around $1 per GB 		Corsair Value Series

Fast Indilinx Controller


Macintosh OSX Compatible Flash Hard Drives

OSX runs quite well on current SSDs. Apples file system's block size matches well with solid-state technology. As OSX advances - and flash memory SSD drives become standard and optional equipment on many more Apple computer models - further refinements to optimize OSX for flash memory storage will be present in OS X Lion and beyond.

Solid-State Drive Replacement Services For Apple Computers

Some Apple computers - particularly recent Aluminum iMacs, older G4 iBooks, and early MacBook Pro laptops are VERY-VERY difficult and need specific tools to take apart. So certain models are best left to professional computer bench techs. Some older iBook and the first Intel MacBook Pro laptops have to literally be GUTTED to get to the hard drive and swap a flash drive into, and may involve up to a 100 screws or more. It's too easy to KILL your computer with a slip of the screwdriver: Leave it to qualified Mac service folk who know what they're doing. More recent models like the Macintosh Pro towers and Unibody MacBook Pro's however, make an SSD drive swap something anyone with a steady hand and the tight tools can do within minutes. Recent changes to the low-profile Mac mini design make a Mac mini SSD upgrade far easier than in years past.