SSD Drives For Apple Mac Computers

Last Updated: Fed 5th, 2012

2012 appears to be the turning point 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 - or as Build-To-Order options for other MacBook laptop and the iMac and Macintosh Pro desktop lineup. For other's with a dying Mac hard drive or looking for a performance upgrade: SSD capacties are up and price points are at $2 per Gigabye or less. It's a great opportunity to step up to ultra-fast SSD performance in your Mac computer.

Best 2012 SSD For Mac Options

           
3rd Generation 120GB IntelHOT: SandForce Vertex 3 SSDHybrid SSD Drives
Large Size + Speed
SATA II Intel 320

Value SSD Price 		Rip Snortin' Vertex 3

Fast SandForce Chipset 		Seagate SSD Hybrid

500GB + 4GB SSD


As solid-state performance rapidly evolves, flash disks now outpace even the highest performing mechanical spinning platter drives. In 2011 in particular, SSD cost per gigabyte has fallen rapidly to below $2 per Gigabyte. For many, a 120GB SSD drive is a very affordable upgrade or replacement for a dead Apple hard drive. Even the 300mb/sec transfer rates of the current SATA II interface spec used in current Mac's have become a bottle-neck. SSDs are getting THAT fast! So the transition to 6GBps SATA III is well underway. Starting with 2011's Mac mini models without the optical drive - Apple is now beginning to use SATA 3 controllers on the logic board, smaking 6GBps drvies the best near - and long-term choice for maximum performance



MacBook, iMac, SSD For Mac Mini

Mac models 2-3 years old - Particulary consumer systems like the Mini and White MacBooks had a slower SATA I speed interface. More recent 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 2011. So, while you may not need a bleeding-edge drive, it's still best to think LONG TERM about 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 controller and large on-disk 64MB-128MB cache can meet your needs for years to come. SSD's just don't have the mechanical failure rates too many of us has experienced with conventional spinning-platter hard drives.

Bargain 2011 Mac Solid-State Drive Deals

           
OCZ Agility 3
Faster, Lower-Price		128GB Drive
Value Performance		Sweet-Spot
Size + Speed
Agility3 Solid State Drive

2nd Generation Value SSD 		Patriot Signature Series

Around $2 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 - and 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.