Today, I got my MacBook Pro back from AppleCare (Main Logic Board failure, which I pinpointed to the faulty/recalled GeForce 8600M).
And, I had a present for my anti-glare workhorse (oh snap, Chris just picked sides in the Apple screen wars). And, that present was an Intel X25-M.
I had had it with my Samsung 500 GB hard drive. It’s the slowest 500 GB drive out there, and worse, it runs even slower on Intel-based Macs. We’re not sure why, and Samsung sure is giving their typical shrugged shoulders. I thought about paying $100 for a Seagate 7200 RPM 500 GB hard drive.
But then I decided that I was still using a 2008 Mac laptop, and it needed some boost to push it past the current models. While I like a lot about the unibody MacBook Pros, I still prefer the keyboard and matted display of the 2008 units.
And yes, the upgrade has put my MacBook Pro back at the top of the hill. The wow factor is so multi-faceted. From the jaw-dropping boot times, to launching every app on the Dock at once… and having each app load faster than a standard Mac would load each app… to caching insane amounts of AJAX sites simultaneously.
SSD is amazing. Unfortunately, it also showcases Apple’s problems with their current design. FireWire 800 simply is not setup to handle 170 MB/second. And, while Apple enabled SATA-II’s full 3 gbps on the new MacBooks, unfortunately many are having issues with it.
What’s next? Well, I really can’t afford to be without 420 GB of disk space that I had yesterday… so I’ll be replacing my optical drive with an MCE OptiBay. It uses a SATA-to-PATA converter and lets you insert a 2.5-inch hard drive into the optical bay. On the newer unibody MacBooks, the OptiBay is a straight SATA connection, enabling 3.0 gbps on both drives.