Emergency replacement of startup drive, which OS?

[Killahurts]

I got very, very lucky.

The original spinner in my 2010 Mac Pro gave me ample warning of an impending fail. It has bad sectors, but I know which ones and was able to trash the associated files on them (they are not system files). The computer takes a mere 10 minutes to boot now, rather than the 45 minutes it was taking! I got a 1TB Samsung EVO 850 and I'm waiting for delivery today of a drive sled mount/adapter for it.

I was waiting for an opportunity to update the OS from Yosemite to El Cap, was going to look at doing it after the album I'm mixing, but this happened right in the middle of the work. i.e., I need to be up and running as quickly as possible. Audio system, Digital Performer, UAD plugs, iLok plugs.. these are my top priority. I plan to do a clean install and use Time Machine/Migration Assistant to transfer files that I will pick and choose.

So the question is, since I have to do a clean install anyway, should I just install El Capitan and move everything over (as though I bought a new computer with a newer OS), or should I reinstall 10.10.5, get everything working, and then install El Cap later when everything is up and stabilized?

It is exciting to be able to do a clean install, even though it will take time I don't really have. My system is so bloated with useless files and such, and having the newest system on a first time write to an SSD makes good sense to me, but could I potentially break a lot more stuff and take longer to get up and running.. what do you guys think?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'd go with Yosemite as El Cap still appears to be "under development" (and under developed). But if you're headed to El Cap eventually for sure, then I'd start there in a clean install and get it over with.

Just my opinion, of course. YMMV

[Killahurts]

I'd go with Yosemite as El Cap still appears to be "under development" (and under developed). But if you're headed to El Cap eventually for sure, then I'd start there in a clean install and get it over with.

Just my opinion, of course. YMMV

Thanks, I think you're right. I should keep things as simple as possible and worry about El Cap later. If I hate it, it would be difficult or not possible to go back.

Man, this hard drive is doing some crazy stuff now.. not usable. The adapter is in, so this will be my last post from this drive. See you on the other side..

[bayswater]

You can always update to EC later. There's no point in complicating things more than necessary by going to a new drive and a new OS at the same time.

[mikehalloran]

Nonsense. If you are going to have issues, it will not make a difference. Start with OS 10.11.5.

[Killahurts]

Thanks for the responses guys!

Well, I ended up chicken'ing out on the clean install. When I was in recovery mode, I had the decision to do that, or restore from Time Machine. When I thought of all the work I would have to do with a clean install, I decided to go with Time Machine. I'm behind schedule on mixing this record, and took the quickest way out..

And I'm glad I did. Once I hit the button, 6 hours of "Blackout", then I had my computer back. Popped in the DP code and was up and running. The UAD card held its own, and likewise the Native Instruments stuff worked perfectly (I think it licenses itself to the machine, not the startup drive- wish everyone did that).

Over the years, I suppose I didn't notice my system drive getting slower and slower.. even with the 3Gb limit of my SATA bus, this SSD seems insanely fast to me. Many of the speed issues I was having with Mail and Safari, and even DP, were not system related as I suspected.. they were actually due to an old fragged-out spinner that needed replacing. Word.

[HCMarkus]

SSD on SATA2 is great, especially for OS, as most calls are small, and the limitation is not the buss.

A whole new world!

[mikehalloran]

Welcome to the 21st Century!

[Killahurts]

I didn't want to start a new thread about SSD drives, so I hope this gets seen..

I'm now going SSD crazy with my old Mac Pro! After replacing the system drive with the Samsung, I've decided it is time to replace my audio/project drive, and one of my sample drives.

My current audio drive is actually two WD Black spinners, in a RAID 0. It is actually faster (318 MB read/write average) than the SSD I will replace it with (Samsung is giving me around 270 MB). These drives are all in the 4 drive rails, so there is a 3Gbps limit. I want to replace it because I need the extra drive bay. I don't think the performance hit will be a problem, as I haven't ever brought the RAID to its knees.

I have two sample drives. One is a 1TB PCIe blade that offers insane speed (650+ MB). That's where I put the stuff that needs to be fast, like LASS, Cinebrass, East West, etc. Then I have the old spinner in the drive bay. That drive is the biggest performance killer in my rig. Even with the 3G limit, I will awaken into a new world of efficiency once that has been replaced. Just loading projects can take minutes right now. Lots and lots of samples..

So, more Samsung 850's, or OWC Mercury?

OWC has different drives for performance- the 3G for Mac Pros like mine, and the 6G "Extreme". Similarly, Samsung has the 850 "Pro". None of these drives will operate at 6G in my system, obviously.. but do you guys think it's worth the extra $$ to get the Extreme or Pro? My reasoning would be that those drives are likely built a little better, have longer warranties, and might be overall more reliable.

One guy at OWC told me that if I put a 6G Extreme in the 3G Mac Pro, that it would actually bust the drive down to SATA 1 speed! That's why they sell the 3G model to begin with. I don't know if I believe that.. Well, I'll find out today. I have a 6G Extreme that was supposed to go into a laptop, that I will try out when my drive sleds get here.

OTOH, both Samsung models are 6G, but the Pro is just.. well, pro I guess.

There is $50 difference between the 3G and 6G drives at OWC. There is well over $100 difference between 850 and 850 Pro.

Any advice?

[HCMarkus]

Although your RAID set might deliver faster once it finds the data, the SSDs will likely outperform in usage due to much faster seek time.

I can't but help recommending the Samsung 850, either Evo or Pro. Although the 840 Evo series had some issues (stale data read rates), they used planer TLC NAND, and the 850s use 3D NAND, which is MUCH more robust (a lot more silicon per memory cell). I've had a couple of 850 Evos for several months now, no issues, including one I'm using for VI sample service, but I'm not basing my recommendation on my personal experience. I have yet to see anyone reporting issues with the 850s Evo or Pro, in my ramblings on the Internet. Haven't compared prices lately, but last time I looked, the 850 Evos are tough to beat.

I would not hesitate to go with 6g interface drives, as you might decide to add a SATA3 PCIe card at some point. You'd probably see a bigger impact going to SATA3 for sample delivery or project drive than boot drive, as boot drive calls are generally very small and limited more by drive speed than bus speed. Check 4k read/write stats: http://www.anandtech.com/show/10258/the ... nar-nand/6 for graphs for a bunch of current drives. As you can see, none operate as fast as SATA2 for 4k reads and writes.

I do not recommend the Samsung 750 linked to in the above. It uses planar TLC NAND.

For a one or two drives, you can get SATA3 cards for about $12.00 on Ebay. Using the AS Media ASM1061 chipset. Max throughput is a tad under theoretical max SATA3 speed (due to PCIe x1 interface), but still faster than SATA2 for a single drive. Yes, this chipset is Mac compatible.

Here's one from China, but for a little more, you can get one from a US seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Express-S ... Sw1XdUXkUj

[HCMarkus]

PS: The guy from OWC is full of sit (in/on his keister). SATA2 bus speed will not be altered by connection of SATA3 SSD.

[Killahurts]

Yeah, that's what I thought, thanks for that!

And thanks for the PCIe links. I didn't mention that my SSD blade (OWC E2) also has 2 eSATA connections for external storage, and because they are on the board, drives attached that are capable will operate at 6G. I might look at that in the future, but for now I want to keep the computer relatively self contained..

I'd like to get another year out of this machine. These SSDs will really help in that regard. When it comes time to buy a trashcan, I'll have to replace my whole (PCIe-based) system, so I'm putting it off as long as I can.

[Killahurts]

Haven't compared prices lately, but last time I looked, the 850 Evos are tough to beat.

They're impossible to beat right now. I got a 1TB for $300 (from a reputable store). The Evo Pro was a lot more, but I can't think of how I would be able to utilize the difference in this machine, other than the longer warranty. I read that the Pro apparently will also do somewhat more read/writes before failure, but that you're probably not going to hit that limit with the regular Evo anyway.

[mikehalloran]

The OWC Mercury has a 3 year warranty, the 850 EVO is 5 while the 850 PRO is warranted for 10.

I can find the 2T 850 EVO for the same price or less than the 2T OWC ... easy decision.

The only reasons I can think to buy a spinner are for long term archival storage and Time Machine. I might consider an SSD for one of my Time Capsules if capacity increases.

There are rumors f a new Time Capsule out soon. Will see if anything is announced at the WWDC next week.

[Killahurts]

The OWC Mercury has a 3 year warranty, the 850 EVO is 5 while the 850 PRO is warranted for 10.

I can find the 2T 850 EVO for the same price or less than the 2T OWC ... easy decision.

Yep, I agree..

Off to the computer store!