Which OWC SSD

[timmeh]

I am comparing the Electra and Extreme Pro OWC SSD's. The only difference I can tell between the two are the incompressible data read/write rates and I don't have the technical knowledge to know if these read/write rates are relevant to streaming samples. Will the Extreme Pro truly be faster for streaming samples or will the electra 6G suffice?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_6G/

[HCMarkus]

If you want a Sandforce drive (as are the OWC SSDs) I'd recommend Intel… better firmware and bang for the buck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... lsrc=aw.ds

I have been using Intel 520s and 330s for several years now with no issue.

I used to recommend Samsung 840 Evo, but a "State Data" problem popped up.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9196/sams ... 40-evo-fix

Has the issue been fixed for good? No one knows yet.

Regardless, Anandtech was last recommending different drives, one of which is the Samsung 850 that has not demonstrated the stale data issue. The 850 uses a new 3-D technology that should make it very robust.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8783/best ... liday-2014

In the interim, several other candidates have emerged. I suggest tooling around sites like Anandtech and MacRumors. And learn about Trim. OWC says you don't need it, but their SSDs support it and the company behind the Sandforce controller chip in OWC drives recommends using it. Google "Trim Enabler."

[Killahurts]

I am comparing the Electra and Extreme Pro OWC SSD's. The only difference I can tell between the two are the incompressible data read/write rates and I don't have the technical knowledge to know if these read/write rates are relevant to streaming samples. Will the Extreme Pro truly be faster for streaming samples or will the electra 6G suffice?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_6G/

Those incompressible rates will affect performance on any (uncompressed) audio or video system. You definitely should go with the Extreme if you get OWC. We got an extreme for our performance laptop.. we run complex sample libraries, multiple tracks, multiple MIDI controllers, all in DP and all on one drive, without a hitch!

[BobK]

I've used the Electras for my system drive and a sample library drive in my Mac Pro for a little less than a year so far with no problems. The computer boots up much faster, and sample libraries load much faster. It's almost like having a new machine.

I decided not to worry about trim because of what OWC said and because Lloyd Chambers of MacPerformanceGuide.com recommended them.

[timmeh]

Yeah, I currently have some Samsung EVO 840's and regret that I purchased them. The loading and streaming of samples has been problematic on those drives. I am going to apply an update to the firmware that was just released to see if that solves the stale data issue.

In regards to the incompressible data rate the reason I ask if it will effect performance for streaming is that as I understand it all sample library data is compressed right? If thats the case then if I only stream samples the Electra should perform nearly as well as the extreme pro correct?

Thanks for your help thus far!

[dix]

Yeah, I currently have some Samsung EVO 840's and regret that I purchased them. The loading and streaming of samples has been problematic on those drives. I am going to apply an update to the firmware that was just released to see if that solves the stale data issue.

Interesting. I have three EVO 840s in my system and haven't had any issues. Are the steaming issues something that occur over time? How do these streaming problems manifest themselves?

[timmeh]

DIX,

The load times become very long and the streaming can be sluggish forcing me to increase the buffer settings within my DAW. I just applied the firmware update today that was recently released by Samsung and so far things are running much more smoothly, but in order to apply the update I had to do it through my old PC.

[dix]

Thanks timmeh.

Since I'm not seeing any issues it's hard to know if I should update or wait until there's a problem.

There's a Mac updater. Did it not work for you?

http://ssd.samsungsemi.com/ecomobile/ss ... 6Q_Mac.iso

[timmeh]

Apparently they haven't released a mac version of the update for the latest firmware update just yet. Additionally the mac updater was more of a pain in the a$$ then plugging them into the windows machine since I would have to create a bootable usb.

[mikehalloran]

one of which is the Samsung 850 that has not demonstrated the stale data issue. The 850 uses a new 3-D technology that should make it very robust.

There are two of these – neither has the 840 EVO issues.

The 850 EVO has a 5 year warranty; the 850 Pro has a 10 year warranty and costs about $100 more. The 1T version is actually 1T instead of 960G on these. These rate extremely high in recent reviews. The Pro and EVO are different but are built around the same form.
http://www.custompcguide.net/compare-sa ... sd-series/

I am using the 845 EVO. It's the enterprise version and, likewise, does not have the 840 issues. It has a capacitor bank so that, if the drive loses power, writes will finish. It is designed for sustained streaming but I don't understand what is different that makes that so. Someone was selling the 960G version on eBay under $400 so I pulled the trigger.

BTW, the older 840 Pro can still be found in the 480G and smaller (I don't think there was ever a 1T build). Its architecture is different than the 840 EVO and uses different firmware.

[mikehalloran]

Apparently they haven't released a mac version of the update for the latest firmware update just yet. Additionally

Not true.

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ ... loads.html

Additionally the mac updater was more of a pain in the a$$ then plugging them into the windows machine since I would have to create a bootable usb.

Yes, a LINUX bootable USB or CD is such a pain... waitaminute, no it's not. Follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

[artfarm1]

My machine isn't as new as yours (I have 2009 MacPro 4.1) but I'm using four OWC Electra 3's without a hitch.

One for my main applications, 2 for sample libraries, one for recording onto with MIDI and/or audio.

FWIW, they perform wonderfully.

[mikehalloran]

And learn about Trim. OWC says you don't need it, but their SSDs support it and the company behind the Sandforce controller chip in OWC drives recommends using it. Google "Trim Enabler."

Yes indeed!

TRIM is a drive management system that is part of OS X. It manages unused space, deleted files and prolongs the life of SSDs. The problem is that Apple blocks TRIM from working unless the OS detects an Apple OE SSD.

Trim Enabler.app is shareware – its core function (unblock TRIM) works if you don't pay the $10 but all of its features work if you do. One of those features is a pop-up every time you run an OS update that tells you that the app has been disabled. There's other functionality, too.
https://www.cindori.org/software/

Because it turns off kext signing, a new security "feature" in Yosemite, there are issues if you don't remember to disable it before performing certain functions. There's a short thread about it here. I have made all those mistakes, some on purpose, just to see how easy it is to restore my system (pretty easy). You want to read this:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 86#p501486

[mikehalloran]

Back to the OP: No one is saying don't buy the OWC SSDs. They're great and OWC has an excellent reputation for customer service.

It's that many of us feel that you can do just as well for less, often with a longer guarantee.

[timmeh]

Good to know, thanks for all of your suggestions everybody! Mike Halloran - I will definitely give that Trim Enabler app a go and maybe give the samsung 850's a better look. I was hesitant after my experience with the 840's but it does sound like they've made some significant leaps in the right direction with the 850 series.