- OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE MAC OS
- OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE UPGRADE
- OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE PRO
- OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE WINDOWS
OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE PRO
In shutting down, the system did similarly well, taking just 5.7 seconds with the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G. In our trials with some laptops, the boot time is much shorter, taking about 10 seconds. Note that this boot time includes the time the test machine spends going through the hardware initialization, about 15 seconds. Our data copy tests, however, show the drive's raw data transfer speed when used in real-world scenarios after all overheads.Īs the main drive, in a boot time test, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G helped the system boot up in just 29.4 seconds, which is about the same as the rest of the SATA 3 SSDs we've reviewed. Some of our tests gauge the performance of the system as a whole and see how the drive affects its performance. We test SSDs in real-world usage, both as the main drive that hosts the operating system of the test computer, and as a secondary drive, which is used only to store data. If you want to opt for the top-capacity version, however, the 480GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G is much less expensive, at just $2.67 per gigabyte the 480GB Vertex 3 costs $3.76 per gigabyte. The second most expensive is now the Vertex 3, which is about 12 cents per gigabyte less. The OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G's 240GB version is currently the most expensive among recent SATA 3 (6Gbps) solid-state drives we've reviewed, costing around $2.29 per gigabyte. Other drives, including the Seagate Barracuda XT, took just a few seconds to be quick-formatted.
OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE WINDOWS
As with the Vertex 3, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G took a significantly long time to be formatted in our trials, about 7 minutes to be quick-formatted using Windows 7.
OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE MAC OS
We tried the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G in a few different computers, running Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, and it worked well with all of them, just like any regular SATA hard drive. To take advantage of the drive's top speed, however, you'll want to use it with a SATA 3 controller, such as that of a computer powered by Intel's new Sandy Bridge chipset. This means it'll work in any SATA applications. Similar to the latest SSDs we've reviewed, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and is backward-compatible with previous generations of the SATA standard. Like the Vertex 3, the Extreme Pro 6G also supports RAID configurations. The former ensures that the entire drive's memory cells have the same level of wear, and the latter offers RAID 1-like redundancy for data integrity. Examples of these include a wear-leveling algorithm and SandForce RAISE. In our experience, however, as an SSD has no moving parts and is very light, you can probably get away with leaving it inside the computer's chassis without screwing it tightly to a drive bay.Īccording to OWC, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G offers similar advanced SSD technologies to those found in the Vertex 3.
Unlike the Vertex 3, however, the Mercury Extreme Pro 6G doesn't come with a drive bay converter, meaning it will be a little tricky if you want to use it with a desktop computer. OWC proudly stands by the quality of our SSDs – all OWC SSDs are backed by a Limited Warranty for up to 5 years of worry-free service.The Mercury Extreme Pro 6G shares the same shape, dimensions, and port design as the OCZ Vertex 3, which is the same design as a standard 9.5mm, 2.5-inch internal hard drive.
OWC SOLID STATE DRIVE UPGRADE
We offer complete DIY SSD upgrade kits, step-by-step SSD installation videos, and expert customer support who are more than happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. Even if you have never opened up your Mac before, we strive to make the upgrade process as easy and straightforward as possible. The upgrade is much more straightforward than you might think.Īt OWC, we strongly believe Mac users should have the option to upgrade and improve their existing technology instead of having to purchase a new computer every 2-4 years. And you do not have to be an Apple technician to upgrade safely – you can do it yourself. Additionally, if you have a 2016 or older MacBook Pro or a 2017 or older MacBook Air, you can upgrade your internal storage up to 2.0TB. Although this is increasingly true for more recent MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops, the SSDs and hard drives of nearly all Apple iMac and Mac Pro desktops are still upgradeable. Many Mac users still do not realize that their hard drive or SSD is upgradeable, and they believe that to have more storage, they must purchase a new Mac.