Quote:
Originally Posted by Elberoth
Dan - I agree whith most of what you posted, and I'm also thankful Golucid made such a nice writup. Having written my share of writups in the past, I know that it takes considerable time and effort ... something most forum members are NOT prepared to do.
The thing I see missing in the writep is the explanation that the SSD drive replacement is really only an option (an expensive one at that !) - that was not really proven to bring any performance or reliability improvements.
I can see a prospective MB100 buyer, with no computer background, beeing unnecesarely put off by the extra cost of the parts mentioned.
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Elberoth...Why Replace OS Drive SSD?
1. Particularly useful if you have a brand new MB100. Replacing all the drives allows you a disaster recovery option. You can always return the unit to a fresh out of the box status. This is because you have two virgin drives that you haven't configured or added data too.
*Virgin in this case does not mean blank empty drives. Rather, Autonomics mirrors their OS + Library data on the OS and Library drives
2. If you have an MB100 that you are actively using, you can TELNET into the system and reset the system to factory defaults and this too will, I believe - I have not verified this personally, that the drives are also returned to factory defaults. Meaning, the OS is as pure as it was applied to the drive when they system arrived brand new. For example:
a. all configuration settings cleared
b. call cache and virtual space is cleared
c. all files perhaps created during the setup process erased [windows loves to create files but does a poor job cleaning up after itself.]
*As I said, I have not verified and it is very possible that a terminal command might return the system to a true clean state.
Still, duplicating the OS drive affords you a disaster recovery option.
*Another point, what if the OS update that Autonomics pushes from time to time fails or, you do not like the update at all or there are problems with it. You can roll back.
3. As all things do, things fail. You now have an exact copy of the OS drive. As it stands, if either of two drives fail and
recall that you brought up the issue of SSD reliability. Well, if that is the case, even better and as you point out,
an expensive one at that!/put off by the extra cost. This alone justifies the $89.00 expense. You have a backup and even super better, the master copy drive!
4. By having these original source drives, you are not reliant on having to mail your MB100 back to McIntosh or proxy the service through your dealer - I think this also justifies the burden of spending $89.00. If something should go wrong, you have the original drives to copy from and create additional drives as needed - hopefully you do not have to. With your CMOS battery luck Elberroth, you may never have to replace drive in your life EVER!
. For those us not a lucky as you - we are able to duplicate the master drives again. So...time, hassle and having to be without your MB100 and send it back to McIntosh or the service center and wait many months for repair. $89.00 bucks too much?
*note: this discussion is not about the Logic Board [MoBo]. If that fails. You must return it to McIntosh or the Dealer, just remember to reinstall the original equipment: SSD + HDD + 2GB RAM. Elbertoth, this doesn't apply to you. Your MB100 will outlive us all! LOL
5. I personally believe the Kingston SSDs are lack luster [particularly the one installed on the MB100]. I have owned them in the past and disliked their performance. An easy internet search turns up results that the Kingston SSD is not the best on the market performer next to the Samsung SSD Pro. What is more, and this was last year, I had an at length conversation with Autonomics and "off-record" and this is in one of my threads, McIntosh required Autonomics to build the unit using the cheapest parts possible because of that bottom-line profit. That alone gives one pause to consider.
I selected the 128GB because couple reasons. But first, lets address again the statement,
an expensive one at that!/put off by the extra cost.
The Samsung 128GB SSD costs $89. It's $89.00. You just forked over $6,000 for the MB100 and it's likely that you have other expensive equipment and cables! It's $89.00 bucks! and if you are Amazon Prime, free shipping and likely no tax.
I believe the statement "an expensive one at that!/put off by the extra cost" is immaterial and in need of a rephrase. I believe the correct question might be better asked "put off by the extra effort?" Wait, lets rephrase again because I think the way the question is asked is a bit pejorative. Rather,
"is replacing the OS drive a fair and reasonable effort?"
1. For the brand and level I selected, the smallest flavor available in the USA new on Amazon is the The Samsung 128 SSD Pro. Of course, you can pick a plethora of other drive manufactures with varying GB sizes.
2. Because the OS on the Kingston drive is Microsoft and looking at the files. It is clear to me that the OS, like with all desktop computers: multitasking, virtual space and caching. You can take look a the OS screenshots I posted [other thread]. What this tells me is that data is being written. Because data is written, I have installed a drive that will write data faster. I've also allowed a for ample room not only OS multitasking, virtual space and caching to be performed but also allow for [confirmed with Autonomics] lots of caching space specifically for audio files as it grabs files from the library drive during playback.
3. Keep in mind, we have not addressed all the functions the MB100 affords during simple local media storage playback. We have streaming services, GUI and IOS interactions as well as the ability to have your MB100 manage and present photos. The MB100 is feature rich and performance hungry if pushed.
4. Oh yes,
boot time. My MB100, my first model, took on average 45-2 minutes to boot. That's using the stock drives. However, with the new SSDs. My boot time... and that is this morning, Monday 13 April 2015, took 8 seconds! I tried it again at 12:58 today as well. Counting "one thousand one, one thousand two...." Booted in 12 seconds and was playable. This makes it
measurable, yes?
Conclusion
$89.00 is a mute point. Is the effort worthwhile? I believe so... of course, my personal belief and founded via personal experience, analysis and in conversation with other IT experts, McIntosh, Autonomics and my buddy Fritz Curtis, my MB100 brother.