Imation Solid State Disk Update 2
I have been testing the Imation Solid State Disk drive in my Macbook Pro for quite some time. This started back in the summer and then we switched to a new configuration in November. The key update of this version was more in the packaging of the product which makes for a more seamless transition from mechanical hard drive to solid state disk (SSD). The Imation M-Class and S-Class SSD products now include a complete upgrade kit which allows you to better use the hard drive you are replacing.
Friday, April 9, 2010
The prior version, which also impressed us, included what could best be described as a transfer cable and software that allowed you to transfer your data from your original internal drive to the SSD. That was good. The new upgrade kit includes an enclosure for your old mechanical drive. This really allows for a complete use of the old mechanical drive as a portable backup device. Depending on your USB's capabilities it should power the drive as well so there should be no need to carry an extra power supply around, although one is provided if you need it.
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Imation is not a Storage Switzerland client, although they did provide the unit to us to test.
Beyond that the SSD in the upgrade kit is the same one that we originally reviewed. As expected we see very good boot and application load times as well as the complete silence that SSD technology delivers. Performance is maybe hard to justify on a single laptop for SSD but we have found the performance boost and total silence to be well worth the higher price.
What is probably most important to note here is the reliability that the drive has provided. We have been reading and writing data to that system almost non-stop since November and have seen no reliability issues. Every so often you will hear someone continue the misconception that SSDs are less reliable than mechanical drives. We still have not found that to be the case. In fact since we have been testing this unit we have seen two mechanical drives fail.
In our testing Imation continues to have a winner here and the ability to reuse your old drive just sweetens the deal. If you have an aging laptop, instead of replacing it consider installing the Imation SSD. For less money than a new laptop you can get a performance boost where it counts the most.
