Need expert advise on using external SSD as primary drive for computer

[Rhaegyn]

Hello LTT community,

My 2011 mac book air laptop recently had its internal SSD die and is unrecoverable. I wanted to ask any experts available that know better than me what the negatives (if any) would be of my using an external SSD I have as the macbook airs new primary SSD drive with the OS installed on it.

In short, my external SSD is from an old mac book pro and is a very good drive. I purchased the external mercury extreme pro 6G 256GSSD from Other World Computing company ~3 years ago and its in an aluminum USB 3.0 enclosure. I will basically just be plugging in the external SSD drive into the USB slot on the MBA and using it as the main drive, but I really need to know if this would be a bad/good idea, what performance changes (if any) will occur in using this external as my primary drive, and any other information you can provide for the situation.

I will just be using the old mac book air as a stationary media PC so having the external drive attached all the time wont be a problem, but I wanted to make sure that this wont destroy performance on the computer. I also have a 64gb SanDisk Extreme flash drive I can use as an alternative, but I assume that this is a bad idea being that although its write speeds are among the fastest of all flash drives, its relatively slow compared to my full size 6G 256gb OWC Mercury pro drive.

thanks so much in advance for any assistance you can provide.

 

[Compuser10165]

There is no point in using an SSD at all if you are going to severely hogtie it's otherwise unbeatable performance by connecting it to a USB port (even USB 3.0). You'd be basically limit your ssd to hdd speeds. If your SSD in the macbook died, why not replace it with a new one? You don't need to use an external ssd or hdd.
http://tips.tinyiron.net/direct-sata3-vs-thunderbolt-vs-usb3-vs-usb2-how-do-they-stack-up/

 

[BadAsAl]

Ideally you would want to replace the drive but since this is a MacBook Air it will probably require some skill and a good guide. If you tell me which one you have (last 4 of serial will give me what I need to pull exact model) then I will see if I can find a guide and determine the difficulty to replace.

I boot to external SSD's all the time as it is a great way to troubleshoot problems Mac's, and it works fine it is just not as fast as if it were an internal drive. That is really the only negative I have found.

 

[jsmithepa]

Doesn't 2011 Air do USB2 only?

 

[Rhaegyn]

Doesn't 2011 Air do USB2 only?

The only issue would be money when it comes to replacing the internal SSD drive, and because I have a USB 3.0 external SSD already, I figured I can use it as a primary drive for my MBA.

The 2011 MBA does only have USB 2.0, which is a significant problem for speed, but because it has a thunderbolt port, what if I got an adapter for using the external drive with the MBA. Because the MBA only has USB 2.0, but it does have a thunderbolt port, should I get a SATA3/thunderbolt adapter to plug in the external SSD, or should I get a USB 3.0 to thunderbolt adapter (as the external drive enclosure is USB 3.0)? Which would be faster/best performance?

If suggesting an adapter, please provide links.

 

[jsmithepa]

The Air does have a thunderbolt port but TB ports are not popular=expensive. I have no link for you, I already know it's not cost effective. Go ahead Google, see how much those things cost.

 

[popatim]

LTT community?? Someone looks like Linus here to you?
<gives you the evil eye>

anyways...
If that all you have then why are you bothering asking?
Thats about as smart as putting an ssd in a usb2 enclosure...

 

[Compuser10165]

Don't bother with adapters and such (especially for thunderbolt) as they tend to be quite a hassle and most solutions will reduce performance. Thunderbolt adapters are also quite expensive (even more expensive than to buy an SSD). Better to get an internal SSD as it will be the best solution in terms of performance, usability and at a good price. A Samsung 850 Evo would be a good choice in your case.
Update: A Samsung 850 Evo is not compatible. You need a special form factor ssd like suggested below.

 

[BadAsAl]

Don't bother with adapters and such (especially for thunderbolt) as they tend to be quite a hassle and most solutions will reduce performance. Thunderbolt adapters are also quite expensive (even more expensive than to buy an SSD). Better to get an internal SSD as it will be the best solution in terms of performance, usability and at a good price. A Samsung 850 Evo would be a good choice in your case.

Unfortunately the 2011 MacBook Air uses a different kind of SSD so a standard format 1.8" or 2.5" SSD won't work. Has to be one like this: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Air-2011-Drive-Internal-Flash

They have an external housing for the old SSD too that is pretty slick.

 

[Compuser10165]

Don't bother with adapters and such (especially for thunderbolt) as they tend to be quite a hassle and most solutions will reduce performance. Thunderbolt adapters are also quite expensive (even more expensive than to buy an SSD). Better to get an internal SSD as it will be the best solution in terms of performance, usability and at a good price. A Samsung 850 Evo would be a good choice in your case.

Unfortunately the 2011 MacBook Air uses a different kind of SSD so a standard format 1.8" or 2.5" SSD won't work. Has to be one like this: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina/Apple-MacBook-Air-2011-Drive-Internal-Flash

They have an external housing for the old SSD too that is pretty slick.

Ok, good to know. P.S. I just suggested an ssd but haven't checked the compatibility as I didn't knew the exact model of the laptop.

 

[BadAsAl]

Understood. I just looked up every MacBook Air model from 2011 and saw that they all had the special SSDs. I think I have too much time on my hands