Intel 330 SSD 180GB - can't change MacBook Pro from 1.5 to 3.0 negotiated link speed

[idata]

Hey everyone,

I have a mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro. I recently replaced the factory 160GB HDD with the Intel 330 SSD (180GB). For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get the negotiated link speed from 1.5 Gigabit to 3.0 Gigabit, even though this version of the MacBook Pro is new enough to support 3.0.

I've been doing some research and it seems as if this is a recurring problem with the Intel 330 SSD and the MacBook Pro. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?

Thanks!

Jay

[idata]

Isn't the problem the Nvidia MCP79 SATA chipset, that does not know what a SATA III SSD is, and changes to SATA I speed to be "safe"? That is a very common issue with MacBooks with the Nvidia chipset, you'll find other threads on this topic in this forum. Why Apple used them in their products is shocking IMO.

This is not a 330 issue, it is a Nvidia chipset issue, which is no longer supported by Nvidia, they are out of that business. What does Apple say about this? Not a fair question, since we already know...

[idata]

I believe you're right. The problem is, many of the other SSD manufacturers have updated their firmware to fix this problem, but it seems that neither Apple nor Intel has done anything about this particular drive so far. I was wondering if there was any other workaround I didn't know about?

[idata]

I just purchased a 335 240 GB SSD. I had thought that the newest generation wouldn't have this problem, as most other SSD manufacturers using SandForce have updated their firmware.

I am experiencing the same issue. I have a late 2008 MacBook (Aluminum Unibody), that does have Link Speed 3.0, thought with the 335 I am getting a negotiated link speed of 1.5. I tried a firmware update, thoguh the utility could not find the Intel SSD. Probably not an issue a the box indicates I already have 335s firmware (which is current).

[idata]

I must disagree about the "most other" manufactures updating their firmware to fix this issue, that is not the case. The only manufacture that is currently doing this is SanDisk, and it is the standard work around for this issue with the Nvidia SATA controller and driver. The firmware update sets the SATA protocol information from SATA III to SATA II, which the outdated Nvidia controller and driver recognizes, and does not shift into SATA I mode. But then the SSD has been turned into a SATA II drive on ANY PC it is used with. Yet another firmware update is needed to set it back to SATA III.

The issue is the obsolete, unsupported Nvidia SATA chipset and driver, not the SSDs. If Nvidia or Apple would fix the driver software, then these PCs would work with any SATA III SSD. They won't do that, period. But people expect the SSD manufactures to somehow support a product the chipset and PC manufacture refuse to support, will never be used in a PC again, and haven't been used for several years. Given these circumstances, and others I have not mentioned, if anyone has the right to say, "not my problem", it is the SSD manufactures.