SSD and older Macbook Pro

Howdy all my Mac brotha's! I have only done minor work on my cousin's Macbook Pro 5.5. But her system has been slowing down recently, and I've discovered the culprit: she has only 10GB left on her 160GB hard drive. What I want to do is replace her current HDD with an SSD (and possibly upgrade her RAM). My question is what (if any) limitations would her older MBP have in regards to SSDs. Her specs are as follows:

MPB 5.5 (2008?)
Mac OSX 10.6.8
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz
2GB DDR3
Boot rom version: MBP55.00AC.B03
Nvidia GeForce 9400M GPU

I just don't want to buy an SSD and have the MBP not boot to it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking a 256GB will be the largest I will get for this system, and I don't mind getting a SATA III because if/when she gets a new laptop I can transplant it to the new notebook. Any suggestions or advice?

 

its going to be sata 2 speeds, however the benefits will still be there. it will work.

I would wait a bit to see the prices on the m500, they appear to be pretty good 600 for a 1tb ssd? sign me in!

 

Ehh, too much. She doesn't need 1TB. 256GB will last her a while. It took her 5 years to fill up 160GB. I will stick with the smaller drive. But $600 for a 1TB SSD is really good price wise!

 

Maybe you could consider a Crucial M4 256GB? It's a SATAIII drive, sure, but it's probably one of the cheapest SSDs out there (price/GB) that's fairly reliable as well.

 

I just want to make sure the SSD isn't gonna have some weird issue, like it doesn't recognize it or something. I know Apple firmware is different than the normal BIOS we see on our PCs.

 

The Mac will recognize it fine, you won't get trim support out of the SSD (the computer will see it as an "HDD") but it will still be a vast improvement over the currently installed HDD. It will literally make it feel like a new computer.

 

Is that just a Mac thing, or is trim not available on a MBP 5.5 or OSX 10.6.8? If I need to upgrade the OSX I will do that too. I haven't done anything to this MBP so I can stand to update a few things. The RAM is on the top of the list right under the SSD.

 

you need 10.7+ for Trim as far as I know ... plus trim only works by default on Apple branded SSD, but you can find Trim enabler 3rd party software for other SSDs.

 

Oh, Cupertino! I'll have to research 3rd party trim enabling software for Macs then. I'm just wondering if her old MBP will run OS X Lion well enough, even with a RAM and SSD upgrade.

 

I would upgrade the RAM to at least 4GB if you want to run Lion. I actually recommend going tup to 10.8 Mountain Lion though as that has run a lot smoother for me than Lion.

 

Yeah. The RAM is kind of a big target seeing she's been using only 2GB for so long. I will definitely look into updating to OS X Mountain Lion if that runs smoother than OS X Lion. It's more important for me that her new SSD has trim support so it doesn't wear down prematurely.

 

IT won't have Trim support if it's not an Apple Supplied SSD, at least unless you've altered the kernel. My source on that is (If you scroll down to the OS X section) : TRIM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

like that link says... a modified kernel extension.. not an altered kernel. TRIM Enabler and other such programs modify the extension for you to enable TRIM.

 

Oh ok Thanks! I'm going to go off and google TRIM Enabler now

 

I put a 512GB Crucial M4 SSD in my 13" mid-2010 macbook pro, installed Trim enabler and the thing screams along with 8GB of memory it's a super nice portable machine :thumbsup:

 

So, replying in my dead thread is like resurrecting a dead cat, but I will do it anyway. So, now that she's drilled down to only 128MB of free space, it's time to replace the drive. My aunt didn't want to spend more than $200 on the whole kit and kaboodle seeing as this MBP is 4 years old. So, I got her 8GB of Patriot RAM, a WD 320GB Scorpio Black HDD, and OS X Mountain Lion. I have yet to clean install OSX on a newer Mac system (last time I did it was 2006). It will clean install just like Windows 7 does on a PC right?

 

Pretty much. The best way to go about it is to use an 8 GB or larger USB flash drive to create a bootable Mountain Lion install disk. You can also create one on a DVD, but the process of making the disk and booting from it takes a lot longer. There are various guides that show how to create the disk on a thumb drive, but a program called Lion DiskMaker streamlines the process.

Once you've made the clean install, put the hold hard drive into a USB enclosure and use Migration Assistant to copy over her files.

 

I actually got the geniuses at the Apple Store to load Mountain Lion on my USB flash drive for me (still can't believe it only cost $20). The only catch 22 is I cannot boot from the old hard drive, but all the data on it is still accessible. I will have to see if Migration Assistant has any problems in retrieving her files. Muchas Garcias.

UPDATE: It is DONE! It took Migration Assistant like 6 hours to transfer all 160GB from her old hard drive to her new one, but it works perfect. Plus, the USB OS X installation went flawlessly. I think I'm gonna have to work on Macs more often. This is the easiest hard drive swap I've ever done that involved a clean instal.

 

Congrats!

I was all set to post up my experience with upgrading to an SSD and TRIM etc, oh well Your cousine got a great upgrade and she can use her old computer without the probs she had before. cool.

if anyone does want to read about my SSD upgrade, here it is:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/apple-mac-os-x/695875-installed-ssd-into-2009-mbp.html

At the end of that long posting I talk about setting up TRIM on OS X

 

Why thank you. We ended up getting a WD 320GB Scorpio Black instead of an SSD. The ideas was to spend $100 - $150 total for drive and ram as opposed to spending $200 alone on a high capacity SSD. That way in 2 years when she's ready to graduate, we can get her a brand new MBP.

 

Alrighty all you Mac Hacks!

I don't feel like starting a new thread so I'm resurrecting my old one.

I am looking at replacement Macbook Pro's for my cousin as her's in in-op. I'm looking more towards refurbished models to save some feria.

So my question is this:

13" MBP, Late 2012 Retina model. Specs says it comes with a 128GB SSD. Would that be a standard 2.5" SSD, mSATA SSD, or that weird Apple non-standard SSD that tries to imitate mSATA?

AND...if it's the imitation Apple mSATA, then is there an adapter caddy that will allow regular 2.5" drives or mSATA drives in that slot under the trackpad?

I can't stick the teenager with only 128GB of storage. That's like daring her to overfill her volume. At the same time, I don't want to be stuck with buying a "mac compatible" SSD stick on top of the Macbook's cost.

Thoughts?

 

It's a proprietary Apple design from stem to stern, and the only upgrade options are a 2nd-hand OEM drive or one of OWC's overpriced Aura Pro units.

If you're looking at refurbs, Apple still sells the old 2012 base cMBP, which can be easily upgraded with 3rd-party hardware.

 

I was afraid of that. We won't be getting her anything above a 13" MBP. Nor does she want anything above a 13". I was just hoping the 13" retina series still had a hard drive option so we wouldn't be locked into that pseudo-mSATA SSD they hock.

Apparently not.

Base model non-Retina it is.

 

That "pseudo-mSATA SSD" is PCIe based and fast as hell..

Granted normal SSD is fast enough but I'll take the better display, faster storage and lighter weight any day. Of course that's just my opinion which is probably counter to yours.

Edit: not to mention the faster Iris GPU.

 

And there we go, the first fanboi trying to waive it in my face.

pseudo-mSATA was a reference to form factor, not interface speed.

SSDs in general are fast as hell. But what I'm looking for is storage more than speed. And I'm under serious budget constraints. So if there was a chance I could get a 13" Retina MBP with 256GB pseudo-mSATA SSD for a hair close to $1k, I'd jump at that chance. As it stands, that's not happening. And I can't very well go recommending a MBP with only a 128GB pseudo-mSATA SSD which will be crazy expensive to upgrade. That would be irresponsible.

 

That only applies to the late 2013 models. Early 2013 and previous rMBPs had the "pseudo mSATA" interface.

That was uncalled for.

 

That really wasn't necessary and shows that you didn't actually read their post. They weren't being an a-typical fanboy (or "fanboi" as you called them) but rather expressing their opinion on how having the proprietary connection is OK to them as the SSD is fast and it allows for a thin form factor while having a high resolution display. They weren't trying to shoot your opinion or viewpoint down and even said it was just their opinion and likely differed from yours.

Also, if you are that tight on a budget, you should be looking at your local (and surrounding) Craigslist ads as people often list their MBPs for less expensive prices and are willing to come down further if you offer them cash-in-hand. Then again, your fanboy blinders might be set too high.

 

Not to mention if you see my sig my main laptop is a Samsung gaming behemoth with win 8.1. I do use a late 2011 mbp 13 for work and development that I did install a 512GB SSD into.

I'm paying close attention to thin and lights this year as I'd like to replace both of them with one 4-5 lb unit with a good GPU. They all have weaknesses (heat/noise, crap displays on some) but I'm tired of this 9lb monster. But.. I digress..

 

though SATA2 IS max for your model number, i would go with SATA6 instead. you will get better speeds but not as high speeds.

 

All 2011 MacBook Pros support SATA 6 Gb/s from the primary drive bay, and most of the late-2011 model support it in the optical bay as well. Also, a SATA 6 Gb/s drive will perform the same as a SATA 3 Gb/s drive when connected to a 3 Gb/s port. It has to do with the interface, not the drive itself.

 

I have an SSD in a late 2011 mbp 13 .. Cloned and switched.. Easy peasy..

 

Any chance I could put an SSD in my 2008 non-unibody macbook pro? What I'd like to do is replace the optical drive with an SSD and keep my already upgraded 1Tb HDD.

I've looked on OWC and it looks like maybe I'd have to put the HDD in the optical bay, and SSD in the HDD bay - because the optical bay is not Sata, and SDD are only sata (or that new pcie thingy).

Is that correct? Would it be worth it?

 

You are correct. You would need to put the SSD in your MBP's hard drive slot and then move the HDD over to the optical bay. The SSD would be worth it only if you are constantly rebooting your MBP and want to open programs in 15-20 seconds instead of 45 seconds. After putting SSD in my 2011 13" MBP, and later migrating to a 13" mid-2011 MBA, I realized that SSD is nice but it wasn't necessary for me. I hardly ever reboot my system, entering standby mode takes just as much time regardless of the main storage device, waking from standby takes just as much time, etc. The only benefit that SSD gave me was being able to open programs quickly.

That's why, when I upgraded to a 2012 15" MBP, I went with a hybrid hard drive. My system opens the programs I frequently use really fast (almost just as fast as if I were using SSD) but I have the added benefit of 1TB of storage that cost me $100. For me, that was a better option. Even now though, I have the hard drive trained so that booting my MBP takes about 25 seconds. Not quite as fast as an SSD but still better than the 60-80 second boot times of a normal 5400RPM HDD.

It's all up to you. I can tell you that an SSD will be a huge upgrade over your current (and likely 5400RPM) 1TB hard drive but, like I said, you will notice the benefit only if you reboot your system a lot and want to open programs in a flash. Of course, if you can effectively use the 1TB hard drive so that you don't have to carry around an external hard drive for storage media, that too would be a huge upgrade. For example, I always have to take a 2TB portable hard drive with me since my iTunes library is so large. If a 2TB hard drive existed that I could install in my optical bay, I would do it just so I could stop carrying that hard drive around with me. You would benefit greatly if you are in a similar situation.

 

You could use a WinTec FileMate ExpressCard SSD - they come in 48, 64 and 128 GB. I have the 48 GB in my 2008 Non-Unibody MacBook Pro and have been using it for several years with no problems. The 128 GB model is $206 at Amazon. I also have a 1 TB WD HDD in the MacBook Pro so I get fast boot and application launch along with a lot of storage.

I am looking at upgrading to a RMBP though as I need to upgrade to Mavericks and I think that my old MacBook Pro doesn't have what it takes to do what I want it to do for the future. It has served me well for six years though and it will be my iTunes server going forward.

 

Amazon has 240 GB Intel SSDs for $150 and I just ordered two of them so I'm going to upgrade my old MBP and use it for a while longer. I upgraded an old iMac to Mavericks and it only has 4 GB and seems to run fine so I think that I will be okay with Mavericks on a 2008 17-inch MacBook Pro. I could go to 6 GB of RAM too if needed but I think that I'll wait on that. I want to do some iOS development in the near future and hopefully I will be able to do it on this old machine. If not, I can always get the RMBP. I have to figure out what I'll do with the 1 TB drive then. I will probably throw it in desktop.

 

Have you considered a MBA? They're quite a bit cheaper. Also, is your cousin a university student, or soon to become one? If so, she could take advantage of the student discount.

 

I have a 500GB samsung SSD in my 2012 MBP, and replaced the optical drive with the original 750GB drive.
The optical drive is now in a caddy, which works fine on the rare occasions I need to use it.