2008 iMac external ssd

[rafark]

I’m going to be replacing the original hdd since it’s painfully slow. I don’t want to open my Mac so I’m going to buy a fw800 external enclosure and boot os x from it. Which of these two should I buy? I’m leaning towards the first since it’s from a well known brand but it looks fugly in my opinion.

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Multi-Interface Enclosure Kit

The OWC Mercury On-The-Go USB 3.0 & 2.0 / FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 Backwards Compatible) Enclosure Kit packs an incredible punch into a 11 ounce package!

eshop.macsales.com

AKiTiO SK2-BU3OAS-AKTU Neutrino U3+ Bus-Powered... at MacSales.com

(*) AKiTiO SK2-BU3OAS-AKTU Neutrino U3+ Bus-Powered USB 3.0 & FW800 Storage Enclosure. Portable enclosure designed for 2.5 " SATA hard drives and SSD drives. USB 2.0 backwards compatible. Includes USB 3.0 & FW800 cables.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Fishrrman]

A firewire drive isn't going to speed things up much.
At "12 years old", if you "want significantly faster"... it's time to start looking for a replacement Mac.