Add SSD to 2011 MBP?

[mroy16]

I've been following MR for a while now, so I figured I may as well join the forums and ask a question.

I've got a late 2011 MacBook Pro 15" at home, which I treat essentially as a desktop at this point. It still has a stock 5400 RPM 500 GB HDD in it, and I was considering replacing the optical drive with an SSD to use as the boot disk. I've been thinking about just replacing the computer for a while now, but budget is tight, and an SSD might get me the performance boost I want.

My question is - is it worth investing $150-$200 in putting in a 500 GB SSD, or is the machine old enough that I'd be better off saving for a replacement? I'd love to see a new Mac Mini this year (love the headless design), but could also see myself getting an iMac if/when I can afford one.

 

[Audit13]

Yes, I definitely think it is worth adding an ssd like the Samsung 850evo or Crucial mx300.

Boot times will drop dramatically and programs load/run faster.

 

[gngan]

I've been following MR for a while now, so I figured I may as well join the forums and ask a question.

I've got a late 2011 MacBook Pro 15" at home, which I treat essentially as a desktop at this point. It still has a stock 5400 RPM 500 GB HDD in it, and I was considering replacing the optical drive with an SSD to use as the boot disk. I've been thinking about just replacing the computer for a while now, but budget is tight, and an SSD might get me the performance boost I want.

My question is - is it worth investing $150-$200 in putting in a 500 GB SSD, or is the machine old enough that I'd be better off saving for a replacement? I'd love to see a new Mac Mini this year (love the headless design), but could also see myself getting an iMac if/when I can afford one.

Why is it not worth it? It's not like the ssd will be soldered into the board. You can always take it out and put it in a case when you decided to buy a new PC.

 

[Fishrrman]

gngan gives good advice above.

I suggest you buy a 2.5" USB3 enclosure as well as the SSD.

Use the enclosure to "prep and test" the SSD BEFORE you install it.
Then, put the old HDD into the enclosure after the drive swap, and use it for backups, extra storage, etc.