Considering buying a Hybrid Drive for 2009 MBP

[OneEyed55]

Hello guys,

I have an early-2009 17'' Macbook Pro and I have been thinking of buying a new internal hard drive for months. I was almost convinced that the best option would be an SSD (I was specifically leaning towards Samsung 850 EVO), but, after some consideration, I'd rather stick with some cheaper option. I'm currently thinking about getting a Seagate Momentus XT SSHD, but I've come across mixed reviews.
I'm mostly afraid that my current HDD will fail me some day in the future and I prefer to avoid the drama of it. Overall I'm not particularly looking for too fast a performance, just a decent one (also suitable for the occasional game – mostly playing Team Fortress 2, so nothing too demanding), but better than what my current HDD can offer (it's the one that my MBP came with).

What I'm hoping for here is to either hear some opinions on the Seagate Momentus XT, especially by people who have used it, or to gather recommendations on other SSHD options (or even SSDs, provided that they are affordable).

Thank you in advance!

UPDATE: I'm no longer thinking about buying a Hybrid, but I've made my mind to move towards an SSD. But which one?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

The SSHD's I have seen in operation (all seagate Momentus XT) weren't particularly good not really any better than a 7200rpm HDD in most cases.

SSD's can be really cheap these days and with the SATA 2 connection in your MBP you are restricted on sequential read/write speeds anyway. I would say buy the cheapest modern crucial SSD you can in the capacity you need they really are a lot better than the hybrid and well worth the money. $130 for a 480GB Crucial BX200 is a bargain and will transform that old 17 inch beast.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=crucial+BX200

 

[BrianBaughn]

I think the extra money for an SSD will be worth is. I have a hybrid drive (with 8GB) in a PC and it's nowhere near what an SSD provides.

With the SSD, access time is sooooo fast. I'm pretty sure RAM "paging" gets a tremendous boost, also.

Your laptop has a 3GB/sec SATA bus so one of the cheaper SanDisk SSDs would probably suffice.

 

[Fishrrman]

How much storage space do you really need?

You can get a 240gb SSD drive in the $65 price range now. ANY SSD will yield about the same level of performance in an older Macbook (due to limitations with the SATA 2 bus speed), but any one -will- provide a speed boost that will be significant.
I'd suggest you look at Sandisk and Crucial SSDs.

I wouldn't consider replacing an HDD in a MacBook with another HDD in these times...

 

[makinao]

I needed a lot of onboard storage, so I got a WD Blue SSHD WD10J31X 1tb for my 2012 MBP15". Major improvement over the stock 5400 rpm drive, and cheap.

 

[OneEyed55]

Thank you all for your replies.

$130 for a 480GB Crucial BX200 is a bargain and will transform that old 17 inch beast.

Even though I intended to spend a little less money (because I'd like to replace my MBP's keyboard as well), this sounds like a good alternative, so I will definitely keep it in mind.

How much storage space do you really need?

I'd say I need at least 320GB of storage, which (in terms of SSDs) I guess guides me towards 480-500GB drives.

I needed a lot of onboard storage, so I got a WD Blue SSHD WD10J31X 1tb for my 2012 MBP15". Major improvement over the stock 5400 rpm drive, and cheap.

Sounds good, considering its price. By the way, I've heard of people complaining about higher temperature in their machines after upgrades to SSHDs. Has this been the case with you?

 

[emilioestevez]

if you really want a traditional platter hard drive, buy a WD Velociraptor - they're 10,000 rpm

but an ssd would really be the way to go

 

[glenthompson]

The small amount of flash memory on a hybrid drive is too small to provide a significant speed boost. Better to spend the extra money on a true SSD.

 

[makinao]

Sounds good, considering its price. By the way, I've heard of people complaining about higher temperature in their machines after upgrades to SSHDs. Has this been the case with you?

Only for the first few days. My guess is indexing was the culprit, as usual.

 

[grahamperrin]

… Hybrid Drive for 2009 MBP

… opinions on the Seagate Momentus XT, especially by people who have used it, or to gather recommendations on other SSHD options (or even SSDs, provided that they are affordable). …

I use that drive in an early 2009 MacBookPro5,2.

Please see posts under Drive Failed, considering hybrid - what to look out for?

 

[robvas]

Hybrids boot up quick but that's about it. Installing software, system updates still take forever.

 

[grahamperrin]

Hybrids boot up quick but that's about it. …

More than that. https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20601526 https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20613992 and so on; please see posts under Drive Failed, considering hybrid - what to look out for?

 

[OneEyed55]

Hello,

I'm back in this discussion to let you know that I've decided to get an SSD. However, I would like a second opinion. I am currently considering these options:

Crucial BX200 480GB
Mushkin Triactor 480GB
Patriot Blast 480GB

In terms of cost, there is no significant difference. What I'm mostly interested in is reliability, on which I am hoping to get some opinions here. So, which of the above do you think would be a better choice for a (2009) Macbook? Thank you in advance!

 

[MacInTO]

As lame as it may sound, I sometimes go with the most best ratings on Amazon. The Patriot has a one-star rating.

I recently got this one,

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Force...F8&qid=1463423104&sr=1-4&keywords=corsair+ssd

However, I'm pretty sure they all have thee year warranties.

If price is no object, get the Samsung 850 EVO or 850 Pro.

 

[treekram]

I'm pretty sure your MBP has the NVidia MCP79 (you can open the System Report app and look under SATA... - if you need detailed instructions, let us know your OS). If it does, some SSD's have a problem with the MCP79. Recent Crucial SSD's are not a problem (the Samsung 850's are also OK). You should search for "nvidia MCP79" and the SSD brand/model for the other drives to see if people are having issues. The BX200 is not one of Crucial's best efforts. I made a similar statement and a poster blasted me for understating how bad the BX200 is. Fair enough - you've been warned.

I just bought a Micron/Crucial 480GB M500 for $110 (it's $112 now) on Amazon. It's an older drive, but faster and cheaper than the BX200, with an older type of NAND (chip) technology. The M500 I bought comes from a 3rd-party seller and was originally bought by HP and while not "new", they weren't used. The warranty is provided by the 3rd-party seller (there's another seller offering a 1-year warranty, the one I bought has a 3-year warranty). The BX200 is a current drive so if you buy it from someplace like Amazon, you get the standard warranty from Crucial. An external Thunderbolt drive that I got in December (likely) has the M500 and it's worked well for me so I felt comfortable in getting the M500 as an internal drive.