Replacing HDD in MBP (early 2011)

[walt disney]

Hi, I am looking into buying MBP (early 2011). I'd like to buy an SSD and use it as a primary drive (it currently has a 320GB HDD). What I don't know since I've never owned any sort of Apple device besides the iPhone, can I just go to the electronics store and buy whichever SSD, or do MBPs have some restrictions here? I heard that this could be troublesome, but I am just not sure.

thx

 

[MacInTO]

There are some incompatibility issues with 2008 through 2010 MBPs and some SSDs. However, It might affect early 2011 MBPs also. I had this issue last year. The thread is here,

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/corsair-force-le-ssd-incompatible-in-some-mbp-models.1988942/

If you buy a Samsung SSD, I don't think you will have a problem.

 

[ZapNZs]

The early 2011 uses SATA 3 (6.0 Gbps) so virtually every modern SATA SSD should work well. I've used SSDs from Samsung, Crucial, Intel, Kingston, SanDisk, Western Digital, and Adata in early 2011s, and all function fine at the full 6.0 Gbps when installed in the main HDD bay.

The Early 2011 13-inches are tanks that run forever and then some. If you are considering a 15-inch early 2011, you may want to consider something else because Apple failed miserably on their implementation of how the GPU functions & was soldered, and as a result they drop like flies. The mid-2012 15-inch Unibody is a much better option IMO, as its GPU failures are less common.

 

[AAPLGeek]

Just stay away from Sandforce controller based SSD's and you'll be fine.

 

[walt disney]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll probably go for the Samsung SSD.

The early 2011 uses SATA 3 (6.0 Gbps) so virtually every modern SATA SSD should work well. I've used SSDs from Samsung, Crucial, Intel, Kingston, SanDisk, Western Digital, and Adata in early 2011s, and all function fine at the full 6.0 Gbps when installed in the main HDD bay.

The Early 2011 13-inches are tanks that run forever and then some. If you are considering a 15-inch early 2011, you may want to consider something else because Apple failed miserably on their implementation of how the GPU functions & was soldered, and as a result they drop like flies. The mid-2012 15-inch Unibody is a much better option IMO, as its GPU failures are less common.

Yeah I am actually going for the 13 inch model early 2011, so it's nice to hear they're such tanks.

 

[Audit13]

I have used SSDs with sandforce controllers in a late 2011 13" MBP and mid-2012 13" MBP with no problems.

Shouldn't really be an issue today since there aren't that many drives with a SF controller.

 

[TonyK]

In my 2007 MBP3,1 I installed a Crucial 512GB drive and love it. Just look on YouTube for a video on how to disassemble your unit and what to look out for during the disassembly and re-assembly.