Solid State Drives for MacBook

[cook.675]

I was entertaining getting an internal solid state drive for my old 13" macbook (MB402xx/A variety, with a 13.3" screen, late 2008 model) it has 4 gigs of RAM.

Anyone know what the specs would be to get a solid state drive in here? Has anyone put a solid state drive in their macbook? What do you guys think is the best? What connections do I need.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You can get almost any available SSD you want, as most of them use the 2.5" form factor and use the Serial ATA interface.
Your MBP has a S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) interface, thus something like the Vertex 2 would be okay, though buying an S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) SSD would be okay too, as it is backwards compatible, and if you ever decide to get a new laptop, you can put the SSD in there.

SSD Buying Guide by Hellhammer​

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:

• 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
• 1. Getting a new HDD
• 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
• 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
• 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)

​

 

[cook.675]

Thanks a bunch for your help

 

[cook.675]

Your MBP has a S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) interface, thus something like the Vertex 2 would be okay, though buying an S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) SSD would be okay too, as it is backwards compatible, and if you ever decide to get a new laptop, you can put the SSD in there.

Are you saying that my macbook wil only be able to transfer at 3 Gbps even though the drive (and other computers) may be able to transfer at 6 GBPS?

So it essentially just downclocks the speed of the hard drive?.

Am I correct in assuming my macbook can NOT transfer at 6 Gbps?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Are you saying that my macbook wil only be able to transfer at 3 Gbps even though the drive (and other computers) may be able to transfer at 6 GBPS?

Yes, that is what I am saying.

So it essentially just downclocks the speed of the hard drive?.

If you have an S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) SSD, it will be throttled down to S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) speeds due to the interface.

Am I correct in assuming my macbook can NOT transfer at 6 Gbps?

Yes, you are correct.

 

[cook.675]

Does a 13" MacBook Pro, with 2.4 Ghz i5 Processor, 4 Gb memory, 500 Gb HD; 2 years old have the 6 Gb/s option?

Thanks

 

[slynger]

just look under about this mac > more info > system report > serial ATA (left hand side) > look under Link Speed in the main window and you will see "x gigabit" (where x is your speed)

 

[MarkDK2]

I do not believe they enabled Sata III until just recently so it is unlikely your 2 year MBP has the 6/gbs.
The Harddrive does not under clock its speed just the control on the Logic board becomes maxed out and can only take things at a Sata II speed.

I went from a OCZ Vertex Plus which was Sata II to a Sata III Vertex 3 on my 08 Aluminum Macbook and did notice a speed increase but this had more to do with the Vertex 3 having a Sandforce NAND controller instead of the Indilinx controller the Vertex Plus has. I love my SSD and will not be going back to a HDD. My boot times and system times are incredible.