Speeding up 2008 Macbook with SSD?

[AcesHigh87]

I had this idea the other day and was wondering if anyone has done it / thinks it will work.

Basically I own a 2008 macbook white that, logically, has been running a bit slow over the past little while.It works but faster would be great. It only has a 160GB hard drive so I don't care much about getting a bunch of space.

What I'm considering is popping in a 120GB SSD and 6GB of RAM. I might have to go with just 4GB but OWC says it can hold 6GB so I figure why not cap it out?

My question is, can this be done? Can the old MacBooks handle SSD's without any issues? I know my old C2D processor would still be holding me down but my iMac is the workhorse, I just want the mobile unit (my macbook) to be faster.

Suggestions? SSD or not? 4GB of RAM vs. 6GB? I know I can put the stuff in, that's not a problem. What I need to know is if the system can handle and make use of that kind of speed. Basically, can I turn it into a heavier air with a weak processor?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

An SSD will work quite well in a 2008 MB. But know, that that MB only has an S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface, thus maximum read/write speeds will be limited to a bit less than 150 MB/s, which again does not detract from the fastness of daily and normal interaction. But you can use an S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) or S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) SSD if you want, as they are backwards compatible, and you can use the SSD in a new Mac later.

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

How to format a new HDD/SSD to install Mac OS X or make a bootable copy onto​

Upgrading RAM in MacBooks and MacBook Pros​

I have an SSD in my 2007 iMac and 2009 MBP, both using C2D CPUs and they still feel fast, of course, they calculate slower, but that is only noticeable during CPU intensive tasks.

 

[basesloaded190]

One thing to note when buying your SSD, I would not bother spending more on a 6G speed ssd, because I am pretty sure that your machine is only capable of 3G speeds. Something like this http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro/ will be perfect and make your computer feel brand new again!

 

[AcesHigh87]

An SSD will work quite well in a 2008 MB. But know, that that MB only has an S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface, thus maximum read/write speeds will be limited to a bit less than 150 MB/s, which again does not detract from the fastness of daily and normal interaction. But you can use an S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) or S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) SSD if you want, as they are backwards compatible, and you can use the SSD in a new Mac later.

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

How to format a new HDD/SSD to install Mac OS X or make a bootable copy onto​

Upgrading RAM in MacBooks and MacBook Pros​

I have an SSD in my 2007 iMac and 2009 MBP, both using C2D CPUs and they still feel fast, of course, they calculate slower, but that is only noticeable during CPU intensive tasks.

So even running SATA-I it's still going to be decently fast? I'm really only running Safari, Pages and a little bit of Photoshop work on my macbook so I'm not too worried about CPU intensive tasks. The iMac is built for that.

What about the RAM though? Apple says max is 4GB (2x2GB) but OWC (and your link) says 6GB (4GB + 2GB). Would putting in unpaired 6GB RAM be better than using 4GB paired or would it be best to just pop the 4GB in?

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One thing to note when buying your SSD, I would not bother spending more on a 6G speed ssd, because I am pretty sure that your machine is only capable of 3G speeds. Something like this http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro/ will be perfect and make your computer feel brand new again!

Yeah, that's the one I was looking at.

 

[basesloaded190]

So even running SATA-I it's still going to be decently fast? I'm really only running Safari, Pages and a little bit of Photoshop work on my macbook so I'm not too worried about CPU intensive tasks. The iMac is built for that.

What about the RAM though? Apple says max is 4GB (2x2GB) but OWC (and your link) says 6GB (4GB + 2GB). Would putting in unpaired 6GB RAM be better than using 4GB paired or would it be best to just pop the 4GB in?

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Yeah, that's the one I was looking at.

I honestly don't think you would notice the difference between 4 and 6GB of Ram so personally I would stick with a pair of 2GB sticks.

 

[AcesHigh87]

I honestly don't think you would notice the difference between 4 and 6GB of Ram so personally I would stick with a pair of 2GB sticks.

I had considered that. Especially with the 6GB being unpaired. Plus I'd still be doubling what I have now.

Just out of curiosity, and since it would be so much nicer, I can't use DDR3 RAM from my iMac in my macbook can I? I have the following RAM installed alongside the default apple RAM in my iMac

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/1333DDR3S04S/

it wouldn't be possible to take that out, put it into the macbook, and buy more RAM for the iMac would it? Just thinking since I can get 8GB for the iMac for less than I'd pay for 4GB for the macbook. Annoying since I have 4GB worth of RAM sitting in my iMac lol.

 

[basesloaded190]

I had considered that. Especially with the 6GB being unpaired. Plus I'd still be doubling what I have now.

Just out of curiosity, and since it would be so much nicer, I can't use DDR3 RAM from my iMac in my macbook can I? I have the following RAM installed alongside the default apple RAM in my iMac

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/1333DDR3S04S/

it wouldn't be possible to take that out, put it into the macbook, and buy more RAM for the iMac would it? Just thinking since I can get 8GB for the iMac for less than I'd pay for 4GB for the macbook. Annoying since I have 4GB worth of RAM sitting in my iMac lol.

Not sure if that would work or not. I would wait until someone else here knows for sure, or shoot OWC a call and ask them. They have always been super helpful to me in the past, so I am sure they can help you out here as well.