SSD for 2010 MacBook Pro

[mickeydean]

Core duo 2 13" type.

What is a solid, reliable SSD? Looking to spend as little and maybe 240gb but 500gb range would be fine.

 

[S.B.G]

I've always been a fan of the Samsung SSD's. I have them in all of my Mac's and PC's. I have an 830 in an external enclosure that I use for various things, and right now it's being used to run El Capitan.

My MacBook Pro has an 840 EVO in it and it's been rock solid.

 

[johnh57]

I installed a samsung 840 evo 500 gb drive several months ago. it's working great. I use the trim enabler software under os/x yosemite 10.10.4. Originally I had kext signing disabled to allow the trim enabler to work. The latest upgrade to TE and os/x 10.10.4 seems to have eliminated the requirement to disable kext signing. I think.

 

[NavySEAL6]

Really debating on adding an SSD to extend the life of the computer but I also really want a new machine!

 

[bjmoose]

Core duo 2 13" type.

What is a solid, reliable SSD? Looking to spend as little and maybe 240gb but 500gb range would be fine.

Remember the 2010 MBPs only had a SATA II interface to disks (3Gb/s), so spending money on a SATA III capable SSD isn't necessary nor useful.

 

[briloronmacrumo]

Remember the 2010 MBPs only had a SATA II interface to disks (3Gb/s), so spending money on a SATA III capable SSD isn't necessary nor useful.

Yep. Most modern SSDs deliver close to their top speeds with a 6 Gbps connection but the slower SATA II connection on a 2010 MBP will throttle an SSD's speed. My MacBook with an SSD might be a measurable improvement but it feels essentially the same as it did with its previous hybrid hard drive because it suffers from the same SATA II connection. A Samsung 840 evo has been solid for two years as a boot drive in my 2011 iMac but other manufacturers have good products too.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

As it's a core 2 duo it has sata 2 speeds the best price/performance stability and ease of use currently available is the Crucial BX100 series, amazon often the best price but shop around.

 

[keysofanxiety]

As it's a core 2 duo it has sata 2 speeds the best price/performance stability and ease of use currently available is the Crucial BX100 series, amazon often the best price but shop around.

Couldn't agree more, the Crucial SSDs are brilliant for performance and value.

 

[mickeydean]

Yeah I figure SATAII would be a limitation. Not expecting amazing performance, just trying to make the computer more usable 5 years on. Thanks for the tips.

 

[pastrychef]

Even with SATA 2, an SSD will go a long way to helping overall responsiveness. I've had very good experiences with Crucial SSDs If your computer uses the Nvidia MPC79 chipset, stay away from Toshiba SSDs, they will only run at SATA 1 speeds.

 

[ApolloBoy]

Remember the 2010 MBPs only had a SATA II interface to disks (3Gb/s), so spending money on a SATA III capable SSD isn't necessary nor useful.

Except almost all SSDs out there now are SATA III. Even then, an SSD is going to provide far better performance than a conventional hard drive.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yeah I figure SATAII would be a limitation. Not expecting amazing performance, just trying to make the computer more usable 5 years on. Thanks for the tips.

The performance boost is still huge, While sustained read writes may be a little slow compared to newer specs the main uses computers are put to in everyday uses are random I/O limited and that is night and day difference.

 

[mickeydean]

Really debating on adding an SSD to extend the life of the computer but I also really want a new machine!

The SSD will be a good stop-gap before a new machine. Can't decide between Crucial or Samsung 850 EVO or a Sandisk.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

If it was me I'd go crucial, thats because they tend to be the cheapest here and they have less issues anecdotally than anything else.

 

[Weaselboy]

The SSD will be a good stop-gap before a new machine. Can't decide between Crucial or Samsung 850 EVO or a Sandisk.

I'd say it is pretty much a toss up... just get whichever is cheapest where you live.

 

[h9826790]

I'd say it is pretty much a toss up... just get whichever is cheapest where you live.

Exactly, just get the cheapest. They are more or less the same in normal ops.

For OP, don't worry about the SATA2. I did use my 840Evo via both the native SATA2 port and via a SATA3 PCIe card. Except large sequential R/W (or running benchmark software), it's no way to tell the difference.

 

[Macyourdayy]

Yeah I figure SATAII would be a limitation. Not expecting amazing performance, just trying to make the computer more usable 5 years on. Thanks for the tips.

You can always pull the drive from the 2010 when you get a newer machine.