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SSD for 2010 White Unibody MacBook?

F

Flex29

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 3, 2013
5
1
Hi

Looking at getting an SSD for my late 2010 2.4Ghz white unibody MacBook.

I originally was looking at crucial but apparently there drives aren't the fastest?

I then heard that the Samsung 840 was a really good drive, but found a post on apple support where a guy with my machine just couldn't get the 840 to work?

Does anybody have any experience of any SSDs in the late 2010 white unibody MacBook?

Thanks
 
Crucial M4 256 SSD

Recently installed a Crucial M4 256GB SSD in my mid-2010 white MacBook in place of the oem 250GB HDD. Moved HDD to the disc player position and converted the disc player into an external device with an adapter. Everything running fine.
 
The Samsung and Crucial only really vary in benchmarks. I have an M4 and it opens my applications instantly, literally no room for improvement. You will only notice a difference moving VERY large files. Installing apps happens in seconds as well. You can update the firmware directly on a Mac with the M4. You need a Windows PC to update the Samsung, however I haven't updated from my 000F
 
I went with intel for reliability over absolute speed given its hard to notice the difference between SSD's in real usage.

The best intel drive when i upgraded was the x25m, they've probably got better ones out now but I highly recommend the brand - 3 years and no problems, rock solid reliability just as expected.

Also i have the 2010 uMB too :)

edit: probably worth maxing out the ram to 4GB whist the guts are exposed.
 
I'm keen to go for reliability too, sounds like the crucial and intel drives are the ones to go for!
 
I just put a 240 GB Intel 330 SSD in my 2010 MacBook and, while I know it's only SATA II, the benchmarks kinda suck. Using BlackMagic DiskSpeedTest, I am only getting 102 MB/s write and 134 MB/s read. Is this all I should expect?
 
dmk1974 said:
I just put a 240 GB Intel 330 SSD in my 2010 MacBook and, while I know it's only SATA II, the benchmarks kinda suck. Using BlackMagic DiskSpeedTest, I am only getting 102 MB/s write and 134 MB/s read. Is this all I should expect?
Click to expand...

I've not done this upgrade yet, but I'm pretty sure it should be faster than that. My Thunderbolt HDD clocks around 100 MB/s read and write...
 
I think I figured out the problem with the Intel 330 240GB SSD. For some reason, the 2010 MacBook is not running it at SATA II speeds (3.0), but rather it is running at SATA I speed (1.5). I had also observed this on the stock 5400 RPM HDD.

I haven't tried the Samsung 830 or any other drives yet in the 2010 white MacBook. Do any of you have this same slower "negotiated" link speed on your drives? On my 2012 MBA, it says 6 Gigabit for both. Thanks.
 

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I installed the 128 GB Samsung 830 SSD into the 2010 MacBook tonight. This drive seems to be running at the appropriate SATA II speed. Says 3 Gigabit for both Link and Negotiated Link.

Using BlackMagic DiskSpeedTest, I am getting 198 MB/s write and 248 MB/s read with this Samsung SSD drive.

I guess the Intel 330 just doesn't adjust correctly. When I transplanted the Intel 330 into a Windows machine tonight (with a SATA III interface), it benchmarked just fine.
 
I put the 128G Samsung 830 SSD drive into my Mid 2010 MB (see sig). Since it'ds only SataII, it will not run at it's full potential. However, it's blazing fast. Boot up from being powered off in 16 seconds.

I've had no issues at all with my Samsung. I'd consider the Crucial M4 too but, I got a better deal on the Samsung 830.

Ohh BTW, you should add 16Gs of ram to your MB as well. ;)
 
Hi guys, I'm new to the mac world but I just get a macbook white 2010 for my daily usage, university studies and office/video/photo editing.

Till I have some money, I'm thinking to update it to ensure that it will be running fast and smooth for min a year or may be two.

So I'm getting a 120 SSD and 8 gb Ram.

I think the M4 crucial is really good, but I've read about people having problems with their SSDs on macs :confused:
I can get one of this 120 SSDs at the same price:
Kingston V300 (already using for my PC)
Samsung 840 Series Basic
Sandisk Ultra Plus
Crucial M4
Ocz Agility 3

Which one is better for my mac?

For Rams I'm just going to get G.Skill 8GB PC 1066 CL7 APPLE (2x4GB)
 
dmk1974 said:
I think I figured out the problem with the Intel 330 240GB SSD. For some reason, the 2010 MacBook is not running it at SATA II speeds (3.0), but rather it is running at SATA I speed (1.5). I had also observed this on the stock 5400 RPM HDD.
Click to expand...

I'm getting this issue as well. It happens occasionally with the hard drive in the optical bay but it happens all the time with my Kingston V200+ SSD in either ODD or main drive bays. I think it's an issue with the Nvidia SATA controller and the SSD not negotiating the link properly, and the problem could occur with other drives using the same Sandforce chipset.

Shutting down, then powering up sometimes fixes this, but it always appears again after waking up from hibernation.
 
@OP/maxdyy - I recently purchased an OWC 3G SSD after seeing that the 6G SSD would only run at SATA I speeds (attached image of their note on the 6G SSD page).

Also, to backup @mwhities statement, I would recommend both an SSD and upgrading to 8 or 16GB RAM as well if you are planning on keeping it for awhile :).
 

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help

mwhities said:
I put the 128G Samsung 830 SSD drive into my Mid 2010 MB (see sig). Since it'ds only SataII, it will not run at it's full potential. However, it's blazing fast. Boot up from being powered off in 16 seconds.

I've had no issues at all with my Samsung. I'd consider the Crucial M4 too but, I got a better deal on the Samsung 830.

Ohh BTW, you should add 16Gs of ram to your MB as well. ;)
Click to expand...

I have macbook mid 2010 unibody white ... just like yours. I just bought a Samsung MZ-7TD250BW, SSD 840 250 GB Stand Alone" which I guess it will work just like yours.

The only thing I have no idea it is how to replace it.
Could you gently provide me with a step by step instructions?
I really thank you.

Manlio
 
thelatinist said:
While you may not need a Windows PC, you need a DOS boot CD:
Click to expand...

I have not done it myself, but based on other user posts on here, I believe you can create and run that CD entirely on a Mac. The instruction PDF on the page seems to say that also.
 
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