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SSD for a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010)?

CoastalOR said:
You are right your MBP is 3 Gb/s. The SATA3 6 Gb/s SSDs are backward compatible and will automatically work at 3 Gb/s.
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True. In addition to that, the SSD will work at 3 Gb/s in OSX and at 1.5 Gb/s in BootCamp due to Apples BIOS compatibility layer. The upgrade is a huge performance boost though, I own such a MBP.
 
to the OP,

i have the same MBP and running a Crucial BX100 256gb SSD in mine and w/ upgraded RAM it zooms!!!
 
h4lp m3 said:
It is my understanding that the MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) only supports Sata 3 Gb/s.
Does that mean one would need an SSD that is specifically 3 Gb/s, or can you use a 6 Gb/s and it will throttle down?
Click to expand...
As previously mentionned SATA is backward compatible (just like USB, for example). Any 2.5" SSD you drop in there will work. Find one with the capacity and price point you're comfortable at, so long as it has a decent warranty and you're golden.
 
OP:

You can probably drop -ANY- currently-sold SSD into the 2010 MBPro and it will work just fine.
I said "probably" because I'm -guessing- that just about all of them are "backward-compatible" with the slower bus in your MBPro.

Having said that, because ANY drive you buy is going to "max out" the bus in your MacBook, you don't have to buy "the fastest and most expensive". An "economy" drive will do fine.

I'd suggest a Crucial drive in the 240gb range.
You can find these for less than $100.

I would advise you to "prep and test" the drive BEFORE you install it.
Use a 2.5" USB3 external enclosure to do this.
Then, after you make the drive swap, the external enclosure can house your old drive, which you can keep around as a bootable backup.

I would also advise you to USE THE CORRECT TOOLS for the drive swap.
You'll need a Phillips #00 driver and a TORX T-6.
These can be found at hardware stores, Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, and online.

Follow the instructions at ifixit.com.
Swapping the drive on a 2010 MBPro is as easy as it gets.

I did the same with mine and it breathed years of new life into it.
 
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my 13" Mid 2010 installed with Samung 850 Evo, and very pleased with results...

Untitled_2.jpg
 
Fishrrman said:
OP:

You can probably drop -ANY- currently-sold SSD into the 2010 MBPro and it will work just fine.
I said "probably" because I'm -guessing- that just about all of them are "backward-compatible" with the slower bus in your MBPro.

Having said that, because ANY drive you buy is going to "max out" the bus in your MacBook, you don't have to buy "the fastest and most expensive". An "economy" drive will do fine.

I'd suggest a Crucial drive.
Click to expand...

All good advice. My choice for drive though would be a Samsung 850 evo. On Amazon, the 256gb is $89, 500gb is about $150. I personally put a 1tb 850 evo ($320 on Amazon) in my daughter's 2010 MBP. A wonderful upgrade.
 
Sam Leach said:
I have the same model mbp. How are you able to get such fast speeds on SATA 2? I thought it would max out at 250 MB/s ?
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The 2010 models do max out at 300MB/s (SATA II = 3Gbps)

He must have RAID-0 running with another SSD in the optibay. That's the only way you could see those numbers on that machine.
 
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robvas said:
The 2010 models do max out at 300MB/s (SATA II = 3Gbps)

He must have RAID-0 running with another SSD in the optibay. That's the only way you could see those numbers on that machine.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's RAID-0 (at least not the Apple version). My 2012 MBP (El Capitan) has RAID-0 and it does not show a Startup Disk on the "About" screen (it does on my Mini, not RAID-0). Maybe they changed what the "About" screen reports between Yosemite and El Capitan? I don't have an alternative explanation for the SSD speed.

EDIT: I just noticed that the "About" will not show a Startup Disk if there is only one disk available. It doesn't have anything to do with RAID-0 or not. So it may be RAID-0 after all.
 
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sandisk ultra 2 provide excellent bang for the buck

PCIE SSDs have huge gaps in performance from model to model that are user perceivable. When it comes to SATA SSDs, any good brand's non-budget models are all going to feel the same, so I wouldn't sweat the choice. The interface is the bottleneck more than the drive by now.
 
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I just had a Sandisk Ultra 1TB placed into my mid-2010 iMac i7 and there are no words to describe the difference in performance.

Previously, it would take a minute or two to get to the login screen, then it would scrabble around for five ten minutes loading in.. and could take a minute or longer to load my Ableton music software.

Now, I'm at my login screen within 10-15 seconds, I log in and can have Ableton loaded in another 10-15 seconds.
 
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