SSD for MacBook Pro 13" Mid 2009

[waltervt]

Hi everybody and thanks for reading. I'm about to get a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM for my stock MBP (MacBook Pro 5,5, 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD @5400RPM) and my two options are (from amazon.es):

Kingston V200 - 151 euro (2-4 week delivery)
Crucial M4 - 179 euro (on stock)

Is one of them better than the other or works better with my mac model? Do they support TRIM and do I need it? Or should I just go for the cheapest one? I use my laptop for photo editing on Aperture, GarageBand, maybe some games (Diablo III and WoW, but very seldom), and the regular use (mail, safari, Skype, iTunes, etc).

Thanks a lot!

BTW, the RAM is also Kingston 2x4GB 1066MHz - 38 euro (on stock)

Also, is there a way that I can enable PowerNap?

 

[Jurwin]

Samsung SSD 830 is also a great choice for about the same price. Only SSD that came from apple installed support TRIM out of the box. You can download and use the program "trim enabler" if you really want trim. I have Samsung SSD 830 and use trim enabler.

 

[zackkmac]

I have the Crucial M4 and it is an excellent drive and simple to turn on TRIM. As for PowerNap, there is currently no hack to enable it, although I don't think it would be too difficult for someone with enough experience to find a way to add it to other Macs with SSDs. Check periodically as there may be a solution at some point.

 

[mabaty]

I replace probably an SSD (upgrade/repair) a day at work, Samsung is top notch, Crucial would be my second choice.

 

[T5BRICK]

Kingston V200 - 151 euro (2-4 week delivery)
Crucial M4 - 179 euro (on stock)

Is one of them better than the other or works better with my mac model? Do they support TRIM and do I need it? Or should I just go for the cheapest one? I use my laptop for photo editing on Aperture, GarageBand, maybe some games (Diablo III and WoW, but very seldom), and the regular use (mail, safari, Skype, iTunes, etc).

I've got the same computer as you do and I tried both the Samsung 830 and the Crucial M4. I ended up installing the 830 in my wife's PC simply because the PC actually has SATA III and the faster 830 would be better used there.

Here are some benchmark results from my 2.53GHz mid 2009 13" MBP. I have run the M4 with firmware version 000F and 010G with good results.

 

[waltervt]

Samsung SSD 830 is also a great choice for about the same price. Only SSD that came from apple installed support TRIM out of the box. You can download and use the program "trim enabler" if you really want trim. I have Samsung SSD 830 and use trim enabler.

You're right, I can get a MZ-7PC256D/EU amazon.es for 177 eur, how is not on stock and don't have any estimated arrival dates. The 830 is 251 eur and is on stock. Is it REALLY worth the extra 100??

Do I need to download the EFIUpdate for the Sata III to work?

 

[waltervt]

I have the Crucial M4 and it is an excellent drive and simple to turn on TRIM. As for PowerNap, there is currently no hack to enable it, although I don't think it would be too difficult for someone with enough experience to find a way to add it to other Macs with SSDs. Check periodically as there may be a solution at some point.

That's cool! Do you own one of those? I guess it's noticeably faster than the stock 5400RPM drive, right?

 

[T5BRICK]

You're right, I can get a MZ-7PC256D/EU amazon.es for 177 eur, how is not on stock and don't have any estimated arrival dates. The 830 is 251 eur and is on stock. Is it REALLY worth the extra 100??

No, it's not worth the extra $100. The 2009 MBP is limited to SATA II.

Do I need to download the EFIUpdate for the Sata III to work?

If your EFI isn't 1.7, you'll need to update it to use SATA II. Otherwise you're limited to SATA I.

 

[waltervt]

No, it's not worth the extra $100. The 2009 MBP is limited to SATA II.
If your EFI isn't 1.7, you'll need to update it to use SATA II. Otherwise you're limited to SATA I.

Okie dokie, I think I'll go for the M4 so I can get it in 2-3 days instead of 2-4 weeks! I'll do a clean install of the OS X. Do I need to update the firmware of the drive or anything? I've read some stuff about it, but I'm not sure what it means.

 

[T5BRICK]

Okie dokie, I think I'll go for the M4 so I can get it in 2-3 days instead of 2-4 weeks! I'll do a clean install of the OS X. Do I need to update the firmware of the drive or anything? I've read some stuff about it, but I'm not sure what it means.

If you're buying it now there is a good chance it'll have the most recent firmware.

Here is some info from Apple on EFI firmware update 1.7. I've got this installed on mine, because without it you are stuck at SATA I.

 

[zackkmac]

That's cool! Do you own one of those? I guess it's noticeably faster than the stock 5400RPM drive, right?

I have a 2012 13" that came with a 5400RPM drive and the SSD made a huge difference, so I imagine the difference on a 2009 C2D would be even better. The one in my 13" is a Samsung 256GB though, not an M4.

 

[BRyken]

You can also use Trim Enabled to hack TRIM on 3rd party SSD's

 

[yusukeaoki]

Get the M4.
Its slowest out of all but your MBP cant handle it anyway.
People who suggest 830, his MBP cant optimize the full SATAIII speed.
Stick with the M4.

 

[Jurwin]

You're right, I can get a MZ-7PC256D/EU amazon.es for 177 eur, how is not on stock and don't have any estimated arrival dates. The 830 is 251 eur and is on stock. Is it REALLY worth the extra 100??

Do I need to download the EFIUpdate for the Sata III to work?

In the Netherlands (where I live) the price of the 256GB SSD 830 samsung has dropped to 169 ear. Try looking at other places for better price. On amazon UK the price is 150 pounds.

 

[waltervt]

Get the M4.
Its slowest out of all but your MBP cant handle it anyway.
People who suggest 830, his MBP cant optimize the full SATAIII speed.
Stick with the M4.

Hi, I've been reading a little bit and found out about a Crucial V4 Sata II, but the M4 is Sata III with backwards compatibility to Sata II. So he M4 IS the better choice, as I can use it at 3Gb/s on my current laptop and if I upgrade to a Sata III capable laptop I'll be able to take full advantege of the 6Gb/s, right?
Also, I sw that the Kingston V200 is also SATA II and III compatible, is the M4 worth the extra 28eur? I'm getting Kingston RAM instead of Crucial, because it's 37 vs 47 eur, so in the end I'd be saving 25% on the RAM and 20% on the SSD.
Cheers

 

[yusukeaoki]

Hi, I've been reading a little bit and found out about a Crucial V4 Sata II, but the M4 is Sata III with backwards compatibility to Sata II. So he M4 IS the better choice, as I can use it at 3Gb/s on my current laptop and if I upgrade to a Sata III capable laptop I'll be able to take full advantege of the 6Gb/s, right?
Also, I sw that the Kingston V200 is also SATA II and III compatible, is the M4 worth the extra 28eur? I'm getting Kingston RAM instead of Crucial, because it's 37 vs 47 eur, so in the end I'd be saving 25% on the RAM and 20% on the SSD.
Cheers

Never used Kingston so I cant really say much.
But as you may already know, many people including Mac owners use Crucial M4.
I went because of reliability and many good stories I hear about them.

Never got Kingston nor Crucial RAMs either.
I have Corsair 16GB installed.
I dont know what size you are getting but Corsair 8GB is about 30USD.
(Sry I dont know the conversion)
16GB 1333MHz is about 50USD and 1600MHz is about 60USD.

 

[waltervt]

I dont know what size you are getting but Corsair 8GB is about 30USD. (Sry I dont know the conversion)
16GB 1333MHz is about 50USD and 1600MHz is about 60USD.

I'm getting 2x4GB (the most I can handle) the OWC ones are 47USD which is about the same as the Kingston ones at 37EUR, so I figured the price was right, also apparently there are Mac-specific modules. I'll read some more about the drives. Thanks a lot for you replies.

 

[yusukeaoki]

I'm getting 2x4GB (the most I can handle) the OWC ones are 47USD which is about the same as the Kingston ones at 37EUR, so I figured the price was right, also apparently there are Mac-specific modules. I'll read some more about the drives. Thanks a lot for you replies.

Just a quick tip, some of those "Mac-ready" RAMs are unneeded.
If its a compatible RAM, thats all it needs.

DDR3 204pin SO-DIMM 1.5v RAM
1066MHz, 1333MHz or 1600MHz
Timing should be 9-9-9-24

Companies tend to charge more on Mac ready RAMs but with little knowledge, you can get them far cheaper

Here is the one I previously had. Never had a problem with corsair.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-DDR3-...F8ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317278081&sr=8-1

It is now 35USD which is probably about 26~27EUR.

 

[waltervt]

Just a quick tip, some of those "Mac-ready" RAMs are unneeded. If its a compatible RAM, thats all it needs.

I thought that because it said "Mac" on the description was going to work better, but apparently not. I've seen that I can buy the same Crucial M4 and OWC RAM throught the MacSales website and have them shipped to Spain for about the same price ($224.99 SSD + $47.5 RAM). Also I need an enclosure and a set of tools, which is cheaper at OWC even if we add the shipping. Have you had any experience with them?

 

[yusukeaoki]

I thought that because it said "Mac" on the description was going to work better, but apparently not. I've seen that I can buy the same Crucial M4 and OWC RAM throught the MacSales website and have them shipped to Spain for about the same price ($224.99 SSD + $47.5 RAM). Also I need an enclosure and a set of tools, which is cheaper at OWC even if we add the shipping. Have you had any experience with them?

Not really with OWC.
I hear they are really reliable.

For the tools, I just used one that are cheap and hardware stores.
Philips screw driver for the bottom plate screws and pentalobe screw driver for SSD/HDD.

Enclosures are cheap now days as well.
May sure you get the 2.5in enclosure instead of 3.5in drives.

 

[davidlv]

I thought that because it said "Mac" on the description was going to work better, but apparently not. I've seen that I can buy the same Crucial M4 and OWC RAM through the MacSales website and have them shipped to Spain for about the same price ($224.99 SSD + $47.5 RAM). Also I need an enclosure and a set of tools, which is cheaper at OWC even if we add the shipping. Have you had any experience with them?

I have had experience with OWC, shipping from the States to Japan. Very fast service and I like the On-the-Go firewire+USB 2 enclosure I bought from them. Now they have USB 3 enclosures too. The tools can be bought locally, #00 Philips head screwdriver and a #6 Torx screwdriver, or buy the OWC toolkit. In general, OWC RAM is a little more expensive than other vendors, but they have good customer service should you get a DOA RAM chip, and getting everything in one package shipped internationally does sound good. You can shop around in the local "Windows" DOSV parts shops too and if you are lucky you may find the Crucial SSD and/or the RAM (make sure the specs are right) at even lower prices. Buying from OWC just reduces the hassle, at a slightly higher price. Your choice .... ?

 

[robvas]

The stock HD in those are so slow. And the NVIDIA nForce SATA controller is garbage as well, plenty of people with issues with various SSD.

OCZ has a firmware utility for their Sandforce drives that lets you force the controller to run at SATA 2.0. I was never impressed with the numbers I got from my SSD in my 2009 MacBook but it was still much much faster than the slow stock hard drive.

 

[gngan]

I thought that because it said "Mac" on the description was going to work better, but apparently not. I've seen that I can buy the same Crucial M4 and OWC RAM throught the MacSales website and have them shipped to Spain for about the same price ($224.99 SSD + $47.5 RAM). Also I need an enclosure and a set of tools, which is cheaper at OWC even if we add the shipping. Have you had any experience with them?

Speaking of coincidience I have the Kingston 8gb ram and Crucial M4. I didn't get the Mac 'ready' ram cause they are the same.

 

[waltervt]

The Decision

Hi guys, I'd like to thank everyone for their replies and advice. I've decided to buy though OWC and get everything from the same place. So, tonight I'll be ordering the following:

• OWC Express 2.5" Portable USB 3.0 Enclosure for SATA NoteBook HDs - Sleek Silver Color $27.00
• OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit for Memory & Drive installs: Screwdriver, Philips, T6 & T8 Torx, 'Spudger' $4.50
• 256GB Crucial M4 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s 9.5mm SSD (MLC) 3 year Crucial Warranty $224.99
• 8.0GB (4.0GB + 4.0GB Kit) PC-8500 DDR3 kit for iMac '09; MacBook/Pro Unibody '08-10; Mac mini '09/10 $47.50
• Delivery $15.69
• $2.5 Instant Savings when you complete your order using Checkout with Amazon

TOTAL: 317.18USD / 243.98EUR

Thanks again, and I'll be posting some results when I get and install everything.
Cheers

 

[waltervt]

Speaking of coincidience I have the Kingston 8gb ram and Crucial M4. I didn't get the Mac 'ready' ram cause they are the same.

Good to know, any tips on "making the most" out of that M4? And the RAM as well.