SSD for my MacBook Pro Late 2008

[ciarals]

Hello guys! I have this MacBook Pro Late 2008. In these years I made some updates to it, the last ones are the 8GB RAM and 1TB 7200 rpm HDD from HGST. Now it's time for the last (and maybe final) upgrade: the SSD.

I did some researches on the web and also here on MacRumors and found out that the Samsung SSD can be good for my Mac. Now it's time for questions

• Do you think Samsung SSD are good for me or some other brands (Crucial?) are better?
  
• What SSD from Samsung should I buy? 840 Pro or 840 Evo? The Pro doesn't have the 1TB model the Evo has: so, do you think it's best to go with the Pro 512 GB or Evo 1 TB? Why my Late 2008 Mac, will I really notice differences between Evo and Pro?

Keep in mind that I use my Mac also for editings with Final Cut Pro X, that's the reason for 1TB drive.

Thank you for your answers

 

[Samuelsan2001]

The cheapest

With that macbook just buy the cheapest it is certainly getting to the end of it's shelf life, and only works on SATA 2 speeds so any modern SSD will be limited by the connector.

In all honesty I would put the money towards a new macbook pro.

 

[ciarals]

With that macbook just buy the cheapest it is certainly getting to the end of it's shelf life, and only works on SATA 2 speeds so any modern SSD will be limited by the connector.

In all honesty I would put the money towards a new macbook pro.

I thought very long on this choice and 300 € are better than 2000 € (for now)

So you say that the "best" for my Mac would be the Evo model, not the Pro? All the advantages of the Pro are not for me but only for newer Macs?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I'd go evo

Well the main benefit of the pro is the 10 year guarantee, other than that they work to very similar levels, around 500mb/sec read write. However your sata 2 will limit this to around 275mb/sec read/write.

With PCie now standard in the mac line up your ssd will probably become an external one when you need to upgrade your mac and you should get a good 5 to 7 years out of an EVO.

I put a sata 2 in my old 2010 MBP 13 and my brother still uses it daily and it flies, it is the best upgrade you can do.

 

[ciarals]

Thanks for the reply, that's pretty much what I wanted to do: 840 Evo 1TB Any other advices from other users? Just to collect them all and decide...

Also, what about Crucial? Is better than Samsung for my MBP?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Crucial or samsung

Both are the ones most reccomended on here either will do a great job.

 

[ciarals]

Ok, thank you... I think I'll go with the EVO 1 TB... Waiting for other advices (if any) from other users and then I'll do the upgrade. Thank you Samuelsan2001 for the answers

 

[benji888]

I highly recommend OWC: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/SSD/Mercury_Electra_3G_Solid_State

I created a DIY Fusion drive with the 44GB SSD/750GB 7200RPM HDD, very happy with it.

• Keep in mind, no matter what you get, a 6G/SATA III SSD will not run at that speed in your Mac, but only at 3G/SATA II max. So, you'd save some $ by getting a 3G/SATA II SSD...if you go with other than OWC brand, just make sure it's a recent model with it's own Trim built in.

 

[Weaselboy]

Ok, thank you... I think I'll go with the EVO 1 TB... Waiting for other advices (if any) from other users and then I'll do the upgrade. Thank you Samuelsan2001 for the answers

The EVO is a good choice. Also look at the Crucial MX100. Comparable to the EVO. Just get whichever you can find cheapest.

The EVO and MX100 are about the best bang for buck right now.

 

[ciarals]

Thank you all for your suggestions. My choice will be the Samsung 840 Evo 1TB: my local Mac dealer has a great offer for it

 

[mac-slap-happy]

One item of note on the 2008 MBP's ... some SSD's will not connect at SATA III speeds, but will connect at SATA I. I purchased a Kingston SSD for mine, and it would only negotiate a SATA I connection with the Nvidia bus. I returned it, bought an OWC Mercury, and it negotiates and connects properly as SATA III.

Do some reading ... it's a common issue with the old Nvidia bus in the 2008 MBP.

 

[ciarals]

One item of note on the 2008 MBP's ... some SSD's will not connect at SATA III speeds, but will connect at SATA I. I purchased a Kingston SSD for mine, and it would only negotiate a SATA I connection with the Nvidia bus. I returned it, bought an OWC Mercury, and it negotiates and connects properly as SATA III.

Do some reading ... it's a common issue with the old Nvidia bus in the 2008 MBP.

Didn't know of the SATA I issue, I only knew what benji888 said in one of the previous posts (maximum speed on Late 2008 is SATA II).

I searched for issues with the nVidia in my Late 2008 and the 840 Evo, but couldn't find anything: maybe you can help me checking if there could be any issues? You can find the exact nVidia of my Mac in my first post.

Thank you very much.

 

[benji888]

Didn't know of the SATA I issue, I only knew what benji888 said in one of the previous posts (maximum speed on Late 2008 is SATA II).

I searched for issues with the nVidia in my Late 2008 and the 840 Evo, but couldn't find anything: maybe you can help me checking if there could be any issues? You can find the exact nVidia of my Mac in my first post.

Thank you very much.

OWC sells that drive, you could do live chat with their tech support and they will tell you if it's had issues, they do a lot of upgrade stuff for Macs, they know Macs as well as apple or ifixit. http://eshop.macsales.com/search/Samsung+SSD (see bar near top for live chat link.)

 

[mac-slap-happy]

Go to 'About This Mac' in the Apple menu, then click System Report at the bottom. Choose SATA from the left listbox. Attached is a screenshot of what mine looks like w/ the OWC Mercury installed. Note the 'Link Speed' and 'Negotiated Link Speed' in the results. The Mercury connects at 3 Gigabit. The Kingston I tried first connected at 1 Gigabit.

I may have been wrong on the SATA names ... maybe the 2008 MBP is SATA II vs SATA III as I originally stated. But the issue is with the negotiated link speed. Some drives can't use the full potential of the 2008 bus and won't connect at 3 Gigabit no matter what you do. I paid more for the OWC because it was guaranteed to connect at the full speed of the 2008 bus. I'm sure there are others that will as well, but I'm not knowledgeable of any specific brands other than the one I purchased.

 

[MDAS]

• Keep in mind, no matter what you get, a 6G/SATA III SSD will not run at that speed in your Mac, but only at 3G/SATA II max. So, you'd save some $ by getting a 3G/SATA II SSD...if you go with other than OWC brand, just make sure it's a recent model with it's own Trim built in.

I am shopping for a 512g SSD for my mid 2010 MBP and I can't find any SATA II drive cheaper than a Crucial MX100 Sata III for $209. Are they out there cheap in that size?

 

[Gav Mack]

I am shopping for a 512g SSD for my mid 2010 MBP and I can't find any SATA II drive cheaper than a Crucial MX100 Sata III for $209. Are they out there cheap in that size?

For 512Gb MX100 is what I fit.

1TB 840 Evo or Crucial M500 or M550. The M500 is more than adequate for SATA 2 and cheapest and my default SSD for the pre 2011 Macs without SATA 3.

 

[ciarals]

Go to 'About This Mac' in the Apple menu, then click System Report at the bottom. Choose SATA from the left listbox. Attached is a screenshot of what mine looks like w/ the OWC Mercury installed. Note the 'Link Speed' and 'Negotiated Link Speed' in the results. The Mercury connects at 3 Gigabit. The Kingston I tried first connected at 1 Gigabit.

I may have been wrong on the SATA names ... maybe the 2008 MBP is SATA II vs SATA III as I originally stated. But the issue is with the negotiated link speed. Some drives can't use the full potential of the 2008 bus and won't connect at 3 Gigabit no matter what you do. I paid more for the OWC because it was guaranteed to connect at the full speed of the 2008 bus. I'm sure there are others that will as well, but I'm not knowledgeable of any specific brands other than the one I purchased.

Thank you for the explanation. Now with my HGST 1TB 7200 rpm the 2 speeds are 3 Gigabit, as per your image. I'll let you know if I encounter any problem with the Evo 840 like you had with the Kingston.

 

[Gav Mack]

One item of note on the 2008 MBP's ... some SSD's will not connect at SATA III speeds, but will connect at SATA I. I purchased a Kingston SSD for mine, and it would only negotiate a SATA I connection with the Nvidia bus. I returned it, bought an OWC Mercury, and it negotiates and connects properly as SATA III.

Do some reading ... it's a common issue with the old Nvidia bus in the 2008 MBP.

Kingston I avoid like the plague with Macintosh. I stick to just the brands and types I posted before they do not give me any problems they just work.

 

[benji888]

I am shopping for a 512g SSD for my mid 2010 MBP and I can't find any SATA II drive cheaper than a Crucial MX100 Sata III for $209. Are they out there cheap in that size?

Not really, SSDs are still expensive. This is why I got a small 3G/SATA II SSD, a data doubler and made a DIY fusion drive, I get the speed of the SSD for my OS & apps, and keep my storage capacity at a lower price. (It's much faster, gave my 2010 MPB new life!).

I did this with Mavericks and have not had to make changes, full compatibility w/Yosemite. My setup is a 44GB SSD in HDD slot, swap optical drive for data doubler, put my 750GB 7200 RPM drive in there for a 794GB Fusion drive. It works the same as an apple fusion drive, keeps OS, apps & most used items on SSD, makes everything faster, except for open/close very large files (if you do video/photoshop, etc.).

EDIT: if anyone reading this wants to do a DIY fusion drive, you don't just put the drives in, you have to format them with terminal app a certain way. If you want to do this I can find the links to the sources I used.