Ssd hard drive for 2008 unibody MacBook Pro.

[Gaz0811]

Hi guys.

I'm looking for some advise regarding a new hard drive for my MacBook Pro. I want to fit a 500 gb ssd. I've looked at a crucial m4 and a Samsung pro series but I'm unsure which one to get. Has anybody fitted one? Was it straight forward?

Thanks in advance

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Replacing the HDD with another HDD or SSD is easy.

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:

• 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
• 1. Getting a new HDD
• 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
• 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
• 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)

​

As for what to get, the Samsung 840 Pro and Crucial M4 are often recommended.

Btw, SSD is short for Solid State Disk, HDD is short for Hard Disk Drive, thus SSD hard drive is redundant.

 

[Gaz0811]

Thanks for the quick response Sim and the advice.

Oh and the clarification on ssd/hdd

Cheers

 

[jafingi]

I'm using an Intel 320 with Trim Enabler on Mountain Lion on my 2008 MacBook. Works flawlessly!

 

[derbothaus]

Whatever you decide on stay away from Sandforce for that SATA bus. Link will negotiate to 1.5Gb/s. So no OWC, Vertex 3, Corsair, etc... Anything with SF-2281. Go non-SF Intel (no 330, 520) or Vertex 4, Samsung 830, 840. Crucial M4, etc...

 

[robvas]

Whatever you decide on stay away from Sandforce for that SATA bus. Link will negotiate to 1.5Gb/s. So no OWC, Vertex 3, Corsair, etc... Anything with SF-2281. Go non-SF Intel (no 330, 520) or Vertex 4, Samsung 830, 840. Crucial M4, etc...

Except that OWC, SanDisk and OCZ have a Mac firmware update for drive that will work at 3.0Gb/s...

 

[derbothaus]

Except that OWC, SanDisk and OCZ have a Mac firmware update for drive that will work at 3.0Gb/s...

Really? That must be new. I was never able to get OWC linux flash disc to work last time I tried but that was 2 years ago or so. Good news for others. I already had my fun RMA time prior to there being a patch. AT this point though Samsung is a much better choice especially if you ever want to use Filevault 2.

 

[yusukeaoki]

Either way his MBP only has SATAII so M4 should be enough.
Any new fast drives like the Vertex 4, 840 Pro, 520 wont do much difference because he doesnt have SATAIII.

 

[peterson12]

Whatever you decide on stay away from Sandforce for that SATA bus. Link will negotiate to 1.5Gb/s. So no OWC, Vertex 3, Corsair, etc... Anything with SF-2281. Go non-SF Intel (no 330, 520) or Vertex 4, Samsung 830, 840. Crucial M4, etc...

robvas is right. my OCZ Vertex 3 works like a charm after the firmware update. I have heard OWC Mercury Electra EG SSD is also blazingly fast and has better backward compatibility for 2011 MPs. I am thinking of getting this and will try with my other MP. Latest tech news is indicative that SF enabled SSDs are gaining momentum and will soon be a class apart than the rest.

 

[johnnnw]

Certainly don't overspend on a SATA III 6.0 because your laptop can't reach those speeds anyway.

Make sure you look at the right speed if you want to save money.

 

[derbothaus]

Certainly don't overspend on a SATA III 6.0 because your laptop can't reach those speeds anyway.

Make sure you look at the right speed if you want to save money.

... and know how to read specs on SSD's and what they mean. You may double your 4K writes by getting a newer 6G drive. 4K randoms are nowhere near saturating SATA2 yet so it still matters and doesn't matter on what link you have SATA2 or 3. Reaching the advertised sequential speeds does not matter in a boot disk.

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robvas is right. my OCZ Vertex 3 works like a charm after the firmware update. I have heard OWC Mercury Electra EG SSD is also blazingly fast and has better backward compatibility for 2011 MPs. I am thinking of getting this and will try with my other MP. Latest tech news is indicative that SF enabled SSDs are gaining momentum and will soon be a class apart than the rest.

Electra is not blazingly fast. It is substandard. All SSD's are fast. But comparing it to others, it is fairly slow 2nd tier Sandforce. All distros sell a 2nd tier NAND product. Electra is OWC's. Intel has the 330, etc...