Can I put any SSD in my MBP or it has to be specifically for Mac, and since they (the SSD) are quite expensive can I use it as well on the next Mac that I'm gonna purchase let say in 2-3 years time? And last but not least, what can I do with my current HDD? Can I use in on another laptop or PC?
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SSD on MBP
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You can use any SSD on the market, you just need to format it via Disk Utility with Mac OS Extended as Format and GUID as partition scheme.
You can put any SSD in it, it's just a matter of finding a good one. If you plan on putting it in your next computer as well, I'd recommend one with a SATA III interface for the extra speed. As far as the current hard drive, you can use it in another laptop if you like, or put it in an enclosure and use it as an external or backup.
Any SSD will work as you can format it to HFS+ which is what OS X uses. However, some SSDs don't like OS X that much so it might be worth it to let us know what you had in your mind before buying it.
You can use the SSD in your next computer as well if you want to (assuming that the computer you buy will use SATA as drive interface). Though it is possible that within few years, SSDs will become standard so you wouldn't have to add one into your new computer.
The old HD can be used with any computer that you like. One option is to get an enclosure and use it as external HD for your MBP if you don't have any better use for the HD.
You can use the SSD in your next computer as well if you want to (assuming that the computer you buy will use SATA as drive interface). Though it is possible that within few years, SSDs will become standard so you wouldn't have to add one into your new computer.
The old HD can be used with any computer that you like. One option is to get an enclosure and use it as external HD for your MBP if you don't have any better use for the HD.
Something to keep in mind with budget SSDs, which may be what Hellhammer was getting at, is that the MacOS as of 10.6 doesn't support TRIM. In an SSD with good garbage collection, this isn't an issue, but in the case of a very cheap one that doesn't do good garbage collection, it could lead to a drastic decrease in performance over time as you create and delete a lot of files.
I'm pretty sure than any SSD that uses a SandForce controller (which tend to be higher-end) is good on that count, and others may be as well, but it'd be worth checking into.
That's one of the reasons it's worth it to many--myself included--to pay the premium for OWC's SSDs--in addition to a SandForce controller, they seem to have custom firmware that maintains speed extremely well over time on the MacOS. It's possible that other SandForce drives will perform just as well, but I haven't seen any specific tests to that end, and here's one detailed test that demonstrates the substantial performance hit involved with poor garbage collection:
http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld-Compare-fill-volume.html
I just put an OWC SSD in my new MBP, and it's impressively fast.
If you don't use CDs/DVDs much, another option for your rotating hard drive is to replace the optical drive with it--that's what I did. This will involve buying a caddy for it (which can be relatively spendy to get one that'll fit in a 9.5mm bay), and maybe also buying either a portable external optical drive or a case for the one you pull, but it's worth the trade-off to me.
I'm pretty sure than any SSD that uses a SandForce controller (which tend to be higher-end) is good on that count, and others may be as well, but it'd be worth checking into.
That's one of the reasons it's worth it to many--myself included--to pay the premium for OWC's SSDs--in addition to a SandForce controller, they seem to have custom firmware that maintains speed extremely well over time on the MacOS. It's possible that other SandForce drives will perform just as well, but I haven't seen any specific tests to that end, and here's one detailed test that demonstrates the substantial performance hit involved with poor garbage collection:
http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld-Compare-fill-volume.html
I just put an OWC SSD in my new MBP, and it's impressively fast.
If you don't use CDs/DVDs much, another option for your rotating hard drive is to replace the optical drive with it--that's what I did. This will involve buying a caddy for it (which can be relatively spendy to get one that'll fit in a 9.5mm bay), and maybe also buying either a portable external optical drive or a case for the one you pull, but it's worth the trade-off to me.