SSD upgrade for old macbook pro Trim etc.??

[jamesii]

Hi im not very au fait with hardware and have a macbook pro (late 2011) that is running extremely slowly. I want to upgrade the hard drive but am unsure which hard drive to go for?

I was thinking the crucial MX200 250gb (£80), is that a bad choice?? If i purchase this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aukey-Super...95&sr=8-1&keywords=external+2.5+usb+enclosure

will i be able to clone my hdd onto it and will this new hard drive work well? is the samsung 850 better? I dont really understand about trim and computability with the macbook so am worried before purchasing these two items. Im prepared to spend more on a hard drive if this set up is undesirable.

thanks for any help

 

[Fishrrman]

I think the Crucial MX250 will do just fine for you.
As of late, I've seen reports from more folks having trouble with Samsung drives, than with Crucial.

As far as the installation process goes....

BE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB (shouting intentional).
Trying to use the wrong size screwdriver or TORX could result in stripping out the screws.

I recommend you visit ifixit.com and view the installation guide.

I have a mid-2010 MacBook Pro 13". The drive swap process was remarkably easy. The most important thing to be careful about is the very thin ribbon cable the drive uses by which to connect with the motherboard. It's fragile, so care is advised in handling.

I would also suggest you consider picking up an external enclosure for the old internal drive, such as this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VKTJGW...UTF8&colid=R75PP4I2A0BE&coliid=I3DOKZ31SP7539
I bought one myself, quite sturdy and reliable.

Also important:
I would urge you to consider "prepping and testing" the new SSD drive BEFORE you install it (using the enclosure like above, or perhaps with a USB3/SATA docking station or a USB3/SATA "dongle" adapter).

The advantage of doing it this way is you will know the new drive is bootable and working before you put it into the MacBook. Much easier than doing the drive swap first, and then running into problems....

 

[blake2]

Like Fishrrman said, the MX200 would work for you(or whatever is cheaper... pretty much anything that is cheapest). I agree that you'll need the right screwdrivers, I think amazon has plenty of all the necessary tool kit if you don't already.

As for TRIM, some people claim it seems to be slowing down their drive significantly but personally I haven't noticed much deterioration using Crucial m4 256gb for about 3 years on my macbook pro 2010.

http://blog.macsales.com/11051-to-trim-or-not-to-trim-owc-has-the-answer

This report from OWC seems to agree; although they are specifically talking about Sandforce controllers, I think most of the modern garbage collection is good enough to negate the negative effects of light to moderate everyday use.

 

[jamesii]

ok Im going to go ahead and purchase the crucial ssd and get an external enclosure.
thanks a lot for your help.