Thinking of upgrading to SSD/Ram on 5,1 MB, I'd love some advice

[Vader815]

First time poster here, frequent lurker, been coming to this site for ages. I've browsed through many of the other threads about this and they've been very informative but I thought it'd be best to ask you guys directly. I have a 5,1 MacBook (I believe the first run of aluminum) with 4g of ram, and 2.4Ghz for the processor. I have the standard 250g 5400 rpm that came with it, running Leopard 10.5.8 probably going to go SL soon. I haven't exactly been experiencing anything slowing down but occasionally there's some lag here or there with some of my bigger apps/heavier browsing and multi-tasking but I was thinking instead of buying a new computer which I don't really need, nor can I afford, I could spend around 400-500 for the parts mentioned above.

But I saw that sometimes if I bought a 4g stick the OS could freak out and not recognize it or something odd happening. I have two, 2g sticks so I'd need to swap one for 4g. Have those problems been fixed? (I'm talking about issues found in this topic https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/774995/). I know the ceiling is 6g's of Ram, so basically, is it easy to install and have it function properly?

Here's the real question: Since the Air's came out and I've heard everyone ranting about the amazing SSD's drives I've been considering upgrading to one. I take up about half of my HD but I can easily put much of that on an external. I'm looking for storage capacities in the 120/128g range (maybe 160/250 or so if I find a great deal? Perhaps around black friday, who knows) so I was wondering what you guys would recommend in terms of if it's worth it/should I just get an awesome HD like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Deals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3160356&SID=

and if it is worth it, what are the best SSD's on the market for the price range I'm in. I don't really want to be spending more than $300 or $350 but I've seen some go for much cheaper like this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/SSDMX120/

Any feedback would be fantastically appreciated!

-Vader

 

[Weaselboy]

and if it is worth it, what are the best SSD's on the market for the price range I'm in. I don't really want to be spending more than $300 or $350 but I've seen some go for much cheaper like this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/SSDMX120/

Any feedback would be fantastically appreciated!

-Vader

See this test and this test. I think the general consensus is you want a SSD with a Sandforce controller like the OWC you linked or the OCZ Vertex 2. I just ordered the OWC.

 

[Vader815]

Thanks for the response! So would you advise against something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Note...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1288863587&sr=1-26

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks for the response! So would you advise against something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Note...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1288863587&sr=1-26

I would not get anything other than the OWC or OCZ at this point. They are the only two that have the Sandforce controller to handle cleanup so the drive does not slow over time.

If you want a kit with the external enclosure to make the swap easier,here is what I bought from OWC. Even comes with the tools you need.

 

[Vader815]

Thanks for the response! I'm hoping the price goes down a bit for black friday sales and whatnot to something a bit lower even though 275 for the kit with it isn't bad at all. Thanks again.

-Vader