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upgrading '09 MBP to SSD and 8GB RAM please advice

1

10-Dee-Q

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 10, 2006
511
32
Bandung, West Java, Indonesia & Singapore
hi, i own a 15" MBP late '09 model
the specs is :
2.66 Ghz Core2Duo, 4GB RAM DDR3 1066Mhz, now running 750GB 7200 rpm wdc scorpion black.

i want to upgrade it to SSD and more RAM. and i'm not an expert on this
so please guide me as i have few questions to ask.

1. for the price point vs capacity vs speed value, which SSD is the most suitable ? what capacity and which brand will you recommend for me ?
i mean what capacity is the "best buy" right now ?
and what brand is the most reliable ?

2. as for the RAM, my friends is the dealer for Corsair RAM here, and i was offered few different type of corsair ram for my upgrade:
-Corsair Memory PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR 3
-Corsair Memory PC3-10600 (1333MHz) DDR 3
-Corsair Value Memory PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR 3
which one is i should buy ? will the PC3-10600 work in my machine ? and will it gives any performance improvement?
and what the different between the normal one and the value one ?
and another thing, i checked corsair web page , it shows that they have the special corsair memory for mac, the spec is totally the same with the "non- MAC" version, but it cost more expensive, what is their differences ?


3. im planning to use the SSD in the original HDD bay, and move my current 720GB HDD to the optical bay, what additional hardware that i need to perform this ? and what brand /model will you recomend me ?

4. im planning to use the SSD for OSX Lion and apps only, and all the data eg. photos, itunes music, videos on the HDD , this can be done right ?
and also im planning to install win7 on the HDD for gaming purposes, can it be done ? will the bootcamp partition be able to do it ?

thats all for now, please guide me through, any helps will be very appreciated.
thank you very much.

oh yeah another thing.
is there any downside compared to my standard machine if i perform all the upgrades above ?
 
Ok, first of all, SSD drives are EXPENSIVE. If you're going to be making such an investment in your machine, then I'd recommend buying a very good SSD. The new Vertex SSD series are top notch. Again, if you're going to get an SSD, get a good one it is well worth the money.

As for RAM, some will disagree, but I'd go with Crucial. They're not that expensive, and you can go to their website and they will tell you which are the exact RAM modules that your MBP suports, and you can buy them there. I've bought many Crucial RAM sticks, and they've all worked flawlessly. Recommended.

For your dual drive solution use OptiBay or DataDoubler. They both offer kits to get rid of the optical bay and place an HDD in the SATA connection. I'd recommend using the SSD for any program that you'll use often, and that the system will make call to most often. Operating Systems, applications, etc should be in the SSD. "Static" data, or data that doesn't need to be moved, such as photos, music, etc should be in the HDD. You can partition your SSD and have Windows installed on it alongside Mac, and still access the HDD.

Alex.
 
It would be useless to buy a a SATAIII SSD as you dont have a SATAIII port. So I'd definitely recommend checking out the Samsung 470 series SSD. They're extremely reliable (going by reviews posted on these forums) and they're as quick as you're gonna get with SATAII.

With RAM you can go with pretty much anyone. There are only a few true RAM manufacturers (Micron, Hynix.. etc). Others are just bulk purchasers and relabelers. For example, I bought 8GB of G-Skill RAM for my MBP and the modules were actually made by Micron (who is the parent company of Crucial). If you get a great deal on the Crucial RAM from your friend, go for it. If not, check out newegg as you'll like find some great deals on there.

Example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178335


DON'T buy the MCE optibay OR the OWC datadoubler. Giagantic waste of money. I, and many others on this forum, have used an alternative found on eBay and it works just as well as those and only costs $25 as compared to $100 for their solutions. The seller is called nimitz** and he also sells an external enclosure for your dvd drive (which i bought and its perfect - fits well and looks nice). I used the OWC instructional videos though to install the optibay as it is pretty tough.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/220810644282?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

For storage, i put Lion, all my applications AND my music on my SSD and ONLY movies on the HDD. This is because i use the music way more often than the movies. That way iTunes doesn't have to access the HDD and spin it up at all. It only turns on and spins up when I want to watch a movie/Tv show. For reference I have a 128GB Crucial M4 and have Lion, all my apps and home folder (which, granted, isn't THAT much) and my 30GB iTunes library and it's only used about 50GB.

As for installing windows onto the HDD, you have to leave the HDD in the original spot WITH the disc drive STILL IN THE MACHINE and install it that way. Then install your SSD and the optibay drive. Windows won't boot from an external DVD drive (I've tried - but then again maybe I've failed and others have succeeded). So basically what I'd recommend doing is before you start the installation, use Bootcamp to make a windows partition on your current drive keeping in mind how much of the drive you want to use as storage. Leave the part you want to use as storage as OSX and the rest as Windows. Once you've installed the drive in the optibay slot use Disk Utility to wipe the partition containing OSX and you've got your storage, leaving Windows intact.

As for downside, obviously this voids your warranty. However if you still have applecare and need to make a claim, just put your dvd drive back in and you should be good. just dont damage the internal while doing this. Other than that, you're gonna have a much faster and more capable machine after this process, albeit with a slightly lower battery life. There are several threads on the forums though that gives tips and tricks on how to keep the excellent battery life after having installed an optibay. So have a look around, do some searches.
 
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