Will My SSD Work with a 2.0 USB Port?

[JasonMovieGuy]

So for Christmas I got an external SSD (Monster Digital Overdrive 3.0)

I own a late 2010 Macbook Pro, that sadly (and weirdly) only has 2.0 USB ports. So you can imagine my disappointment when I plugged in the drive, and transferred some movie files. I waited for 2-3 minutes per file.

A few questions:

1. How can I use this external drive to the best performance? I just want to store data and movies. I like that it's solid state so that will make the files last longer. Will the files still last long on here despite the fact that they were transferred from a 2.0 USB?

2. Is there a way I can buy a separate 3.0 USB Port for my macbook that's portable?

3. I keep hearing about FireWire ports. Not sure which one my Macbook has, but this SSD won't plug into it. I'm confused as to what to do now.

Should I just return this until I can buy an updated Macbook Pro that has 3.0 USB Ports? Or keep it, since it's still 256GB SSD and will keep my files safe. I mean it's just a matter of transfer speed right? Or will it not function properly ?

 

[rapicell]

It may be a 3.0 drive, but it's limited to 2.0 speeds when connected to your macbook. If that isn't going to be a problem, then you have nothing to worry about.

As for firewire, that's a different port than USB and thus requires a different cord. It's faster than USB 2.0, but nothing compared to usb 3.0

 

[JasonMovieGuy]

It may be a 3.0 drive, but it's limited to 2.0 speeds when connected to your macbook. If that isn't going to be a problem, then you have nothing to worry about.

As for firewire, that's a different port than USB and thus requires a different cord. It's faster than USB 2.0, but nothing compared to usb 3.0

Great, thank you! I don't mind the slower transfer speeds until I get a newer computer. As long as my files are better preserved on the SSD, that's what I care about.

 

[dukebound85]

Great, thank you! I don't mind the slower transfer speeds until I get a newer computer. As long as my files are better preserved on the SSD, that's what I care about.

Better preserved? What do you mean? SSDs are not immune to failure and can be just as reliable as hdds. If you aren't moving the devices around muh, I wouldn't worry

 

[Doward]

Is there any chance you have the 17" model with the express card slot?

If so, I installed 2 USB 3.0 ports (average ~95 MB/s) into my 2011 17".