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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Do it Yourself Discussion! => Topic started by: CCCA on January 04, 2016, 04:37:53 PM

Title: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: CCCA on January 04, 2016, 04:37:53 PM
I'm helping my sister upgrade her 2008 Macbook pro which she has been complaining about (mostly being slow, but also getting spinning beachballs).  I'd like to add an SSD and more RAM.


Here is the info on her system:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.4-aluminum-15-late-2008-unibody-specs.html


And I'm looking at the following two SSDs on Amazon:
SanDisk Ultra II 480GB SATA III 2.5-Inch 7mm Height Solid State Drive (SSD)  (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M8ABFX6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00M8ABFX6&linkCode=as2&tag=shirlandchris-20&linkId=PF3C7TF6NAJTLNGG)
and
Crucial BX200 480GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016JREG84/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B016JREG84&linkCode=as2&tag=shirlandchris-20&linkId=QOGRFTUZKXX6X2H2)
Anyone know enough about SSDs to judge between these two.  They are very similar in price.


Also I'd like to upgrade her ram and the link above says her computer uses RAM with the following specs: 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500).  I have 3 sticks of 2GB RAM from a newer Macbook Pro that uses teh following specs: 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-10600).  Does anyone know if that newer ram will work or not?


thanks in advance.



Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: Daley on January 04, 2016, 04:59:57 PM
The problem with sticking SSDs in a Macbook are two-fold. TRIM and kernel security to enable it. This isn't to say that it can't be done, you're just going to be stuck spending another $20 to make the SSD work properly under the OS without compromising security as Apple only natively supports Apple approved SSDs (that is, only their SSDs in their officially blessed to use SSD devices). System updates could prove hazardous, too.

Cindori (https://www.cindori.org/) is probably your best route though to make the SSD work and last.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: CCCA on January 04, 2016, 06:32:21 PM
The problem with sticking SSDs in a Macbook are two-fold. TRIM and kernel security to enable it. This isn't to say that it can't be done, you're just going to be stuck spending another $20 to make the SSD work properly under the OS without compromising security as Apple only natively supports Apple approved SSDs (that is, only their SSDs in their officially blessed to use SSD devices). System updates could prove hazardous, too.

Cindori (https://www.cindori.org/) is probably your best route though to make the SSD work and last.


I.P.Daley, thanks for that bit of info.   I've not worked with SSDs before so that information was helpful, as I wouldn't have even known what to ask for.  Did a bit of searching and it seems that with the latest Mac OS 10.10.4, Cindori is not needed and a "trimforce enable" terminal command is all that is needed to get TRIM working, according to: http://www.howtogeek.com/222077/how-to-enable-trim-for-third-party-ssds-on-mac-os-x/


So I think I can go ahead with the SSD on the macbook pro.

Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: Daley on January 04, 2016, 06:59:14 PM
So I think I can go ahead with the SSD on the macbook pro.

I'd missed that bid of news that you'd found. Good to see they're finally letting that happen. Given the news, however, I would recommend shopping off the good for Linux TRIM capable SSDs. Sandforce controllers are usually pretty good, and I usually lean toward Intel SSDs myself. Of the two you linked? I'd personally probably go with that Sandisk over the Crucial, but that's personal choice. What matters is how well TRIM is supported on each disk under OSX, and if there's potential corruption issues as well as overall build quality. Crucial makes better drives than the one you linked for not much more.

Still, TRIM is a major point to talk on SSDs and OSX all the same, otherwise you'll see rapid performance degradation and you'll eventually thrash the drive and kill it much faster.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: CCCA on January 11, 2016, 02:22:14 PM
Just circling back around to provide an update in case anyone else was interested. 


I ended up with the SanDisk SSD.  I ended up with the 240GB version for only $70 on Amazon.  I had to upgrade to OS 10.10.4 (Yosemite) in order to use the Apple trimforce command. 

That and the 2GB RAM upgrade, and a new battery, made the computer incredibly faster.  Tons of spinning beachballs before, but now the 2008 Macbook Pro (Core2Duo) feels really fast.  It'll definitely have a few more years left in the tank before she needs to get another computer.  Pretty amazing for an almost 8 year old computer and for only ~$100. 

I might have to do the same for my 2011 Macbook Pro, but I'll probably wait a bit until the price of 1TB SSDs falls a bit more.  I like to keep everything on my main drive.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: beltim on January 11, 2016, 02:45:15 PM
Another alternative for you, if you don't mind not having an internal DVD drive, is to take out your DVD drive and having two internal hard drives using this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDAMBS0GB/

I actually have two internal SSDs for my 2009 MBP.  Sometimes I look at buying a new iMac or Macbook Pro but to get the level of features that I have in my current computer would be crazy expensive.

SSDs make much more of a difference than processor for most computer applications these days.  Current i5 benchmarks are only about 2-2.5X faster than even an 8-year old Core2Duo.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: Thegoblinchief on January 11, 2016, 07:22:54 PM
I missed this thread originally but I'm glad you picked the SanDisk. Reviews of the BX200 have not been kind. Crucial went backwards quite a bit in performance from their preceding BX100 series because of the new type of NAND they're using.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: TheThirstyStag on January 14, 2016, 10:52:42 AM
I, too, missed this thread originally but am glad to see it all worked out.  I pretty much did the same thing on my early 2008 non-unibody macbook pro (on which I am typing right now).  I went with an intel SSD and Corsair RAM that is designed to address any mac kernel issues.  It completely woke the machine up.  8 years and counting with this laptop. 

An SSD upgrade is amazing.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: bzzzt on January 17, 2016, 12:49:53 PM
Works for more than just MacBooks. I have a 2008 vintage Dell laptop that was hugely faster after an upgrade to a SSD and 4GB of RAM.

The worst part is the hinge is a bad design and I end up having to spend $30-40 on a DOA computer every other year just to harvest the LCD frame.
Title: Re: macbook pro upgrade - RAM and SSD
Post by: DangleStash on January 21, 2016, 01:04:59 PM
With any CPU/GPU/SSD purchase, I usually check this site out:

www.ssdboss.com (replace SSD with CPU or GPU depending on what you're looking for).

For these two, it looks like the Sandisk model has a longer MTBF (longevity) rating, but otherwise not a lot of data.

Does she definitely need that amount of space, or would 250GB work?  I've had very good luck with Corsair Force GT's in the past, but currently use a Samsung Evo 850 and couldn't be happier.  I see deals on the samsungs frequently on Slickdeals.net.

The RAM should work - worst case, pop it in and see what happens.