SSD Upgrade for 15" MacBook Pro 2010

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iTravis

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
484
I've been using my work laptop for a while and barely use my aging MacBook Pro (2.4Ghz Core i5) but now since I have some time off I want to upgrade from the slow HDD to a faster SSD. Hopefully you can help me out with a couple following questions?
- I did some research and found out the reliable brands are Crucial or OWC. Do I have to purchase from either or I can just get any SSDs? Let say will it work with a Samsung EVO?
- I no longer have the disc to install the OS so can I back it up and restore just the OS? I don't have much data so I want to reinstall a fresh copy.
- Is it worth it to upgrade to 8GB RAM?
Thanks in advance guys!
 
You can use any SSD you want. I personally use an 850 Pro in my iMac. I would just recommend buying something of decent quality. Because I have an M4 that basically went down after only 3 years.

OS installation is from the internet. You should be fine.

Yes, upgrading your RAM is generally recommended. 8GB, should be okay for now.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
You can use any SSD you want. I personally use an 850 Pro in my iMac. I would just recommend buying something of decent quality. Because I have an M4 that basically went down after only 3 years.

OS installation is from the internet. You should be fine.

Yes, upgrading your RAM is generally recommended. 8GB, should be okay for now.
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Is the Samsung 850 Pro still a good choice? I've been using OCZ, Crucial, and Samsung and they have not failed yet, maybe I'm just lucky. Since I'll do the SSD upgrade might as well adding more RAM, 8GB is the max my MacBook Pro can support anyway.

Archer1212 said:
Yup. US hit the nails on the head. You can also make a bootable installer for OS X if you wish. Just need an 8GB flash drive and to download the install from the app store.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
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Awesome, thank you for the link.

I did a quick search on Amazon and found this combo, what do you guys think?

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-...d-4f63-971b-ca6229de96a2&pf_rd_i=desktop&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-4GBx...1484954259&sr=1-1&keywords=1066MHz+DDR3+SDRAM
 
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If that is all in your budget, Go for it. I have seen plenty of good performance off the samsung 850 series when I worked at the genius bar.
Also, if you dont use your optical drive and wish to add even more storage, get something like this to replace your DVD drive.
https://www.amazon.com/ZXUY-Unibody-Laptop-DVD-ROM-Replacement/dp/B0058AH2US
Dont expect a lot of performance out of it, but you can use it for bulk storage like movies or music.
 
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Archer1212 said:
If that is all in your budget, Go for it. I have seen plenty of good performance off the samsung 850 series when I worked at the genius bar.
Also, if you dont use your optical drive and wish to add even more storage, get something like this to replace your DVD drive.
https://www.amazon.com/ZXUY-Unibody-Laptop-DVD-ROM-Replacement/dp/B0058AH2US
Dont expect a lot of performance out of it, but you can use it for bulk storage like movies or music.
Click to expand...

Yes looks like that would be my best option for now. I don't expect a lot, just a decent boost compare to my current performance is what I'm hoping for.
Oh and I think I might keep the optical drive, I don't really use my laptop a lot and I use my desktop for storage. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Really appreciate for the help!
 
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iTravis said:
Yes looks like that would be my best option for now. I don't expect a lot, just a decent boost compare to my current performance is what I'm hoping for.
Oh and I think I might keep the optical drive, I don't really use my laptop a lot and I use my desktop for storage. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Really appreciate for the help!
Click to expand...

850 Pro is a great drive, but you will see pretty much ZERO performance difference between it and an 850 EVO. Another, even more budget friendly solution would be a SanDisk Ultra II (Stay away from Sandisk SSD Plus, they drop down to like 50MB/sec write after the 4GB buffer gets used on any large writes.)
 
Dew said:
850 Pro is a great drive, but you will see pretty much ZERO performance difference between it and an 850 EVO. Another, even more budget friendly solution would be a SanDisk Ultra II (Stay away from Sandisk SSD Plus, they drop down to like 50MB/sec write after the 4GB buffer gets used on any large writes.)
Click to expand...

I thought the PRO version uses a better NAND than the EVO version and therefore will last longer? The difference between the 2 is about $50 (I'm looking to get the 500GB version) so I think it's worth it for the extra warranty and longevity.
 
iTravis said:
I thought the PRO version uses a better NAND than the EVO version and therefore will last longer? The difference between the 2 is about $50 (I'm looking to get the 500GB version) so I think it's worth it for the extra warranty and longevity.
Click to expand...

Pro does have a better (longer) warranty and will last longer. But we are talking about 15 years normal desktop use vs 25 years normal desktop use when it comes to write endurance.
 
My dad's 2008 era Core2Duo MBP is still rocking my old Intel X25-M 80GB. He uses it every day for work to this day.
 
Dew said:
Pro does have a better (longer) warranty and will last longer. But we are talking about 15 years normal desktop use vs 25 years normal desktop use when it comes to write endurance.
Click to expand...

Ah I see what your point is, well it's good to know I have more options to consider. Gotto make up my mind and order one to take advantage of the $25 VCO from BestBuy I guess :D

criccio said:
My dad's 2008 era Core2Duo MBP is still rocking my old Intel X25-M 80GB. He uses it every day for work to this day.
Click to expand...

That's a very old drive, does Intel still make it? lol
 
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