SSD upgrade. Macbook pro 5,4 (2.53ghz mid 2009)

Crucial SSDs. Have 3 of them. Flawless.

Waste of money on that model, a 7,200 RPM will do the same and offer more storage capacity as you don't have the SATA for SSD.

Also that machine has about another year of life on it and then it's circling the drain, and/or the next OS X version will kill it.

Figure 4 years for a well taken care of Apple laptop with almost daily use.

Why spend huge amounts on SSD when it's ONLY storage speed, you can't change the CPU or GPU speed with a SSD.

If you got a new machine and then put a SSD in it right away, then I see the sense.

Mainly the video card, keyboard and trackpad starts going around 4 years.

If not that, then a OS X upgrade will finish it off, like Lion finished off my Late 2007. 😟

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20091204-263/graphics-issues-plaguing-os-x- 10.7-lion-upgrades/

My Macbook Pro 17" from June 2009 is going strong and I use it everyday as both a secondary system and a main setup. I also have the latest Lion system on it.

Just upgraded to 8GB RAM and plan on installing a boot SSD to go along side the stock 500 MB. Crucial and Intel SSDs are very expensive. Comparitively, OWC SSDs are supposed to be the best on the market when tested against other brands and also best value. They offer 3Gbps SSDs for your laptop generation (which is the same as mine). I plan on purchasing one.

Granted there is a wall you will hit on a laptop regarding processing speed (since you cannot upgrade a laptop processor unlike current towers) but you can at least maximize your laptop's performance by upgrading RAM (definitely), adding an efficient SSD, proper settings on major memory hogs like Photoshop (if you use it daily) and proper disk/system maintenance. A good SSD being used as a scratch disk would make a difference over a 7200 RPM disk when you factor in long-term degradation of read-write speed in a non-SSD drive.

Regarding your Macbook's longevity, unless you plan of exposing it to abuse, it should last you as long as you want to keep it. My Macbook performs well with no lag in Lion, so it is safe to assume that it will still be productive thru the next couple of OS upgrades.

Hi, I have the same model (mid 2009, 2.53) and i want to buy an SSD drive.

OCZ Vertex 450 (VTX450-25SAT3)

Samsung 840 EVO (MZ-7TE120BW)

Intel 530 (SSDSC2BW120A401) or

Kingston KC300 (SKC300S37A)

What do you think, which is the best?

OWC SSDs in my opinion (and in the opinion of many others) are the best and most reliable. Installed one as a boot drive on my 2009 17-inch Macbook Pro almost 2 years ago and it still feels as responsive and quick as the first day I installed it. I also work in Lightroom and have catalog files on the SSD boot drive which also help when working in that software. Overall I have had no issues and my laptop is used as a main working system and for Photoshop. It has been about 2 years runnning since I made the switch to the SSD in my laptop.

Thanks for the help, but I live in Hungary and I cant buy OWC SSD. I found these 4 models, which are about the same price. I can't decide because I read some bad reviews about the Vertex (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227967) and the booting problems with the Intel. All of these are MLC except Samsung. I don't have any experience with SSD drives, so it is hard to choose.

Do you have access to Amazon? They carry OWC SSDs.

Supposedly the Intel 530 is a fan favorite because of the SandForce controller. Crucial SSDs also seems to be one that many people go to as well. Perhaps this article might help:

http://www.storagereview.com/best_drives