What SSD For Macbook Late 2007

Question

Level 3

731 points

What SSD For Macbook Late 2007

Hi all.

As a second Mac ive just bought a second hand Macbook 2.2Ghz Core2Duo late 2007 model odd a friend for a very reasonable price.

Ive already ordered some RAM to max it out as it only has the stock 1GB and 160Gb HDD. to go with the ram i would like to upgrade to an SSD drive and am aware that this model is a Sata I connection at 1.5Gbps throughput. As most drives are now Sata II or III am i ok buying one of these? Im only after a circa 128Gb SSD as will be plenty for my needs. Im a uk based user and am a graphic designer so this machine will be mainly a web machine for net use with light photoshop/illustrator/indesign use.

Im currently running Snow leopard on it and intend to keep it that way, unless ML would give me speed increases on a machine of this era?

Crucial states their M500 Sata III drives are compatible, so am i wright to assume any Sata II or III drive will be ok?

Any help and recomendations are very much appreciated and i thank you kindly in advance!

Rob

Posted on Jul 3, 2013 10:48 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Jul 3, 2013 12:20 PM in response to Robodisko

Because of your SATA I interface I would stick with a SATA II SSD. Some folks have had compatibility problems using a SATA III drive in the older MacBooks even though its supposed to be backwards compatible. Besides you should be able to get a SATA II drive cheaper than III.

Reply

Answer 2

gtcaz

Level 1

5 points

Jul 4, 2013 6:31 AM in response to SeaPapp

I've got a 120GB Sandforce-based OWC SSD in my 2008 Unibody MacBook. It's too slow with FileVault 2 and is a bit low in space but otherwise works OK. I'm thinking about upgrading to a 240-256GB dive to hold me until the next revision of the rMBP.

I understand Mike's reasoning re. SATA-2, but I can't find a great deal on those. To me, the Crucial M500 looks like the best bet at the moment, followed by the Samsung 840. If I could find a great deal on the Crucial m4 I'd get that, but I can't.

Any tips on where to find a great deal on a previous-gen SSD that works well with FileVault 2 (not Sandforce)?

Reply

Answer 3

Robodisko Author

Level 3

731 points

Jul 6, 2013 12:59 AM in response to gtcaz

Yeah I'm now thinking Samsung 840 too, or a sandisk extreme.....

Decisions.

Reply

Answer 4

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Jul 6, 2013 4:46 AM in response to Robodisko

I have a Samsung 840 in my early 2009 MacBook and it works great. If you do get it let us know how it works with the SATA I interface in your MacBook. There are a lot of questions on here about which SSD to choose and it would be nice to recommend a drive that I am using.

Reply

Answer 5

Robodisko Author

Level 3

731 points

Jul 6, 2013 6:17 AM in response to SeaPapp

Mike,

Funny you ask, as when you posted that i was actually out buying the Samsung 840 120Gb SSD.

Basically the Macbook i picked up cheap off a mate was new to me last week. Came from a very particular owner that looks after things extremeley well. Its a 2007 2.2Ghz 3.1 model that ive upped to 4Gb RAM, and had wiped clean and reinstalled a fresh copy off snow leopard onto.

So today i came home with said SSD, and earlier this morning i had cloned the fresh install onto a firewire 400 drive ready to go. The 840 aleready had the latest firmware revision listed on Samasungs website, so i went ahead and removed the 5400rpm HDD it had from new, put the SSD in (never done one before and was surprised just how easy this was).

Then i booted up off my external drive, and the OS advised it could see the internal SSD but could not write to it - did i want to initialise. So after i clciked yes, i was able to erase and restore from my external back to the SSD. It has then booted up fine from the inmternal, taking longer on the first boot (i beleive this is normal). I installed and turned on the 'Enable Trim' app and rebooted twice. the second time getting a significant increase in boot time and all apps.

System profiler shows TRIM support on and the up to date firmware revision.

Snappy snappy! And my favourite new feature of the SSD? the fact that i feel no vibration when on my lap! Oh and the speed.

So yes, this Sata III drive seems to be fully fuctional on a Sata I interface, and although not as fats as newer Sata II and III machines, i feels alot snappier than before. And cooler as well. havent heard the fan so far since cloning back.

And thanks for your help and input earlier in the post!

The guy in the shop advised me it wouldnt work in my Mac (dumb-***) although i had specifically searched out product reviews that people had said had had success on Sata I and II machines of this vintage.

Reply

Answer 6

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Jul 6, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Robodisko

Thanks for the reply. That's great news that it works with older MacBooks too. I need to check and enable TRIM support as I've not done that yet. You'll notice better battery life also. Best upgrade I've done to any Mac I've owned.

Reply