I need to replace the hard drive of our mid 2009 Macbook Pros, one 15 inch and the other 13 inch, since both have slowed down considerably(and have taken measures to speed them up). I need suggestions in regards for the type(SSD vs SATA vs hybrid), the model(any spec to look out for), capacity(250 GB vs 500 GB vs 1 TB) and other. The main reason I use my 15 inch is for video editing. Appreciate all the suggestions. Thanks in advance.
For video editing you are going to need capacity, so think in terms of 512 GB or greater. Also look at the system memory, make sure you are maxed out as that is often a real bottle neck.
I would go to OWC, http://www.macsales.com and check on memory and SSD or hybrid from them...they are Mac specialists and test and guarantee everything they sell to be compatible with your Mac. I have purchased memory and four external hard drives from them and been extremely pleased. Plus they have on-line videos that show you how to do the replacements.
For video editing, a SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive) will be less satisfactory than it would be for other uses due to the demands large video files put on the limited (generally 8GB) flash cache. On the other hand, the large sizes of video files will mean buying a large SSD (Solid State Drive) which will be expensive. If you can spare the coin for a large (~1TB) SSD, go for it as this will give the best performance. You might want to consider a setup like I did in my 15" 2.66GHz mid-2009 MacBook Pro: I have a 1TB 5400 RPM spinning disk and a 240GB OWC 3G Electra SSD in their "Data Doubler" as my boot drive. You could choose the 480GB 3G Electra as your boot and work drive and keep the not-under-active-editing files on a large capacity spinning drive. Do note that this setup means I have no internal CD/DVD player. I bought a cheap external optical drive in its place.
A very good thing about the OWC Electra 3G SSD is that it connects at 3G speeds in either the Data Doubler position or in the primary drive bay. I have read reports of some other SSDs connected at the lower 1.5G speed even when rated for 6G speeds because of some incompatibility with the mid-2009 SATA setup.
links:
SSD: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/SSD/Mercury_Electra_3G_Solid_Sta te
Data Doubler Package: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDMBSSD480/
Thank you Ralph. I am going to increase the RAM up to 8 GB as well, which is the upper limit.
I was considering to go for Samsung Pro 850. But after your and rumple doll's suggestions, it looks like the best option will be OWC.
Thank you again.
Thank you
In regards to "data doubler". I am kind of worried with the work load that might come along with partitioning the files.
I will do some more searching for that.
Thank you again.
Hard drive replacement to speed up mid 2009 mbp
