Macbook pro (mid-2009) 15 inch hard drive replacement

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Level 1

100 points

Macbook pro (mid-2009) 15 inch hard drive replacement

Hey everyone, I just thought I'd ask people who know a little bit more than I do about replacing the hard drive in a macbook pro.

First of all I the reason I want to do this is because I have never replaced anything in my macbook since I bought it in 2009. Same 320gb Hitachi hard drive and memory, etc. My macbook pro has really slowed down especially over the past few months, It take a lot of time to boot up, open applications, run heavy applications (final cut, lightroom) and it is even taking forever with word and excel now. After doing some research I've come to the conclusions that a hard drive upgrade may speed this machine up significantly, anything else I should be thinking about?

I would love to hear suggestions of which replacement drive to buy, suggestions, warnings, etc for this mid-2009 unibody 15in macbook pro. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Posted on Jul 12, 2014 4:28 PM

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Answer 1

Ky C. Author

Level 1

100 points

Jul 12, 2014 4:30 PM in response to Ky C.

How's this one shape up?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-OEM-Toshiba-slim-9-5MM-1TB-5400RPM-SATA2-2-5-MQ01ABD 100-AF-Hard-Drive-/280906063351?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item41674e5 df7

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jul 12, 2014 7:04 PM in response to Ky C.

Would you consider an SSD instead of an HDD? It will help your battery life be a bit better and your applications would work better and be snappier.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-840-Pro-512-GB-Internal-2-5-MZ-7PD512BW-SSD-Soli d-State-Drive-/261527328388?pt=US_Solid_State_Drives&hash=item3ce43e5684

You can also consider 256Gb or smaller drive, but it would be a step down from what you currently have in terms of disk space.

You can see the steps to replace your hard drive here - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+2.53+GHz+Mid+2009+Hard+ Drive+Replacement/1518

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Answer 3

Ky C. Author

Level 1

100 points

Jul 12, 2014 11:20 PM in response to Ky C.

Any ideas how these shape up? Or how do they look? Will it help with performance?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_6G/

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jul 13, 2014 6:31 AM in response to Ky C.

The OWC ones are good too. I have not used them personally, but most of reports I have read have been positive. You should also get a good warranty on these. If they have used ones, it may save you a bit of money. 😉

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Answer 5

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jul 13, 2014 6:49 AM in response to Ky C.

Any 2.5" diameter, 9.5 mm thick SATA drive will be compatible with your MBP. As a start, here are the offerings from OWC:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/

SSDs will speed up you MBP to a degree, but at a financial premium. You will have to decide if the benefits are worth the significant price difference.

There is a third category not represented in the OWC link, the SSHD (hybrid) by Seagate. I have a 1 TB drive in my primary MBP and it allows for significant reductions in boot and shutdown times compared to a HDD. It is priced at a very modest increase over a traditional HDD. If the budget is limited, consider one of these. I can recommend it based on my experience.

http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/solid-state-hybrid/laptop-solid-stat e-hybrid-drive/

Ciao.

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Answer 6

Ky C. Author

Level 1

100 points

Jul 13, 2014 9:59 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Hey Ogelthorpe, thanks for the great input, I appreciate it. I am trying to decide between a SSHD (hybrid) or 7200rpm SATA and a full on SSD. From my understanding the 7200rpm SATA drives and the hybrids are nearly identical in performance. I'm currently trying to decide between these two: 1)http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/MQ01ABD100HM/

2)http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Seagate/ST1000LM014/

And then I really want one of these suckers:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_6G/

As far as price goes I'd probably end up getting something like the 240gb Electra, but I'm still debating which one will be better in the long run and help with the short run performance issues.

I'm also thinking about upping the RAM, currently at two 2gb (4gb total), thinking this will help with the heavy application running.

Thoughts?

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Answer 7

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jul 13, 2014 10:32 AM in response to Ky C.

Ky C. wrote:

I'm also thinking about upping the RAM, currently at two 2gb (4gb total), thinking this will help with the heavy application

All mid 2009 MBPs will accept up to 8 GB RAM with the following specifications: 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM. The most reliable sources of Mac compatible RAM are OWC and Crucial. I suggest installing 8 GB rather than 4 GB. The price difference is not that great and that then will never be a future concern.

From my understanding the 7200rpm SATA drives and the hybrids are nearly identical in performance.

Having had both in my MBP, I have to disagree. (both were/are 1 TB HDDs) For the applications that I use, I have never experienced the SSHD to be inferior to the 7200 rpm HDD (HGST) but boot and shutdown times as well as oft used applications to be more responsive than the convention HDD with the SSHD.

As far as SSDs are concerned, I personally believe them to be overpriced for the benefits that they offer. However they are the future and the HDD will eventually be replaced by them. When the price drops some more, then I will opt for one. I claim no experience with SSDs but based on what I have read, OWC makes a good one and is backed by a company with a good reputation and an excellent technical staff.

I have in my HDD collection HGST, Seagate and Toshiba HDDs, 20 overall. They are all still spinning.

Ciao.

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Answer 8

Ky C. Author

Level 1

100 points

Jul 13, 2014 11:48 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

I'm looking at getting a "supercharged" macbook air for school and traveling. I'll probably get 8gb ram and 256gb ssd in that for my photo and video editing, along with safari and microsoft office use. I'd like to keep my macbook pro though, I'd just like it a little snappier. With that in mind what would you recommend that I do for this 2009 macbook pro?

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Answer 9

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jul 13, 2014 12:51 PM in response to Ky C.

Maximum performance will be attained by installing a SSD and 8 GB RAM. If funds are limited, then a SSHD with 8 GB RAM is the second best option for good performance. Your money, not mine. 🙂

Ciao.

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Answer 10

Ky C. Author

Level 1

100 points

Jul 13, 2014 6:31 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Hey Ogel, thanks for the replies, sorry to bug you one more time, but I'd like a quick user opinion. I think I'm going to opt for a hybrid drive in order to save money to pick up a nice air like I was talking about. As far as the hybrid drives go, would you recommend a seagate or toshiba?

Seagate run more expensive, but I'd just like to hear from a user of both, thanks!

Here's what I'm looking at:

1) http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/MQ01ABD100HM/

2) http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Seagate/ST1000LM014/

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Answer 11

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jul 14, 2014 3:05 AM in response to Ky C.

Having only Seagate SSHDs I cannot give you a definitive answer. I have found the performance to be quite good but I have no reason to expect the Toshiba not to work as well. I suggest that you search for reviews (for both) on the Internet and see if you can find if there may be material differences between the two or not. If indeed they are essentially the same, let price be the final determinant.

Ciao,

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