2009 MacBook Pro SSD?

[dddave]

I inherited a 2009 13"  MacBook Pro from a family member.  It's in great condition and I'd like to use it for web browsing. It was already upgraded to the 8gb maximum ram but still has an older 5400 rpm, 500gb HD installed.  

I already have an unused 480gb WD Green 2.5 Sata SSD, purchased for a PC build that I didn't use.  Can I use this SSD in this MacBook?  I read that my 2009 MacBook has only 3gbs transfer rate, the WD SSD is 6gbs.  Is this an issue?  

[ITrunner]

Hey Dave, I'm not sure about rate. I don't think it'll be issue it obviously only be able to do the 3gbs max. I replaced my 2012 MBP with 1tb SSD by Samsung last year, and it improved it's speed alot. It also wasn't too hard. the longest part was transferring the data. I believe What I did to be safe was backup via timemachine on external drive I had, and then timemachine to the ssd.

 

Also remember that you'll need to format the SSD first and you'll need the right cable for that. Otherwise your mac won't recognize the drive. I tried an older cable and it didn't work. Even when formatted. 

[Isaanbiker]

Please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzzEm-Xxfs

[oliveryuan]

The main problem you may have is the height of the drive. If it is over 12.5 mm high it will be to large to fit inside the machine. 

[tomazbodner]

On 3/12/2020 at 12:56 PM, ITrunner said:

Hey Dave, I'm not sure about rate. I don't think it'll be issue it obviously only be able to do the 3gbs max. I replaced my 2012 MBP with 1tb SSD by Samsung last year, and it improved it's speed alot. It also wasn't too hard. the longest part was transferring the data. I believe What I did to be safe was backup via timemachine on external drive I had, and then timemachine to the ssd.

 

Also remember that you'll need to format the SSD first and you'll need the right cable for that. Otherwise your mac won't recognize the drive. I tried an older cable and it didn't work. Even when formatted. 

7 or 9 mm SSD SATA drive will fit nicely but transfer speeds to expect are a bit lower than on more modern machine that supports faster SATA bus, and of course 90% lower than PCI Express drives of new devices. It should still be lightning fast compared to current drive you have installed.

 

I've had 2009 13" and 2010 15" MacBook Pro and upgraded them both with SSD (at that time it was OCZ I think that was the only one reasonably affordable), without any issues.

 

Last bit: make sure to prepare OS for it on USB stick (DVD may be slow and in such an old machine possibly unreliable) as you'll have to reinstall it. You can put the current HDD into external USB box and attach it, then boot from that drive, just slower, before installing OS to your SSD.

 

EDIT: Just called those that I donated the notebooks to, and amazingly 13" needed fan replacement, 15" needed no repair, and both are still working fine...

Edited August 21, 2020 by tomazbodner

[dddave]

On 8/21/2020 at 9:01 AM, tomazbodner said:

7 or 9 mm SSD SATA drive will fit nicely but transfer speeds to expect are a bit lower than on more modern machine that supports faster SATA bus, and of course 90% lower than PCI Express drives of new devices. It should still be lightning fast compared to current drive you have installed.

 

I've had 2009 13" and 2010 15" MacBook Pro and upgraded them both with SSD (at that time it was OCZ I think that was the only one reasonably affordable), without any issues.

 

Last bit: make sure to prepare OS for it on USB stick (DVD may be slow and in such an old machine possibly unreliable) as you'll have to reinstall it. You can put the current HDD into external USB box and attach it, then boot from that drive, just slower, before installing OS to your SSD.

 

EDIT: Just called those that I donated the notebooks to, and amazingly 13" needed fan replacement, 15" needed no repair, and both are still working fine...

Thanks.  I actually did the SSD switch and install a month or so after the OP and as you suggest, used a USB drive to transfer the OS.  The new drive fit without a problem and the performance upgrade was dramatic.  It all went much easier than I expected it to, afflicted as I am with Windows paranoia.

The Macbook is now on loan to a deserving student who is making excellent use of it. Nice that it's having a useful 2nd life.