Apple :: SSD And Optibay Install In Mid-2010 15" Unibody

I recently purchased a new base model 15" Macbook Pro with the firm intention of upgrading the main drive to a SSD. Historically, there has been some issues with a do-it-yourself upgrade to SSD using Mac hardware and I happy to report that I have had no issues, save those caused by myself in the doing the swap.

I decided the best course of action was to use a SSD for my main application and OS drive, and use a standard 2.5" mechanical HD for my files. The downside is, of course, you lose your internal Superdrive. However, as I was contemplating this, I realized that I rarely use my optical drive outside of software installs. It then became an easy choice. Of course, you can always just swap the standard internal drive for a SSD, but space and cost quickly become deciding factors. Keep in mind that if you plan to install Windows 7, you need at least 20GB of space just for it, before any other Windows software. Snow Leopard takes around 8GB and some of the higher end software can take gigabytes on their own (The Final Cut Studio suite alone takes around 50GB).

After a ton of research with some conflicting information I decided on the Crucial M225 128GB SSD. It uses the Indilinx Barefoot controller with 64MB of cache and is price competitive at around $325. The Kingston V-series is cheaper, but uses a modified J-micron controller (meh - sorry J-micron, too much history there). Another choice, and one I nearly made, is a Corsair series drive. Note that apparently the Nova series has some issues with the Macintosh notebook line, so the P series will be your best bet there. Of course, you could go for the gold and choose an Intel based SSD. Most Mac guys seem to have the best luck with these drives, but I decided I like the price/performance of the Crucial better..............