Need advice on putting a Kingston SSD in my old '06 MBP

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I'm looking to get some more mileage out of my MBP and thought dropping in an SSD would be a good way to make it run a little better and faster. Also, I'm still on the 4+ year old HDD I'm worried about failing on me soon. (well the whole computer really) I couldn't justify the price of the SSD before, but now I have the option to get a 128GB kingston SSD for about $125, which seems pretty good as SSDs go.

Just wanted to get the general opinion of those who have used this drive or SSDs in general on their laptops. Did you notice a significant increase in performance of the hardware and software? Will this particular drive give me a decent boost over my old HDD, even though I know it's a budget SSD?

Thanks for your input!
 

RavingMac

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I'm looking to get some more mileage out of my MBP and thought dropping in an SSD would be a good way to make it run a little better and faster. Also, I'm still on the 4+ year old HDD I'm worried about failing on me soon. (well the whole computer really) I couldn't justify the price of the SSD before, but now I have the option to get a 128GB kingston SSD for about $125, which seems pretty good as SSDs go.

Just wanted to get the general opinion of those who have used this drive or SSDs in general on their laptops. Did you notice a significant increase in performance of the hardware and software? Will this particular drive give me a decent boost over my old HDD, even though I know it's a budget SSD?

Thanks for your input!
We essentially have the same MBP so I don't know why you would need to go to an SSD for more mileage, especially if you are worrying about your current HDD.
IMO you would be better served by doubling your RAM to 4MB and putting in a upgrade HDD.
 
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fleurya
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We essentially have the same MBP so I don't know why you would need to go to an SSD for more mileage, especially if you are worrying about your current HDD.
IMO you would be better served by doubling your RAM to 4MB and putting in a upgrade HDD.

I'm generally happy with the performance of my MBP, but it is sluggish in some ways. And certain programs I'd like that are largely reviewed as very slow resource hogs, like the new iPhoto or Aperture, probably would likely be painfully slow on my MBP as-is.

I think the RAM is ok. I have 2GB, but my system can only utilize up to 3GB. It was the generaltion after mine that could recognize over 3GB based on what I've read. An upgrade on RAM would be another good improvement though.

Based on everything I've read about computer systems, the HDD is typically the biggest bottleneck on a computer. Also, based on what I've read about the new MBAs, a system can potentially see a lot of benefit from replacing an HDD with an SSD. I just wanted to hear some general real world experience and specific info on the SSD I'm looking at.

I've been itching for a new system lately, but can't justify it since my current MBP is still working well. I'd just like to spruce it up a bit and improve performance to get rid of that nagging need for an entirely new computer.
 

RavingMac

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I wasn't sure,looking at your clock speed--mine allows over 3GB. I have 4GB installed and haven't had any problems with Aperture 3 (or anything else I have run).
Agree HD can be bottleneck, but I would still take my RAM to max (3GB in your case) before I did anything else. And, FWIW I wouldn't invest much in SSDs until they fix the long term performance degradation issues. Apple seems to have engineered a solution. Not so sure from what I have read (haven't researched recently so I could be behind the times) that 3rd party and aftermarket SSDs are there yet.

To be more clear on my first comment about extending your mileage--I understand and am not immune to the urge to tinker with and performance tweak. But, I think from a dollars and cents basis, unless you are having real performance issues and you aren't ready to upgrade your entire system, I believe you are far better off saving your dollars, getting a few more years out of your current MbP and then selling it and upgrading to the latest and greatest.
That way you get faster clock speeds, upgraded processor, better graphics etc. Just my opinion. But you did ask for opinions after all. My is probably worth at least as much as you paid for it. :)
 
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Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
IMHO, for $125, why not... I think if it's a new SSD, it's worth it.
Comparing it to Apple's Air isn't the way to go, as it is a flash memory module in the Air, rather than an SSD, which is certainly responsible for that performance we are seeing, however, in the short term with SSDs, we are seeing improvement in performance with upgrades to SSDs, more so than we are in upgrading to faster HDDs.
A RAM upgrade would also be a good option.
For the way I see it, you have an old machine that for under $200, assuming all is running well as it is, you could have the feel of a new machine compared to what you have been using for a few more years to come :)
 
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The SSD I was looking at seems like a really good deal, but I guess I'll hold off for now. Also need to hold off because my mom wanted an iPad and I decided to buy her one for her birthday. (I know, ipad2 around the corner, but this will be more than she needs and it's a discounted refurb)

Maybe by the end of the year I'll just treat myself to a new Mac or SSDs will be cheap enough to get double the storage for the same price.
 

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