MacBook Pro Early 2008 HDD/SDD upgrade - experience/wisdom

Here's the plan:

1. Put a 4GB RAM, replace 1x 2GB slot
*According to OCW other world computing this MacBook Pro early 2008 2.5 GHz phenyrynyn can support 6GB of RAM, even though Apple says 4GB.
Correct?

2. Buy SSD, take HDD, SSD and connect via SATA (sata 1, who cares)

3. Remove optical drive

4. Put HDD where CD drive was

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I'm buying:

$75 4GB DDR2 667MHz from DMS "no brand, distributor/manufacturer whatever"
-It's cheaper? Lifetime warranty? Why spend more? They seem legit..

$115 Same **** 115GB Data Memory Systems SATA II..
-Same reasons

$3.50 IDE/ATA (aka PATA?) to SATA adapter
and see a better view of it here


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Mostly concerned about the adapter?
Haven't looked inside..........yet

FINALLY if you may confirm I'm not an stupid and check attached screenshots including System Informle:tion for:

• HDD specs --------------- hitachi_HDD.png
• CD/optical drive specs -- ata_optical.png

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Any advice is welcome.

-Thanks,
Anton

P.S. I'll definitely be doing this...

That adapter is for interfacing a SATA hard drive to a 40 pin IDC ATA/IDE interface. Your MBP logic board does not use that connector, and the adapter looks too large, as do the SATA cables, not suitable. Ideally you need a carrier the same size and shape as the optical drive that will accept Apple's flex cable from the logic board, contain an ATA to SATA converter and mountings for the SATA HD. I've never seen one, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

What are plentiful, and I have one here, is a carrier the same size as an optical drive, it replaces the optical drive and holds a 2.5" SATA drive, but only replaces SATA optical (not ATA/IDE) drives in unibody MacBook Pro's.

techiesteve said:

That adapter is for interfacing a SATA hard drive to a 40 pin IDC ATA/IDE interface. Your MBP logic board does not use that connector, and the adapter looks too large, as do the SATA cables, not suitable. Ideally you need a carrier the same size and shape as the optical drive that will accept Apple's flex cable from the logic board, contain an ATA to SATA converter and mountings for the SATA HD. I've never seen one, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

What are plentiful, and I have one here, is a carrier the same size as an optical drive, it replaces the optical drive and holds a 2.5" SATA drive, but only replaces SATA optical (not ATA/IDE) drives in unibody MacBook Pro's.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I'll just have to get in there and see what the cable out for the ATA optical drive looks like.

This is not a unibody MBP just to be clear. I know I need to mount my HDD once I remove the optical drive (which is much bigger). I was planning on trying to just make something up so I don't have to spend $60 on a mount.