What SSD should I get for a MacBookPro 5,3 (Mid 2009 model)?

[bigsmile01]

My sister has an old MacBookPro 5,3 (Mid 2009 model, A1286). She says it runs too slow. I thought getting an SSD might help.

I am in the UK, so I am shopping on UK websites.

On Amazon UK, they have the Crucial BX500. The reviews say it doesn't have Dram Cache, but it does have a SATA 6 GB/s interface.
They also have the Samsung SSD 870 EVO. This does have Dram Cache, but it has a SATA 1.5 GB/s interface.

I don’t really know what terms like Dram and SATA interface mean. From Googling around, having Dram cache will help with speed, as does having a faster Sata interface. Because my sister's mac was in 2009, I am not even sure if these features will work with it.

Can someone give any advice?

I did try to see if I could find a branded SSD that had both Dram cache and a SATA 6 GB/s interface, but could not find one.

thanks in advance!

 

[Kottu]

Your sister's mac has a 2.5" SATA HDD. SO, go for Samsung. Upgrade the RAM as well for better performance

 

[Alpha Centauri]

The Samsung does have SATA 6 GB/s interface, it's in the specs of the manufacturer. My mid2009 MBP started with the 512 GB 7200 (option) HDD, 2 years later went for circa 5 yrs with a crucial SSD+more RAM, that packed it in and was replaced with an 1 TB EVO 850, this kept running (still is) and still does.

About 7 months ago I bought an 2 TB EVO 870 to fit with an adaptor plate after removing the Super Drive and cloned this, effectively having both SSD's internally. That part worked well except the 870 inexplicably running a high memory pressure just on idle. Still in the green but occasionally into yellow. I even swapped the drives internally to discount a cable issue but this problem remained. Updated the SSD firmware and still high memory pressure. Samsung support had no clue and speculated that the drive was simply too new for such an old computer. I will mention that I was also using a Catalina patch at the time. So I'm thinking that there really was a compatibility issues with this or the controller in the 870 was faulty.

Either way I was already well over the 30 day return period and just returned after way too much time spend in Terminal and BBEdit trying to make it work. So my suggestion would be to make sure you have a long return period also to test it properly. I'm still considering purchasing the 870 but with 4TB and with an external enclosure for TM on the new MBP.

 

[DeltaMac]

Your Macbookpro 5,3 has a 3.0 Gbps SATA interface. You can't make that faster by installing a 6Gbps SSD.
And, it's possible that some faster SSDs may cause issues with the MBPro. Some drives just don't like "going slower"
However, I think the Samsung that you mentioned should be fine. The link to the page for that Samsung drive at Amazon is incorrect. It is actually a drive that supports a 6 Gbps connection. Again, the MacBookPro does not support that fastest SATA speed, and the Samsung drive simply clocks down to the slower speed, so will be connected at 3 Gbps. So, the limitation is in the MacBook Pro, and not SSD. Despite that, the MacBook Pro will still be faster, because of the much faster response of the SSD, compared to the old hard drive that will be replaced.
As someone else mentioned, you should also check for the possibility of more RAM. That 2009 MBPro can have up to 8GB. If there is only 4GB now, for example, doubling the installed RAM will be noticeable. That, plus a new SSD, will make even that 15 year-old laptop come to life!

 

[bigsmile01]

Your sister's mac has a 2.5" SATA HDD. SO, go for Samsung. Upgrade the RAM as well for better performance

As someone else mentioned, you should also check for the possibility of more RAM. That 2009 MBPro can have up to 8GB. If there is only 4GB now, for example, doubling the installed RAM will be noticeable. That, plus a new SSD, will make even that 15 year-old laptop come to life!

I checked system report. It only has 4GB of RAM.

The Apple Tech page says it comes with "4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB."

So I assume I have to buy 2 x 4GB sticks to get 8GB (and also that I can't exceed 8GB or 1066MHz DDR3)?

Will any RAM do, or does it have to be a certain type.

For example, will this be suitable:
2 X 4GB (DDR3 1600MHz): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XPHV8VT/

Thanks!

 

[DeltaMac]

No, don't get that "any" RAM. Get RAM that is suggested for that model.
Here's RAM that I have recently bought, and worked great on a 2009 iMac that I upgraded for a friend.

Timetec 8GB KIT(2x4GB) Compatible for Apple DDR3 1067MHz / 1066MHz PC3-8500 CL7 for Mac Book, Mac Book Pro, iMac, Mac Mini (Late 2008, Early/Mid/Late 2009, Mid 2010) SODIMM Memory MAC RAM Upgrade

Timetec – Memory of a lifetime Compatible with: MacBook 7,1 (13-inch Mid 2010) 2.4 GHz MC516LL/A MacBook 6,1 (13-inch Late 2009) Unibody 2.26 GHz MC207LL/A MacBook 5,1 (13-inch Late 2008) Unibody 2.0 GHz MB466LL/A 2.4 GHz MB467LL/A MacBook Pro 7,1 (13-inch Mid 2010) 2.4 GHz MC374LL/A 2.66 GHz MC3...

www.amazon.com

 

[rampancy]

Technically, any SATA III SSD should work in your MacBook Pro 5,3 but as noted above this isn't always the case; some SSDs have chipsets which don't like working on an older SATA I or SATA II bus. Often SSDs will change chipsets mid-manufacturing run, meaning that even the same brand and model of SSD may not be consistently compatible. (I experienced this myself when I noticed a WD Green SSD didn't work in my MacBook 1,1, even though the same model/make of SSD I'd purchased earlier for an identical system worked fine.)

As for DRAM, DRAM caches are a feature on SSDs that allow for greater speed and less wear on the SSD's own flash memory. The trouble is, DRAM memory costs more, and adds to the price of SSDs that have them. DRAM-less SSDs are much cheaper and in some cases can be competitive in performance, but they potentially can have a lower long-term lifespan.

I'd recommend going with the Samsung 970 EVO. It officially supports older SATA interfaces down to SATA I, has a DRAM cache, and is arguably one of the most reliable, best performing consumer SSDs on the market.

Edit: I meant to say the 870 EVO, not the 970 EVO, since the 970 EVO is an NVME m.2 SSD.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I'd recommend going with the Samsung 970 EVO. It officially supports older SATA interfaces down to SATA I, has a DRAM cache, and is arguably one of the most reliable, best performing consumer SSDs on the market.

The 970 has a NVMe m.2 form factor. Did you mean the 870 EVO?

 

[rampancy]

Whoops, yes, I meant the 870 EVO.

 

[0423MAC]

Honestly any SSD will be a significant speed boost, but in terms of overall reliability Samsung is a fantastic option. Just make sure it's the 870 EVO, not QVO if going with Samsung.

On such old machines it often boils down to if it's worth the upgrades or not. Much faster MacBooks can often be found with SSDs and 8GB installed on eBay for short money.

 

[ojfd]

Unless your "sister" downloads tons of movies, serials and you know what, even 128GB drive will work. No need to go to full 500GB, which definitely will draw more current than 128GB. MBPs battery will be much happier with a smaller one.

Be careful with 870 EVO! They had manufacturing problems with this model.

Samsung 870 EVO - Beware, certain batches prone to failure!

Certain 870 EVO 4TB and 2TB drives are affected by early failures where they develop uncorrectable errors and some data just cannot be read from them anymore. This seems to primarily affect drives produced in January/February 2021. For example, i have three 870 EVO 4TB, only one is affected (so...

www.techpowerup.com

To be honest, I would go with used 128/256GB Samsung 850 EVO/PRO or 860 EVO off of ebay. Yes, used. They should be around 15 quid or so and my statistics show that usually they have around 90-95% lifespan left.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Be careful with 870 EVO! They had manufacturing problems with this model.

Samsung 870 EVO - Beware, certain batches prone to failure!

Certain 870 EVO 4TB and 2TB drives are affected by early failures where they develop uncorrectable errors and some data just cannot be read from them anymore. This seems to primarily affect drives produced in January/February 2021. For example, i have three 870 EVO 4TB, only one is affected (so...

www.techpowerup.com

It's interesting you posted this link. I've just started a new thread about QVC vs EVO 870's here, and there was a similar mention of the 4TB EVO version experiencing failures.

 

[bigsmile01]

Thanks to everyone who replied. In the end, I went for the Samsung 870 EVO 500GB and 8GB of RAM. It was installed together with OCLP to run MacOS Monterey. My sister says it's like having a new MacBook. She only uses for web browsing, Pages and Numbers and some light work in Affinity Photo, and she's there's no more slow down. Thanks to everyone who helped, as I had no clue what I was doing it!

 

[ojfd]

My sister says it's like having a new MacBook.

Those unibody MBPs still have a lot of life left in them. Another 10 years? Most probably yes.