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Currently there are many reviews on SSDs, and different types of SSDs as well.

What I would like to hear is what cost effective SSDs that exists that aslo has TRIM support and will work well with Lion.

The System Information app says that the SATA interface can do 3 Gb and the link speed is 1.5 Gb (on the stock 250GB HDD)

I would like around 256 GB.

Which models and brands would be a good choice for this model ?

Benjamin
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  • Welcome to Ask Different! Hardware recommendation ("let's go shopping") questions are off topic for this site. Please take a look at the FAQs for more info. Thanks. – Nathan Greenstein Nov 10 '11 at 14:53

2 Answers2

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If you don't use your optical drive I would recommend Crucial M4 128GB as best bang for a buck SSD from big name manufacturer. And buying SATA 9.5mm caddy from ebay to put SSD inside it. So you still have your 250GB HDD + 128 GB of SSD

iskra
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  • So just to ensure that I understand. I would have to remove the build in superdrive from my macbook in order to make room for the Crucial M4 128GB ? – Benjamin Nov 10 '11 at 12:26
  • @Benjamin Yes, in case you don't use ODD it's the most cost effective solution to get ssd and still have lot of space. – iskra Nov 10 '11 at 12:30
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    Note to self: ODD means Optical Disk Drive – Benjamin Nov 10 '11 at 12:37
  • I found a link regarding the HDD + SDD you were talking about here – Benjamin Nov 10 '11 at 12:44
  • @Benjamin Yes, the link is right. Leave HDD as is (you may change it later when HDD will come down in price) and put SSD into caddy. Do not put HDD in caddy because there is no advantage to it in your particular model of Macbook. – iskra Nov 10 '11 at 12:56
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I'd highly recommend looking at Other World Computering for this purchase. I've purchased an SSD from them and they were awesome in helping me figure out which one would work best. They have great sales and support. They have a nice option of looking at what is compatible with your mac.

Bradley Chambers
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  • Here is what they suggested : (part1) Ben: What SSD to choose for a white Macbook late 2009. I would liek around 250 gb in size. Besides using it for normal activity i also develop software on it. OWC: You would use the 3G drives. One moment and I will get the link. OWC: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro/ Ben: It run lion so I would expect the SSD to have trim suppor as well ? OWC: Our drives have built in data management features. For this reason they do not need TRIM and we do not recommend trying to use it. – Benjamin Nov 10 '11 at 12:28
  • (part 2)

    OWC: Lion only supports TRIM on apple installed SSDs anyways. (at this time) Ben: Yes, but you can enable trim in lion for other brands as well. Why do you not recommend trying to use it ? OWC: 3rd party drives are not officially supported by Lion. If you enable TRIM for those you would be using a hack program

     – Benjamin Nov 10 '11 at 12:33
  • I'd trust them. They stand behind their stuff too. I had memory go back after 2 years (their RAM has lifetime warranty) and they replaced it no questions asked) – Bradley Chambers Nov 10 '11 at 17:31