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PostPosted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:47 pm 
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So as per usual on Boxing Day, there were deals flying around left, right, and center. I decided this was the right time to try an SSD out so I ended up picking up a 60gb SSD to put in my MacBook Pro (unibody 2009). I installe Snow Leopard and all my programs with 30gb to spare and loved how fast it loaded up and ran in general. So then I got to thinking that I need more hard drive space for all my music, movies, and most importantly my photos.

I did a bunch of Google searching and found an interesting product from a company called MCE called OptiBay. Basically what this does is replace the built-in Superdrive that comes with the MBP with a bay exactly the same size but with a mount for a 2.5" hard drive. For the price of US$99 + shipping/tax, they also send you an external, USB 2.0 powered enclosure so you can throw the Superdrive you just removed into it and use it as you need it. Personally, I find that I use a DVD burner so little that I don't really notice the removal... I just use flash drives these days.

So I hooked up a 500gb, 7200rpm drive with all my media on it, buttoned up the laptop, and have attached some photos for the group's pleasure.

If you have any questions, just post and ask! Enjoy!

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:03 am 
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Nice. I can't add anything to my MacBook Air.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:08 am 
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vkhamphi wrote:
Nice. I can't add anything to my MacBook Air.


Yup, unfortunately you'll have to go with an external h/d but you've already got the SSD so you know how beautiful that is :)


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:09 am 
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bsimonian wrote:
vkhamphi wrote:
Nice. I can't add anything to my MacBook Air.


Yup, unfortunately you'll have to go with an external h/d but you've already got the SSD so you know how beautiful that is :)


Yes, the MBA is gorgeous.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:14 am 
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Miss this overall summary in the post for some reason:

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:39 am 
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Thanks for posting this. Saves me having to lug around an external drive when I travel. :D

I wonder if work will let me trade in my 15"MBP for the 13".

That SSD bootup was zippy!


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:02 am 
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Carlton wrote:
Thanks for posting this. Saves me having to lug around an external drive when I travel. :D


Still need the external man... backup Carlton, backup!!!


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:05 am 
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bsimonian wrote:
Carlton wrote:
Thanks for posting this. Saves me having to lug around an external drive when I travel. :D


Still need the external man... backup Carlton, backup!!!


In a way I'll have backup since I'll have the main OS drive AND the extra drive all in the same laptop. :)


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:58 am 
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Great upgrade!
Do you have the option to boot from either drive?


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:17 pm 
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MustGoFaster wrote:
Great upgrade!
Do you have the option to boot from either drive?


Yup, as long as when you initially format both drives you format them with the "GUID Partition Table" partition scheme (Disk Utility, Partition Tab, Options, GUID...) then you can choose through the system preferences which h/d to boot from by default.

When both h/d's are formatted in the GUID mode, they'll both show up under System Preferences->Startup Disk and from there you can choose which one you boot with by default. Also, to choose which drive you want to load from when you first turn on the computer or restart, press and hold the option key on the keyboard and it'll give you a couple choices. This works for USB keys, external h/d's, and CD/DVDs.


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:20 pm 
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Also, anyone looking to do the 2 hard drive thing, you may want to follow this tutorial and get yourself an 8gb USB stick to throw the MacOS install onto. That way if you don't use the Superdrive at all, you can forget about it and install from the USB key.

I followed the tutorial and it's super super easy and works beautifully! Now I've always got the OS install USB key in my bag with me in case anything goes wrong and installing onto the SSD takes <20 minutes :)


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:50 pm 
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Nice writeup,

I went with the 128g OCZ Vertex 2 (which many say does't hibernate properly) but mine seems to be running OK (mid 2010 mbp 17").

I chose to go with a cheaper optibay from ebay ~10$ which worked out OK. I did have to make a minor adjustment (cutting out a piece of plastic from the tray which is higher then the lowest section). I do Lose my CD drive but I really don't' see myself using it anytime in the future. If push comes to shove an external USB drive goes for about 40-50$.

I ran into 1 problem, and that was removing some of the screws that hold the mac's cddrive in. This is where a quality screwdriver set comes in handy. I was using a set from the dollar store lol.. Later bought a really nice set that happened to be on sale at Canadian tire for 9$.

Also 8g ram really makes a difference; some people say that is a better mod then an SSD to start off with if you're working on large files.


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:47 pm 
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I put 8GB Ram in my 21.5" iMac and the Lightroom "skin softening" is super quick.


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:43 pm 
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i got 60gb ozc vertex 2 ssd for my late 2008 mbp too (first gen unibody).. performance with photoshop is amazing! also replaced one of my 2gb ram to 4gb because my model can't support more than 6gb of ram

but so far im happy with the performance, was planning to get a 27 imac because i feel my macbook pro is running slow.. but probably not for a while lol..

im still debating should i get the opti drive to replace my superdrive...


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:38 pm 
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StE823 wrote:
im still debating should i get the opti drive to replace my superdrive...


The decision was made pretty easily for me. I sat down and thought about how many times I had used the Superdrive in the last 6 months and it was less than 10... so I got the opti


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