SSD in MBP

Pindy · 19 Apr 2010 at 17:54

Hi Everyone,

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere but I have searched and can't find a definitive answer.

Can the HDD in a new i5 MBP be upgraded to an SSD at home without voiding the warranty and with relative ease?

I am undecided what spec MBP to go for and thought I may stick with the standard HDD and upgrade to a better SSD myself to save a bit of money.

Is it worth it?

Just got off the phone to AppleCare and the engineer said that it would have to be upgraded through an official route, but he avoided my question on the warranty issue if I chose to give it a go myself!

Thanks,

Marco

whitecrook · 19 Apr 2010 at 18:23

you can do it your self. Ther's plenty of guides. It's about 4 screws, lift the whole top and keyboard off, then unscrew the hdd, swap it over and screw it all back together. If you had to hand it back in for warranty, just put your old drive back in it.

I get the 500 GB drive, and will keep tha for a year or two, and probably upgrade to ssd when things 'settle 'down a bit regarding them.

Irish_Tom · 20 Apr 2010 at 14:31

I'm quite tempted to SSD my MBP once I've sorted out my storage issues. I might wait until February for the Apple Care to run out before doing so though.

Westyfield2 · 20 Apr 2010 at 15:20

Aslong as you don't damage anything, you could just put back in the original HDD if it ever has to go back to Apple.

My MBP is a 2007 2.4GHz C2D Santa Rosa, and to replace the hard drive you have to remove the motherboard. As I CBA with that myself I just payed the local 'Apple Authorised Repairer' (who are also a Premium Reseller) to do it for me - for the peace of mind £40 didn't seem bad.

NickK · 20 Apr 2010 at 16:40

Westyfield2 said:
My MBP is a 2007 2.4GHz C2D Santa Rosa, and to replace the hard drive you have to remove the motherboard.

I have a MBP3,1 2007 Santa Rosa 2.4GHz C2D with an OCZ Vertex and you don't have to remove the motherboard. You do have to undo a butt-load of screws (including torq screws), the careful removal of the sticky plastic SATA power & data cables (use a hairdryer on low to ease the adhesive).

Is it worth it? Even with the MBP3,1 limit to SATA150 it still does everything instantaneously.

mrochester · 20 Apr 2010 at 21:10

whitecrook said:
you can do it your self. Ther's plenty of guides. It's about 4 screws, lift the whole top and keyboard off, then unscrew the hdd, swap it over and screw it all back together. If you had to hand it back in for warranty, just put your old drive back in it.

I get the 500 GB drive, and will keep tha for a year or two, and probably upgrade to ssd when things 'settle 'down a bit regarding them.

You certainly don't take off the keyboard to access the hard drive in a MBP :eek:

. You unscrew the bottom panel, and the hard drive is fully accessible from there. You will need a torx screwdriver (forget what size) to remove the screws attached to the sides of the hard drive and swap them over to the SSD.