Reddit reviews 2nd 2.5'' SATA HDD SSD Hard Drive Disk DVD CD ROM Optical SuperDrive Caddy Tray Adapter for Apple Unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro 13 15 17 Early mid Late 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012.etc
We found 10 Reddit comments about 2nd 2.5'' SATA HDD SSD Hard Drive Disk DVD CD ROM Optical SuperDrive Caddy Tray Adapter for Apple Unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro 13 15 17 Early mid Late 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012.etc. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Brand New and High Quality 9.5 mm hard drive caddySupport 2.5" 7mm / 9.5mm SATA HDD / SSD hard drive diskSupport SATA III / SATA II / SATA I, Maximum Speed Up to 6Gps; Support Hot SwappingIdea for replace your Optical drive SuperDrive( DVD/CD-ROM ) to add 2nd SATA HDD / SSD for upgrade your Apple Unibody Macbook Pro laptop get much more additional storage space or improved running speedCompatible Models: Apple Unibody Macbook / Macbook Pro 13 15 17 (late 2008/early 2009/mid 2009/late 2009/early 2010/mid 2010...etc) which has Optical drive SuperDrive( DVD/CD-ROM )
I don't know about which specific model you are talking, but usually you can upgrade it in a future, if your laptop has optical drive you can do it easy by yourself with optical drive caddy.
Definetely go with a SSD My MacBook Pro is almost like a new computer after installing one. But If you want the best of both worlds I’d advise you replace your optical drive with a HDD caddy and install your current HDD there, installing a SSD in It’s place. The installing process is fairly simple watch the videos of people doing it closely and watch out for the flex cable. Installing the SSD in place of the HDD is pretty easy as well. The guide says you need a T6 screwdriver for the studs of the HDD but it can be disassembled and reassembled with just pliers. Go for a 250GB SSD It’s enough for everything I currently use on a daily basis including the whole adobe lineup, my photos and videos. Good luck! Please ask if you have any other questions in your head ^^
Hard drive SSD replacement
Optical Drive replacement
Yep, I've done that on my previous MacBook but not my Pro, but it should be pretty similar, this video does a pretty good job at showing the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWUKAUlxrkg
Here's a link to a cheap caddy; https://www.amazon.com/Optical-SuperDrive-Adapter-Unibody-Macbook/dp/B004FM4UGE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499015046&sr=8-1&keywords=macbook+hard+drive+caddy
I upgraded my 2011 MBP with a 120gig Corsair Force 3 SSD and it was one of the best upgrades I I've done. I removed the Optical Drive and took out the 500gig drive that came with the Mac and put it into the leftover space with the help of this HDD caddy. This caddy required a lot of modification, you can read my review here.
My MBP boots up in 17 seconds flat right now, just a bit slower than my friends i7 MBA that boots at ~16 to 16.5 seconds. Final Cut Pro 7 loads in about two seconds, compared to my schools i5 iMac's that load FCP7 in about 5 to 6 seconds. Photoshop loads in about 1 to 2 seconds. Starcraft II runs phenomenally, and on all ultra settings. I am not a huge gamer, but I like to boast about that to my friends who rag on Mac's ;)
If you are interested in hearing more about my upgrade just let me know and I'd be glad to ellaborate for you. The moral of the story is, upgrade that shit!
edit: Spelling
You can also sacrifice your DVD player for another hard drive. My 2011 MBP has a 256Gb SSD & a 750Gb WD Black for storage. Is awesome.
I have had the hdd cable be the problem more than once.
I say try that first as its cheap, failing that all that is left is the logicboard.
Is the optical drive detected? Something like this would let you plug the ssd (or hdd) into the optical drive bay.
Im not sure of the availability of the 2010 cables.
For difficulty check the ifixit for hard drive replacement. I’d say overall not difficult for either.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/5119
It’s certainly worth it, whether you need 16gb or ram or that big of an ssd is a judgement call. I put in a 256gb sad and 16gb ran into my 2011 17” and it still works like a dream. I also put in a 1tb HD’s in the cdrom spot with something like below so that a smaller ssd would work. Only thing to look at is the data speed as my cdrom spot was only sata2.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FM4UGE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0WyLBbXD41KQM
I bet there is somewhere.
It's not too hard you can buy the drive carrier/adapter to keep the drive in place and just plug in the SATA cables.
http://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Compatible-MACBOOK-9-5mm-high-Interface/dp/B004FM4UGE
Yep! That's the ideal way to do it, Let me know how the optical swap goes. You have to buy some special bracket to mount it. something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Compatible-MACBOOK-9-5mm-high-Interface/dp/B004FM4UGE
I'm thinking about doing the same with my mid 2012 non retina 15" MBP. I have a 256 Crucial M4 I could throw in here, but I'm coming from a 500GB and like the extra storage, so I'm considering going a similar route that you are.
I saw that you were really in to that new Retina MBP -- Do yourself a favor and upgrade this MBP and in 2 years buy the new Retina MBP. You'll thank yourself later.
Mine had the same problem twice so I just use a SuperDrive to SATA tray for my SSD and pulled the SATA cable out completely.
https://smile.amazon.com/Optical-SuperDrive-Adapter-Unibody-2012-etc/dp/B004FM4UGE/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=macbook+cd+drive+sata&qid=1563477557&s=gateway&sr=8-7