I have a early 2009 macbook (2 GHZ core duo, 2 GB RAM) that I 'm considering doing a few of the ...

[G+_Coy Clark]

I have a early 2009 macbook (2 GHZ core duo, 2 GB RAM) that I'm considering doing a few of the upgrades that I've seen done on the show. Namely the swap of the optical drive for an extra hard drive and upgrading the original spinning hard drive to an SSD (I have my eyes on a 240 GB Kingston SSD for both drives). I also intend to upgrade the RAM to 4 GB. When I priced all of this out, it was in the neighborhood of $300. Is this a worthwhile endeavor or should I save a little more and get a Mac mini since this macbook lives on a desk anyway? Thanks for your thoughts! On a slightly crazier note would it be at all beneficial to make both drives a scary RAID, as long as the proper backup is applied?

[G+_Coy Clark]

the links to the items in question: 

 

SilverStone TS08 9.5mm Height 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD Caddy for Laptop / 2.5" SSD/HDD Conversion Tray (White)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817997048   

 

SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim External DVD Writer Model SE-208DB/TSBS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827151262  

 

Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S37A/240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820721108  

 

Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S3N7A/240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Notebook Bundle Kit - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIA24G15X9875

[G+_Joshua Hamlett]

An SSD might not be very helpful, as your SATA controller is only capable of 1.5 Gbps, no where close to the 6 Gbps that SSD's need to use to get full speed. I would recommend instead to use two new spinning drives and use the RAID option you mentioned. Time Machine will make adequate backups by default if turned on and connected.