Before start time was 2:53 seconds. Installed crucial 256gb SSD, moved the 320gb stock hard drive to replace the optical bay, and upgraded memory to crucial 8gb. After start time was 1:11 seconds. In addition, program responsiveness is acting like a new computer. Moved iPhoto library (190gb) to secondary hard drive to free up 75% of space on SSD.

The startup comparison was on first boot after upgrades, the speed improved more when I moved the photo library off the ssd drive and even on the initial second boot from the upgrades as the hardware had been recognized better. Feels overall brand new.

Hard drive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R... (You can choose 256GB/500GB/or 1TB)

Memory: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008...

Hard drive caddy that replaced Optical bay: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005...

For further instructions, these guides on iFixIt are great!

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installi...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+...

Feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to respond when I see it!