Why don't you spend $140 and add an SSD to the pro? You can keep the HDD for an extra $80 with a cd drive bay HDD caddy.
Left some big files on the old HD, and symlinked them. The disk stays idle in the CD bay until I need it, then spins up.
If I were to do it over again I'd just get a larger SSD and leave the optical drive alone.
It also turns out I rather like working on an 11" screen. Keeps me focussed.