How do I make sure the firmware for my newly installed SSD is up to date for Mac OSX? Note: cannot use optical drive
Run software update from the apple icon.  If there are any updates it will tell you but you should be good to go as the SATA interface is the same so the only firmware change needed is wear leveling and trim.  You can check if that is enabled by clicking on About This Mac>system info> more details> then in the sidebar of system profiler click on the Sata listing. Then scroll down in the right hand pane and next to trim it will say yes or no.  If it is not, there is software like http://www.cindori.org/software/trimenabler/ that enable trim support.