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MacMan988

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2012
894
176
Hi, I have the late 2011 MBP 17" with 4GB RAM. I use parallels (will be switching to boot-camp), xcode, eclipse, iPhoto in my daily life. What kind of effect would the new installation make on the system performance if I install Mountain Lion (faster, slower or same?) ?

And I would like to install it as a totally new installation instead of upgrading from Lion to Mountain Lion. Whats the best way to completely erase my MBP and install the new OS ?


Regards,
MacMan988.
 
Speed would be about the same. Here is a nice clean install guide put together by a forum member (PDF at bottom of his first post).
 
I recommend creating a clone of your current internal drive before doing a major OS upgrade. If you have problems with ML then it is relatively easy to switch back to Lion until the OS matures a little... You can even run a Mac from a cloned external drive while test-driving a new OS.

More than a few people move to a new OS and then discover problems with software and hardware that worked just fine before the upgrade.

Just My Two Cents based on many years of experience with Macs...

Good luck!
 
Mountain Lion feels a bit snappier and in some ways is better. There is no major change up until now. Also the OS isn't in its best shape so staying with Lion is not a bad choice until Mountain Lion gets a couple updates.

I do recommend getting more RAM due to Parallels. It will help you doing more things at the same time. 8Gb should be more than enough. I got 8 and never felt need for more.
 
Yes, 8GB RAM is a good idea. I'm impressed that you were able to get by with only 4GB...
 
I recommend creating a clone of your current internal drive before doing a major OS upgrade. If you have problems with ML then it is relatively easy to switch back to Lion until the OS matures a little... You can even run a Mac from a cloned external drive while test-driving a new OS.

More than a few people move to a new OS and then discover problems with software and hardware that worked just fine before the upgrade.

Just My Two Cents based on many years of experience with Macs...

Good luck!

Mountain Lion feels a bit snappier and in some ways is better. There is no major change up until now. Also the OS isn't in its best shape so staying with Lion is not a bad choice until Mountain Lion gets a couple updates.

I do recommend getting more RAM due to Parallels. It will help you doing more things at the same time. 8Gb should be more than enough. I got 8 and never felt need for more.

Yes, 8GB RAM is a good idea. I'm impressed that you were able to get by with only 4GB...

Seconded. :)

I've an early-2011 MBP. I do VMs, etc, and just installed 10.8.1 ... so far, battery life isn't bad and all things seem stable.

I did back up my HDD first, though. But because the new HDD is a hybrid, I reinstalled all from scratch anyway. (SL then Lion then ML, and installed the apps afterward).

I did just order 16GB:

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...X3M2A1600C10/dp/B0076W9Q5A/ref=cm_rdp_product

I hope it passes the stress test, but it's got a lot of high ratings... I currently use two 4GB Kingston DDR1600 RAM that run flawlessly...
 
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