Hello,
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro 13'inch. I haven't changed anything since I bought it.
2.4 Ghz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 ram. I currently have 102 GB of 500 GB remaining on my HD (stock). I have run an the most current version of Mavericks since it was released.
Performance has been solid, but a few months ago, it started slipping. Getting a lot of beach balls. Takes longer to start up. And I have to force quit more often than I like. These are things I'm not accustomed to for a Mac product.
Are there any cost efficient changes I can make to prolong the life of my Mac? Would it make more sense to increase ram? Or the hard drive? SSHD are out of my price range for now. I've heard even hybrid drives may increase performance. But I'm open to suggestions.
As far as usage, I internet browse. consume media, and occasionally use music production software such as Fruity Loops and Serato DJ (I notice the performance issues in Serato a lot. I know it is greedy with memory; it crashes more often than it used to when I used Scratch Live on older Macs). I use Safari as my primary browser, but I have Chrome installed. Itunes is my main media player, but I use VLC for unsupported formats. I also have Apple TV (if that matters). Is there anything I can change about the manner in which I use my Mac that could help?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro 13'inch. I haven't changed anything since I bought it.
2.4 Ghz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 ram. I currently have 102 GB of 500 GB remaining on my HD (stock). I have run an the most current version of Mavericks since it was released.
Performance has been solid, but a few months ago, it started slipping. Getting a lot of beach balls. Takes longer to start up. And I have to force quit more often than I like. These are things I'm not accustomed to for a Mac product.
Are there any cost efficient changes I can make to prolong the life of my Mac? Would it make more sense to increase ram? Or the hard drive? SSHD are out of my price range for now. I've heard even hybrid drives may increase performance. But I'm open to suggestions.
As far as usage, I internet browse. consume media, and occasionally use music production software such as Fruity Loops and Serato DJ (I notice the performance issues in Serato a lot. I know it is greedy with memory; it crashes more often than it used to when I used Scratch Live on older Macs). I use Safari as my primary browser, but I have Chrome installed. Itunes is my main media player, but I use VLC for unsupported formats. I also have Apple TV (if that matters). Is there anything I can change about the manner in which I use my Mac that could help?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.