Upgrade 2010 MBP or buy a new rMBP ?

[andreasholm]

I'm now using a 2010 15" MBP as my main editing machine for photo/video connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display.

2.4 GhHz, Intel Core I5, 8GB Ram, 320GB.

Now I need a faster machine. I will use Lightroom/PS a lot + Final Cut Pro.

Should I upgrade it with a SSD disk + change CD drive for an extra internal HD OR invest in a new 15" MBP retina, 2.7GHz, 16GB memory? (2800USD)

It will be cheaper to upgrade but feel it might be worth selling it
for a new MBP. A new one I can easily use for 3-4 years but not sure
that the old one will be good enough when It's upgraded with SSD drive.

Any thoughts?

 

[maflynn]

I'd say go for a new one given that the 2010 model is feeling the strain. An SSD will certainly speed up the machine when it comes to IO based operations. CPU/GPU functions will not benefit from the SSD.

 

[negativzero]

I'm now using a 2010 15" MBP as my main editing machine for photo/video connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display.

2.4 GhHz, Intel Core I5, 8GB Ram, 320GB.

Now I need a faster machine. I will use Lightroom/PS a lot + Final Cut Pro.

Should I upgrade it with a SSD disk + change CD drive for an extra internal HD OR invest in a new 15" MBP retina, 2.7GHz, 16GB memory? (2800USD)

It will be cheaper to upgrade but feel it might be worth selling it
for a new MBP. A new one I can easily use for 3-4 years but not sure
that the old one will be good enough when It's upgraded with SSD drive.

Any thoughts?

If you can hold out on upgrading or purchasing a new machine, why not wait till the haswell refresh and see if you might rather a newer machine.

 

[andreasholm]

If you can hold out on upgrading or purchasing a new machine, why not wait till the haswell refresh and see if you might rather a newer machine.

I'm not very keen on waiting for a new machine to be released. I need to upgrade now. Seems like getting a new machine is the best solution.

 

[azpekt]

get yourself an SSD - you`ll have completely different laptop 🙂

I understand your urge to upgrade, but I think it`s worthwhile to upgrade existing ones, and stick to it until it dies.

 

[jmdMac]

I JUST(yesterday) swapped out 500GB HDD for a 250GB SSD, upgraded from 4 to 8GB RAM, and placed the HDD in the optibay.
The total cost was ~$300, but it made my 3 year old machine feel better than the day I bought it.

If you are running into a CPU bottleneck then yes, you will have to upgrade machines but it doesn't seem like that is it in your case.

Also, if money is no problem and you don't care about waiting for the next or future generation rMBP then definitely buy it! You can always sell it in a year or two and buy another. 😉

 

[andy9l]

I'm not very keen on waiting for a new machine to be released. I need to upgrade now. Seems like getting a new machine is the best solution.

It's not long. The graphics processing power will likely be vastly improved with Haswell, which suits your line of work. Depends if you can put up with waiting ~3 months. I'm waiting.

I put a £70 (~$105) Samsung 840 in my 2009 MBP yesterday to get me through the next few months. I wasn't expecting such a massive jump from my old MBP...I was genuinely shocked yesterday, and I've been using it all day today.

My MBP just struggles from a processor/graphics perspective now. It really doesn't like YouTube (Flash) on my 27" iMac (used as an external display), jet engine starts up. Besides the noise, though, performance is truly outstanding for such an old machine, and such a cheap upgrade. Normal usage, I get idled 2000rpm fans, <15 second boot times, and instantaneous application switching/loading times. No complaints.

 

[andreasholm]

I JUST(yesterday) swapped out 500GB HDD for a 250GB SSD, upgraded from 4 to 8GB RAM, and placed the HDD in the optibay.

Which drive did you get?
It seems like a jungle when it comes to choosing a drive.

I still don't have a 27" display yet so I will probably get a monitor (Apple Thunderbolt), new external storage and just upgrade my MBP with an SSD as you've suggested and then put my old HDD in the optibay.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[jmdMac]

Which drive did you get?
It seems like a jungle when it comes to choosing a drive.

I still don't have a 27" display yet so I will probably get a monitor (Apple Thunderbolt), new external storage and just upgrade my MBP with an SSD as you've suggested and then put my old HDD in the optibay.

Decisions, decisions.

I got the 250GB samsung 840 from amazon for a steal!! ($170) I remember when SSD's were basically $2/GB.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MZ-7T...UTF8&qid=1365443655&sr=8-1&keywords=250gb+ssd

I ordered it a few weeks ago, so I guess the total cost of all my upgrades would be closer to ~$240 not $300.

 

[andy9l]

Which drive did you get?
I still don't have a 27" display yet so I will probably get a monitor (Apple Thunderbolt), new external storage and just upgrade my MBP with an SSD as you've suggested and then put my old HDD in the optibay.

New Thunderbolt Displays coming soon too, hold off for those 😛

 

[xShane]

I'm now using a 2010 15" MBP as my main editing machine for photo/video connected to a 27" Thunderbolt Display.

2.4 GhHz, Intel Core I5, 8GB Ram, 320GB.

Now I need a faster machine. I will use Lightroom/PS a lot + Final Cut Pro.

Should I upgrade it with a SSD disk + change CD drive for an extra internal HD OR invest in a new 15" MBP retina, 2.7GHz, 16GB memory? (2800USD)

It will be cheaper to upgrade but feel it might be worth selling it
for a new MBP. A new one I can easily use for 3-4 years but not sure
that the old one will be good enough when It's upgraded with SSD drive.

Any thoughts?

You sound like you need a new laptop.

If you can hold off and deal with the slowness for a little longer, it's probably worth waiting for the refresh.

If not, it wouldn't hurt to buy a new machine now.

 

[andreasholm]

New Thunderbolt Displays coming soon too, hold off for those 😛

What? I was going to order one now.
Hope it won't take too long for them to be released!

----------

You sound like you need a new laptop.

If you can hold off and deal with the slowness for a little longer, it's probably worth waiting for the refresh.

If not, it wouldn't hurt to buy a new machine now.

I'll upgrade with a 250GB SSD. If Its not fast enough I'll sell it for a rMBP.

 

[andy9l]

What? I was going to order one now.
Hope it won't take too long for them to be released!

You hope?! I've been waiting months! 😛

Seriously though, look at how long it's been since a refresh, the fact that they're literally handing out temporary "hacks" (adapters) to make TBDs work with new MacBooks, and the new Mac Pro is coming soon...

Edit: For your upcoming SSD, I strongly recommend OWC SSDs. TRIM is not enabled by default for third-party SSDs on Macs, thus they degrade rapidly. OWC SSDs do a great job at preventing this, without the need for you to hack TRIM support every time OS X is updated (a real pain).

Your MacBook Pro is SATA II, so consider that when buying a SSD - advertised SATA III speeds will bear no relation to actual speeds on your laptop.

 

[andreasholm]

You hope?! I've been waiting months! 😛

Seriously though, look at how long it's been since a refresh, the fact that they're literally handing out temporary "hacks" (adapters) to make TBDs work with new MacBooks, and the new Mac Pro is coming soon...

Edit: For your upcoming SSD, I strongly recommend OWC SSDs. TRIM is not enabled by default for third-party SSDs on Macs, thus they degrade rapidly. OWC SSDs do a great job at preventing this, without the need for you to hack TRIM support every time OS X is updated (a real pain).

Your MacBook Pro is SATA II, so consider that when buying a SSD - advertised SATA III speeds will bear no relation to actual speeds on your laptop.

I was going to order this one:

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/memory-storage/MZ-7TD250BW

Will it make any difference getting a OWC SSD?
Then which model?

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[jmdMac]

I was going to order this one:

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/memory-storage/MZ-7TD250BW

Will it make any difference getting a OWC SSD?
Then which model?

Thanks again for all the input!

You can buy the same SSD on Amazon for $20 less:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MZ-7TD250BW-Series-Solid-2-5-Inch/dp/B009NHAEXE

I would never buy an OWC for $60-70 more than an 840. Enabling trim is a very simple process explained very well here:
http://digitaldj.net/2011/07/21/trim-enabler-for-lion/

 

[andy9l]

I was going to order this one:

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/memory-storage/MZ-7TD250BW

Will it make any difference getting a OWC SSD?
Then which model?

Thanks again for all the input!

I put that EXACT SSD (although the 120GB version) in my 2009 MacBook Pro literally 3 days ago. I'm using it right now - been great so far. Remember to update the firmware, though (a bit of a shoddy process).

I haven't bothered enabling TRIM, because I only need the drive to last a year or so and the drive is very mildly used (MS Word, bit of programming).

By the way, I wasn't recommending OWC blindly - my 2010 iMac uses an OWC SSD. The model of OWC SSD depends on what you want. If you think you'd re-use the SSD you buy now in another machine, then future-proof yourself with the "6G" models (SATA III). If you know you'll throw it away with your current 2010 MBP, save yourself the cash and stick with a 3G (SATA II).

I would never buy an OWC for $60-70 more than an 840. Enabling trim is a very simple process explained very well here:
http://digitaldj.net/2011/07/21/trim-enabler-for-lion/

It is "simple", true, but ignoring the numerous problems with it - people reporting slow boot/turn off times after doing it, amongst other problems - it is something holding you back from updating OS X (it'll be disabled each time, and you need to wait for the developer to update the app).

 

[jmdMac]

It is "simple", true, but ignoring the numerous problems with it - people reporting slow boot/turn off times after doing it, amongst other problems - it is something holding you back from updating OS X (it'll be disabled each time, and you need to wait for the developer to update the app).

This is not an app. It is a command script that enables TRIM on Macs. When a new OS comes out, you just edit the script line.

I agree with you, I would not trust an app. You should read the link I posted and it will explain it very well.

Also, the 840 SSD has good garbage collection so I don't really see it necessary to even enable TRIM, but if one really wants to it is very simple and reliable this way.
I was only saying that it doesn't seem like a good idea to pay an extra $60-70 for OWC when a Samsung 840 comes VERY highly rated/recommended.

 

[andy9l]

This is not an app. It is a command script that enables TRIM on Macs. When a new OS comes out, you just edit the script line.

I agree with you, I would not trust an app. You should read the link I posted and it will explain it very well.

Also, the 840 SSD has good garbage collection so I don't really see it necessary to even enable TRIM, but if one really wants to it is very simple and reliable this way.
I was only saying that it doesn't seem like a good idea to pay an extra $60-70 for OWC when a Samsung 840 comes VERY highly rated/recommended.

Fair points 🙂

I particularly like "Update 2" on that link - very down-to-earth (slightly critical) explanation to TRIM and typical Garbage Collection.

I bought OWC for my iMac since my iMac is used more intensely, and I wanted the drive to withstand that. Sandforce controllers are particularly highly rated on Macs, and OWC have written numerous articles about why their drives work well without TRIM. Perhaps I fell for marketing, but it's retained its speed well now for coming up to 1 year of reasonably heavy use.

I was suggesting OWC to the OP since his line of work will run the drive quite hard - so a good controller would be suitable. It was just my opinion, of course, so you might be right when you say it's not worth it. I'm sure the Samsung will do the job fine too! I mean, I've got an 840 in my MBP!

 

[AlexMaximus]

Go SSD all the way, go Samsung 840 ..

Read your post here, have been in a similar position.

I have my Samsung 840 SSD now for 4 month. Its an outstanding drive, absolutely nothing to blame. I would go for it again in a heartbeat. Had an Intel SSD before, they are great too but a bit more expensive.

The 2010 MBP is a very capable machine and very reliable. Its a keeper in my mind. If you especially have the 2010 model with the better Nvidia 330, you could hold out for even longer.
In my view it makes no sense to buy a new machine every two years. Lost money in the process is just too much.

 

[andreasholm]

I bought the 250GB Samsung SSD so I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[andy9l]

I bought the 250GB Samsung SSD so I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Thanks for the feedback!

Let us know if you need any installation help - although there's hundreds of guides on the net. YouTube is very useful for things like this.

Don't want to patronise you, so apologies if you know all this!

 

[jmdMac]

I bought the 250GB Samsung SSD so I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Thanks for the feedback!

Congrats, you won't be disappointed.

 

[andreasholm]

I installed the SSD today. WHAT. A. DIFFERENCE.
Took about 2 minutes to start up computer before and now it's about 30 seconds. Everything is so much faster.