Coming Back to the Mac World - Late 2011 MBP

[cutlassvillager]

I recently acquired a Late-2011 13" MacBook Pro. It's the base spec 2.4 i5/4GB RAM. It's been a while since I've been regularly using a Mac (currently have Chrome OS, Ubuntu and W10 machines) so I feel a bit out of the loop with what's best for this MBP.

I'm planning on getting an SSD right away (and possibly more RAM). I currently use Samsung/Sandisk SSDs. Are there any incompatibilities I should know about? I was planning on either an OWC or Samsung drive. Anyone using the 860 Evo?

It currently has El Capitan. Is there a consensus on what the "Best Mac OS" is for this machine? I have a Pixel 2 XL and TicWatch E (Android Wear watch) so I'm not too concerned about the newer features that tie in with Apple Watch/iPhone. I'm mostly looking for the best performance for the old hardware/compatibility with current software.

 

[meme1255]

Add more RAM and install High Sierra.

 

[Audit13]

I wouldn't get the OWC as they seem kind of expensive.

I have upgraded early 2011 13", late 2011 13", and mid-2012 13" Macbooks. Every SSD I have used (Adata, Samsung, Corsair, PNY, and Crucial have worked without problems.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Thanks for the input. I just ordered an 8GB RAM kit. It looks like there's some issues with Trim and High Sierra/the new file format? I'm leaning towards the Samsung 860 Evo. Should I not "force enable" trim?

 

[Audit13]

I have run trim with high Sierra on all SSDs I have used in MacBooks without any issues.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Good news, thanks! Do you remember if these were formatted with APFS or Mac OS Extended (HFS+)?

 

[Audit13]

All drives were updated to APFS without issue.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Thanks for the info. I installed the 8GB RAM and Samsung 860 EVO today. It's been running really good although it does seem a bit hot. What should these normally run? "Intel Power Gadget" shows it's usually in the 40-70 degrees Celsius range. Netflix and Hulu have it around 70 degrees but when I was playing a 4k YouTube video it hovered in the mid-90s.

 

[jdogg836]

The 2011's did run pretty hot, the Sandy Bridge processors were known for this. The numbers you mention seem in line with what performance I had on mine, although I don't recall trying 4k youtube before upgrading. I can tell you that 70 degrees for Netflix was about where mine usually ran.

 

[Audit13]

The GPU in the Macbook is not very powerful by today's standards so video codecs that are not accelerated through hardware will rely on raw cpu power for playback which can push cpu usage to a very high percentage.

 

[Fishrrman]

If El Capitan runs fine, keep using it. But if you want to upgrade...
I'd recommend you update to OS 10.12 "Low" Sierra but leave High Sierra alone.

Just about any SSD will do.
I suggest you also get an external USB3 enclosure or a dongle like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-...478&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=sabremt+usb3+to+ssd

You can use it to "prep and test" the new SSD BEFORE you install it to be sure it's working properly.
You can also use it to access the old drive afterwards (for backup, external storage, etc.)

 

[duervo]

Regarding APFS. Keep in mind that if you want to tinker and replace the optical drive with a second disk to be able to create a Fusion drive, it won’t work with APFS on High Sierra. You’ll have to use HFS+.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Thanks for the input everyone. I was worried about the claims of running APFS and manually enabling TRIM causing a slow boot - but that hasn't occurred. It has been running really fast. It's hard to believe it's nearly 7 years old.

I do have one of the adapters similar to the Sabrent. I'll likely buy an actual external enclosure for the 500GB drive I removed.