Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How to make my Macbook Pro faster?

W

Wasd9595

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 15, 2011
19
0
Hi

I got a Macbook Pro from the summer of 2009. I want to make it faster because i find it very slow. But i dont know how i can make it faster.

My Macbook Pro's specs:
2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB Memory
160 GB HDD

I will not give much more than $200..

What can i do? :)

Thanks! :)
 
I'd go for 4GB of RAM. If there is anyhow enough cash left, go for a SSD also ;)
 
1.) +2GB = total 4GB.

2.) Seagate Momentus XT 500GB.

SSD? Only if you have more cash to burn.
 
Last edited:
If I'm not too wrong this machine has 2 slots, carrying each 1GB RAM, so you'd need 2x 2GB modules for 4GB... Just to make sure.
 
CHeck if you need ram. Go the activity monitor and see your page in to page outs ratio.

If the above is low, I would throw a ssd in there. May be able to do the sad and 4 gb of ram if you shop around.
 
IF you are NOT going to buy a newer laptop from Apple for couple of years (2 years, maybe?) then I would recommend you going for the RAM, because sooner or later, Mac OS X 10.8 will require 4GB of RAM as minimum (hopefully not.) SSDs are too expensive at this point, but it sure will boost performance.
For Seagate's Momentus XT, I haven't tried it but there are many mixed reviews about them, mostly about the driver issues with Macbook Pros.
 
or you can turn off bluetooth and dont activate dashboard.
That actually helps alot fro your mac.
And get 8GB of RAM from newegg or amazon for near 80 bucks
 
i'd go for a 4gb kit and a higher rpm drive with that budget. that should only run you a bit more than half of the money you are trying to spend.
 
I'm not sure you should be able to get some cheap jet engines off ebay for a bit under $200, well atleast one big enough for your MBP.

Jokes aside, after you have 4GB unless your using Virtual Machines more RAM is unnecessary.
 
seong said:
IF you are NOT going to buy a newer laptop from Apple for couple of years (2 years, maybe?) then I would recommend you going for the RAM, because sooner or later, Mac OS X 10.8 will require 4GB of RAM as minimum (hopefully not.) SSDs are too expensive at this point, but it sure will boost performance.
For Seagate's Momentus XT, I haven't tried it but there are many mixed reviews about them, mostly about the driver issues with Macbook Pros.
Click to expand...

Hard disk driver? :confused:

The MXT works great, highly recommend them.
 
Stripes.

Spoiler.

Nice chrome wheels.

Seriously get an SSD. I've had several and would never go back to mechanical drives unless I need cheap storage. Everyone i've talked to says that an SSD 'rejuvenates' old machines and makes them feel snappy again. I wouldn't know though, I always fit my late-gen SSDs into late-gen boxes =)
 
I just upgraded to 8GB RAM in the same mac as the OP. I'm still deciding on which HDD I want to go with, though.
 
Kind of switching gears here, I have 4GB, and from my understanding, if I don't use any virtual machines, I won't notice much of a performance advantage by switching to 8GB. I use Aperture/FCPX as my heavy duty programs, Handbrake too.
 
SSD will garner the biggest speed increase.

I have a nearly 4 year old 13" 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo MacBook Unibody with a 128GB OWC SDD and it still keeps up (day to day tasks) with a newer MBP.
 
Wasd9595 said:
Hi

I got a Macbook Pro from the summer of 2009. I want to make it faster because i find it very slow. But i dont know how i can make it faster.

My Macbook Pro's specs:
2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB Memory
160 GB HDD

I will not give much more than $200..

What can i do? :)

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
What do you do with the computer, or what is it slow at doing?

You can upgrade to 8Gb for pretty cheap these days, and it would easily be the best bang for your buck. Otherwise, if your hard drive is pretty full, it'll get quite a bit slower, so if you're running out of space, a bigger/faster hard drive might be a good bet for you too.

Both these upgrades together would run you less than 200 dollars.
 
Max the RAM with 8 GB for around $80 and get a 640 GB or 750 GB hard drive. I'd avoid a 7200 RPM hard drive as every one I've tried (and that's most of them) created unacceptable levels of vibration in a 13".
 
I think it's been pretty well covered, but I'll throw in my agreement that a RAM upgrade should probably be priority #1, followed by a 7200RPM HDD. I've had my 13" MBP for a year and I'm considering bumping it up from 4GB to 8GB of RAM (not because there's much demand on my machine for it now, but it would be nice from time to time when my system is a bit taxed), and a larger (and probably a bit faster HDD).
 
OP, you can tune your machine to fit your needs. All the talk about 7200rpm drives and such are fine but here's another way to look at things.

If you're going to pay for something, do it with RAM. Memory allows you to multitask smoother due to less hard drive swapping.

If WORD takes too long to start up, consider leaving the app open, just close the file with CMD+W, that way you can come back to it whenever you need it. Also instead of shutting down your computer, put it to sleep when not in use. Just make sure that you don't have any open working files when you do this, make sure to save often and close the file when you're done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back