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Keep 2011 MacBook Pro or Upgrade?

P

PSerio1991

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 28, 2014
5
6
My MacBook Pro has slowed down drastically in the past year or so. I haven't used it much lately though, so I didn't worry too much about it. Now I am begining to need it more and want to record basic guitar tracks with garageband. It takes forever to open programs and freezes if too many are running. My question is, should I invest on just buying a new computer or can I upgrade the memory/HD to make it run fast/smooth again? If keeping it and upgrading is the best option, can you guys tell me exactly what I should do/upgrade?

Thanks in advance.

These are my specs:

MacBook Pro (15", Early 2011)
2 GHz Core i7
4GB
500GB Sata Disk
OS X Yosemite version: 10.10.5
 
PSerio1991 said:
My MacBook Pro has slowed down drastically in the past year or so. I haven't used it much lately though, so I didn't worry too much about it. Now I am begining to need it more and want to record basic guitar tracks with garageband. It takes forever to open programs and freezes if too many are running. My question is, should I invest on just buying a new computer or can I upgrade the memory/HD to make it run fast/smooth again? If keeping it and upgrading is the best option, can you guys tell me exactly what I should do/upgrade?

Thanks in advance.

These are my specs:

MacBook Pro (15", Early 2011)
2 GHz Core i7
4GB
500GB Sata Disk
OS X Yosemite version: 10.10.5
Click to expand...

Eeek, it's a tough one to call. The 2011s have so many issues with the graphics, so I wouldn't invest loads towards it.

I'd suggest the following:

- Upgrade the RAM to 8GB (2x4GB DDR3 1333MHz SODIMM)
- Throw in a 240GB SSD (any model would be fine, would recommend Crucial for best cost/performance value)

Doing the above will be very, very light on the wallet compared to a replacement computer, but it will make a huge amount of difference to the performance of the machine.
 
Schranke said:
you should be able to upgrade the memory, cant remember by how much, and you can replace the HHD with an SSD.
this would definitely help if you have freezes and beachball

HHD -> SSD
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/5895

RAM
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+RAM+Replacement/5905
Click to expand...

Okay. Thanks for the quick response!
[doublepost=1473694104][/doublepost]
keysofanxiety said:
Eeek, it's a tough one to call. The 2011s have so many issues with the graphics, so I wouldn't invest loads towards it.

I'd suggest the following:

- Upgrade the RAM to 8GB (2x4GB DDR3 1333MHz SODIMM)
- Throw in a 240GB SSD (any model would be fine, would recommend Crucial for best cost/performance value)

Doing the above will be very, very light on the wallet compared to a replacement computer, but it will make a huge amount of difference to the performance of the machine.
Click to expand...

What brand(s) do you recommend for each upgrade?
[doublepost=1473694200][/doublepost]
PSerio1991 said:
Okay. Thanks for the quick response!
[doublepost=1473694104][/doublepost]

What brand(s) do you recommend for each upgrade?
Click to expand...


Nvm, Sorry did not see that you put the brands.
Thanks!
 
For SSD, avoid Crucial BX200. Most are fine, though. Samsung 850 EVO is an excellent choice.

For RAM, pretty much any brand is fine. Crucial is solid and not very expensive. I'd suggest one stick of 8 GB 1600 MHz to add to one of the existing 2 GB sticks.
 
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The upgrade everyone is suggesting will make your machine feel like a different machine. Boot to login prompt will drop to 15 seconds or so. Applications will launch with one or two bounces of the beachball.

Enjoy!
 
My 2011 15" is still a beast to this day! Although, I do have an SSD and 8 GB of RAM, so I completely stand behind upgrading it!

There's something to be said for keeping an old laptop and upgrading it, but if you have the extra cash, you should look into the new MacBook Pro that's rumored to be released next month.
 
With the 15" model, the only reason I can see a slowdown is your hard drive is about to fail or has degraded significantly or your RAM usage is always near max. I would do what everyone else is suggesting and get an SSD and increase your RAM. I think the max RAM is 16GB for your model but you will see the most improvements with changing to an SSD.
 
8GB of RAM is a must these days. I got a decent Lenovo Thinkpad the other day with 4GB RAM and the first thing I did was order 8GB for it. Enjoy your upgraded MacBook Pro. Typing this on a base model 2012 13" Core i5 MBP with just a RAM upgrade. Still keeping up with every other machine I have.
 
Hi there, I have a early 2011 13" i5 2.3 GHZ 500GB hard drive. When I bought it I upgraded the RAM to 8 GB and it has run like a dream from day 1. Incidentally my girlfriend has a early 2011 imac with similar specs but is still running 4GB ram. She has said it is begining to run slow these days so we will be upgrading her to 8 GB very soon and I expect it to run smooth again. I think you will be quite pleased with a RAM upgrade. Maybe your HD is broken, personally I don't like SSD but maybe a new one of some sort is needed for you. Also, take a look at the specs of the new similar MBPs, they main specs aren't that different than yours.
 
I have a late-2011 MBP 15-inch in mint condition and already have a buyer. So I don't think I will wait for Apple's 2016 release. Going for the 13-inch rMBP as soon as I get the cash.
 
JTToft said:
- Interesting. Why in the world not?
Click to expand...

I download load a lot of files. So it keeps my HD running all the time. I also work with and download and move large files around. Two things I heard are not ideal for SSDs. Nevertheless I bought an SSD a couple years ago and installed it and it broke within a week. I returned it and the clerk said it was likely because of how I use my HD that caused the issue. Trust me, i love the speed and I'd love to get one. I just don't want to have it break on me again. I keep waiting for the technology to get better, but it seems the SSDs still have the same downfalls. I actually need a new Hard drive for my PC and was looking into SSDs but I think I'll end up getting a WD Black
 
jimray said:
I download load a lot of files. So it keeps my HD running all the time. I also work with and download and move large files around. Two things I heard are not ideal for SSDs. Nevertheless I bought an SSD a couple years ago and installed it and it broke within a week. I returned it and the clerk said it was likely because of how I use my HD that caused the issue. Trust me, i love the speed and I'd love to get one. I just don't want to have it break on me again. I keep waiting for the technology to get better, but it seems the SSDs still have the same downfalls. I actually need a new Hard drive for my PC and was looking into SSDs but I think I'll end up getting a WD Black
Click to expand...
- You'd have to be doing something extremely intensive for it to be a problem in terms of GBs written.
Newer drives have been tested to withstand upwards of several PBs of writes before showing errors. A mechanical hard drive is likelier to fail before anyone can write that much to a drive in any practical scenario.

You probably just got a defective drive or it was actually more than a "couple" of years ago when the tech was in its infancy.

Samsung 850 Pro, for instance, carries a 10-year warranty and is rated conservatively for 300 TB of writes - in practice a 1 TB model will withstand writes of 100 GiB each day for 56 years. Write endurance is a non-issue in all but the most low-end of drives. Seriously, get one of those, and you'll be happy.

In any event, there's nothing keeping you from using an SSD for your system and apps, and HDDs for your large files and downloads if you wish.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8239/update-on-samsung-850-pro-endurance-vnand-die-size
 
JTToft said:
- You'd have to be doing something extremely intensive for it to be a problem in terms of GBs written.
Newer drives have been tested to withstand upwards of several PBs of writes before showing errors. A mechanical hard drive is likelier to fail before anyone can write that much to a drive in any practical scenario.

You probably just got a defective drive or it was actually more than a "couple" of years ago when the tech was in its infancy.

Samsung 850 Pro, for instance, carries a 10-year warranty and is rated conservatively for 300 TB of writes - in practice a 1 TB model will withstand writes of 100 GiB each day for 56 years. Write endurance is a non-issue in all but the most low-end of drives. Seriously, get one of those, and you'll be happy.

In any event, there's nothing keeping you from using an SSD for your system and apps, and HDDs for your large files and downloads if you wish.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8239/update-on-samsung-850-pro-endurance-vnand-die-size
Click to expand...

Thanks for your information. I was looking over that Samsung 850, I'll give it a try cause I'd really like the enhanced speeds. Prolly going to have to get two, one for the MBP and one for the PC.
 
jimray said:
Thanks for your information. I was looking over that Samsung 850, I'll give it a try cause I'd really like the enhanced speeds. Prolly going to have to get two, one for the MBP and one for the PC.
Click to expand...
- You're welcome. Keep in mind there's a difference between 850 Pro and 850 EVO. Both are excellent, but the Pro carries the longer warranty and has the higher endurance - and is faster under intensive loads.
 
jimray said:
I download load a lot of files. So it keeps my HD running all the time. I also work with and download and move large files around. Two things I heard are not ideal for SSDs. Nevertheless I bought an SSD a couple years ago and installed it and it broke within a week. I returned it and the clerk said it was likely because of how I use my HD that caused the issue. Trust me, i love the speed and I'd love to get one. I just don't want to have it break on me again. I keep waiting for the technology to get better, but it seems the SSDs still have the same downfalls. I actually need a new Hard drive for my PC and was looking into SSDs but I think I'll end up getting a WD Black
Click to expand...

SSDs are much more reliable now than "back in the day".
 
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