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Macbook Pro 13 (Mid 2012) accessory/upgrade recommendations?

H

hulahoop

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 5, 2012
8
0
Hi friends,

I have a MBP 13' (Non retina) model 9.2. It is a mid 2012 model.

It has 4GB RAM (2*2) and I believe a non SSD HD.

I will be using the computer for daily graduate level

I am currently in the USA, but will be away for a while so would like to get some accessories/upgrades that are recommended.

I already have a Speck hard case.

Do you suggest I get a:

1) SSD?

2) Extra RAM?

3) Privacy screen

4) Sleeve? I already have a Speck hard case

5) Anything else?

Thanks,
Andy
 
Last edited:
Upgrading the RAM to 8GB or even 16GB is an excellent, and cost-effective, performance upgrade, especially if you use several apps concurrently.

SSD upgrades again are worthwhile in performance terms, but the cost is high, if you want to match the capacity of your current HDD.

Depends on your budget, really!
 
First off, there is no "SSD HD" since they are completely different things.
(Unless you are talking about an hybrid drive)

It really depends on what you do.
Do you need more RAM for your work? Then get it.
Do you need protection when you carry it around? Get the sleeve.
Do you want privacy, get a privacy screen.

I would personally go for the SSD since it changes whole lot in your Mac.
If you have the base model, all you got is a 5400rpm drive which is ancient.
Get the SSD and you would have faster boot up, faster application start up, more R/W.
 
Hi friends,

Thanks for the replies.

Do you know of any good online source for RAM and a SSD?

I was also looking for a good keyboard protector?

Thanks,
Andy
 
hulahoop said:
Hi friends,

Thanks for the replies.

Do you know of any good online source for RAM and a SSD?

I was also looking for a good keyboard protector?

Thanks,
Andy
Click to expand...

I got my 16GB RAM (2x8) on Amazon for around $70, and I bought a 120GB SSD + Caddy to replace the DVD drive on the OWC website for $170, although you can probably find cheaper ones elsewhere
As for keyboard protectors, I wouldn't recommend it. I had a nice rubber one, but noticed that it left a permanent imprint of the keys on my screen :(
 
I am big on putting in as much RAM as possible. That said, I have found 16gb of RAM for $80 or less on Amazon. I have the same computer as you, and for me, I wanted maximum storage space because I have a large iTunes library, so I upgraded to a 1.5TB hard drive. I purchased it for $139 from OWC. The web site is macsales.com, I believe. A very easy upgrade and not too expensive. You can purchase a hard drive upgrade kit from them for $149 or so which would include an enclosure for your old drive to turn it into an external. Those two together will put you out less than $250 and give you better specs than anything Apple sells. If you really want to trick it out, you could replace your optical bay with an SSD. Clone your current hard drive to the SSD, so your operating system and apps are on that so you get the fast boot up and increased performance speed and use the HD for the large capacity storage (like music, films, photos). I imagine if you were using the SSD for operating system and apps, it wouldn't need to be too big and wouldn't be too over the top in cost. I haven't yet made that upgrade myself; I can't decide if I'm ready to be without the optical drive. Also, I want to learn more about SSDs and what size I'd need.
 
hulahoop said:
Hi friends,

Thanks for the replies.

Do you know of any good online source for RAM and a SSD?

I was also looking for a good keyboard protector?

Thanks,
Andy
Click to expand...

Go for OCZ Vertex 4. One of the fastest drives out there.
Also get 256GB and above since all 64GB and 128GB has the slowest of all drives.
For RAM 8GB or 16GB, go for Corsair. Had them for years and never had a problem.
 
I had an extra Crucial M4 SSD that I replaced the standard 500GB HDD with, and that was a huge improvement. I also replaced the 4GB RAM with 16GB. I have been using it for everything up to editing video in Adobe CS5.5, and so far, I've been very pleased.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but, if I were to put an SSD in, any recommendations on size? Cost is a concern for me. I'm thinking that I would put my OS and applications on it and store my media on the HD. I don't want to get a huge one (couldn't afford it anyway) but I don't want it to be so small that it's overloaded and I don't get the performance boost as that would be the only reason I would buy one.
 
dellavoce said:
Not to hijack this thread, but, if I were to put an SSD in, any recommendations on size? Cost is a concern for me. I'm thinking that I would put my OS and applications on it and store my media on the HD. I don't want to get a huge one (couldn't afford it anyway) but I don't want it to be so small that it's overloaded and I don't get the performance boost as that would be the only reason I would buy one.
Click to expand...

Don't go 64GB - too small. Get at least a 128GB, 256GB drives are only $150 (on sale) now.
 
I was thinking 128, but I read that for some reason the 256 were better performance-wise but I don't know why. If the 256 are $150, I would consider it, but I thought they were more. I still want to mull it over though. I'm not sure if I want to give up my optical drive.
 
SSD - Samsung 830 or 840 or 840 Pro offer the best performance

Make sure it's not the 64GB SSD. Those offer poor performance compared to other, larger SSDs. I would stay away from SandForce-based SSDs since they have all sorts of problems and Samsung makes a better one.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
SSD - Samsung 830 or 840 or 840 Pro offer the best performance

Make sure it's not the 64GB SSD. Those offer poor performance compared to other, larger SSDs. I would stay away from SandForce-based SSDs since they have all sorts of problems and Samsung makes a better one.
Click to expand...

Intel's SSD 525 or Transcend SSD320 & SSD720 must be reasonably good choices. They are based out on the newest Intel's customized firmware & have iSF controllers. I am getting SSD 525 next week and will share my actual reviews for sure.
 
I just bought the same MBP that the OP purchased. My only concern with getting the ssd's were life expectancy. Do you think it's possible to get 4+ years out of them yet?
 
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