Macbook Pro 2010 upgrade questions

[ratzzo]

Hi all,

I bought a MacBook Pro 15 (i5) on February before the 2011 refresh because I really needed one at the time. I still haven't done any upgrades to it and though it seems to run very fast 'as is', I'd like to increase what I can.

I was thinking to increase to 8 GB RAM, is 1067MHz the maximum bandwidth allowed by this model? What RAM brand and type do you suggest, with links if possible?

And secondly, regarding the HDD. I'd like to install a 7200 RPM one, but once again I feel like I should ask around here which one is a good drive for this computer. I don't really have a need for a SSD. And when I do replace this one, can I keep the current as an external for backup.. if that's even possible? If so, what cable/adapter allows me to do this?

Obviously, the new hard drive to come needs to have OS X installed onto it, I'm guessing that at boot, the computer realizes that and asks you to insert the disk and whatnot?

I'm usually not this clumsy around computers, I even built my own once, but it was a PC and those are much easier to deal with in terms of hardware (in my opinion). Thanks in advance for your insight,

James

 

[Queen of Spades]

Hi all,

I bought a MacBook Pro 15 (i5) on February before the 2011 refresh because I really needed one at the time. I still haven't done any upgrades to it and though it seems to run very fast 'as is', I'd like to increase what I can.

I was thinking to increase to 8 GB RAM, is 1067MHz the maximum bandwidth allowed by this model? What RAM brand and type do you suggest, with links if possible?

And secondly, regarding the HDD. I'd like to install a 7200 RPM one, but once again I feel like I should ask around here which one is a good drive for this computer. I don't really have a need for a SSD. And when I do replace this one, can I keep the current as an external for backup.. if that's even possible? If so, what cable/adapter allows me to do this?

Obviously, the new hard drive to come needs to have OS X installed onto it, I'm guessing that at boot, the computer realizes that and asks you to insert the disk and whatnot?

I'm usually not this clumsy around computers, I even built my own once, but it was a PC and those are much easier to deal with in terms of hardware (in my opinion). Thanks in advance for your insight,

James

1) Yes, the RAM speed for that model is 1067, so stick with that. A lot of people on this forum go for the crucial RAM, but as long as its PC8500 1067 DDR3, it will work. Stay with well-known brands like Crucial, Kingston, G.Skill.

2) I'm a fan of the Scorpio Black 7200RPM drives. Here's a link to the 500GB, you can see it's got 5-eggs and lots of stellar reviews.

3) All you need to reuse your old drive is a 2.5" hard drive enclosure. You can find them cheaply on newegg. Just pick one with decent reviews, and insert your old laptop drive. Format it with disk utility, and you'll be all set to start using it as an external drive in whatever way you see fit.

4) Once you've installed your new HDD into your MacBook Pro, you just put in your install disc and hold down "option" while it's starting up. That will give you the choice of booting from the install disc. Use disk utility to format your new hard drive (with GUID partition), then install Snow Leopard to the newly formatted drive. After that you can import your Time Machine backup, or start fresh if you prefer.

If you still need some guidance, there are youtube videos that will take you through the process step-by-step, but it's pretty easy.

 

[alust2013]

I believe you can use 1333MHz RAM in your model as well, but there isn't a whole lot of benefit. OWC and crucial are always good brands for that. Typically anything that you find on a reputable site is good stuff. Also be sure not to get sucked into buying "Mac compatible" memory, it's all the same stuff, just with a bigger price tag.

As for the HDD, I've got a WD Scorpio Black which is 7200 RPM. I would recommend it for an upgrade, and you can get it up to 750GB. It actually runs cooler than the 5400 RPM drive I had stock, and has had no ill effects on battery life, and it's plenty smooth and quiet. To use the old drive as an external, you'll just need a 2.5" SATA enclosure. Pop the old drive in, and it works just like a drive that you would buy as an external.

To install OS X, you will want to hold option before the white screen, and put in the install disk. It will give you the option to boot from the disk, where you can format the new hard drive to HFS+, and then install. You can hook up the old hard drive, and use migration assistant in the setup process to get the data off of it if you like.

Haha, got beat with the exact same answers by 10 secs.

 

[ratzzo]

Thanks guys, really detailed answers. However I'm still left with a question-- 1333MHz or 1067? Cheers again

 

[ZombieZakk]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Go with the 1066 as the 1333 will work but it will run at 1066.

On OWC's sote you can buy a diy driveupgrade kit and tools which comes with an external enclosure so u can use carbon copy cloner prior to installing the drive and then wipe the old drive and use it in the external enclosure. They also sell ram there.

I too will be doing this to my macbook pro im going with either crucial or owc's brand it seems to get good reviews. And im too am in favor of the wd scorpio black im going to be order a 750gb one soon.

Ps. Sry for the spelling errors on my iphone lol.

 

[Naimfan]

Thanks guys, really detailed answers. However I'm still left with a question-- 1333MHz or 1067? Cheers again

Actually, I use and would suggest 1333 MHz RAM. I got it for two reasons: First, it was less expensive than 1067 MHz. Second, it will work in a new MBP if I decide to get one.

Re the hard drive--I went with a Hitachi 500 GB 7200 RPM. I'm one of those who are very sensitive to vibration, and the Scorpio Black vibrated the entire computer WAY too much for me.