Macbook Pro 5,5 from 2009 add RAM?

[jvaska]

Hello folks:

I have a Macbook Pro 5,5 series (2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo) from 2009 and it seems a bit wobbly with OS X 10.8 - it's slow and hangs frequently.

I only have 2GB of RAM! I was thinking of upgrading the RAM but I wonder if it will be worth it - I can go as high as 8GB.

I'm planning to buy a new machine in 90 days or so when new ones ship - this laptop will go to a relative or I'll sell it to a friend - I want it to work well for them (the expense of the RAM isn't the issue).

Thanks for any thoughts on this...

 

[GGJstudios]

Hello folks:

I have a Macbook Pro 5,5 series (2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo) from 2009 and it seems a bit wobbly with OS X 10.8 - it's slow and hangs frequently.

I only have 2GB of RAM! I was thinking of upgrading the RAM but I wonder if it will be worth it - I can go as high as 8GB.

To determine if you can benefit from more RAM, launch Activity Monitor and click the System Memory tab at the bottom to check your page outs. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and track page outs under your normal workload (the apps, browser pages and documents you normally would have open). If your page outs are significant (say 1GB or more) under normal use, you may benefit from more RAM. If your page outs are zero or very low during normal use, you probably won't see any performance improvement from adding RAM.

Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used

If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Performance Tips For Mac OS X​

 

[chschn87]

Hello!

I have the same exact computer. I too only have 2GB, and recently ordered 8GB to beef up my system. I haven't received it yet so I can not tell you the performance increase, but everything I have read leads me to believe it is a very cost-friendly upgrade with outstanding results.

 

[jvaska]

Fantastic advice guys...this is giving me hope.

I'll try out the 'page-out' thing immediately.

 

[jvaska]

Wow, 2.82 gigs in page-outs. More RAM, please.

 

[jvaska]

Following up...

Just installed my RAM and SSD and it is like a new computer - and really fast. I think my startup time is only a third of what it used to be. I have no page-outs with general use of my machine.

I can start using gestures and Launchpad and Mission Control, too.

If you are considering this kind of upgrade you won't be disappointed. I bought all my stuff from OWC...