Macbook Pro Mid 2007 Upgrades

[Ariwestwood]

Hello, I am looking to upgrade my Mid 2007 macbook pro to the best of it's capabilities and I am looking if I can still get a couple of years out of it or If I should get a new one.

It has:
-2.53 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
-4 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3
-NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
-250 GB SATA Disk

My Superdrive has stopped working and my battery is asking to be replaced now.

Some ideas I have would be to upgrade ram to 8, change to an ssd and change my superdrive with a possibly larger non SSD hardrive instead of having the non working superdrive.

Please let me know what you think the best thing would be to do.

 

[Plerf]

What's your budget?

 

[jukebox1298]

I have the same model

and tried to boost RAM to 8 GB. Big mistake. Machine recognized it, and booted, but performance took a nose dive, and it was unstable at best. Backed RAM down to 6 GB, and it works like a charm now. Am planning to add a SSD and move the original HDD (500 GB) to the Super Drive bay and create a Fusion drive. I'm sure the next release of OS X is probably going to drop support for this machine, but updates for the current version should still be available for a couple of years forward.

 

[Ariwestwood]

I want to spend about 1400 usd on either upgrading my computer or buying a new one.

The problem is that I don't want to buy something brand new if it is going to be basic but new.

 

[hamiltonDSi]

I don't want to be rude, but you don't know what Mac you have.

The Nvidia GeForce 9400M was introduced in 2008 and it was first shipped in the Late 2008 Macbook Pro. Same for DDR3 memory, it was first shipped on Macs in 2008.

There is no way your Mac is from 2007 with those specs.

 

[snaky69]

I don't want to be rude, but you don't know what Mac you have.

The Nvidia GeForce 9400M was introduced in 2008 and it was first shipped in the Late 2008 Macbook Pro. Same for DDR3 memory, it was first shipped on Macs in 2008.

There is no way your Mac is from 2007 with those specs.

I was going to say that.

OP, either you got the year wrong or the specs wrong, but there is no way this is a 2007 MBP.

If you do have a 2007 MBP and not a late 2008, then you can't upgrade to 8GB as the motherboard will only recognize up to 6GB (2+4). You are also limited to SATA I speeds, so getting a SSD, while an upgrade in itself, won't be much of one.

 

[Badrottie]

I had a 2007 MBP with C2D 2.2GHz (I think) I just added Intel 320 Series 160GB SSD($100 off eBay). It feels like it is new. It already have 4GB so I don;t think it can upgrade to 8GB.

 

[Freyqq]

I want to spend about 1400 usd on either upgrading my computer or buying a new one.

The problem is that I don't want to buy something brand new if it is going to be basic but new.

You would be way better off getting a macbook air or retina macbook pro

 

[raptor402]

I want to spend about 1400 usd on either upgrading my computer or buying a new one.

The problem is that I don't want to buy something brand new if it is going to be basic but new.

If you have $1400 to spend, go ahead and buy a 13" rMBP. You can go with the following specs:

2.4GHz Core i5 Processor; 8GB RAM; 256GB SSD.

That should cost you $1499. It's available on Amazon for $1429.

That machine might seem to be the base model but at this point, the increment in upgrading the CPU is quite minor. If you really want the best deal, Amazon is selling the 13" rMBP with 2.6GHz / 8GB / 512GB for $1599 ($200 off).

You can spend money on your laptop but the value will be far less than that of a new laptop.

Best of luck
Raptor

EDIT: As suggested above, you can also go for a 13" Macbook Air with the i7 processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. That'll cost you $1449 on the Apple store. However, the 13" rMBP will be of a far, far greater value.

 

[Naimfan]

It looks like a typo to me - the specs line up with the base Mid-2009 MBP, though I don't remember the drive size - I thought it came with a 320 GB.

OP - if you don't mind going down to a 13" MBP, the 2.4/8/256 is a good machine. I prefer the 15" screen, so I'd encourage you to either save some more or expand your budget and to get a refurb 15" rMBP. They start at $1599 for the 2.3/8/256/nvidia650 and are far more capable, offering quad core CPUs, discrete graphics (until the current base 15"), and more screen space.

You can update a Mid-2009 and improve on it, but with your budget I think you're better served with a newer one (which will also have warranty).

 

[ohbrilliance]

The 13" rMBP should make an excellent upgrade. Smaller screen but you can configure it to match the 1440 of your MBP, or even go up to 1680 to gain greater real estate. I made the transition from a 2007 15" MBP to a 2013 13" rMBP, which I run at 1680, and couldn't be happier.

 

[mbh]

You are also limited to SATA I speeds, so getting a SSD, while an upgrade in itself, won't be much of one.

I updated a Mid 2007 MBP with an SSD and it makes a big difference even though it's limited to SATA I speeds. The throughput may not be as high as SATA III, but you're going to max out that SATA I which the original drive may not. Also, and possibly most important, the random access performance is dramatically better than the HD.

 

[Ariwestwood]

It is a mid 2009 my apologies

I have a mid 2009, my apologies.

It seems like the best idea would be to buy a refurbished 15" rMBP. Especially for the extra screen space.

Let me know if someone thinks I can still upgrade my Mid-2009 13 MBP till a point worth keeping or If I should just buy the newer 15".

 

[PatrickVogeli]

$1400??? Any new macbook will have much better specs than yours, just get a new one

 

[raptor402]

I have a mid 2009, my apologies.

It seems like the best idea would be to buy a refurbished 15" rMBP. Especially for the extra screen space.

Let me know if someone thinks I can still upgrade my Mid-2009 13 MBP till a point worth keeping or If I should just buy the newer 15".

Hi,

I realised that I have a (slightly broken) mid-2009 White MacBook. It's the same as yours but with a slower processor (2.13GHz). I think that the only reason to upgrade it would be to save money. You can easily get away with a major speed for around $180 (240GB SSD + 8GB RAM). Anything beyond that would just be a waste of money.

Raptor