MacBook Pro upgrade (SSD+RAM)

[kristoffers4]

Hi,

I have a 15" MBP (early 2011) with the standard 2.0GHz core i7, 4GB 1333MHz DDR RAM and a 500GB 5000rpm HDD. Now I want to do some upgrades, to make it faster, I have noticed that the HDD really is the slowest factor, especially when booting and starting programs. So I want to install a third-party SSD, but I don't want to sacrifice the 500GB of storage. Because I really don't need the optical drive, I'm planning to buy an optibay mount, and mount a OCZ Vertex 2 (120GB) in there. But I've got a couple of questions: Is it a good idea to put the SSD in the optical bay? Or should I switch it with my internal HDD? Will this installation have any influence on battery life? (positive or negative) And is the OCZ Vertex a good SSD and is it compatible with Mac OS X? (I'm running Lion DP4 atm)
I've also been thinking about upgrading the RAM, but I'd like to buy only one 4GB SO-DIMM but is it possible to have two different RAMs in one machine? A 2GB from Apple and a 4GB from a third-party manufacturer?

Will there be a significant improvement of performance after upgrading my MBP?

 

[nickcao]

you really should put your ssd in the optical bay, if u only plain to use SATA II drivers.

 

[alust2013]

I'd recommend the SSD in the hard drive bay, as sometimes having the boot drive in the optical bay can cause issues with sleeping. RAM, you can put the 4 and 2GB sticks together, and it will work fine.

 

[Orlandoech]

why on earth would you not want 8GB ram over 6GB ram for not much more $ ?

Yes the OCZ vertex 2 or 3 is mac compatible.

 

[kristoffers4]

why on earth would you not want 8GB ram over 6GB ram for not much more $ ?

Yes the OCZ vertex 2 or 3 is mac compatible.

Do I really need 8GB? I'm not a huge video editor or something, the only thing I noticed is that the RAM sometimes reaches its maximum, I think I'll have enough with 6GB, if I come short I could buy another 4GB but if it's not necessary its 40 euros that I can spend on something else.

 

[sunnyj]

Do I really need 8GB? I'm not a huge video editor or something, the only thing I noticed is that the RAM sometimes reaches its maximum, I think I'll have enough with 6GB, if I come short I could buy another 4GB but if it's not necessary its 40 euros that I can spend on something else.

4GB ram is plenty for the average user.

 

[kristoffers4]

Oh and will the SSD be silent? Because I can always hear the HDD spinning...

 

[2hvy4grvty]

8 GB is overkill, and should be for the next four years for everyone but the most extreme editors. Gaming shouldn't benefit from 8 GB at all, especially not from a MBP 13 perspective. You're not going to be able to support textures at "high resolutions" from any perspective.

SSD should be quiet... can you hear your USB drives?

 

[x-kid]

The SSD should be silent. Now that my optical drive is gone the only thing i hear are my fans and my 750 GB hard drive when it's being accessed. Both of which aren't to loud.

 

[kristoffers4]

@ x-kid: Is there a reason why you have put your SSD in the hd bay and the HDD in the optical bay?

 

[x-kid]

yeah because my 13" macbook right when the early 2011 were released. so it only has a sata 3 connection in the hd bay. The optical bay is sata 2. so i put my wd black drive in there since it is sata 2.

 

[RainCityMacFan]

OCZ drives are having serious issues right now. I'm not sure if it affects Macs but there are horrible firmware problems at the moment.

Go buy yourself an Intel drive or a Corsair/OWC drive instead. Even if those companies have trouble with their drives, at least they care about their customers enough to immediately correct the mistake.

Only drive that I heard were TRULY reliable were the OWCs and Intel 320s. Both offer five year warranties and I haven't heard much complaints about them on the forums.