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Massive upgrade to 13" MBP: Suggestions?

T

thisisapromise

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
22
0
Chicago
I have a baseline 13" MacBook Pro from mid-2009.
By "baseline," I mean that I have 2gb RAM, a 160gb 5400rpm HDD, and a 2.26ghz Intel Core2 Duo processor.
I'm looking to jump to 8gb RAM and add a 1tb 5200rpm HDD.
I know that both are possible, but I was just wondering if it was a wise choice to do such drastic changes?
I'm a pretty intelligent and computer savvy guy, but this will be my biggest overhaul without simply building the machine from scratch, so I am just trying to make sure I can get a decent consensus about how my favorite community feels about the project. :apple:
(And to those observant individuals, the MBP I am working on isn't the one listed in my signature.):cool:
 
Not really that big of an upgrade; just RAM and an HDD. Don't think there are any 1TB 7200RPM drives that would fit in an MBP (I've heard the 1TB WD drive fits, but thats 5400).
 
8gb is almost certainly a waste of cash. It will run you close to $300. I personally use my mac for software development, video and audio encoding, virtual machines, and (in general) I do pretty serious multitasking. 4gb has been quite sufficient.
 
8gb isn't outrageous, just find a good deal on them $200~

you should go with a low capacity HDD unless you want to be restricted by choices
 
8GB definitely isn't outrageous if you're doing creative work; especially big Photoshop images, those can eat up 8GB in no time.
 
moral-hazard said:
8gb is almost certainly a waste of cash. It will run you close to $300. I personally use my mac for software development, video and audio encoding, virtual machines, and (in general) I do pretty serious multitasking. 4gb has been quite sufficient.
Click to expand...

While it IS pricey, these upgrades are a LOT cheaper than the idea of buying a brand new MBP that is dedicated to just one function (my music).
I was very seriously considering buying a new one, but then I saw that for less than $500, I can optimize what I have and not have to worry about accidentally confusing which MBP is which!
(I already have 2 atm and it's rough enough to differentiate at times)
 
aeboi said:
save a little dough and buy some g skill or mushkin ram
same timings
Click to expand...

The G Skill kit is going for like $230-ish, which is better than my first choice.
But the Mushkin is even more expensive than the OWC kit.
Thank you so much for the suggestions though!
 
Are you looking into replacing your SSD with the 1TB hard drive, or supplement it? I can't see how anyone who has used SSD would want to return to using a regular hard drive.
 
I have exactly the same computer that you have, i would go for the ram if you have the money, here 4GB Chips are still 200$ so i can't really afford to do the 8GB Jump

I will/would instead get just one 4GB Chip and have a 4+1 Config till they get cheaper and get a 7200RPM one with 500GB instead of a 1TB with 5400RPM, i think both exist, In my case 160GB is kind of enough as a secondary machine that can do primary stuff, but if i wanted to store more stuff like HD Video Podcasts or many highres pics i would upgrade to a bigger HDD
If you have the money even get a SSD, however a 512GB SSD is 2k i think :rolleyes:
 
swapping the HDD and Ram in MBP sounded like a big deal before I did it.

After getting started, it's nothing more than loosening a few screws, then put everything back together. So, I highly recommend you do it!
 
moral-hazard said:
8gb is almost certainly a waste of cash. It will run you close to $300. I personally use my mac for software development, video and audio encoding, virtual machines, and (in general) I do pretty serious multitasking. 4gb has been quite sufficient.
Click to expand...


8gb of ram is about 200-220 now and very worth it.

any virtual machines an 8gb will make a significant difference.

a more serious upgrade is 8gb ram / 1tb optibay / 50 gb vertex 2 or intel 80gb ssd.
 
nineohtoo said:
Are you looking into replacing your SSD with the 1TB hard drive, or supplement it? I can't see how anyone who has used SSD would want to return to using a regular hard drive.
Click to expand...

As stated in my original post, the MBP I'm working on is NOT the one described in my signature.
I'm trying to make the new one my main computer where I make music and the old one with the SSD is going to be the one I take on me when I play shows. The only reason I'm not putting in another SSD is due to the fact that I don't have quite as much money as it would take to get the size I want.
But to be honest, I would've asked the same thing if I read someone else's post like this;)
 
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