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Max out my Pro.

F

fssykes44

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 20, 2013
11
0
Pittsboro, NC
Hello,

I have a mid-2009 13 " macbook pro that I have had for a while and ive decided to make some improvements to it. I thought originally about just buying a new mac, but there is really no reason. My computer is in phenomenal condition and runs just as fast as the day i bought it. I was wondering if i could get some advice from some people with experience building or just adding to their macs. I really want to do every improvement possible. So if you have any suggestions about what i should do to my macbook let me know. Ive already ordered 4 extra gigs of RAM to add to the 4 I have. Im pretty sure thats the max on this year pro. Hope to here from yall soon with more suggestions.

thanks,

Franky S.
 
Ahhh! Your Macbook comes with 4GB of memory in 2 x 2GB configuration from the factory. If you purchased a 4GB kit (i.e 2 x 2GB), you'll be in the same boat that you're in now. If you ordered a single 4GB stick, you'll have 6GB of memory and be stuck in single channel mode. Your best bet is to purchase an 8GB kit (i.e 2 x 4GB).

Like Mac.User said, SSD for sure. It'll do wonders for your computer. I just upgraded my sister's Macbook to an older Intel 320 160GB and it just flies. I can't imagine what it'd do with a SATA 3 drive like the Samsung 840 Pro.
 
StockDC2 said:
Ahhh! Your Macbook comes with 4GB of memory in 2 x 2GB configuration from the factory. If you purchased a 4GB kit (i.e 2 x 2GB), you'll be in the same boat that you're in now. If you ordered a single 4GB stick, you'll have 6GB of memory and be stuck in single channel mode. Your best bet is to purchase an 8GB kit (i.e 2 x 4GB).

Like Mac.User said, SSD for sure. It'll do wonders for your computer. I just upgraded my sister's Macbook to an older Intel 320 160GB and it just flies. I can't imagine what it'd do with a SATA 3 drive like the Samsung 840 Pro.
Click to expand...

Good looking out. I actually did buy the 8gb kit from crucial.com. Now as far as solid state drives go. Will going from the 250gb HD i have now to a 120gb SSD be beneficial or should i spend the extra money to get the 250gb SSD. The reason I ask is because i have a 1TB portable HD i have all my stuff stored on. So i dont really have much stored on my actual computer. Let me know what you think. thanks.
 
Know that SSDs in older models don't get the full speed because they have SATA II instead of SATA III like newer models. I've also heard it recommended that you replace the SATA cable whenever you replace the hard drive. It's pretty easy to do if you follow ifixit's instructions.

That said, congrats that your mid-2009 is still running! Mine is pretty much dead, so I'll be replacing it.
 
fssykes44 said:
Good looking out. I actually did buy the 8gb kit from crucial.com. Now as far as solid state drives go. Will going from the 250gb HD i have now to a 120gb SSD be beneficial or should i spend the extra money to get the 250gb SSD. The reason I ask is because i have a 1TB portable HD i have all my stuff stored on. So i dont really have much stored on my actual computer. Let me know what you think. thanks.
Click to expand...

If you don't need the space there is no reason to pay for a 240GB instead of a 120GB.
 
For SSD: You'll cap out at just under 300MB/sec, so you don't generally need to worry too much about the relative speeds of different SSDs as long as you get something decent (basically check the benchmarks to see if the drive in question can get up to around 300MB/sec). It's still going to be a huge upgrade; I just replaced the 500GB HDD in my 2010 MBP with a 250 GB SSD and the change is significant enough that the machine no longer feels old in day to day tasks. The reality of SSD performance is that once you experience it you'll never be able to go back to an HDD system drive.

Personally I'd recommend something in the 250 range simply because ~120 GB is incredibly easy to fill up, but my usage case may be very different (for example I need a Windows partition for bootcamp).

You can also consider adding a second drive in place of the optical drive, but I skipped on this because I was glad to be rid of a spinning physical drive that can potentially be damaged by impact.

If you're interested in improving thermal performance you can re-apply thermal paste to the heat sinks, however I do not recommend this if you are not familiar with the process (have built desktops before or something).
 
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I'd say sell it and get a 2013 MacBook Air (or even a 2012 one) ;) If you do it right, it will cost you not much more than RAM+SSD, but you will be getting a much faster computer with a warranty.
 
leman said:
I'd say sell it and get a 2013 MacBook Air (or even a 2012 one) ;) If you do it right, it will cost you not much more than RAM+SSD, but you will be getting a much faster computer with a warranty.
Click to expand...

Definitely something to consider. OP should be able to get $300-400 I would think. I can get $200 for the same model that doesn't boot.
 
Personally I'd recommend something in the 250 range simply because ~120 GB is incredibly easy to fill up, but my usage case may be very different (for example I need a Windows partition for bootcamp).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I literally do not store anything on my actual computer other programs, documents, and a little bit of music. All of my larger files like pictures, movies, etc...are stored on my portable hard drive. Would you say spending the 100 bucks for the 120gb SSD would be worth while just to help speed up everyday usage? Let me know what you think. Thanks.
 
you are going the right track with everything you mentioned.

8gb ram is good

and that 120 is more than enough for what you will be using it for. :)
 
Personally I'd only recommend Crucial or Intel (model with an Intel controller). They're by far the most reliable, and also do the best without TRIM, which OS X doesn't support without hacks.

Just stuck a 960GB Crucial M500 in my newest system :-D

Bear in mind though an SSD just speeds up boot time and program loads. Once stuff's in RAM it really doesn't help much, unlike a new CPU/GPU depending on what you're doing.
 
Wolfpup said:
Personally I'd only recommend Crucial or Intel (model with an Intel controller). They're by far the most reliable, and also do the best without TRIM, which OS X doesn't support without hacks.

Just stuck a 960GB Crucial M500 in my newest system :-D

Bear in mind though an SSD just speeds up boot time and program loads. Once stuff's in RAM it really doesn't help much, unlike a new CPU/GPU depending on what you're doing.
Click to expand...

Definitely going with the crucial. I feel like it would be worth the 100 bucks to have my computer start time improve and have programs running a little smoother. Cant wait to install this 8GB of RAM and get this thing rolling. thanks for the help.
 
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