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MBP 13' Late 2011

sf_loureiro

sf_loureiro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 22, 2017
9
0
Lisbon
Hey guys,

I want to improve my MBP 13' Late 2011, win order to upgrade the performance and/or expand his life wich option should I choose:

1 - Upgrade to SSD? (any suggestions?)
2 - Upgrade the RAM (any suggestions?)

Both disc and memory are the original ones.

Thanks.

Regards.
 
Upgrade both.
I have the same machine, I put 8GB Ram in, put an SSD in and took the optical drive out and put a !TB drive in for extra storage. Will do me for a good few more years.
 
I would update the SSD first. It will will feel like a new machine. Boot quick and program will launch in 1-2 seconds.

Only if you need the memory space update the memory. And if you do upgrade the memory, spend a few extra Euros and go with 16GB.

Enjoy your revitalized 2011 MBP!
 
sf_loureiro said:
Why you think that upgrading the for SSD first is better?
Click to expand...

SSD will make the biggest performance difference. It's pretty much the best upgrade you can do on any computer. RAM would really only benefit multitasking but even so, macOS's memory management is so good that you likely won't see much of a difference.

The bottleneck is the 5400RPM drive. Even if the system is low on RAM and pages to the disk when you use it normally, the performance impact would be neglible with an SSD due to the high read/write speeds and instant seek times.

TL;DR: pick SSD over RAM if you're only looking to upgrade one. Upgrade both at the same time if you can.
 
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I have a 2011 13". You want an SSD. If you have 4 GB, dropping 8 GB wouldn't hurt anything. If you don't specifically know you need 16 GB of RAM, you don't need 16 GB of ram.

An SSD will make the machine snappier, and maybe even pull a few extra minutes of battery life from it. Programs will open quick.. generally instantly. Reboots will take no time.
 
xb2003 said:
I have a 2011 13". You want an SSD. If you have 4 GB, dropping 8 GB wouldn't hurt anything. If you don't specifically know you need 16 GB of RAM, you don't need 16 GB of ram.

An SSD will make the machine snappier, and maybe even pull a few extra minutes of battery life from it. Programs will open quick.. generally instantly. Reboots will take no time.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your feedback, any suggestion for an SSD?
 
Samsung 850 EVOs are great, PROs are even better (but probably not worth it). Intel makes good drives. I put a Crucial MX300 in my 2011 and couldn't be happier with it. I gave it a shot because I got it really cheap, but many will say stick with Samsung or Intel.
 
I would get the MX300 or Samsung 850 EVO. Both are good quality. DO NOT get the MX200. Very slow.

FWIW, I almost always use Samsung EVO or Pro series drives, but that is a matter or preference vs. anything being wrong with other drives.
 
I would recommend the Transcend 370 MLC, Samsung 850 PRO, or SanDisk Extreme Pro, if the budget permits.

jerryk said:
I would get the MX300 or Samsung 850 EVO. Both are good quality. DO NOT get the MX200. Very slow.

FWIW, I almost always use Samsung EVO or Pro series drives, but that is a matter or preference vs. anything being wrong with other drives.
Click to expand...

The MX200 is a better drive than the MX300, IMO.
 
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jerryk said:
Darn. I got the model wrong. I was thinking about the Corsair BX200. Very slow. Not much faster than a rotational drive in real use.
Click to expand...

The MX300 appears to be a very fine product, and like the 850 Evo, I imagine it will go on to defy the expectations of 3-bit cells with the use of 3D TLC NAND, but the MX200 was Micron 2D, 2-bit MLC. I wish Crucial still offered a MLC product like Samsung does with the 850 Pro.
 
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