MBP Early 2011 upgrade & Wait or new rMB or rMBP

[jmikhail490]

Hello and good afternoon to everyone!

I am currently in a dilemma (A great problem to have I'm guessing although it is frustrating lol)

I currently have an Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15'

Processor - 2 GHz Inter Core i7
RAM - 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
Storage - 500GB SATA Disk (217 used)
Graphics - Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
System - Currently running 10.10.3

About 6 days ago I purchased the 1599$ Retina Macbook 12'

Processor - 1.2 GHz Core M Processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.6 GHz)
RAM - 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 Memory
Storage - 512 GB PCIe Storage
Graphics - Intel HD Graphics 5300
System - 10.10.5


Sp my dilemma is that after reading so many threads abut the upcoming rMBP's and rMB's with Skylake and new design many be for rMBP's I want to see if anyone thinks if I should upgrade the 15' to make it usable or stick with the rMB that I just purchased seeing that I still have another 8 days to decide if id like to keep it or not.

Now, the problem is like I mentioned above, the 15' 2011 MBP that i have now is so so slow that it is unbearable and I know that is because its old and has only 4gb of ram and an old hard drive that is almost half full. So I figured I could get some good opinions here seeing that this is Macrumors and usually the forums here have never failed to help me make the correct smart decision.

I am choosing between the rMB and the 13' rMBP because I absolutely want retina after seeing the new rMB screen for 6 days the 2011 MBP 15' screen looks like it is from the 50's and its hard to look at even though I would sacrifice using it if the smart thing to do is wait.

I want to know if anyone can direct me with how to upgrade the 15' MBP and with what exactly to make it run as fast as I can make it run as Cost effectively as possible seeing that Ill be upgrading in a few months anyways if i do decide to wait for the new round of machines. I don't care about anything on the Laptop and I can just back it up now to an external hard drive and delete everything on it as well. But i don't think just doing that will help this thing at this point. It absolutely needs upgrades.

If the new rMBP is redesigned and skyline helps even 10% and its a little more portable I would definitely wait IF, and only IF, its possible to make the 2011 MBP fast enough to keep me going. I don't know what to use to upgrade or how to do it but if I am pointed in the right direction by others who have done so and can stand by their products I would gladly do it on my own and buy new hardware for it.

My uses are not heavy photo or video editing but I would like to have a little extra power because I do use it for my 2 business for inventory and Invoiced on quickbooks and I ay start using Filemaker or a new Inventory and Invoice system soon if the computer can handle it. So i need something reliable as all of my business info will be on this machine and I go from Home to my first place of work until 3 then to the next place until about 10PM so it needs to be portable as well (the 2015 rMBP 13' to me is considered portable enough and I would not mind carrying it to both locations everyday if need be)

Sooooooooo..................

Upgrade the RAM and Hard Drive on the 2011 15; MBP or..................

Keep the rMB i purchased 6 days ago which hasn't been slow at all and is fulfilling my needs (The future of it scared me though and if it will still be powerful enough year or two down the line) or..................

Exchange the rMB for the new 13' rMBP with 256 GB Hard Drive and call it a day.

If the 2011 can be upgraded at a fair price and work fast enough again I wouldn't mind it for a few Months.



Thank you all for your help!!!


ps.

(included 2 photos of my 2 macs and my Apple Watch SS just for s***'s and giggles and to show how crazy the difference is in size haha)



If TL;DR

Should I

- upgrade my 2011 15'MBP 2 GHz intel core i7 4gb ram 500gb SATA hard drive with new RAM and a new Hard Drive I can just backup whats on it now and delete, and wait for the new Skylake processors in either the new rMB or the new rMBP 13'

or - Keep rMB i just purchased upper level specs 1.2GHz 8gb ram 512 PCIe hard drive

or - Exchange rMB for new rMBP 13' 256 Hard drive option

Uses: 2 Business one which i use excel for formulas and cosmetic formulations and the other which i use quickbooks for inventory and invoices and will start to use filemaker although Ive never used it and don't know if any computer can run it or if it needs more power than the rMB i just bought 6 days ago.

So i have 7-8 more days in my return or exchange period to decide what to do. I love the keyboard on the rMB and the screen and portability but the 13' rMBP is not too heavy for me and I don't mind using it

THANKS GUYS!!!

 

[Spink10]

The fact you are questioning your purchase my be a good idea to use your 15 days and return and then take time ti evaluate if you want to repurchase and keep. Hopefully the drive to return isn't a long distance.

Your HDD is what is slowing your down. If you can get away with 256GB of storage a 256GB SSD will cost you $90 or less. And will basically transform your computer. You probably don't even need to upgrade RAM with the task you described.

Its possible Skylake comes out this fall/early winter - but I think a slightly higher percentage change it comes in early 2016.

How to install SSD - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/5895

 

[jmikhail490]

The fact you are questioning your purchase my be a good idea to use your 15 days and return and then take time ti evaluate if you want to repurchase and keep. Hopefully the drive to return isn't a long distance.

Your HDD is what is slowing your down. If you can get away with 256GB of storage a 256GB SSD will cost you $90 or less. And will basically transform your computer. You probably don't even need to upgrade RAM with the task you described.

Its possible Skylake comes out this fall/early winter - but I think a slightly higher percentage change it comes in early 2016.

How to install SSD - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/5895

Thank you very much for your advice. The drive is only 10 minutes away so Ill still debating for the the next few days what to do and yes 256 is more than enough for me I only went with the 512GB model of the new rMB because of the amazing 0.1 increase in the core M processor lol but obviously I could have done without so Im still unsure.

Do you know anything about Filemaker for keeping inventory and Invoiced for my business. I have a meeting with my local apple stores business team this Wed to discuss options for me and my retail store for inventory, shipping, payments and invoices programs. hopefully they have something that can do all of them kind of like quickbooks but better and that doesn't need a lot of CPU and RAM because I would love to be able to still use the new rMB because of the ease of portability and the keyboard.

Thanks again!!

also do you know if the business program they have gives you deals on computers and other hardware and software? first time I'm signing up with them is wed

 

[Spink10]

I don't have any info on those questions. Hopefully a forum member who does views this thread.

 

[Fthree]

such a jump- going from a 15 to the 12. Is portability a major concern?

 

[jmikhail490]

such a jump- going from a 15 to the 12. Is portability a major concern?

Portability is not a major concern I just absolutely loved the keyboard and how small it was but to me the 13' rMBP is more than adequate and portable enough for me.

I am more concerned with having something good for inventory and invoices and what i stated above and making sure its reliable enough for a business.

 

[Fthree]

you will love the 13. I have both a 15 and 13 and feel that typing on the 13 is better than the 15

 

[jmikhail490]

you will love the 13. I have both a 15 and 13 and feel that typing on the 13 is better than the 15

Yes i actually agree with you. The keyboard on the 13' rMBP is great for me I love it. Its just that the new rMB keyboard is amazing for me Ive gotten so used to it and love how it types but I'm sure I can adjust back easily if more people think I would need the rMBP's power over portability for my stated uses.

Thanks!!!

 

[Spink10]

Does the program you are referring to have a forum that you can ask fellow users?

 

[jmikhail490]

Does the program you are referring to have a forum that you can ask fellow users?

Thats a great question and I'm hoping someone else can answer because I have no idea lol