Mid 2009 MacBook - upgrade or replace?

[brandonb22]

Hi there-

My wife is using a mid-2009 MacBook (bought it right before the Pros came out). I've upgraded the RAM to 8GB and it has a 750GB WD Black 7200rpm HD that just went bad. I'm hoping WD will replace it as it's less than 2 years old, but we'll see. Overall, the computer has been pretty sluggish. She's a food blogger and takes 1000s of pictures a week. As a result, we've been using an external HD to store the photos and backing that up via Crashplan.

Three options:
- Continue as is with current MacBook and replaced WD HD
- Continue with current MacBook but update drive to SSD
- Buy a new MacBook (would like to wait for new release, but not sure when that will be)

Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[niteflyr]

Nothing adds life to an older laptop like an SSD. Everything seems much faster.

New MBP models just came out late last year. Don't expect any major upgrades for a while.

 

[ecschwarz]

I'd get them to replace the drive under warranty and use it with an external enclosure for that Mac or others and then get an SSD. The Samsung 840 and slightly newer/faster 840 Evo should be excellent in that machine. That machine has plenty of RAM (and probably CPU horsepower) to run OS X Mavericks quite nicely. Those early unibody MacBooks/MacBook Pros still are quite capable.

Just out of curiosity, what CPU does it have?

 

[glenthompson]

If you're not pushing the CPU or memory then a SSD will make it seem better than new. The main reason I got rid of my old MBP was the memory limitations. It could only handle 3gb and that wasn't enough for what I was doing. If it could have handled 8gb I might still have it - miss that 17" screen.

 

[brandonb22]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! Looks like I'll do the SSD.

Next question is on external storage then. What is the simplest way to have a network drive hold all of our iphoto libraries on it? (That we can also backup to Crashplan). I'd like to avoid the complexity (and cost) of a Synology type system. Can you just get an external hard drive with network capabilities to plug into my router?

Thanks!

 

[Clubber]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! Looks like I'll do the SSD.

Next question is on external storage then. What is the simplest way to have a network drive hold all of our iphoto libraries on it? (That we can also backup to Crashplan). I'd like to avoid the complexity (and cost) of a Synology type system. Can you just get an external hard drive with network capabilities to plug into my router?

Thanks!

Yes. Check NewEgg for NAS. It stands for Network Attached Storage.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! Looks like I'll do the SSD.

Next question is on external storage then. What is the simplest way to have a network drive hold all of our iphoto libraries on it? (That we can also backup to Crashplan). I'd like to avoid the complexity (and cost) of a Synology type system. Can you just get an external hard drive with network capabilities to plug into my router?

Thanks!

WD has some options, or you could consider an Apple Time Capsule.

Lucky you still have a functioning mid-2009 macbook! I have the 13" MBP, and it likes to chew up hard drive cables. Fair warning to be careful when replacing the drive or order a replacement cable from Amazon!

 

[brandonb22]

I've been reading quite a bit about NAS. If I went a more complex route, is go with a synology. What I'm wondering is if there is a simpler way for external storage over the network? Can I just get a single external hard drive with a on ethernet port and connect it to the router and access it via our MB?

Don't care for the Time Capsule due to the integrated nature. (Would do AirPort Extreme and separate HDD)

Thanks!

 

[Clubber]

I've been reading quite a bit about NAS. If I went a more complex route, is go with a synology. What I'm wondering is if there is a simpler way for external storage over the network? Can I just get a single external hard drive with a on ethernet port and connect it to the router and access it via our MB?

Don't care for the Time Capsule due to the integrated nature. (Would do AirPort Extreme and separate HDD)

Thanks!

That's essentially what a NAS is, a hard drive with a network port. It has an operating system and all, but the complexities are hidden. Everything is configurable through a browser. They come in single drive units.

 

[brandonb22]

What's considered the most user friendly / invisible to the user?