Old Core 2 Duo MBP with SSD already blazing fast. Should I buy new MBP?

[katewes]

My old mid 2009 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo 15" 8GB RAM -- when fitted with an SSD, boots up:

(1) from chime to first appearance of dock, 12 seconds, and

(2) from Apple logo to first appearance of dock, in 10 seconds.

With such SSD speeds with the Core 2 Duo, I wonder whether selling and upgrading to a new 2.3GHz i7 8GB RAM, MacBook Pro with new SSD , is worth it for the speed gains.

As always, it depends on my usage: I'm in business, so the major app for me is Apple Mail-IMAP-Gmail, with a massively large database of emails. That has got to be ultra fast. Then it's web browsing and word processing. I rarely do Photoshop, and never do gaming or any graphics-intensive tasks.

I've browsed Youtube videos where people show startup times of MacBook Pro's with SSDs, ranging from 2.3GHz i7 to 2.6GHz i7. Most are faster and, surprisingly, one was slower.

But given my already-fast times of 10-12 seconds -- and that I don't do graphics-intensive stuff - I'm wondering if my daily working experience is really going to feel that much faster, to warrant spending big bucks on a new MBP with current processor and SSD.

With my budget, I can afford it, but I don't just want to spend the money if it's not going to make a massive difference. I'm surprised how well the old Core2Duo MBP with SSD is performing.

In the past, once a Mac reaches 3-4 year old it's well due for upgrade, but with the SSD in the Core2Duo, I'm thinking I could use this for a few more years.

Any comments?

 

[Spink10]

If you are satisfied with your current setup - which you are based off your post - keep your MBP. Upgrade later!

 

[Mrbobb]

My yardstick would not be boot time. But OK you have a need to shut it down completely fine.

My yardstick would be, if I have to constantly search through a database, email , whatever, does it return what I want within seconds or do I have to sing a song in between.

Core-Duo vs current cpu = noticeable diff, IF, and big IF, you need it.

 

[katewes]

My yardstick would be, if I have to constantly search through a database, email , whatever, does it return what I want within seconds or do I have to sing a song in between.

At your suggestion, I just tried a search in Apple Mail, and results seem instantaneous.

My Gmail IMAP database is 7GB so maybe that's not so large compared to some other people out there.

 

[Tenashus1]

My yardstick would not be boot time. But OK you have a need to shut it down completely fine.

My yardstick would be, if I have to constantly search through a database, email , whatever, does it return what I want within seconds or do I have to sing a song in between.

Core-Duo vs current cpu = noticeable diff, IF, and big IF, you need it.

No fan noise or significant heat on a refurb mid 2012 MBP, 13", 2.9ghz i7. That's significant for me. My mid 2009 13" fan was running often and warm. Happy with my new refurb + Crucial M4 512gb SSD.

 

[katewes]

No fan noise or significant heat on a refurb mid 2012 MBP, 13", 2.9ghz i7. That's significant for me. My mid 2009 13" fan was running often and warm. Happy with my new refurb + Crucial M4 512gb SSD.

For my usage, with the SSD on Core2Duo, fan doesn't kick in. Perhaps the fan starts when watching a movie, but not for my main type of work - email, web browsing, writing.

 

[Spink10]

For my usage, with the SSD on Core2Duo, fan doesn't kick in. Perhaps the fan starts when watching a movie, but not for my main type of work - email, web browsing, writing.

Your MBP is perfect for you - glad it works so well for you.

 

[Badrottie]

2009 MBP is not old. Keep it until it dies.

 

[yusukeaoki]

C2D is starting become old with new i3/i5/i7's coming out but it gets the work done.
I still have my 08 MBP and still feel fast.
Just dont do modern heavy task.

 

[KPOM]

It sounds like your current setup is working for you, so I'd keep it. By the time you replace it, we're likely to have better battery life and performance. Haswell coming later this year and Broadwell in mid-2014 are focused on power consumption.

I replaced the HDD in my mother's 2.8GHz 2009 15" MBP, and it breathed new life into it. We've reached a point where for many tasks, it's no longer the CPU that's the bottleneck.

 

[snaky69]

My old mid 2009 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo 15" 8GB RAM -- when fitted with an SSD, boots up:

(1) from chime to first appearance of dock, 12 seconds, and

(2) from Apple logo to first appearance of dock, in 10 seconds.

With such SSD speeds with the Core 2 Duo, I wonder whether selling and upgrading to a new 2.3GHz i7 8GB RAM, MacBook Pro with new SSD , is worth it for the speed gains.

As always, it depends on my usage: I'm in business, so the major app for me is Apple Mail-IMAP-Gmail, with a massively large database of emails. That has got to be ultra fast. Then it's web browsing and word processing. I rarely do Photoshop, and never do gaming or any graphics-intensive tasks.

I've browsed Youtube videos where people show startup times of MacBook Pro's with SSDs, ranging from 2.3GHz i7 to 2.6GHz i7. Most are faster and, surprisingly, one was slower.

But given my already-fast times of 10-12 seconds -- and that I don't do graphics-intensive stuff - I'm wondering if my daily working experience is really going to feel that much faster, to warrant spending big bucks on a new MBP with current processor and SSD.

With my budget, I can afford it, but I don't just want to spend the money if it's not going to make a massive difference. I'm surprised how well the old Core2Duo MBP with SSD is performing.

In the past, once a Mac reaches 3-4 year old it's well due for upgrade, but with the SSD in the Core2Duo, I'm thinking I could use this for a few more years.

Any comments?

You will not benefit whatsoever from a faster processor with your intended usage. The only real "upgrade" you'd get is more battery life.

PS. You can't really judge a computer's speed by the boot time. You could stick a SSD in pretty much anything and it'll boot fast, no matter the computer, but it won't be any more powerful.

 

[shemp9999]

You will not benefit whatsoever from a faster processor with your intended usage. The only real "upgrade" you'd get is more battery life.

PS. You can't really judge a computer's speed by the boot time. You could stick a SSD in pretty much anything and it'll boot fast, no matter the computer, but it won't be any more powerful.

It's a Snappier Safari Drive.

 

[Ledgem]

It sounds like most, if not all, of what you do on a day-to-day basis was bottlenecked by the hard drive access times. SSDs dramatically cut down on the seek latencies for random read/write operations and make everything near-instantaneous, so that was the perfect upgrade for you.

Because you aren't being bottlenecked by the other system components, you're not likely to experience much of a gain in performance by making an upgrade. I would hold off until your needs are no longer being met by your current system (including system failure, obviously ). The prices will be the same, but you'll get "more for your money" at that point compared to what you can buy today.

 

[w00t951]

With the speeds of a modern SATA III drive, your processor is the bottleneck when booting. For example: My 2011 MacBook Pro, with a Samsung 830, boots in less than 6 seconds. The boot time is limited by the rate at which the CPU can process information from the SSD.

Anyway, you will see a significant boost in snappiness. People may say that you will be fine with your current setup - and that's true, assuming you never touch a newer computer. Core 2 Duo -> i7 Gen 3 is a massive leap in performance.

But, at the end of the day, it's up to you. You're happy with a 5-year old Mac, so you should probably stick with it. But I'm just letting you know that a new computer wouldn't be a useless upgrade.

 

[xShane]

My old mid 2009 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo 15" 8GB RAM -- when fitted with an SSD, boots up:

(1) from chime to first appearance of dock, 12 seconds, and

(2) from Apple logo to first appearance of dock, in 10 seconds.

With such SSD speeds with the Core 2 Duo, I wonder whether selling and upgrading to a new 2.3GHz i7 8GB RAM, MacBook Pro with new SSD , is worth it for the speed gains.

As always, it depends on my usage: I'm in business, so the major app for me is Apple Mail-IMAP-Gmail, with a massively large database of emails. That has got to be ultra fast. Then it's web browsing and word processing. I rarely do Photoshop, and never do gaming or any graphics-intensive tasks.

I've browsed Youtube videos where people show startup times of MacBook Pro's with SSDs, ranging from 2.3GHz i7 to 2.6GHz i7. Most are faster and, surprisingly, one was slower.

But given my already-fast times of 10-12 seconds -- and that I don't do graphics-intensive stuff - I'm wondering if my daily working experience is really going to feel that much faster, to warrant spending big bucks on a new MBP with current processor and SSD.

With my budget, I can afford it, but I don't just want to spend the money if it's not going to make a massive difference. I'm surprised how well the old Core2Duo MBP with SSD is performing.

In the past, once a Mac reaches 3-4 year old it's well due for upgrade, but with the SSD in the Core2Duo, I'm thinking I could use this for a few more years.

Any comments?

If you are satisfied with your current setup - which you are based off your post - keep your MBP. Upgrade later!

Agreed. It sounds like your current '09 is working great for you. Milk that thing for all it's worth. At the very least, it definitely sounds like you should be able to wait for the Haswell refresh.