RAM upgrade help - Late 2011 13 inch i5

[harrywaring]

Hi guys I was wondering if someone could help me with upgrading my late 2011 13 inch i5 Macbook Pro.

I currently have 4GB installed which has been reasonable up until the past year or so. I frequently use Photoshop and Im also starting to use Logic Pro X. According to my Memory Clean app, when I use either of these applications my used memory increases to around 3.9GB and using the applications is near enough impossible. Its for this reason that I have been considering upgrading to 8GB or 16GB of RAM. My friend uses Logic Pro with ease on his MBP with 8GB of RAM but his version has the i7 processor as opposed to mine which uses the i5. I have also considered buying an SSD which, from my amateur perspective, increases your storage capacity as well as the general speed of the computer. Ideally I dont really want to buy an SSD because they are expensive and I currently have 300GB of storage available.

Id be very grateful if I could have any kind of help in helping me to run these high memory demanding applications better on my MBP.

*also sorry if I have entered this post in the wrong part of the forum or whatever, Im new

Thanks

 

[JTToft]

It sounds like you could, indeed, benefit from som more RAM.

Your MacBook Pro will take up to 16 GB RAM at 1600MHz - despite Apple's specifications listing support for just 8 GB at 1333 MHz.
As for brands, I like Corsair, but any brand will work just fine.

I am not very familiar with the memory requirements of working in Logic Pro X, so I can't really say if you should go for 8 or 16 GB. One option would be to buy one module of 8 GB (as opposed to two modules of 4 GB) and then use that with one of the already installed 2 GB modules, giving you a total of 10 GB. This would make it easier and cheaper to upgrade to 16 GB in the future, if you should find the need.

As for a possible SSD upgrade, that would not necessarily either decrease or increase your storage capacity - it all depends on what size SSD you get.
One thing an SSD is sure to do is speed up your computer in practically every way - to a great extent. It's considered the single most significant hardware upgrade you can make.
With that said, an SSD is no replacement for the right amount of RAM.

And your post is in the right forum.

 

[harrywaring]

It sounds like you could, indeed, benefit from som more RAM.

Your MacBook Pro will take up to 16 GB RAM at 1600MHz - despite Apple's specifications listing support for just 8 GB at 1333 MHz.
As for brands, I like Corsair, but any brand will work just fine.

I am not very familiar with the memory requirements of working in Logic Pro X, so I can't really say if you should go for 8 or 16 GB. One option would be to buy one module of 8 GB (as opposed to two modules of 4 GB) and then use that with one of the already installed 2 GB modules, giving you a total of 10 GB. This would make it easier and cheaper to upgrade to 16 GB in the future, if you should find the need.

As for a possible SSD upgrade, that would not necessarily either decrease or increase your storage capacity - it all depends on what size SSD you get.
One thing an SSD is sure to do is speed up your computer in practically every way - to a great extent. It's considered the single most significant hardware upgrade you can make.
With that said, an SSD is no replacement for the right amount of RAM.

And your post is in the right forum.

Thats everything I could've asked for in an answer, thanks a bunch

 

[RichardC300]

Your problem is probably a combination of RAM and CPU. If your friend has 8 GB of RAM and an i7 (which on a 15" MBP is a quad core), he has a much more capable machine than your 4 GB of RAM and your i5 (which is a dual core).

8 GB or 16 GB of RAM would help a lot but won't solve all your issues if you're trying to match your friend's laptop. I'd recommend Crucial or Corsair RAM. I personally have Corsair (8 GB), but Crucial has a larger following and is generally more reliable.

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-CT2K4G3S160BM-CT2C4G3S160BM/dp/B008LTBITY

Also, an SSD would work wonders for your computer, but if you're fine with the performance of your HDD, you probably won't want to drop ~$200 for a 500 GB SSD if you want to have the same capacity as your current HDD. In the case that you do, I'd recommend the 850 EVO.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE

Or you can chuck your optical drive and move your current HDD to that bay and put a 120 GB or 250 GB SSD into the main bay. Haha. Everybody here is a proponent of SSDs if you haven't noticed yet. It gets recommended in every thread but they're just that great of an improvement over HDDs.

 

[harrywaring]

Your problem is probably a combination of RAM and CPU. If your friend has 8 GB of RAM and an i7 (which on a 15" MBP is a quad core), he has a much more capable machine than your 4 GB of RAM and your i5 (which is a dual core).

8 GB or 16 GB of RAM would help a lot but won't solve all your issues if you're trying to match your friend's laptop. I'd recommend Crucial or Corsair RAM. I personally have Corsair (8 GB), but Crucial has a larger following and is generally more reliable.

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-CT2K4G3S160BM-CT2C4G3S160BM/dp/B008LTBITY

Also, an SSD would work wonders for your computer, but if you're fine with the performance of your HDD, you probably won't want to drop ~$200 for a 500 GB SSD if you want to have the same capacity as your current HDD. In the case that you do, I'd recommend the 850 EVO.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE

Or you can chuck your optical drive and move your current HDD to that bay and put a 120 GB or 250 GB SSD into the main bay. Haha. Everybody here is a proponent of SSDs if you haven't noticed yet. It gets recommended in every thread but they're just that great of an improvement over HDDs.

Yeah I considered the whole processor thing, my friends Macbook is only a 13 inch so his is a dual core as well. I thought upgrading the processor would be a bit extreme so the RAM would be the answer. Just a quick question, if i removed one of the 2GB module and replaced it with this 8GB module would it work?

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...93.5&ei=mAwgVdqwM4u6Ub-1gpgD&ved=0CL0BEKYrMAI

Thanks for replying

 

[RichardC300]

Yeah I considered the whole processor thing, my friends Macbook is only a 13 inch so his is a dual core as well. I thought upgrading the processor would be a bit extreme so the RAM would be the answer. Just a quick question, if i removed one of the 2GB module and replaced it with this 8GB module would it work?

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...93.5&ei=mAwgVdqwM4u6Ub-1gpgD&ved=0CL0BEKYrMAI

Thanks for replying

RAM probably is the answer then. You would lose the "dual channel" benefits by having mismatching RAM, but you should total 10 GB of RAM just fine. I'm not sure how much you're missing out on by having mismatching RAM, but you will have 1 stick of 2 GB @ 1333 MHz and 1 stick of 8 GB @ 1600 MHz.

 

[harrywaring]

RAM probably is the answer then. And that would work fine. You would lose the "dual channel" benefits by having mismatching RAM, but you should total 10 GB of RAM just fine. I'm not sure how much you're missing out on by having mismatching RAM, but you will have 1 stick of 2 GB @ 1333 MHz and 1 stick of 8 GB @ 1600 MHz.

Okay well I think I will get one of these and see how that works out, maybe I will purchase another matching one sometime later. Thanks a lot for your help, and also JTToft

 

[JTToft]

Okay well I think I will get one of these and see how that works out, maybe I will purchase another matching one sometime later. Thanks a lot for your help, and also JTToft

- You're very welcome. But just an important addition: The module you linked to absolutely will not work. It is a 240 pin module for desktops. You need a 204 pin laptop module, like this.

Also, if you decide to go 8 + 2 with the already installed module and a 1600 MHz 8 GB module, the faster one will be downclocked to match the 1333 MHz module, so both will run at 1333 MHz. Everything will work just fine, and for your usage, I doubt there'd be any practical implications of either the 1333 vs 1600 MHz or dual channel vs non-dual channel, but it's just something to be aware of.
With the 8 + 2 config (something I used for a few years before upgrading to 16 GB), you'll have 4 GB dual channel (2 GB from the already installed module, and the first 2 GB of the 8 GB module), like you have now, but with an additional 6 GB single channel RAM

 

[snaky69]

Yeah I considered the whole processor thing, my friends Macbook is only a 13 inch so his is a dual core as well. I thought upgrading the processor would be a bit extreme so the RAM would be the answer. Just a quick question, if i removed one of the 2GB module and replaced it with this 8GB module would it work?

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...93.5&ei=mAwgVdqwM4u6Ub-1gpgD&ved=0CL0BEKYrMAI

Thanks for replying

Just so you know, on just about every single laptop out there(not only Macs) the processor is NOT upgradeable. It is soldered directly on the mainboard and cannot be switched out. So that pretty much rules out that idea for you.

As someone said already, that RAM will not work, it is desktop RAM, the stick is much too big and wouldn't physically fit in your machine.

 

[RichardC300]

- You're very welcome. But just an important addition: The module you linked to absolutely will not work. It is a 240 pin module for desktops. You need a 204 pin laptop module, like this.

Also, if you decide to go 8 + 2 with the already installed module and a 1600 MHz 8 GB module, the faster one will be downclocked to match the 1333 MHz module, so both will run at 1333 MHz. Everything will work just fine, and for your usage, I doubt there'd be any practical implications of either the 1333 vs 1600 MHz or dual channel vs non-dual channel, but it's just something to be aware of.
With the 8 + 2 config (something I used for a few years before upgrading to 16 GB), you'll have 4 GB dual channel (2 GB from the already installed module, and the first 2 GB of the 8 GB module), like you have now, but with an additional 6 GB single channel RAM

You're right. Glanced too quickly at the RAM. Interesting info on RAM. I didn't know it worked that way with the speed matching and dual/single channel.

 

[harrywaring]

Thanks for helping me out guys, as you can probably tell Im a bit of a beginner with all this. In that case could someone link something reasonably cheap (under £40-£50 preferably) that I could use in my Macbook please? Just to clarify its the dual core i5 13 inch with 4GB RAM (2x2GB).

Thanks in advance

 

[JTToft]

Thanks for helping me out guys, as you can probably tell Im a bit of a beginner with all this. In that case could someone link something reasonably cheap (under £40-£50 preferably) that I could use in my Macbook please? Just to clarify its the dual core i5 13 inch with 4GB RAM (2x2GB).

Thanks in advance

- Certainly. This will work beautifully.

 

[harrywaring]

- Certainly. This will work beautifully.

Brilliant, can't thank you all enough

 

[dsmedic10]

I use Logic Pro X on a 2012 Mac Book Air, i5 1.8, 4GB RAM and it works just fine. My desktop mac has a i5 3.4 16GB RAM and works just fine too. IF you are getting into a heavy Logic project with dozens of tracks or synths then you will want 8GB RAM and an SSD. But for my projects, the largest of which is about 1GB and 25 tracks of audio, the Macbook Air runs it without problems, no stuttering no glitches no drop outs, and that laptop has only 4GB RAM.