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RAM Upgrade

C

Curt14

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 3, 2014
16
0
Hi there,

I just thought I'd pop in and ask a few questions and hoping they get answered in regards of upgrading my RAM.

I'm considering buying 8GB RAM to install instead of 4GB's, I'm a Graphic Designer so I'm constantly using Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and so on and it gets really laggy and sluggish with them all open. I was just wondering if buying the extra memory would help speed up my laptop?

Looking at my page ins and outs I have 1.91GB ins and 3MB outs with Finder, Chrome, Spotify, Photoshop and Illustrator running. I'm not too familiar with the technical side but I assume that's not amazing? Oh, and around 15-25mbs free... But it also says I have 1GB inactive. Is there a way to fix it up?

MacBook Pro Mid 2009 15", 2.53GHz, 10.7.5, 4GB RAM

Thanks heaps!
 
Curt14 said:
Hi there,

I just thought I'd pop in and ask a few questions and hoping they get answered in regards of upgrading my RAM.

I'm considering buying 8GB RAM to install instead of 4GB's, I'm a Graphic Designer so I'm constantly using Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and so on and it gets really laggy and sluggish with them all open. I was just wondering if buying the extra memory would help speed up my laptop?

Looking at my page ins and outs I have 1.91GB ins and 3MB outs with Finder, Chrome, Spotify, Photoshop and Illustrator running. I'm not too familiar with the technical side but I assume that's not amazing? Oh, and around 15-25mbs free... But it also says I have 1GB inactive. Is there a way to fix it up?

MacBook Pro Mid 2009 15", 2.53GHz, 10.7.5, 4GB RAM

Thanks heaps!
Click to expand...

8GB plus a SSD wouldn't hurt. It would help if you're experiencing lags caused by multitasking all these apps. It won't help on processing time, though. If you want exporting and filtering faster, you need buying a new Mac.

This said, I think it's worth upgrading RAM and the HDD to a SSD. You'll only get annoyed with processing times, but not with multitasking anymore.
 
Curt14 said:
I was just wondering if buying the extra memory would help speed up my laptop?

Looking at my page ins and outs I have 1.91GB ins and 3MB outs with Finder,
Click to expand...
Your page outs are relatively small. How long has it been since you rebooted? Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to reboot, then track your page outs under your normal workload. If they're minimal or none, buying more RAM won't improve performance.

Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used (OS X Mountain Lion and earlier)

However, upgrading from a spinning hard drive to a SSD will give you a noticeable improvement in performance, if you haven't done so already.

If you're having performance issues, this may help:
 
Thanks for the replies, guys.

I rebooted like an hour ago as I fitted a new battery. Maybe that's why then. I shall check my outs after some time of using it?

----------
brdeveloper said:
8GB plus a SSD wouldn't hurt. It would help if you're experiencing lags caused by multitasking all these apps. It won't help on processing time, though. If you want exporting and filtering faster, you need buying a new Mac.

This said, I think it's worth upgrading RAM and the HDD to a SSD. You'll only get annoyed with processing times, but not with multitasking anymore.
Click to expand...
I was going to buy just an external hard drive to free up some space on my current HDD but it makes more sense to install a larger SSD then? I assume.
 
Curt14 said:
I shall check my outs after some time of using it?
Click to expand...
Yes, after a day or so of normal use.
Curt14 said:
I was going to buy just an external hard drive to free up some space on my current HDD but it makes more sense to install a larger SSD then?
Click to expand...
Yes, you could replace your internal drive with a SSD, and buy an enclosure for your current HDD and make it an external drive.
 
GGJstudios said:
Yes, after a day or so of normal use.

Yes, you could replace your internal drive with a SSD, and buy an enclosure for your current HDD and make it an external drive.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea. The only thing I've noticed is that the SSD's are quite expensive compared to the HDD's. That's the only problem.
 
Curt14 said:
That's a good idea. The only thing I've noticed is that the SSD's are quite expensive compared to the HDD's. That's the only problem.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are pricier, but the performance difference is significant. Perhaps you could go with a smaller capacity SSD for your internal drive and keep more of your user data on the external. That would lower the price of the SSD.
 
Curt14 said:
I was going to buy just an external hard drive to free up some space on my current HDD but it makes more sense to install a larger SSD then? I assume.
Click to expand...

Maybe a better plan would be getting a small SSD (like a 120GB one) and move your current HDD to an external enclosure. However, in my opinion a 250GB SSD isn't so expensive and you can keep some of your current work inside it.

But it's better having any SSD than keeping HDDs as the system storage.
 
Because of the SATA interface speed in these older systems, you will not be really able to fully take advantage of the throughput for the latest drives. However, it will still be loads faster then your current HD.

I just ordered from Amazon the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB drive you are talking about (looks like it is still on sale Amazon link).

(I just noticed that in your link you have the same drive, and you are not in the US) :eek:
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Curt14 said:
Yeah, I might go for that in the end then.

How do I go in terms of specifics for the SSD, I'm currently looking at this one > http://www.macfixit.com.au/250gb-samsung-840-evo-series-25-tlc-ssd-sata-6gb-s.html
Click to expand...
Look at my signature. The 840 EVO Series are fine. Crucial M500 is also good, and there are people using the newer Crucial MX100 ones without issues.

And are all MBP HDD's 2.5" to fit the enclosures?
Click to expand...


Not really. There are SSDs with thicker cases. If I'm not wrong, you should avoid 9mm-thick ones. The models suitable for Macbooks are the 7mm ones, which match standard 2.5" HDD dimensions. Crucial ones even come with a spacer if it doesn't fit properly. I used the spacer on my Mac Mini, but not in the White Macbook.

EDIT: I thought you were talking of SSDs... 2.5" Mac HDDs fit properly on external enclosures.

I bought a Plextor M4S for installing on my mother's ultrabook and I had to remove the SSD case to make it fit properly. However, it voids its warranty.
 
Curt14 said:
I'm prepared to buy these two, the SSD and the HDD enclosure. But considering the Samsung SSD is SATA III will that still be fine in mine? It just says SATA for my disk.

SSD - http://www.msy.com.au/vic/brooklyn/...250bw-250g-sataiii-ssd-solid-state-drive.html
Click to expand...

It will downgrade to your SATA version properly. As you can see on my signature, I use a 840 EVO SATAIII SSD on my late-2009 Mac, which is SATA-II. Not all drives downgrade properly, but Samsung and Crucial ones seem to work well. I have a PNY SSD which doesn't speak SATAII, so it downgrades to SATAI even if a SATAII bus is present.
 
brdeveloper said:
It will downgrade to your SATA version properly. As you can see on my signature, I use a 840 EVO SATAIII SSD on my late-2009 Mac, which is SATA-II. Not all drives downgrade properly, but Samsung and Crucial ones seem to work well. I have a PNY SSD which doesn't speak SATAII, so it downgrades to SATAI even if a SATAII bus is present.
Click to expand...
I see, I see. So the ones I posted should be compatible and ready to go.

Do you have any tips on backing up and what not when upgrading?
 
Curt14 said:
I see, I see. So the ones I posted should be compatible and ready to go.

Do you have any tips on backing up and what not when upgrading?
Click to expand...

Upgrading is pretty straightforward. The simplest way, in my opinion is by putting the SSD into an enclosure and then cloning your HDD through Carbon Copy Cloner app. After that, try booting from the external enclosure. If the system boots fine, turn off and swap the drives (put the SSD inside the Macbook and the HDD in the enclosure).

Just for avoiding any issues, do a repair permissions on the SSD through Disk Utility after booting it for the first time.
 
brdeveloper said:
Upgrading is pretty straightforward. The simplest way, in my opinion is by putting the SSD into an enclosure and then cloning your HDD through Carbon Copy Cloner app. After that, try booting from the external enclosure. If the system boots fine, turn off and swap the drives (put the SSD inside the Macbook and the HDD in the enclosure).

Just for avoiding any issues, do a repair permissions on the SSD through Disk Utility after booting it for the first time.
Click to expand...
Cheers man, I'll keep this pinned so I can refer to it when I actually get round to purchasing the upgrades, which will be this month anyway.

Do you recommend buying Carbon Copy Cloner or will the free 30 day trial do the job for what I need?
 
Curt14 said:
Cheers man, I'll keep this pinned so I can refer to it when I actually get round to purchasing the upgrades, which will be this month anyway.

Do you recommend buying Carbon Copy Cloner or will the free 30 day trial do the job for what I need?
Click to expand...

Yes, the trial version will do the job.
 
brdeveloper said:
Upgrading is pretty straightforward. The simplest way, in my opinion is by putting the SSD into an enclosure and then cloning your HDD through Carbon Copy Cloner app. After that, try booting from the external enclosure. If the system boots fine, turn off and swap the drives (put the SSD inside the Macbook and the HDD in the enclosure).
Click to expand...
Some have reported problems using that method. To avoid such problems, a slight variation should prove useful:

  1. Buy an external enclosure and put your old drive in it.
  2. Install your new drive in your Mac.
  3. Boot from your old (external) drive by holding the Option key on startup.
  4. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the old (external) drive to the new (internal) drive.
  5. Boot from the new internal drive.
  6. Your now running on your new internal drive and your old drive is now an external drive, useful for backups or additional storage.
 
GGJstudios said:
Some have reported problems using that method. To avoid such problems, a slight variation should prove useful:

  1. Buy an external enclosure and put your old drive in it.
  2. Install your new drive in your Mac.
  3. Boot from your old (external) drive by holding the Option key on startup.
  4. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the old (external) drive to the new (internal) drive.
  5. Boot from the new internal drive.
  6. Your now running on your new internal drive and your old drive is now an external drive, useful for backups or additional storage.
Click to expand...

I'll try that way then. When I press option when booting with the old HDD after installing the new one, is that what ensures I'm booting using the old HDD?
 
Curt14 said:
I'll try that way then. When I press option when booting with the old HDD after installing the new one, is that what ensures I'm booting using the old HDD?
Click to expand...
When you hold the Option key down during startup, that's what gives you the opportunity to select from any available boot drive. In this case, the only option will be your external drive (formerly your internal drive.)
 
GGJstudios said:
When you hold the Option key down during startup, that's what gives you the opportunity to select from any available boot drive. In this case, the only option will be your external drive (formerly your internal drive.)
Click to expand...
Gotcha! Thanks mate.

I'll post in here again if I have any difficulties.
 
I'm about to proceed with this upgrade tonight.

I've got the correct parts and so on, should I backup my HDD before removing it to any applications? Or just go with the procedure stated above? As long as I don't lose anything through that. Seems pretty straight forward.
 
Last edited:
Curt14 said:
I'm about to proceed with this upgrade tonight.

I've got the correct parts and so on, should I backup my HDD before removing it to any applications? Or just go with the procedure stated above? As long as I don't lose anything through that. Seems pretty straight forward.
Click to expand...

The cool thing about CCC is that you are actually making a backup when you clone. So, if you clone over to an external drive that is in a case, then yank your old drive, and replace it with the drive in the case, your OLD DRIVE is now the backup. This is how I clone all my stuff when doing drive upgrades. Once the new drive is in and boots, I put the old drive in a static bag, label properly and put away. If my new drive craters, just pop the old drive in and keep chugging. Use the Time Machine for incremental changes/new installations on a separate external drive or a nas.
 
Awesome, got ya.

I'm currently waiting for the cloning to the new internal SSD. I had a few minor hiccups such as choosing between the 'Macintosh HD' and the 'Recovery HD' as they weren't labelled as simple as Internal and External... Also, I wasnt notified about having to partition the SSD before being able to transfer to it.

But after figuring it out myself it's working, should take about 2 hours I'm estimating.

I haven't had a look yet but do I just format the old (new external HDD) via the Disk Utility app and then create 1 partition to chuck my other data on there later on?
 
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