Should i really invest on an SSD or RAM or BOTH?

[iamnaufal]

My very first post and this is the question i ask. I'm sure many of you might have seen and answered this question before.

I am graphic/web designer. I used photoshop, illustrator, flash and dreamweaver extensively. Sometimes i would also use video editing softwares like After Effects and Premiere. I would say i use most of the adobe softwares. I own a 2011 Macbook Pro 15in. Bought it in July 2011. 2ghz with 8gb of RAM. I generally use it at home and work.

Recently my Macbook just crash on me. My macbook was overheating as well. It reach to around 75c to 80c. Usually, even when i am running extensive softwares it runs around 50c to 60c. After awhile my macbook finally stuck on at apple logo when i on it. Sent it to apple and they told me that that my hardisk was faulty. They also changed the logicboard.

Got it back and is running fine. Bought a laptop cooler to help the overheating problem if it ever occurred again. Right now i'm looking at ways to help prevent the problem from occurring again.

I found out about ssd and its usefulness(mostly). I know that it has fast read and write. It can start application insanely fast but it doesn't really make the software operate faster. Is this true? I usually encounter laggy photoshop and it definitely irritates me. And since it doesn't have any mechanical moving parts it doesn't overheat. It is worth. Pay more for lesser space but better performance. I don't really need a big space as i keep most of my stuff into an external 1tb hardisk.

I also just found that you can actually bump up to 16gb rather than apple stated 8gb. But rumor state that macbook will only recognize 8gb worth of ram?

So is worth it to invest on a ssd or 16gb or both?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Recently my Macbook just crash on me. My macbook was overheating as well. It reach to around 75c to 80c. Usually, even when i am running extensive softwares it runs around 50c to 60c.

50 to 100 degrees Celsius are acceptable temperature for the hardware. If your MBP would overheat, which it didn't, it would shutdown to prevent damage.

I found out about ssd and its usefulness(mostly). I know that it has fast read and write. It can start application insanely fast but it doesn't really make the software operate faster. Is this true?

True.

I usually encounter laggy photoshop and it definitely irritates me. And since it doesn't have any mechanical moving parts it doesn't overheat.

The HDD has nothing do to with your heat problems, it stems from using the CPU and GPU. The HDD is around 30 to 50 degrees Celsius. The CPU and GPU are the HOT parts of a computer.

It is worth. Pay more for lesser space but better performance. I don't really need a big space as i keep most of my stuff into an external 1tb hardisk.

If you don't use the optical disk drive (ODD), you can put an SSD and HDD inside the MBP, I have, many others have.

I also just found that you can actually bump up to 16gb rather than apple stated 8gb. But rumor state that macbook will only recognize 8gb worth of ram?

2011 MBPs can accept up to 32 GB RAM, as only 8 GB modules are available right now, 16 GB is the maximum.
And a 2011 MBP will recognise all the RAM.

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So is worth it to invest on a ssd or 16gb or both?

Yes, for your usage it will be worth it.

MacBook, MacBook Pro: Replacing the Hard Disk Drive, transferring data to the new HDD

the guide includes:

• 0. Identify your MacBook or MacBook Pro
• 1. Getting a new HDD
• 2. Guides to replace the internal HDD with a newer one
• 3. Transferring data from the old HDD to the new HDD
• 4. Using the optical disk drive (ODD) slot for placing an SSD or HDD inside the MB/P (OPTIBAY)

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How to format a new HDD to install Mac OS X onto (or make a bootable copy onto)​

Upgrading RAM in MacBooks and MacBook Pros​

 

[dusk007]

I doubt your problems ever truly have been heat problems. An SSD will make it run hotter before it causes the opposite. And 16GB RAM consume about 10-20% more power relative to the memory subsystem. That is not much(2W max) but it still is more heat than before not the opposite.
The time you swap from the hdd is also time the CPU can rest and cool.
You Notebook probably just had a buggy logicboard or a messed up assembly.

So is worth it to invest on a ssd or 16gb or both?

RAM really only helps if the notebook stalls because it needs to swap data in and out of ram. If you have to much stuff open and it slows down for a second or two before it works as before, RAM helps. Otherwise it makes little to know difference.
Watch the page outs if you got lots of them with normal workload within a short time you need more RAM otherwise it is a waste of money. Too much page outs is something like more than 2GB in a couple hours.
It doesn't really count if you have a few days on time as that number is cumulative and not all page outs are necessarily bad. They only hurt if they occur often.

SSDs only shorten some wait times. (open app, load project, load other data) It really speed up any app.
THG did a very detailed test on what IOs mean on workstation workload.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/workstation-storage-performance-benchmark,3114.html
I would put it like that. An SSD is the equivalent of a multicore CPU for multitasking. With a HDD if two apps cause IO the poor random access slow everything to a crawl.
The video at the end of the thg article shows what you need to do to really make use of the SSD. If you usually open some apps, load a projekt and some pictures and work a few hours, you won't save more than a few seconds on a 8h work day.

I like SSDs also because they are absolutely silent and really help with VM starting and rebooting.

 

[NickZac]

Get both if you aren't hurting for money. For CS5.5 it makes a big difference. In regards to the RAM, the difference is most pronounced once you have multiple programs open such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Illustrator open simultaneously and they have been running for an extended period of time (more than a few hours). On 4 and even 8, that is when the programs can start to lag, where as on 16 I have seen some pretty big improvements. I'm a relative newbie to CS5.5 but thus far, 16 GB has made using it more enjoyable. Right now I am using 9 GB of my 16 and have had Illustrator, SQL, SAS, and some other software open for a few days on a continuous project. This is that point in which you see where the 16 makes the difference.

And the SSD makes computing just all-around more enjoyable IMO.

And as others said, I wouldn't worry too much about the heat. These computers often 'feel' hot and run hotter than some others, but it really doesn't affect their reliability. The aluminum base is why you physically feel the heat. With what you are doing, you likely will have the fans running consistently at 4k+, but don't worry about the longevity, as these things were made just for that. It doesn't hurt to elevate it a bit as that improves ventilation. I do that myself when possible, but when it isn't, it really isn't a big deal. Get iStatPro or iStatMenus so you can monitor the temp if you feel uneasy about it...but the thermal regulation on these machines is very, very solid. IMO our computers are among the finest machines available for this type of work.