Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

diipii

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 6, 2012
618
552
UK
Just put Sierra on a 6 year old Macbook and it's ground to a crawl. Did this to allow an iPhone 6s to put photos on the Macbook. Nothing else works. What can I now do to speed up said Macbook other than going back to Snow Leopard and emailing photos to myself.
 
Please tell us the exact model macbook from System Profiler. Should be something like Macbook7,1. Then tell us what your current system specs are (memory, HDD/SSD).

Your best bet for an older system in general, is to max out your RAM and swap the spinning HDD for an SSD.
 
Please tell us the exact model macbook from System Profiler. Should be something like Macbook7,1. Then tell us what your current system specs are (memory, HDD/SSD).

Your best bet for an older system in general, is to max out your RAM and swap the spinning HDD for an SSD.

it's a late 09 white Macbook with base spec of 2GB Ram and a 5400 250GB drive. I think your suggestion of an SSD and some more RAM is the way to go.
 
the ram especially; if you can get to 8GB, should make a difference (the SSD will boot faster, open apps faster... but the ra will give the OS and your app room to breathe... and you should get better speed).
 
the ram especially; if you can get to 8GB, should make a difference (the SSD will boot faster, open apps faster... but the ra will give the OS and your app room to breathe... and you should get better speed).

Sound advice. I have ordered 8GB of RAM and a Samsung 250GB SSD and am looking forward to fitting them. There are lots of videos on YT with all the necessary help.
 
I have a mid 2009 (white non unibody) running fresh ElCapitan (can't ug to Sierra)...upgraded to 4 gigs ram,128 gig ssd.

While upgrading the ram will help...nothing will make as big a difference as the ssd! Once you replace the ssd,your macbook will feel like a fast brand new mac.

I would suggest a clean install of Sierra if you really want the best possible speed increase with your new hardware.
 
I have a mid 2009 (white non unibody) running fresh ElCapitan (can't ug to Sierra)...upgraded to 4 gigs ram,128 gig ssd.

While upgrading the ram will help...nothing will make as big a difference as the ssd! Once you replace the ssd,your macbook will feel like a fast brand new mac.

I would suggest a clean install of Sierra if you really want the best possible speed increase with your new hardware.

really, it's the ram. the ssd will have you boot fast, open apps fast; save to disk fast. but actually working takes place in ram...
 
it's a late 09 white Macbook with base spec of 2GB Ram and a 5400 250GB drive. I think your suggestion of an SSD and some more RAM is the way to go.
Yeah, good enough for the Macbook to turn on but not enough to do much else. Your Macbook is very under-specced for Sierra.
 
Why not get a new machine?

Well Steve, very much an "Apple" suggestion, but the Macbook is in excellent condition and I wont replace it just because "you" have a new version for lots more cash. "You" will be pleased to know that the "old" Mac Pro 5.1 is whizzing along like a trooper only 5% slower than the Trash Can for 25% of the cost and the 5.1 looks like a real class act. IF Apple re-earns my respect I might reconsider a new MB.
 
Last edited:
I have a late 09 MacBook it came with 10.12 on it I thought it might be slow. I was wrong I did upgrade to a seagate sshd hybrid drive this MacBook runs the os better then my 09 mac pro with more ram go figure
 
Well Steve, very much an "Apple" suggestion, but the Macbook is in excellent condition and I wont replace it just because "you" have a new version for lots more cash. "You" will be pleased to know that the "old" Mac Pro 5.1 is whizzing along like a trooper only 5% slower than the Trash Can for 25% of the cost and the 5.1 looks like a real class act. IF Apple re-earns my respect I might reconsider a new MB.

The only reason I suggested that was because you can view it as an investment that you can use for the next 5 years. Computers are super important tools in our lives, and it makes sense to make sure we have something that serves us well. If your MacBook 09 is functioning well for you then that's awesome.

However it *is* 8 years old and it might make sense to evaluate a new machine rather than trying to bandage an outdated machine. One that will become outdated sooner than later even if you bandage it with a new SSD and RAM.

If you do the math, it costs around $400 for a 512GB SSD, and maybe another $100-200 for RAM. You're already looking at $500-600 for the upgrades (less if you want a smaller SSD). At that point might as well look at buying a lightly used (<1yr of use) MacBook on Swappa which you can find for $800-1100 really easily (sometimes even w/ AppleCare, depending on the listing). That's only a $400-500 premium on what you were going to spend already and that will go into making sure you have a modern machine to use for the next couple of years. Well worth it in my opinion...

You'll get an SSD and super fast RAM as part of the deal, along with a much better display, better keyboard, better cameras, speakers, microphones, etc etc.

The other route is buying a new SSD and new RAM to use with your current machine, but when you inevitably need to get a new machine, that "bandage" expenditure would have been largely wasted because the hardware won't be compatible or you'll have unused hardware.

Sometimes long term thinking saves us money over short term optimization for price.
 
The only reason I suggested that was because you can view it as an investment that you can use for the next 5 years. Computers are super important tools in our lives, and it makes sense to make sure we have something that serves us well. If your MacBook 09 is functioning well for you then that's awesome.

However it *is* 8 years old and it might make sense to evaluate a new machine rather than trying to bandage an outdated machine. One that will become outdated sooner than later even if you bandage it with a new SSD and RAM.

If you do the math, it costs around $400 for a 512GB SSD, and maybe another $100-200 for RAM. You're already looking at $500-600 for the upgrades (less if you want a smaller SSD). At that point might as well look at buying a lightly used (<1yr of use) MacBook on Swappa which you can find for $800-1100 really easily (sometimes even w/ AppleCare, depending on the listing). That's only a $400-500 premium on what you were going to spend already and that will go into making sure you have a modern machine to use for the next couple of years. Well worth it in my opinion...

You'll get an SSD and super fast RAM as part of the deal, along with a much better display, better keyboard, better cameras, speakers, microphones, etc etc.

The other route is buying a new SSD and new RAM to use with your current machine, but when you inevitably need to get a new machine, that "bandage" expenditure would have been largely wasted because the hardware won't be compatible or you'll have unused hardware.

Sometimes long term thinking saves us money over short term optimization for price.

Well Steve, I see you have a hard time appreciating humour.
 
The 09 macbook is great machine.

I recently sold my 09 with 8GB ram and 240GB ssd.
is quite fast still and my friend is very happy with it.

I recently bought the 2010 model, same but has 2.4GHz cpu.

It is worth upgrading and should serve another 2-3 years if not more if looked after.

I love these unibody machines.

My own findings:

4GB min ram to run sierra but 6GB plus if you actually want use the machine properly.
I have 4GB in my 2010 machine and it lags a tad.

I have 8gb on its way.

Fitted the 8GB ram and machine is real smooth now with now lag and faster boot times
 
Last edited:
The only reason I suggested that was because you can view it as an investment that you can use for the next 5 years. Computers are super important tools in our lives, and it makes sense to make sure we have something that serves us well. If your MacBook 09 is functioning well for you then that's awesome.

However it *is* 8 years old and it might make sense to evaluate a new machine rather than trying to bandage an outdated machine. One that will become outdated sooner than later even if you bandage it with a new SSD and RAM.

If you do the math, it costs around $400 for a 512GB SSD, and maybe another $100-200 for RAM. You're already looking at $500-600 for the upgrades (less if you want a smaller SSD). At that point might as well look at buying a lightly used (<1yr of use) MacBook on Swappa which you can find for $800-1100 really easily (sometimes even w/ AppleCare, depending on the listing). That's only a $400-500 premium on what you were going to spend already and that will go into making sure you have a modern machine to use for the next couple of years. Well worth it in my opinion...

You'll get an SSD and super fast RAM as part of the deal, along with a much better display, better keyboard, better cameras, speakers, microphones, etc etc.

The other route is buying a new SSD and new RAM to use with your current machine, but when you inevitably need to get a new machine, that "bandage" expenditure would have been largely wasted because the hardware won't be compatible or you'll have unused hardware.

Sometimes long term thinking saves us money over short term optimization for price.

Nothing that depreciates can be considered an investment. It can also make much more financial sense to keep this machine working. Also where on earth are you getting these prices? Average price for a 500gb SSD is about $150-200. A couple of used sticks of DDR2 RAM will cost next to nothing at this point. Also where did OP say they needed 500GB of storage when their existing hard drive is only 250? You can get a 240GB SSD for under $100 or a 120gb SSD for under $50. No one's arguing that a new machine wouldn't be better but I'm sure OP is also aware of that.

Total investment looking at $100-300 depending on the size of the SSD or 70-90% less than the cost of a new machine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KashKave and elf69
these machines used DDR3 1066 not DDR2 so it is even cheaper.
I just bought 2x4GB for £34.99 for my macbook.

and a 240GB SSD is about £65 currently.

so in UK £100 will get the machine up to spec and working great again.

I recommend these machine to friends on a budget who want a mac as can buy in uk for £150-200
 
these machines used DDR3 1066 not DDR2 so it is even cheaper.
I just bought 2x4GB for £34.99 for my macbook.

and a 240GB SSD is about £65 currently.

so in UK £100 will get the machine up to spec and working great again.

I recommend these machine to friends on a budget who want a mac as can buy in uk for £150-200
OP said non-unibody 2009. That would be DDR2 max 6gb according to everymac. Only the white unibody macbooks used DDR3 as far as I know.
 
they said late 09 which is unibody?
post 4 OP said late 09.

early 09 in non unibody?

I had a late 09 unibody but replaced with 2010 model.
 
6GB plus if you actually want use the machine properly.
I have 4GB in my 2010 machine and it lags a tad.
I have 8gb on its way.

In no way is this accurate.

I have a base model 2013 rMBP with 4gb of soldered ram and it handles Sierra with ease. I can run 5-8 programs at the same time and even use Windows 10 in VM and I see no performance issues. Wife's MBA with 4gb of ram also handles it flawlessly.
 
Both your machines have a much better CPU and faster ram.

I was reporting my own experiences.

I upgraded to 8gb ram last nite.
the small lag is gone and the machine is real snappy like my previous macbook.

the was small lag typing as text was slowish to appear also boot was slower than my previous machine.
chrome was also little slow to load, but with 8gb of ram it is not now.

Just my own findings.
Will edit my other post as reflect my findings as such.
 
Both your machines have a much better CPU and faster ram.

I was reporting my own experiences.

I upgraded to 8gb ram last nite.
the small lag is gone and the machine is real snappy like my previous macbook.

the was small lag typing as text was slowish to appear also boot was slower than my previous machine.
chrome was also little slow to load, but with 8gb of ram it is not now.

Just my own findings.
Will edit my other post as reflect my findings as such.

Glad to hear that things are smooth again. Sorry if my post seemed condescending.
 
Just my 2 ct... as for smart hardware-upgrading

Modern Processors have for us normal Users a workload of only about some 10-20 percent, so the "power" of the processor is NOT a benchmark for upgrade.
BUT: RAM and SSD are a fantastic tuning and will making feel like with a new mac!

PLUS: "OLD" Macs before 2013 are fully upgradable for little money.
PLUS: If you have to repair an "OLD" mac, you will be still capable to do it because NOTHING IS SOLDERED AND GLUED in it and you will find easily used parts in good condition.

we run some "old" MacBook pros in our family:

MBP 2009 (unibody)
MBP 2011
MBP 2012
and a
MacPro 4,1 from 2008

upgraded to ElCapitan on the 2009 (4GB RAM, still a 2TB HD)
and the 2012 MBP (16GB RAM, SSD)
The others will be upgraded soon.

The 2009 runs faster than before, even with the HD, although still with a classic HD - soon upgrading to a SSD.

"Old" Macs have lots of advantages in comparison to the soldered/glued "new" ones produced after 2012:

look in this thread, it is worth reading all 11 pages:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-are-newer-macbook-pros-not-upgradeable.1960895/

So - as long as you don´t play games or big scientific calculations on the MB, but use the Internet, office apps, load your camera pictures (can always be done with a SD-Adapter on an old Mac) , yes even if you do (not too complex) Photoshop, even if you hear/store music on your mac, the "old" ones will be fine.

Prices for top-SSD and top-RAM are really ridiculous low now - especially for the "OLD" Macs.

As for Sierra: I still stay with the last OS before the actual one rolled out.
This is at the moment OS X 10.11.6

If you want to send easily photos fri
om fout iPhone to jout Mac, you have lots of possibilities.
One is just to send selected ones from your smartphone by email to yourself - there it is on the Mac, if you open your email... ;)

As for transfer from your camera: There are USB-SD-Adapters for 10 USD, there is bluetooth, ....
 
my 2010 macbook unibody (not pro) is amazing bit of kit.

2.4GHz core2duo with 8gb ram and 240gb ssd plus 250gb hdd in optical bay and dvd drive in a usb caddy.

easily does what i want for work plus photoshop and dreamweaver for home use!
these can be had cheap and cheap to upgrade.
Sierra runs well on them and I find gives better battery life than el capitan.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.