Speeding up MBP

[EdwardJack]

I'm thinking about getting the MBP 15" intel i5 2.40GHz.

Out of:
1.More RAM (8gb)
2.SSD hard drive (128gb)
3.Faster processor (intel i7- 2.66GHz)
Would speed up my computer the most?



P.S I'm a student, so I use it for movies, photoshop, office, web browsing, etc.

 

[Jaro65]

#2 - absolutely

 

[I'mAMac]

#2 by far

 

[Rithem]

#2. If you don't have the money I'd wait it out till the prices drop.

 

[TZRaceR6]

Put an SSD in my MBP and it is by far the best thing you can do to speed up your computer.

I have the 13" 2.66 and XBench shows my score jumping from 134 (with the original 5400rpm HDD to 200 with the SSD.
Boot time is 15 seconds. App launch time is between 1 and 2 seconds. Just compare those times to what you have now or will have with the stock stuff.

 

[sadcamper]

Agreed that the SSD will speed things up the most, but remember that you can always upgrade the HD and memory down the road...the processor is yours for the life of the machine.

 

[AshStorm]

#2 - Instant gratification


After I put a SSD in my MBP, I started hating using my desktop because it's so slow in comparison and I have decent parts in her.

 

[Trygil]

Just to echo everyone else - #2, easily.

 

[elpmas]

2 is a faster way to access your files, but if you use programs that are memory eaters, go for memory upgrade, but looks like your routine is pretty basic, ssd. =]

 

[bhattsan]

Unless you run vms, cad, other really memory intensive stuff all at once, you don't need 8 gb ever. When I had my windows laptop, I had a vm, call of duty 4, crysis, word, firefox running and still had 500mb left of 4gb. SSD will give you a (noticeable) increase in speed. Most apps take 1-2 bounces max (Safari launches before first bounce )

 

[deus ex machina]

SSD's speed disk access by 2 to 3 fold over the standard HDs. The OS, programs and files spring off the media. Where the CPU is the bottleneck, they make no difference. I have an intel 25-m in my win7 box. Honestly, the CPU and RAM speed are still holding it back on the big jobs. If I were buying a new macbook, it would be the processor (which is not upgradable)..... and pickup a SSD when the prices drop or consider the seagate hybrid drive.

IMHO, having to wait a few more moments for the program to come up is not all the important, however the boot sequence is!