Speeding up my Spring 2007 aluminum MacBook Pro!

[rhyzome]

Hi--

I know it is an old computer, but the MBPs (and MBAs) just aren't where I want them to be for me to see an upgrade as desirable, and I don't believe that the frequently annoying but not disastrous slowing down that I experience on the machine warrants an upgrade (or ought to warrant one--given the likely engineered cause of that slowness).

So, does anyone have tips specific to the Spring 2007 aluminum/non-unibody MacBook Pro on the topic of speeding it up in today's world?


The details:
Mine is a 2.4 GHz with 27 out of 150 GB HD available, 4 GB ram, a moderate amount of clutter on the desktop, and lots of open safari tabs.

I'm experiencing slowdowns when many tabs are open (with google books, pdf articles) and when I have Word running at the same time. This is exacerbated when Aperture and/or iTunes are also running (which both have large libraries taking up most of my HD) I have a number of folders full of very big PDF books (10-200MB/book) that I keep on the desktop. I use the desktop as a way of thinking by arranging things I'm reading.

How can I make this old scratched-up warrior thrive in the marathon until my next upgrade?!

 

[xShane]

Hi--

I know it is an old computer, but the MBPs (and MBAs) just aren't where I want them to be for me to see an upgrade as desirable, and I don't believe that the frequently annoying but not disastrous slowing down that I experience on the machine warrants an upgrade (or ought to warrant one--given the likely engineered cause of that slowness).

So, does anyone have tips specific to the Spring 2007 aluminum/non-unibody MacBook Pro on the topic of speeding it up in today's world?


The details:
Mine is a 2.4 GHz with 27 out of 150 GB HD available, 4 GB ram, a moderate amount of clutter on the desktop, and lots of open safari tabs.

I'm experiencing slowdowns when many tabs are open (with google books, pdf articles) and when I have Word running at the same time. This is exacerbated when Aperture and/or iTunes are also running (which both have large libraries taking up most of my HD) I have a number of folders full of very big PDF books (10-200MB/book) that I keep on the desktop. I use the desktop as a way of thinking by arranging things I'm reading.

How can I make this old scratched-up warrior thrive in the marathon until my next upgrade?!

Upgrade to a SSD and max out the ram (I think it supports up to 6GB RAM).

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Definitely max out the RAM and get an SSD. If all you do is surf the net, you won't be able to tell much of a difference between facebook on a retina macbook pro and a 2007 macbook pro.

 

[brop52]

Hi--

I know it is an old computer, but the MBPs (and MBAs) just aren't where I want them to be for me to see an upgrade as desirable, and I don't believe that the frequently annoying but not disastrous slowing down that I experience on the machine warrants an upgrade (or ought to warrant one--given the likely engineered cause of that slowness).

So, does anyone have tips specific to the Spring 2007 aluminum/non-unibody MacBook Pro on the topic of speeding it up in today's world?


The details:
Mine is a 2.4 GHz with 27 out of 150 GB HD available, 4 GB ram, a moderate amount of clutter on the desktop, and lots of open safari tabs.

I'm experiencing slowdowns when many tabs are open (with google books, pdf articles) and when I have Word running at the same time. This is exacerbated when Aperture and/or iTunes are also running (which both have large libraries taking up most of my HD) I have a number of folders full of very big PDF books (10-200MB/book) that I keep on the desktop. I use the desktop as a way of thinking by arranging things I'm reading.

How can I make this old scratched-up warrior thrive in the marathon until my next upgrade?!

If money is no object sure max out the RAM. You should test if you truly are maxing out the existing RAM with activity monitor / iStat Pro on the advanced settings with high page outs. Otherwise 4GB (to get to 6GB) chips for that old of a machine are a little more pricey.

 

[infernoguy]

SSD then RAM.

I'm sporting a similar model (purchased used) and found that I had a faulty 2GB DIMM Chip. Removed it and haven't noticed a difference with 2GB less of RAM. I'll probably buy a 4GB DIMM at some point but having an SSD drive makes me not miss the extra 2GB that much.

 

[Applefanboy8153]

128 gb samsung SSD and if you want to you can max out ram. Just check what is compatible with the mac as it is old.

 

[rhyzome]

Thanks for the suggestions; I have been considering switching to SSD.

Are there non-hardware-based ways to speed this sort of laptop up? (certain practices, scripts, etc)?

(clearing of caches, running maintenance scripts/commands, and other basic stuff like repairing disc permissions helped a lot--though I don't know how long or short it will be until I'll have to repeat these)

 

[Alekseriator]

You could try download a free utility called Onyx (http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/11582/onyx) and running through all of the scripts that it has. That should give you a nice boost and booting speeds may increase as well.

Try it, but I'm telling you that retina MacBook Pro is damn good, the next gen will get rid of all the minor annoyances and it will be an even more perfect machine!

Good Luck to you!