SSD for old MacBook OR new MacBook

[jim4spam]

I have an Apple MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.16 13" (White;Mid-2007;MB062LL/A;MacBook2,1) and I have a couple of choices.

1) sell for say 400USD and replace with new 2011 refurb 13" i5 2.3GHz for about 1100USD.
OR
2) simply replace upgrade my current original 120Gb hard drive with same sized SSD for c.230USD.

I mainly browse/surf, very occasional video, view photos. About 3 hours per week my wife steals it, and she will InDesign and CS4 Photoshop using the MacBook when she's away from her iMac.

There were a couple of existing threads on this, like https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/862368/
and here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/922363/
but they are quite old threads and maybe the decision is skewed by the sandy bridge release.

All thoughts welcomed.

 

[andrewsd]

I'm in the same boat I have a 2.2 ghz blackbook. I am personally just going to get a ssd and just wait a lil while longer and maybe go for the next version or one after of the MBA.

 

[AWallen90]

Just get an SSD it's a world of difference.

 

[Panch0]

SSD is the best upgrade ever. Unless you are going to spring for an SSD in the new / refurb laptop you would get anyway, the SSD in you old MB is going to feel faster.

I have a Late 2008 MBP 15" upgraded with an Intel 160GB SSD. Switching to SSD was a night and day difference.

So, there are some other upgrades that would come with a new MBP. Aluminum case is nice. Glass trackpad is very nice. Battery life is great ( my laptop is the last generation before Apple really focused on the battery). ThunderBolt is going to be nice, but hasnt taken off yet. MBPs have 4GB RAM, which is also a nice upgrade.

Lots of reasons to consider a new system, but performance isn't really one of them in the scenario you mentioned. I didn't see any uses you listed where the CPU bump would be as significant as the SSD bump.

 

[jim4spam]

Thanks guys. It's also currently at 2Gb of Ram. I could max it out at 3Gb, but would the fact the page in/page out be so much faster with the SSD that it wouldn't we worthwhile (given the age/lifespan/price).

Jim.

 

[gazmat]

I was in a similar dilemma with my 2.16 Black MacBook.

I ended up sticking in 4Gb of RAM and a 500Gb Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive.

The whole upgrade cost less that £100 and the performance improvement has been spectacular - in terms of boot times and general use it's on a par or even slightly faster than my son's 13.3" base model 2010 MacBook Pro.

A true SSD would be even better and can be switched out to a newer model later on if a compelling upgrade appears.

 

[Vantage Point]

As SSD would of course ben an improvement but I really really see throwing good money into a 4 year old computer. I would see it while it still has some value.

Remember, there are three performance bottlenecks, drive, CPU and RAM. You can get around one of those with an SSD but not the other three. On my 2010 MBP I invested a little over $200 in 8GB ram and a large, fast scorpio black drive - see signature. I boot in 35 seconds (was 48 seconds) and have plenty of storage.

I think you might be better set for the next few years but investing a refurb Mac and upgrading your drive and ram as you needed. That will set you up for another 4 years - and SSD will only get better and cheaper in that time

 

[hsj2011]

I was in a similar position to you but a tad different. I had to decide between buying a late 2007 15" MBP now and upgrading the hard drive or wait a few months to buy a brand new 15" MBP.

I have used SSD's in my PC and the performance increase is amazing. At one point, I went back from an SSD to a mechanical drive but couldn't believe how slow it was. I decided to opt for the late 2007 MBP and will upgrade the hard drive (to either a SSD or a Seatgate Momentus XT) and will make it out to 6GB Ram, then when I sell it in a few months, I won't be far off getting my money back and will have a decent hard drive to put in whatever MBP I end up getting.

So...my advice would be try the SSD first. You'll be truly amazed at the speed difference.

 

[jim4spam]

thanks for the opinions guys (I was travelling for a while and couldn't reply). I'm still really torn between the two options... maybe I might hedge my bets and go SSD (which would transfer over to the new MBP in the even of a later upgrade).

The opinions help though. so thanks again.

 

[rmcwhae]

I also support the SSD upgrade. I just put an OCZ 120GB SSD into my mid-2007 Santa Rosa MacBook Pro in a budget-minded effort to boost performance without replacing the entire machine. The speed increases are quite noticeable during boot and app opening. My laptop is already four years old but is still in great shape, and the SSD upgrade will prolong its life even further. Unless your MacBook is seriously beat up (cracked case, bad hinge etc.) and you are itching for an upgrade to the aluminium shell/glass trackpad/longer battery life offered by the 2011 refurb, the SSD gives you better-than-new performance at a fraction of the cost.