Upgrade current MBP or replace it?

Increasing the RAM will only give barely noticeable performance improvements, but an SSD will transform it.

That said, I doubt anything would help the resale value, considering that it's hobbled by the lack of USB 3, which is a turn-off for a lot of people.

 

I agree and think that the OP will be able to get many more delighfull years out if his macbook that way.
An ssd upgrade is a worthy investment.

 

Another for the SSD upgrade

 

Is it likely that future Mbps will lose most ports to be replaced with USB-C?

 

I put a crucial mx100 256gb into mine and am more than happy with the performance

 

You should get both.

Honestly, when I bought my MacBooks, the first thing I always did was to upgrade the RAM and place an SSD in there.

I'm currently using a mid 2012 15" Macbook Pro ... It has 8GB of RAM and an SSD that I put in myself.

If I do replace this laptop, it certainly won't be due to lack of performance. USB 3.0 is nice and all, but it's not a big deal. How often are you transferring large amounts of data via USB anyway? Any computer made after 2010 is more than adequate for the average consumer these days. I mean, what exactly does the average user really do with their machine?

 

SSD first then take another look at the performance.

If still a bit slow then start another thread (or bump this one) and post a screenshot from Activity Monitor ... more details in this thread.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1756865

I'm running a late 2011 MBP 13 inch with SSD and 16GB ram, but the ram is mostly needed for running virtual machines. Before that I had 4GB and that worked quite well with OS X Mavericks and a SSD.

Regarding the SSD, this thread might help. You don't need a super expensive SSD for what you described. Something like a Crucial MX100 should meet your needs, but there are other options mentioned in this thread.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1177020

Skip to the last few pages for current recommendations.