Upgrade MBP or Upgrade to MBP?

[rick3000]

I have a 2.8Ghz 4GB 5400RPM 15" MBP (Mid-2009), I'm running Mountain Lion and I go out of AppleCare in a month. I'm a casual photographer/filmmaker so I use FCP and Aperture, but 85% of my usage is web browsing, email, etc. I would really like a new MBP, but I'm not to fond of spending the money on a new Mac.

I can upgrade my current MBP to a 256GB SSD and 8GB Ram for about $250.
Or I can sell my MBP, and get a 15" 2.6Ghz 8GB 7500RPM for about $2300.

I don't have a huge problem with the 2.8Ghz, but the load times and slow app switching is killing me. Worth upgrading to a new mac or just upgrade what I've got? Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[basesloaded190]

Get the SSD. That will make your MBP feel like a brand new machine.

 

[bunit]

I have the same dilemma as you do, and I have the same spec Macbook Pro. I decided to just order 8GB of RAM from OWC, deciding to save money as the Mac I have now works great, but when using Aperture along with a couple other programs at the same time, things get a little sluggish. But other than that, it runs to good to justify shelling out the money for a new one.

 

[js81]

I have (almost) the same MBP. I just recently upgraded mine to a 120GB OCZ Agility 3 and it has made a WORLD of difference. It is literally like a new machine. I plan to do the 8GB and Mountain Lion upgrades, too. Money well spent, IMHO. And Newegg has the 240GB Agility for $149 after rebate right now, too.

EDIT: Link to 240GB Agility 3. If you do decide to get an Agility SSD, be sure to download the ISO of OCZ's SSD toolbox and lock the SATA speed to SATA II - otherwise, on this MBP the SSD will only operate at SATA I speed. Really easy, 1-click fix.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I have a 2.8Ghz 4GB 5400RPM 15" MBP (Mid-2009), I'm running Mountain Lion and I go out of AppleCare in a month. I'm a casual photographer/filmmaker so I use FCP and Aperture, but 85% of my usage is web browsing, email, etc. I would really like a new MBP, but I'm not to fond of spending the money on a new Mac.

I can upgrade my current MBP to a 256GB SSD and 8GB Ram for about $250.
Or I can sell my MBP, and get a 15" 2.6Ghz 8GB 7500RPM for about $2300.

I don't have a huge problem with the 2.8Ghz, but the load times and slow app switching is killing me. Worth upgrading to a new mac or just upgrade what I've got? Thoughts?

Thanks!

Unless you feel uncomfortable about having a Mac out of AppleCare (and some do like to sell their machine every three years when AppleCare runs out, so I'm not knocking that, if that's what you want to do), I'd say that with a Mid 2009 15" MacBook Pro, it's still early to be wanting an upgrade to a whole new MacBook Pro. That being said, it is likely that this current rev of the non-retina MacBook Pros is the last, so if you have any aversions to the new design, it might be prudent to sell what you have and buy the new non-retina model. Otherwise, upgrade your hard drive to either a 7200RPM drive or an SSD and upgrade your RAM from 4GB to 8GB which is what it maxes out at. You might not need the hard drive upgrade, but the RAM upgrade will definitely help make things faster.

 

[Xytal]

I have a Mid 2009 Macbook Pro, 13". About 6-8 months ago I did just what you're thinking and put an SSD and went to 8GB of ram. While I haven't noticed much on the RAM, to be completely honest (though with the amount of apps I some times have running all the time, I'm sure I would see something if I still had the 4GB of RAM), but the SSD does change things a lot. The boot up time is crazy and just the overall speed of things was a welcome change.

Mountain Lion also does feel a little snappier than Lion did, which does help. All in all, while it was a worthy upgrade, I plan to upgrade when I get a chance; and I will be upgrading to a Retina Macbook. The only question is whether it will be this generation or next.

Another thing to think about it the next version of OS X. While I got lucky with Mountain Lion, I doubt the next version of OS X will run on my laptop (I'd be honestly surprised if it did). That for mean is another reason to look into updating within the next year or so.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I have a Mid 2009 Macbook Pro, 13". About 6-8 months ago I did just what you're thinking and put an SSD and went to 8GB of ram. While I haven't noticed much on the RAM, to be completely honest (though with the amount of apps I some times have running all the time, I'm sure I would see something if I still had the 4GB of RAM), but the SSD does change things a lot. The boot up time is crazy and just the overall speed of things was a welcome change.

Mountain Lion also does feel a little snappier than Lion did, which does help. All in all, while it was a worthy upgrade, I plan to upgrade when I get a chance; and I will be upgrading to a Retina Macbook. The only question is whether it will be this generation or next.

Another thing to think about it the next version of OS X. While I got lucky with Mountain Lion, I doubt the next version of OS X will run on my laptop (I'd be honestly surprised if it did). That for mean is another reason to look into updating within the next year or so.

I have a feeling that your machine will still be supported come 10.9 as the only reason 13" machines before it didn't had to do with a lack of 64-bit drivers as Apple has finally put the 32-bit Kernel to rest. They could just have Core 2 Duo users be out of luck, but given that we're only been off of Core 2 Duo for just over a year now, that'd seem unlikely and I highly doubt Apple will make the GeForce 9400M the cutoff in any fashion this next round. Either way, we have a substantial amount of time before the successor to Mountain Lion. If you are sold on all of the changes to the retina MBP and have no desire whatsoever to get either a 15" or 13" of the non-retina while you still can, I'd say wait until the next rev as it's still somewhat early for an upgrade and the retina MBP stands to be improved slightly in terms of some of the design stupids that it has as well as its price.

 

[hafr]

I have a 2.8Ghz 4GB 5400RPM 15" MBP (Mid-2009), I'm running Mountain Lion and I go out of AppleCare in a month. I'm a casual photographer/filmmaker so I use FCP and Aperture, but 85% of my usage is web browsing, email, etc. I would really like a new MBP, but I'm not to fond of spending the money on a new Mac.

I can upgrade my current MBP to a 256GB SSD and 8GB Ram for about $250.
Or I can sell my MBP, and get a 15" 2.6Ghz 8GB 7500RPM for about $2300.

I don't have a huge problem with the 2.8Ghz, but the load times and slow app switching is killing me. Worth upgrading to a new mac or just upgrade what I've got? Thoughts?

Thanks!

I have an alternative solution... Get the SSD and RAM upgrade and try it out. If you don't like it, you'll be able to get more than 250 bucks more for your computer when you sell it and the cost of a new computer goes down for you.

It's a win-win situation, you can't go wrong, and you won't have to think "what if"

 

[26139]

Yep!

Get the SSD. That will make your MBP feel like a brand new machine.

Ram and SSD for $250 ain't bad.

Very worthy upgrade and it will definitely breathe new life into that machine.