Upgrading to SSD and 8GB RAM - 2010 13'' MBP

[' r i S e n]

I am completely new to things like parts and especially upgrading them. I need advice on what to purchase and I need the help of the users here to make sure that I purchase the right thing, if you would be so kind.

I was looking at Crucial products as that is all I found that has anything for a decent price. Does Crucial sell quality products? I can't seem to locate any reviews.

First, a question: How much will switching from a 500GB HDD to a 128 SSD and from 4(2x2)GB of RAM to 8(2x4)GB of RAM speed up my system? I am sorry if that is a vague question, and I can supply information such as what I use my computer for, etc if necessary.

I am looking at this for an SSD as that is all that is listed under 128GB SSD's. How will I know if this will fit in my laptop or not? How do I know that it is compatible?

Then, I am looking at this page for RAM (with 2-stick and 1066 MHz checked off). Again, how will I know that it is compatible, and of equal importance, if it fits? It seems to have the same thing listed back-to-back, except one of the sticks is bigger or smaller, etc.

I am sorry if this post is laughable, in both senses that it is uneducated and almost half of it can be turned into a "that's what she said" joke, but I hope you can understand that I am new to this and it is all quite overwhelming. Thank you to any helpful replies.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

As noted in the guides I linked to earlier, you can use any 2.5" S-ATA HDD or SSD with a maximum height of 12.5mm, thus the SSD will work.
For the RAM you need 204-pin 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM modules, which you can select on the left side, thus the smaller stick is the one you want.

The SSD will increase performance and make the Mac snappier. More RAM will give you more room to breathe, but it may not be necessary, if you don't use applications that use much RAM.

 

[' r i S e n]

Thanks a lot, sim. I browse the guides that you post almost regularly, but I posted this after of course - I probably should have reread them with this refined intent to upgrade.

I really appreciate all of your assistance. : )

 

[MrXiro]

The SSD will speed things up exponentially... the RAM not so much... unless you have a lot of programs running at once you won't see any speed difference with the RAM upgrade. If you were only going to go with one upgrade I'd recommend the SSD.

I have a Crucial SSD in my MBP. Great upgrade.

Hope that helps.

 

[' r i S e n]

The SSD will speed things up exponentially... the RAM not so much... unless you have a lot of programs running at once you won't see any speed difference with the RAM upgrade. If you were only going to go with one upgrade I'd recommend the SSD.

I have a Crucial SSD in my MBP. Great upgrade.

Hope that helps.

That does help a lot - I usually only have Safari, System Preferences, and perhaps Photoshop running at once on Mac OS X while navigating through some folders as well. Once I set up Boot Camp, I will only be running games on the Windows side.

I'm thinking upgrading to 8GB would kind of be a waste now. I think I will surely go with the SSD though - as 128GB will be more than enough for the setup that I am going for. I'll most likely dedicate 100GB of that to Mac OS X for photos and such and then 28GB for games as the games that I want to install are only about 4GB each maximum.

 

[stridemat]

Remember to take into account the install space for Windows 7. I'm not sure how much space you need, but guessing about 6GB.

 

[MrXiro]

That does help a lot - I usually only have Safari, System Preferences, and perhaps Photoshop running at once on Mac OS X while navigating through some folders as well. Once I set up Boot Camp, I will only be running games on the Windows side.

I'm thinking upgrading to 8GB would kind of be a waste now. I think I will surely go with the SSD though - as 128GB will be more than enough for the setup that I am going for. I'll most likely dedicate 100GB of that to Mac OS X for photos and such and then 28GB for games as the games that I want to install are only about 4GB each maximum.

I agree... Upgraded mine to 8gb... Never using more than 2 really.

 

[' r i S e n]

Remember to take into account the install space for Windows 7. I'm not sure how much space you need, but guessing about 6GB.

Yep, for sure, I figured the 8GB would cover that, leaving me for 20GB of games, which is more than okay for the games that I anticipate on installing.

I think at this point I am going to leave my RAM alone and simply go for the SSD when I have the money. Thanks for the input, everyone.