which upgrade for a 2011 MacBook Pro

[satinsilverem2]

So my current setup is an early 2011 13 inch MBP with the 2.7GHz i7. it currently has 8gb of ram and a Samsung 830 128GB SSD. Ive noticed over the past couple of months that its starting to slow down a bit and also noticed that I've been running low on RAM quite a bit lately. My plan is to put either a 840 evo or 850 Pro 250/6GB to replace the small 830. I'm also planning on putting 16gb of ram in it. What would you recommend replacing first, the RAM or the SSD? I could technically do both at the same time but would rather do it in chunks. Also the 2011's came with 1333MHz memory and I saw that 1600MHz memory is slightly cheaper and is "compatible" with 1333MHz Logic boards. Am I okay with using this ram?

Thanks in advanced!!!

 

[maflynn]

When you say running low on ram what do you mean?

Seeing low free ram or high page-ins and page-outs?

Free ram is wasted ram in OS X. How much swapping to the swap file(s) is what will slow your computer down.

You didn't say what you're running so its hard to say if you need more ram, but for most people 8 GB is more then enough. The SSD is also quite fast, so there's really not much else you can do to speed the computer up.

 

[satinsilverem2]

Sorry I forgot to post usage.

Usually I'm running Safari, iTunes, Aperture, Messages, Outlook at any given time.

I also do quite a bit of FCPX editing and a lot of Handbrake encoding. The SSD is not really being replaced due to speed but more for space issues.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Nothing that will help

You have pretty much maxxed that out, the RAM will be clocked back to 1333 mhz anyway by your motherboard and the SSD is maxing out your SATA III connection.

So why the issues??

Have you got trim enabled on the SSD, if not go here and use this.

http://www.cindori.org/software/trimenabler/

Are you maxxing out your ram with lots open, your machine will accept 16gb if I remember correctly but this will only speed things up if you are using it, cheack your ram pressure graph in the AQctivity monitor when you are at high usage if the graph is green more RAM will make no difference.

It is most likely a software issue. This is best done by taking a full backup and then doing a clean install and putting apps back on one at a time until they cause a slowdown this can eliminate app incompatability.

Also if you are using chrome this can really slow your machine down don't use it.

 

[catean]

the RAM will be clocked back to 1333 mhz anyway by your motherboard and the SSD is maxing out your SATA III connection.

That is not true, my early 2011 has 16GB ram running at 1600mhz.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I stand corrected

The RAM will indeed run at 1600mhz, this won't make a huge difference in day to day stuff but all those little increases add up....