Will these hardware upgrades improve Logic X performance?

[lip5016]

Hello.. I'm looking to make some upgrades to my fairly-recent, Late 2011, MacBook Pro.. I'm currently working full-time in Logic X, spending at least 12+ hours/day working w/TONS of CPU-intensive plugins.. Here is my current setup:

• MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 (Late 2011) .. 8gb 1333 MHz DDR3 .. 750gb 7200rpm HD

I found out that my specific model of MacBook Pro can actually take 16gb of RAM versus the "maxed" 8gb of RAM that I originally bought it with from Apple.. When I bought the machine, I bought the maximum amount of RAM apple offered, as well as the top CPU and harddrive.. After doing some research last night, I found out that even though the 2011 MacBook Pro's are only "rated" for 8gb RAM (4gb x 2), that they can actually take 16gb RAM (8gb x 2)!..

Here's the RAM modules I was looking to upgrade it to:

$151 for pair (8gb x 2)

Patriot Mac Series 16GB Apple SODIMM Kit (2X8GB) DDR3 1333 PC3 10600 204-Pin SO-DIMM PSA316G1333SK
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006BMBUAA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I figure that since I'm currently *very* unhappy with Logic X's performance on this somewhat, brand-new MacBook Pro, and that since I'm not in the current financial situation to be able to go out and buy the new Mac Pro garbage-can, my best bet for improving my workflow and Logic X's performance is to upgrade and make a beast out of my current machine..

Since I've now hit the point where I've actually "maxed out" my RAM w/16gb, and since CPU isn't really upgradeable for Mac's, I figure that the next best addition would be to deck out my machine with some SSD's.. I'm a big advocate of buying the most badass components possible when it comes to my computers, so price isn't really a factor when moving onto this next upgrade:

Here's the SSD (was thinking about getting 2 of these @ 512gb/each) that I was looking to upgrade it with:

$359/each

Samsung Electronics 850 Pro-Series 2.5" 512GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive Single Unit Version MZ-7KE512BW
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LF10KTO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I know that the Samsung 850 Pro SSD's are a big on the pricey side, but from my research, I've found that they're ranked as the "best" available on the market.. I was planning on replacing my main hard drive in my MacBook Pro w/one of these to use as the OSX/startup/Logic X/apps drive, and then was catering to the idea of whether or not it'd be worth it to throw in a 2nd one? (same specs) in the SuperDrive optical bay.. and use that for music/samples/etc..

I'm not sure if a 2nd SSD would be considered "overkill", but at the same time, I hate having to rely on external devices which are typically slow and bottleneck (plus I only have 1 thunderbolt *used already by display* and 2x USB 2.0 ports).. I figure this way, I can have one disk reading while the other is writing, both at the same time.. and be able to have all my most important, frequently-accessed music/sample folders available lightning-fast..

Total Shopping List:

• 1x Patriot Mac Series 16GB Apple SODIMM Kit (2X8GB) DDR3 1333 PC3 10600 204-Pin SO-DIMM PSA316G1333SK by Patriot = $151.06
• 2x Samsung Electronics 850 Pro-Series 2.5" 512GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive Single Unit Version MZ-7KE512BW by Samsung = $359 each * 2 = $708.00

+ OWC Data Doubler to be able to put a SSD in my SuperDrive/optical bay ($35)
+ OWC SuperDrive Enclosure to be able to reconnect my SuperDrive ($33)

Grand Total: $937.06 + tax = $1,027.49 (after tax + overnight shipping)

Do you guys think these upgrades will provide me with a noticeable improvement in Logic X's performance? Also, do you think the 2nd SSD drive is worth it for the "less important" stuff that I frequently access? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks!

 

[meson]

You will definitely notice a difference. The write speed of the SSD will make a huge difference. The SSD reads and writes much faster, and the machine will spend much lest time waiting on the HDD.

What version of OS X are you on? Use activity monitor to check your memory pressure on Mavericks or Yosemite. Otherwise, use activity monitor and check the ratio of your page ins to page outs. If you are using a lot of swap space or have a high ratio of page outs, the extra ram will help. Based on your usage, I expect the extra ram to help.

Whether the second SSD is overkill, that is a tougher answer. If you are using it to store completed projects and your personal media and documents, it may be overkill. If you are using both drives in your workflow, then the second SSD may well be beneficial. For ultimate speed, you can configure the pair in a RAID 0 array giving you incredibly fast read/write speeds. In this configuration, the machine will alternate writing between the drives and a failure of 1 drive kills the data on both. Make sure you have a reliable backup in place.

These older machines are still very serviceable, and I think you will enjoy the upgrades.