Boosting Macbook Pro performance - hardware upgrade?

hoogie

hoogie

hoogie

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18 Dec 2003
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327
Hi All,

I recently got an early 2011 Macbook Pro and after some teething issues I am now loving it, however I have noticed that at times the performance can be slightly sluggish (the coloured loading symbol is appearing more than it used to).

The system has the stock confirguration of Intel I5 2.3GHz and 4GB ram.

What are the best things I can do to improve performance?

In terms of hardware upgrade I imagine increasing the RAM to 8GB and getting a SSD are the obvious options.

To confirm, would my system currently have a single 4GB memory stick (so I could upgrade by getting 1 more) or is it likely to have 2x2GB sticks meaning I have to get 2x4GB sticks?

Additionally is there anything I can do software wise to boost performance?

Thanks for any advice.
 
I think you've answered your own question with the only realistic (but still very worthwhile) upgrades.

I think it is 2x2gb in there.

I have 2.4GHz C2d MacBook with 8GB and ssd and I'm very happy with the results.
 
If its stock now its 2x2gb in there.

Speeding up the boot performance is all about getting an SSD in there, for old c2d mbp and my current sandybridge one the SSD made a significant improvement.
 
Thanks for the fast responses.

I think given that SSD prices are still relatively high that is an upgrade I will put off for now, the RAM is something I may look to upgrade immediately though.

Couple of questions regardin gthis though:

1) I have never got RAM for a laptop before. What type should I be lookng to get? Are some options better than others?

2) Can I install the RAM myself without voiding the warranty or will I need to drop into an Apple store?

Cheers
 
hoogie said:
Thanks for the fast responses.

I think given that SSD prices are still relatively high that is an upgrade I will put off for now, the RAM is something I may look to upgrade immediately though.

Couple of questions regardin gthis though:

1) I have never got RAM for a laptop before. What type should I be lookng to get? Are some options better than others?

2) Can I install the RAM myself without voiding the warranty or will I need to drop into an Apple store?

Cheers
Click to expand...

The SSD will make a huge difference. If your not using more than 4GB of memory at the moment, adding more wont really help.
 
You need an SSD to see any gains really. I doubt that you are RAM limited very often.

If you find SSDs too expensive for the capacity you need, you could get a small SSD for your OS and programs (say 64gb) and then put your current disk drive in an optibay.

RAM is fairly cheap though so if you are being RAM limited now and again, it's worth upgrading. The best way to do this is to go on to the crucial site and order it from them (they have a system checker to point you at the correct stuff). Installing it is easy.
 
Everything has been covered here basically, the way to see if you are running out of memory is to view the number of page-outs in Activity Monitor (Utilities folder) under normal usage (wait for a while before doing this).

If you are going to buy more memory, buy the Crucial 8GB kit here from OcUK, as it's pretty much the cheapest price for any 8GB kit in this country, let alone being from Crucial.
 
Added 8GB of RAM and an SSD to my MBP (exact same model and spec) this week. The SSD has made the biggest difference of the two and you'll definitely not want to go back to standard hard drives.

Result has been no more endlessly bouncy application icons, no beach balling and obviously faster startup and shutdown.
 
MBP running hot?

Hi,

I have a mid-2009 MBP and am noticing it seems to be running a lot hotter than it used to. (and it runs a lot hotter than my work machine which is a i7 MBP with an SSD) The warranty expires in June so keen to do something about it before then.

Has anyone had a similar thing or taken theirs to the Apple store for something like that? or have you indeed re-thermal pasted it yourself? Is it something the Apple store guys are likely to acknowledge and address? Both the fans seem fine and the laptop is not really very dusty inside at all.

Thanks
 
Got a 13" Mid 2010 2.4GHz MacBook Pro and recently upgraded it to 8GB and a 256GB Crucial M4 SSD and it really does feel like a new machine, The SSD makes all the difference :)
 
Bes said:
Hi,

I have a mid-2009 MBP and am noticing it seems to be running a lot hotter than it used to. (and it runs a lot hotter than my work machine which is a i7 MBP with an SSD) The warranty expires in June so keen to do something about it before then.

Has anyone had a similar thing or taken theirs to the Apple store for something like that? or have you indeed re-thermal pasted it yourself? Is it something the Apple store guys are likely to acknowledge and address? Both the fans seem fine and the laptop is not really very dusty inside at all.

Thanks
Click to expand...

All they will do is run the AHT on it, if it passes, it is ok by their standards because technically, it is running ok.

If it is throttling is something you need to find out in windows. If you run Intel Burn Test and the CPU starts throttling yet fans are at max then you have a case :)
 
i bought a momentus XT hybrid hdd for my MBP
it was very fast, great performacnce boost, but the sound was terrible, like a small fan whirring constantly (got rid of and went back to stock)

was then thinking of getting an 8GB kit to boost performance (i have stock 4gb)
not sure if i need it though
does RAM help startup times etc? will it actually help programs load faster and programs run quicker?

not that i do too much with mine but i just want to future proof it for a few years
 
i've currently got a Momentus XT in my MBP mid 2010 and whilst it has made a lot of difference in speed i'm convinced my battery life has suffered and also the vibration under my right palm has increased.

Now i'm thinking of swapping out my Samsung SSD from my gaming pc (in sig) and swapping it with my Momentus XT. Trouble is my SSD is only 128gb.

Now i've attached my WD Passport to my WNDR3800 router i'm currently copying over my music/photos etc to free some space. Once done i should have freed a decent amount to warrant me using my SSD.

but i'm still torn as to whether or not i just buy a new 256gb SSD?!
 
I have heard plenty of people talking about the momentus XT and every one of them says that its pretty pants. The guy I live with has one and it barely makes any difference to the laptops speed.

I have got an SSD and 8gb of ram in my MBP and I can't see myself needing to upgrade for 2-3 more years barring any breakdowns. The SSD is the best upgrade you will ever make. I never ever get the bouncing ball or slowdown other than when I am using a VM on a secondary mechanical HD.
 
i found the momentus a great performance boost, startup time increased and programs opened fast
but vibration and whirring were bad!
would be ok in an office or something but not for browsing at home on your lap

i really needed / need more disk space than my stock 250gb
would love to get a 500gb SSD :p

might just end up with a 1TB external to back up to
 
does anyone know where i can look at the SSD speeds over SATA 2 rather than SATA 3.

unless i'm mistaken most SSD's show their SATA 3 performance figures
i.e; Sandisk Extreme SSD 240GB
- Capacity: 240GB
- Controller: SandForce SF-2281
- Maximum Read: 550MB/sec
- Maximum Write: 520MB/sec
- Sustained Write: 500MB/sec
- Max I/O Per Second (IOPS): 83,000 IOPS (4KB File)
- NAND Flash: Multi-Level Cell (MLC)
- Interface: SATA-III / 6Gbps (Backwards compatible with SATA-II / 3Gbps)
- TRIM Support (Requires Windows 7)
- Warranty: 3 Years

correct me if i'm wrong but will these figures alter for my mid 2010 Pro running SATA 2
 
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