Macbook Pro - Underpowered.

Vanhishikha

Vanhishikha

Vanhishikha

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22 Aug 2011
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240
So I've got a MBP that I went ahead and bought last December and it seems to be really underpowered at the moment.

I have the 13" Macbook Pro, Mid 2012 version.
2.5 GHz Intel Core i5,
4GB 1600MHz DDR3,
Mavericks on v. 10.9.3

I'm a Web developer, so I use my MBP on a daily occassion, but my browser of choice is normally Chrome but when I use Chrome I tend to see lagging issues etc, but if I were to use Safari, I see those lag issues, much, much less. I can only imagine this is because of how Mavericks handles ram and utilises that ram accordingly.

I'm assuming that if I were to upgrade to maybe 8GB of RAM, all these problems would be solved?

On average, I'd be using Chrome, Photoshop CS6, Mail, Transmit, Coda 2 and Terminal through the entirety of the day, so these are my constants.

Would this RAM suffice? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-324-CS

Thank you.
 
Oh no, it's across the board.

So it's lagging when switching from app to app, it's rendering things at a slower rate, it's rather hard to describe really, but basically, it's like all of my RAM is used up and it's 'chugging' along or whatever.
 
Open Activity Monitor and see which Process is hogging the CPU and Ram resources.

It hides in Applications > Utilities.

I would strongly suggest putting the maximum amount possible amount of RAM in an MBP as 4GB isn't anywhere enough for use as a work machine.
 
I have the same MBP and find the same as you. It's laggy all over, slow to switch tasks and generally acts like there's no memory left all the time. Funny hearing people say 4GB isn't enough, when I can run four times the workload on a Linux box with only a Core2Duo and it's like a greased whippet. :p
 
RAM + SSD will be the areas you can change *now*.

Ideally you could have looked into the i7, as I believe they can deal with multiple processing and more threads (at least on Windows machines).

I've got an i7 Air en route from Shanghai as we speak, and I opted for 8GB RAM too.
 
After having used a i7 windows desktop for so long
It does concern me buying a MacBook pro when the specs are so much worse
I mean, the 13" models are only dual core, what's going on with that?! My next upgrade on the desktop will be 6 or 8 cores!

I appreciate that OSX is far more optimised for the hardware so I guess i will only know once i buy one
 
MonsterMoshi said:
After having used a i7 windows desktop for so long
It does concern me buying a MacBook pro when the specs are so much worse
I mean, the 13" models are only dual core, what's going on with that?! My next upgrade on the desktop will be 6 or 8 cores!

I appreciate that OSX is far more optimised for the hardware so I guess i will only know once i buy one
Click to expand...

It depends on your use. I don't believe I run applications on my Mac that will even need four, let alone more for the foreseeable future. More does not always mean more performance, but does mean more cost. Whether you need them or not depends entirely on your use.
 
After putting an SSD in my 2009 MBP, it was like night and day. Every now and again I get the urge to replace it with a retina but the things works so well in everything since the SSD upgrade that I can't justify it.
 
Any chance you have external hard drive hooked up? I have found working with USB causes everything to freeze. It is so much better to work with Firewire or Ethernet based drive.

I have at work iMac 24" 2009 version with 2.4Ghz Core2Duo CPU and 8GB ram. I use the following applications at all times:

- Chrome (Gmail, Calendar, G Drive + Apps)
- Safari General Browsing
- Firefox for Web Dev (CMS, Firebug, Web Developer Tools or Inspector)
- Sublime
- Dreamweaver
- Photoshop
- Adobe Acrobat
- Lightroom

Only when I'm editing huge amounts of photos or opening 500MB - 1GB Photoshop files my computer grinds, other then that everything works, and it works better then my iMac at home, which is 27" i5 2.7 GHz with 16GB Ram, all because I have this crappy WD Elements Desktop Drive connect via USB.

Like everyone said if you want to give it new lease of life get SSD, increase the ram to 8GB, and always use FireWire or Ethernet based HDD if your computer stays connected at all times.
 
MonsterMoshi said:
After having used a i7 windows desktop for so long
It does concern me buying a MacBook pro when the specs are so much worse
I mean, the 13" models are only dual core, what's going on with that?! My next upgrade on the desktop will be 6 or 8 cores!

I appreciate that OSX is far more optimised for the hardware so I guess i will only know once i buy one
Click to expand...

Using the quad-core in the 13" myself, not sure where these dualcore machines are lying about, lol.

ryan said:
Do this, as an SSD will make a huge difference in app loading times. Everything is pretty much instant on my 2013 MBA.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you mean, I've got a SSD in my main rig, will buy one for this asap.

nolimit said:
Any chance you have external hard drive hooked up? I have found working with USB causes everything to freeze. It is so much better to work with Firewire or Ethernet based drive.

I have at work iMac 24" 2009 version with 2.4Ghz Core2Duo CPU and 8GB ram. I use the following applications at all times:

- Chrome (Gmail, Calendar, G Drive + Apps)
- Safari General Browsing
- Firefox for Web Dev (CMS, Firebug, Web Developer Tools or Inspector)
- Sublime
- Dreamweaver
- Photoshop
- Adobe Acrobat
- Lightroom

Only when I'm editing huge amounts of photos or opening 500MB - 1GB Photoshop files my computer grinds, other then that everything works, and it works better then my iMac at home, which is 27" i5 2.7 GHz with 16GB Ram, all because I have this crappy WD Elements Desktop Drive connect via USB.

Like everyone said if you want to give it new lease of life get SSD, increase the ram to 8GB, and always use FireWire or Ethernet based HDD if your computer stays connected at all times.;
Click to expand...

I don't mate, only thing I use is my Logitech Anywhere mouse, apart from that, nothing is even attached to it, ah well.

Ordered new ram from Crucial should be here on Monday hopefully, so cannot wait for that.
 
newer MBP have soldered ram..

2011 MBP i7 with 16GB ram.. seems to work nicely for development, photography processing etc.
 
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