02-24-2011, 11:59 AM

I need a little help please.

The story:

I own a small business and all of our computers are Macs.. I've hired a new salesperson, and need to get him a computer.. I've been waiting to see what today's release brought, and I like the new SandyBridge quad core i7 in the 15" unit.

I am currently using the previous Gen MBP 15" i7 (dual core) with a 500gb, 5400rpm drive, and 8gb or RAM.

I am thinking of giving up my current machine, for the new hire, and getting the NEW quad-core i7, 15" with the 500gb 7200rpm drive for me.

The question:
Am I correct in thinking that I can simply swap the hard drives and RAM on each machine and keep all my files, settings, apps, etc in tact without any issue?

This would leave me with the newly released quad-core i7, a faster HDD (7200rpm) and keep my 8GB or RAM.

*I do use TimeMachine multiple times per day, so I could surely go that route.. but this seems a bit easier.. right? Hmmm.. maybe TimeMachine WOULD be the better way? And just swap the RAM?

Thanks in advance for your input.

02-24-2011, 12:07 PM

Yes. It's just that easy to swap HDD and RAM.
You could use Time Machine to put whatever data/media/apps the new hire needs onto the 5400rpm drive that goes in your older MBP. Just be sure before you do all this you have a current T.M. backup and a bootable clone backup using either CCC or SD.

02-24-2011, 12:28 PM

Hold up a sec - it might not be so easy. The tech specs on the new machines shows the ram to be 1333mhz, while the ram for your current system is 1066mhz. In addition, your hard drive may not have the correct drivers for the new hardware, and moving the drive over may cause system instability.

I recommend ordering RAM as needed to upgrade the new computer to 8GB, and using the Migration Assistant tool to move your account and files from the old computer to the new. I don't recommend swapping hardware from old to new... you're just asking for trouble.

02-24-2011, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by EvenStranger

Hold up a sec - it might not be so easy. The tech specs on the new machines shows the ram to be 1333mhz, while the ram for your current system is 1066mhz. In addition, your hard drive may not have the correct drivers for the new hardware, and moving the drive over may cause system instability.

I recommend ordering RAM as needed to upgrade the new computer to 8GB, and using the Migration Assistant tool to move your account and files from the old computer to the new. I don't recommend swapping hardware from old to new... you're just asking for trouble.

Good points! I was a bit hasty in my response to the OP. Oops.
Sorry, RIDE.