Hi All,
I'm exploring the possibility of improving the speed of my 2011 MBP, and the 2 obvious choices seem to be upgraded RAM from 4gb to 8gb, or putting in an SSD drive. My questions are this:
1) would I even notice the upgrade? I don't use it for any intensive stuff, generally just web browsing, emails and creating word documents. Also use it for watching DVDs/listening to music. I quite like the idea of getting into editing photos, but I'm not a photographer, so it would be very much a hobby as opposed to something serious if I did get into it, and it could very well end up being something I never get round to doing. With my current usage in mind, is it even worth upgrading it?
2) what would be the best way of putting in an SSD, assuming I go down this road? I'm on quite a tight budget, so was considering getting quite a small drive (64gb-ish) to run my OS on, and stuff like Safari, mail, word. Then using my existing 320gb internal HD as an external one, and putting the likes of iTunes on the 320gb drive, as well as using it for a back up. Or should I really be looking at getting a bigger capacity SSD? Or could I even get away with a smaller one?
I've never played about inside my machine before, but watched some demos on Youtube etc and I'm confident I could do it no problem, am I being realistic? I'm not very 'tech-minded'...
3) What am I looking at price wise for each of these options, bearing in mind that I'm in the UK? I understand Crucial are the people to go to for RAM upgrades, and believe this will come in about £40? The Crucial Real SSD C300 (64gb) I can pick up for about £90, maybe a shade less, but the Kingston SS100S2/96G is available for just over £100, so would the increased capacity be worth it, considering my plan to use my HDD to keep large apps on? Considering I'm after the upgrade for speed, I wouldn't want to get the Kingston just for the extra capacity if I don't need it, and its going to be slower.
Am I overlooking any other good options in this sort of price bracket?
Thanks in advance for replies, and sorry it turned into a bit more of an essay than I originally intended!
Cheers,
Ed
I'm exploring the possibility of improving the speed of my 2011 MBP, and the 2 obvious choices seem to be upgraded RAM from 4gb to 8gb, or putting in an SSD drive. My questions are this:
1) would I even notice the upgrade? I don't use it for any intensive stuff, generally just web browsing, emails and creating word documents. Also use it for watching DVDs/listening to music. I quite like the idea of getting into editing photos, but I'm not a photographer, so it would be very much a hobby as opposed to something serious if I did get into it, and it could very well end up being something I never get round to doing. With my current usage in mind, is it even worth upgrading it?
2) what would be the best way of putting in an SSD, assuming I go down this road? I'm on quite a tight budget, so was considering getting quite a small drive (64gb-ish) to run my OS on, and stuff like Safari, mail, word. Then using my existing 320gb internal HD as an external one, and putting the likes of iTunes on the 320gb drive, as well as using it for a back up. Or should I really be looking at getting a bigger capacity SSD? Or could I even get away with a smaller one?
I've never played about inside my machine before, but watched some demos on Youtube etc and I'm confident I could do it no problem, am I being realistic? I'm not very 'tech-minded'...
3) What am I looking at price wise for each of these options, bearing in mind that I'm in the UK? I understand Crucial are the people to go to for RAM upgrades, and believe this will come in about £40? The Crucial Real SSD C300 (64gb) I can pick up for about £90, maybe a shade less, but the Kingston SS100S2/96G is available for just over £100, so would the increased capacity be worth it, considering my plan to use my HDD to keep large apps on? Considering I'm after the upgrade for speed, I wouldn't want to get the Kingston just for the extra capacity if I don't need it, and its going to be slower.
Am I overlooking any other good options in this sort of price bracket?
Thanks in advance for replies, and sorry it turned into a bit more of an essay than I originally intended!
Cheers,
Ed