a few tech questions i have about my macbook pro!

hello all, i have a fairly average knowledge of computers and have a few questions about my macbook pro:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Memory: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
version: 10.6.8

first question is how much RAM can i upgrade to? on crucial.com it said 8GB, just wanted to make sure this is correct?

Computer memory upgrades for Apple MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 (15-inch DDR3) MC371LL/A Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com

also can i upgrade my hard drive to say 1TB? its 320GB at the moment.

finally my battery life seems really short about 4hrs an even less sometimes if i'm watching something and it tends to get really hot on the back left area. any advice on what to do? as this seems very unusual especially for at macbook pro, i think the battery is still under warranty - cycle count 278.

thanks!

8GB is what I've found for your model looking at Mactracker as well.

It looks like a 9.5mm 1TB drive is available now. (Used to be 1TB were 12.5mm so it was a tight squeeze.)

Anyway - I recommend going here and getting a diy kit. It gives you the tools you need plus a drive enclosure so you can still use the 320GB drive.
2.5" Laptop Hard Drives & SSD for MacBook, PowerBook, iBook, and PC Laptop/NoteBook systems Serial ATA & IDE/ATA

Also note that the 1TB are 5400 RPM - which is generally too slow for video editing. That being said your 320GB should also be a 5400RPM drive so it probably doesn't matter to you.

Thread moved to "Apple Notebooks".

IvanLasston said:

8GB is what I've found for your model looking at Mactracker as well.

It looks like a 9.5mm 1TB drive is available now. (Used to be 1TB were 12.5mm so it was a tight squeeze.)

Anyway - I recommend going here and getting a diy kit. It gives you the tools you need plus a drive enclosure so you can still use the 320GB drive.
2.5" Laptop Hard Drives & SSD for MacBook, PowerBook, iBook, and PC Laptop/NoteBook systems Serial ATA & IDE/ATA

Also note that the 1TB are 5400 RPM - which is generally too slow for video editing. That being said your 320GB should also be a 5400RPM drive so it probably doesn't matter to you.

Click to expand...

thanks for the fast reply!

i'm a musician and the main uses of my laptop are logic and other software such as sibelius, reason etc.. will the hard drive speed effect the speed of the software i use? is that the fastest available for me?

also would there be anything else you would recommend upgrading for running the software i use? i basically want my macbook to be a bit too good for what it used for so i won't encounter any issues with the running performance as it does tend to be quite slow loading certain things at the moment such as some software instruments and opening up previous projects.

oh and i'm in England by the way, it shouldn't be a problem getting hold of it all over here should it? just i've had problems in the past of finding what i want is only on american websites and not over here!

Most audio apps won't have a problem with 5400 RPM drives. It is the video encoding that needs the faster drive. For example logic pro's min specs say nothing about drive speed.
Apple - Logic Pro 9 - Technical Specifications

If you look at Adobe Premier - you'll see a drive speed specification.
Tech specs | Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5

If it isn't in your software spec you probably don't have to worry about it.

Feel free to use any British company - I just was recommending something similar - where you get the drive, tools you need, and an enclosure so you can still use your 320GB drive as a USB drive. OWC is pretty reputable and I've had no trouble dealing with them in the States. Search Google for OWC UK - other forums ask the same thing - and it seems to have been a pretty good experience for people ordering.

cool ill check out those websites.

thanks for the help!