speeding up a couple of old macbook pros

I have a couple of old macbook pros, and I would like to speed both of them up by maxing out the RAM, and if there are other suggestions that would be great. I would also like to install a bigger HD in one of them. Problem is, I'm having trouble figuring out how much RAM capacity each of these macs can have, and also what kind of compatibility I need to know about before buying a larger HD. Here are the specs on each computer

Macbook #1 (want to Add RAM and install bigger 2TB HD) 15" 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo 2 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM Serial: W873308UX92 OSX 10.7.5

Macbook #2: (would like to add RAM, even webpage loading is slow) 15" 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Thanks in advance for any help. - Matt

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Best investment by far is an Solid State Hard Drive.

matt481vs said:

Macbook #1 (want to Add RAM and install bigger 2TB HD) 15" 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo 2 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM Serial: W873308UX92 OSX 10.7.5

Click to expand...

- Max. ram = 6gig.
- Newest OS = Mac OS 10.10 (Yosemite) which is the latest OS release.

matt481vs said:

Macbook #2: (would like to add RAM, even webpage loading is slow) 15" 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Click to expand...

There were two models that meet the specs you mentioned. ONe is a "core duo" model…the other is a "core 2 duo". Which do you have?

By the way. Neither of these computers are "MacBooks"…they are both "MacBook Pro's". There are MacBooks…and they are different model line.

- Nick

I'd suggest heading off to: Mac Specs, Prices, Answers and Comparison @ EveryMac.com, Est. 1996

Select the Macs involved, check the specs and then the upgrade options that are available.

Thanks for the responses. The 2nd MacBook Pro is an intel core duo.

The HD I was looking at was this: Amazon.com: Toshiba MQ01ABD 1 TB 2.5' Internal Hard Drive: Computers & Accessories

SSD is interesting, but not undecided on if it's worth the investment since these laptops are already so old.

These are home computers. Heavy comp. work is done at the office, so we mainly surf the internet, email, and use iphoto. Nothing overly memory intensive, but they both are slow, especially number 2

matt481vs said:

Thanks for the responses. The 2nd MacBook Pro is an intel core duo.

Click to expand...

If the 2nd MacBook Pro is a core duo…then:

- Max. ram = 2gig
- Newest OS = 10.6.8

* Nick

A 5400 rpm hard drive will speed nothing up. No doubt that is what you have already.

You've been given some good information by those posting above, but here's the thing: these are both very old computers, well past their prime. #1 is between five and seven years old. #2 is nine years old.

Presumably you got these because they were dirt cheap -- there would be no other reason. So take the money that you saved over buying a more recent computer (which would have been a better use of the money, frankly) and invest in the one worth saving -- the first one. The second one is not suitable for much of anything anymore, maybe a toy to give to a child so they don't destroy something with some actual value.

Max out the RAM and put an SSD on #1 and you'll have a serviceable machine that will struggle with anything graphically-intense but should meet most people's needs for the foreseeable future. It'll even run the NEXT version of OS X, but of course will not get the full benefit because the hardware is too old to have Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, 802.11n and so forth.

Since you describe yourselves as what we would call light-duty users (just web surfing, email, iPhoto etc), machine #1 with the recommended upgrades should work fine for your needs in the short term (the next couple of years). Beyond that, you need something more modern. It doesn't have to be brand new -- I'm writing this on a 2012 MBP that isn't going anywhere for a year or two yet -- but something fairly recent.

Software and hardware is getting increasingly reliant on newer technology (from AirPlay to reasonably powerful graphics cards to Thunderbolt/USB-C) and while it won't happen overnight, I'm just saying that a machine that is already pretty old NOW isn't going to carry you into the next decade. It's a bridge to a newer computer, nothing more.

Actually, we've owned these laptops for a long time, so money very well spent. My goal is to get through a couple more years with them before we look into new laptops. The larger HD is mainly photo storage purposes, as the 160gb HD isn't cutting it anymore. Anyhow, thanks for all the info.

lol - Amazon has that drive listed as a 2.5 foot drive...

I'd still go with a WD Black which runs at 7200 rpm even though the largest they make is a 750 GB in a 2.5" form factor.

+1 for the WD Black 7200RPM drives.

Did so with several Mac portables several years ago and they're still running well, and they were just 500GB HDDs, but fast and run cool and a 5 year warranty.