Macbook Pro upgrade advice needed

[maurits2000]

I have a Macbook Pro of 2011 (15inch). I am in doubt to buy new or to upgrade present one because besides becoming a slow, he is in perfect shape.

Use: many apps open at same time is needed - Safari, AppleMail, Word, Excel, Filemaker Pro, Evernotes minimum.
No heavy programs for graphics /games or other processor intense.

Specs now:
* iCore i5 2.53 Ghz
* 6Gb 1067MHz DD3
* 500 Gb disk

Complaint:
Machine is slow, especially after last OS-X upgrade to El Capitan.
The performance tweaks for El Capitan I have done already with limited result.
I make a point of always keeping about 100Gb of drive-space free.
Still, starting up something new when many apps open is annoyingly slow.


Questions:
1. I think installing an SSD would be first step. Correct?
2. If so, how large should it be? 64Gb would be enough to install my main apps only.
3. Can it be installed next to my present/standard drive?
4. What would it cost approx. (whatever you suggest) if done in a shop?
5. Because my USB ports are still 2.0, i assume an external SSD is not an option (will
work but very slow). Correct?

5. 2nd step is memory i think. Would 2Gb extra (max was always 8Gb) make a substantial difference in performance?
6. Approximate cost?

7. How about swapping the memory for faster memory?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[harryb2448]

Well how full is the hard drive? You need a minimum of 25% free space for it to work anyhere near peak. How often do you reboot your computer? Long lapses between reboots causes congestion. Are you running antivirus, Mackeeper or CleanMyMac etc? Regarding the SSD lash out on at least a 256GB drive. 64GB is just too small. On my iMac I runs standard apps, no itunes, no iMovies and about thirty photos and use just over 50GB. The SSD will slip straight in so wrong, you can and should use it internally to get the value for your buck. Use the 500GB drive as an external backup drive I suggest in a Firewire 800 caddy. It is much faster than USB 2

Your model is actually a 2010 MBP, released April 2010. The 2.53GHz i5 format was not available in 2011, reduced to a neat 2.5GHz i5. The 2010 MBP can handle 6GB memory max so no advantage there, but the 2011 can take 16GB. Quite a difference. To be sure of the model go to About this Mac under Apple icon top left menu bar, System Report >Hardware and there it will show the model number. The 2010 15" is model 6.2, the early 2011 is 8.2 and the late 2011 is lso 8.2 so it is all very confusing.

Obviously the mid and late 2011 is only a very minor upgrade to warrant the same model number.

 

[maurits2000]

Thanks for the prompt reply Harry.

- you are right - it is a 2010 model (so 6Gb max then)
- i will free up more hard disk space and reboot more often
- I don't run anti-virus programs

I will look into prices of at least 256Gb SSD then.

One more thing: what is the best overall use speed test for Macs? (nor only processor or so)
Just curious how slow my Mac is compared to modern ones.

Thanks!

 

[Willo34]

Here you can check the benchmark for your machine compared with other:
http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/14/how-to-benchmark-your-mac-free-downloads/

 

[maurits2000]

Thanks Willo - exactly what I need!

Here you can check the benchmark for your machine compared with other:
http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/14/how-to-benchmark-your-mac-free-downloads/

 

[pigoo3]

Wanted to make one correction. A 2010 15" MBP has a max ram of 8gig.

As far as costs. Do the installs yourself & save yourself some money. If you've got to pay someone to do the installs…then you might as well sell the computer & buy something newer that's faster & doesn't need upgrading.

Go to ifixit.com for well laid out procedures.

- Nick