Need help upgrading MacBook Pro

[DarenS]

Hello,

I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch late 2011) model.
I would like to upgrade the HDD and Memory and would like to know if you all have any sugestions on which brands, and model numbers I should use to optimize performance.

Model identifier: MacBook Pro 8.2
Processor: Intel Core i7
Memory: 8 gb installed (2x 4 gb - 1333 MHz DDR3)
HDD: Hitachi HTS545050B9A302 500GB Internal 5400RPM 2.5"

Thank you in advance!

 

[robvas]

Kingston, Crucial, G.Skill are my go-to brands for RAM
I would buy a Samsung EVO for the SSD

 

[DarenS]

Hi robvas,
Thank you for the quick feedback!
Based on the specs I provided do you know the maximum size I can have for memory and HDD? I was speaking with an apple rep and he told me "the highest Hard Drive they ever tested out in the MacBook would’ve been a 750GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm Hard Drive. The maximum RAM would be 8GB."

Also is SDD preferred over Sata?

 

[Fishrrman]

Don't spend too much money on it, it's getting too old.

I'd suggest a 500gb SSD from Crucial or Sandisk.

You already have 8gb of installed RAM. Are you running into problems with memory? If not, I would NOT upgrade the RAM. Again, not worth spending money on unless you absolutely need it.
Put the money towards the drive, it will make the biggest improvement.

Get either a USB3 2.5" external enclosure, or perhaps a USB3/SATA adapter/dongle like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-...478&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=sabremt+usb3+to+ssd

Use it to "prep and test" the new SSD -BEFORE- you do the drive swap.
That way if you run into a problem, YOU STILL HAVE A WORKING MACBOOK to help get the problem sorted out.
And you can use the enclosure or dongle with the old HDD after the swap is completed.

 

[DarenS]

Don't spend too much money on it, it's getting too old.

I'd suggest a 500gb SSD from Crucial or Sandisk.

You already have 8gb of installed RAM. Are you running into problems with memory? If not, I would NOT upgrade the RAM. Again, not worth spending money on unless you absolutely need it.
Put the money towards the drive, it will make the biggest improvement.

Get either a USB3 2.5" external enclosure, or perhaps a USB3/SATA adapter/dongle like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-...478&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=sabremt+usb3+to+ssd

Use it to "prep and test" the new SSD -BEFORE- you do the drive swap.
That way if you run into a problem, YOU STILL HAVE A WORKING MACBOOK to help get the problem sorted out.
And you can use the enclosure or dongle with the old HDD after the swap is completed.

Hi Fishrrman,

Thank you for the suggestions!
The reason why I want to upgrade is that the laptop seems slow on boot and when running applications (slower than usual). We are not even using 1/3 of the 500 gb but when I took the laptop to Apple they said to "swap out the Sata drive... it is most likely the cause for poor performance".

I never thought about preping and testing the HDD with an adapter/dongle... that is a brilliant idea! Ill definitely put the memory upgrade to the side for now and see what the new HDD brings. Thank you very much for your help!

 

[Schranke]

Just go with an HHD --> SSD upgrade in your case.
The 8GB of ram is still good, and you will see an "insane" boost in speeds when changing to an SSD.
This is especially boots, launching things and opening pictures, folder and so on.
If you feel your apps are sluggish take a look in activity monitor and see how much of you ram is being used. if you still have memory to spend it is the limitation of the current HHD
[doublepost=1526572887][/doublepost]And for the SSD you need to get one which is SATA 3.0 (6 Gb/s)
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...7-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-hard-drive-ssd.html (the guide covers up to midt 2012 MBP)

 

[DarenS]

Just go with an HHD --> SSD upgrade in your case.
The 8GB of ram is still good, and you will see an "insane" boost in speeds when changing to an SSD.
This is especially boots, launching things and opening pictures, folder and so on.
If you feel your apps are sluggish take a look in activity monitor and see how much of you ram is being used. if you still have memory to spend it is the limitation of the current HHD
[doublepost=1526572887][/doublepost]And for the SSD you need to get one which is SATA 3.0 (6 Gb/s)
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...7-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-hard-drive-ssd.html (the guide covers up to midt 2012 MBP)

Thank you for the advice Schranke!

 

[Schranke]

Thank you for the advice Schranke!

Your welcome.
My mom have a late 2011 13" MBP I have been upgrading through the years. it is a nice machine and easy to replace parts. so as long as you do not get problems with the motherboard it will be good for years.

The apple rep might have told you it only supports 8GB of ram, this is however only the official version (apples truth). The machine is able to take 16GB of ram an use them. So should you ever need the extra ram you can throw 2x8 GB sticks in there instead of your 2x4 GB sticks.

 

[Audit13]

I advise spending as little as possible to make it usable as the late 2011 15" Radeon gpu can fail at any time. I know because I had one where the gpu problem just appeared one morning.

Just about any 2.5" SSD will work in that Macbook.