Resolved Upgrade MBP 13" 2010 or buy MBA 2020

[Drosera]

Hello all

I'm your average user - streaming Netflix, e-mails, internet browsing with multiple tabs, using pages & numbers etc. I don't do any video editing or coding, though you never know in future!

My MacBook Pro Mid-2010 7,1 (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3) is still going, which has made for excellent value having bought it for £849 in 2010 using Apple's education discount.

However, it does struggle, taking a while to open documents and freezing for short periods of time. I am considering doing a DIY upgrade that would cost me £138:

• Replace 1x 2GB module with 1x 8GB OWC Memory Module 1066MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM 204 (£58), giving me 10GB of RAM.
• Replace drive with OWC 250GB Mercury Electra 3G 2.5" SSD, Express Enclosure & Toolkit DIY Upgrade Bundle (£80)

A little nervous about doing this as never done an upgrade before. But hoping this will allow me to keep going until the 2021 or 2022 MBP is released. This is because I'm hoping for better RAM and chips in the base model, along with improved webcam and WiFi 6 compatibility. This would then feel sufficiently future-proofed for me to use for hopefully another 8-10 years.

However, I wanted to check with people who have more knowledge than I do on whether this is worth doing? I have been considering buying a base MacBook Air 2020 for £939 (I have a 6% employer discount). I can afford this, but the thought of having to buy a new device in 5 years time (or less) doesn't feel economical to me.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated - as would be any video tutorials for upgrading my MBP, if you think that's the way forward!

Thanks in advance.

Drosera

 

[Darktitor]

Hi Drosera,

For me, I would go for a DIY upgrade.
I agree with your future-proof concerns.

Regarding the upgrade, it is better to have 2x4GB (Dual Channel) instead of replacing one.

8.0GB OWC Memory Upgrade Kit for 2008-2010 Macs

Upgrade the memory of your MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac mini with the OWC Memory Kit. Free DIY installation videos online make it easy.

eshop.macsales.com

Regarding the SSD, I would go for the Crucial which has better performance for the same price (at least in my country)

Apple MacBook 7,1 | Mise à niveau de mémoire RAM & SSD | Crucial FR

Mémoire Crucial et mise à niveau SSD - Compatibilité garantie à 100% pour Apple MacBook 7,1

www.crucial.fr

As for the tutorial to upgrade, many are on ifixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_13"_Unibody_Mid_2010

Best regards,
Alex

 

[macagain]

It's definitely getting a bit long in the tooth. That being said, I have a 2010 white mb with c2d 2.0 that i put an SSD into, and it still chugs along surprisingly well. The SSD really makes a huge diff, esp. when compared with 2010 era hds which probably runs at 5400rpm and has degraded significantly in 10 years.

If you do decide to upgrade, you can definitely save quite a bit from the OWC stuff, which imho, is grossly overpriced. As far as memory goes, they're all pretty generic, but if you want to be safe just look for the ones that say "made for mac". For SSD, just get the cheapest one... i prefer to stay with a name brand though. Get it all from Amazon, its all returnable. Guessing you're in the UK, so these parts from Amazon will work fine for you and only run you about £70 total, saving you about 1/2.

I myself wouldn't spend £138 on something that old, but £70... I'd consider that...

Upgrade on that model is super easy. Very detailed instructions here: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_13"_Unibody_Mid_2010

8Gb RAM £35 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Timetec-PC3-8500-1066MHz-Compatible-MacBook/dp/B06ZYC9224/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=14JBQ9DGSM2JT&dchild=1&keywords=pc3-8500+ddr3+8gb&qid=1592067235&sprefix=pc3-8500+ddr3+8gb,aps,270&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVzZHVTlWRTQySFEwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDExMTU1UTUzQkpPRDZHMFpPJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNTg0NjQyQTZCWTM0QzBQUktCJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

240GB SSD from WD £31 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-WDS240G2G0A-Internal-Green/dp/B076Y374ZH/ref=sr_1_16?crid=ZCNXZU8TBW8F&dchild=1&keywords=ssd+sata+256gb&qid=1592067861&sprefix=ssd+sata+256,aps,236&sr=8-16

and if you want an external enclosure for the old drive, you can get one for about £7-10, like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/2-5-Inch-Tool-free-External-Enclosure-Black-USB-3-0/dp/B079FR7H5H/ref=sr_1_4?crid=4KIMCVNFQT0N&dchild=1&keywords=sata+2.5+enclosure&qid=1592068433&sprefix=sata+2.5,aps,244&sr=8-4

 

[justashooter]

The is a reasonable upgrade and worth it, in my opinion. Not sure about the compatibility of 8+2 ram tho. That machine will go to 16gb ram, but 8gb and an SSD for general use will give you quite a boost.

A friend has this MBP, I put an SSD and new battery in it and it made a world of difference. It already had 16gb of ram.

 

[Drosera]

Thanks everyone! Looks like an upgrade is the way to go, especially with those cheaper options available. I was going with OWC via megamac.com because I was worried about not getting the right tools and they did an upgrade bundle with their SSD. But based on your suggestions, will go with:

• Crucial BX500 CT240BX500SSD1 240 GB Internal SSD (£33.50)
• Timetec Hynix IC 8GB Kit (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-8500 1066MHz (£36)
• ORICO 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure (£7.50)

A few more queries I could do with some guidance on:

1. To create the bootable flash drive, can I use a Toshiba by Kioxia 16 GB TransMemory U301 USB 3.0?
2. To install the SSD, I need a Phillips 00 screwdriver (to remove 7x 3 mm Phillips screws & 3x 13.5 mm Phillips screws on the back and the screws of the hard drive bracket). Plus a spudger (to lift the battery connector up out of its socket.) And a T6 Torx screwdriver for the hard drive.
   
   Will this do: MacBook Screwdriver Repair Kit With Pentalobe 1.2 Torx T5/ T6 Tri-wing Phillips? Can't seem to find anything cheaper that has all three unfortunately! Think brush may come in handy given it's been 10 years of use..
3. What happens with my MBP files? I have a Toshiba 500GB USB 3.0 Hard Drive where I store most of my old files like photos. Shall I transfer everything important from my MBP to that?

Many thanks

Drosera

 

[macagain]

1. Yes... but you don't actually need it. after you install the ssd, you can boot into internet recovery and install from there (if it doesn't already do it automatically). https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904. (and assuming you keep your mac up to date with updates... an efi in 2012 enabled this.)

2. Don't actually need a spudger... fingernail works just fine. The link doesn't work for me (i'm in the US). but if its around £10-15, it's probably ok. Any much more and it's too much. you can get a single T6 for about £5-6. and phillips are cheap... and you don't need a pentalobe which are expensive.

3. After you install the SSD, you'll install your old drive into the external enclosure, and then you'll have 2 external drives... where you want to put your files it up to you, but given that the ssd is 240Gb and the two externals total 750, it's unlikely that you'll get everything back on the mac. (you can always get a bigger ssd).

After you install the new SSD, you'll wan to open a terminal window, and run "sudo trimforce enable" to enable trim on 3rd party drives. just google it for more info, or check back here.

 

[Drosera]

Thanks macagain! Really helpful. In response to each of your points:

1. Great - my MBP is up to date running High Sierra 10.13.6, so I'll use the internet recovery boot to install. Sounds much easier!
2. The toolkit was £12 but I've found a T6 and Phillips 00 for £4 on eBay so will order those instead.
3. Good point! So I think I'll move my important files from MBP to my 500GB, and then just dispose of the old hard drive rather than add it to an enclosure. I've plenty of room on my 500GB, so little need for another external.

Thanks for the sudo trimforce enable tip - I'll make sure to do this.

I'm going to order the RAM, SSD and tools today. I wasn't going to get a new battery as thought it was quite expensive and I have it plugged in when I use it, but the condition has been 'Replace Now' for a while. I might wait to see how much the RAM & SSD upgrades help before considering adding a new battery like this one which would be £50 inc delivery:

https://www.replacebase.co.uk/apple...0-2011-replacment-battery-a1322-original-6671

Thanks again macagain - feeling excited to be giving some DIY a go and hopefully getting a much speedier machine!

 

[macagain]

Thanks macagain! Really helpful. In response to each of your points:

1. Great - my MBP is up to date running High Sierra 10.13.6, so I'll use the internet recovery boot to install. Sounds much easier!
2. The toolkit was £12 but I've found a T6 and Phillips 00 for £4 on eBay so will order those instead.
3. Good point! So I think I'll move my important files from MBP to my 500GB, and then just dispose of the old hard drive rather than add it to an enclosure. I've plenty of room on my 500GB, so little need for another external.

Thanks for the sudo trimforce enable tip - I'll make sure to do this.

I'm going to order the RAM, SSD and tools today. I wasn't going to get a new battery as thought it was quite expensive and I have it plugged in when I use it, but the condition has been 'Replace Now' for a while. I might wait to see how much the RAM & SSD upgrades help before considering adding a new battery like this one which would be £50 inc delivery:

https://www.replacebase.co.uk/apple...0-2011-replacment-battery-a1322-original-6671

Thanks again macagain - feeling excited to be giving some DIY a go and hopefully getting a much speedier machine!

Good Luck! And if your order everything from Amazon, and somehow it doesn't meet your expectations, just return everything! I think you'll be pleasantly surprized at the difference for a modest amount of money, and ask yourself why you didn't do it a long time ago.

Just treat it is as a project and don't get too frustrated when something doesn't go according to plan, as it certainly will (not)! Just come back here if you run into any roadblocks... or let us know what you think when it's all done.

 

[Drosera]

All my tools and parts have now arrived, so will be attempting it this afternoon. Thanks for all the help and will let you know how it goes!

 

[Drosera]

Update!

Whilst a little fiddly, the iFixit guides were great. Rebooted using command + R, and the internet reboot worked fine. Was worried that I'd installed the new SSD wrong when during the High Sierra install there was no disk to select. However a quick google and I fixed this through Disk Utility by erasing it. Then a slightly nerve-wracking hour or so as it installed and the system restarted a few times. But now it's up and running and seems so much faster! I've already put my files back on my desktop from my external drive.

Only mistake I made was thinking my Firefox account backed up all my saved passwords (it doesn't, it only syncs them!). So now having to reset a lot of them, but a good chance to use Firefox's random password generator so seeing it as a silver lining.

Thanks so much everyone for your help, especially macagain. Will report back in a week or so when I've had a good use of my upgraded system

 

[macagain]

Awesome! My pleasure! A strange little hobby of mine to wring the last bits of life out of old machines... If you noticed my avatar, I still have a PowerPC TiBook running!

After doing trimforce, if you want check that it held, you can bring up System Info from the About screen, and click the disk under SATA/SATA Express, like so:

One last heads up: After a new macOS install and esp. after you've moved a lot of files onto the new drive, you may notice the machine running a little warm and/or the fans kicking up a bit. This is normal... it's Spotlight indexing the new drive. Let it run overnight and it should settle down the next day.

 

[Drosera]

Oh no I've found an issue! I'm trying to re-download Pages etc, and it's saying I can't because I need IOS 10.4. How can I get Pages, Numbers and Keynote on High Sierra 10.13.6? I feel like Apple have caught me here as if to tell me off for having the audacity to upgrade rather than buy a new product

Edit: Downloaded it from my previous purchases after googling it

 

[ExplodingMogwai]

Drosera, I am in EXACTLY this same situation. You've done all my work for me! I might hang round for a week and see what you think but this is perfect. Unless John Lewis keep dropping the price of their 2019MBP stock to a point it seems worth a punt, especially with their 3 year warranty.

 

[vivek28]

I have the same machine.. MBP 13 2010 cored2duo p8600

Over the years, I have put in a Samsung SSD and RAM(4+4 is better), removed the superdrive, installed new battery

It works good for basic tasks.. Only limiting factor is archaic screen resolution.

Question for users here : My SSD top write speed is 130 MB/s.. do you think performance would increase if i put in with 250MB/s write-speed atleast ? read-speeds are already 270MB/s limited by SATA-2.

 

[ctjack]

Question for users here : My SSD top write speed is 130 MB/s.. do you think performance would increase if i put in with 250MB/s write-speed atleast ? read-speeds are already 270MB/s limited by SATA-2.

I wouldn't even push myself further. Luckily i had Sata-3 on my 2011 Dell XPS 15z, so it has speeds of 450-500MB/s.
But for SATA2 that is enough of struggle, since you are hitting the ceiling of its' bandwidth.

 

[Drosera]

Drosera, I am in EXACTLY this same situation. You've done all my work for me! I might hang round for a week and see what you think but this is perfect. Unless John Lewis keep dropping the price of their 2019MBP stock to a point it seems worth a punt, especially with their 3 year warranty.

Although it's been less than 24 hours, I really recommend it. It's such a smoother experience with no freezing/lag like before. Wish I'd done it years ago!

Edit: You can see below that memory used is over the 4GB I had previously, showing it was clearly needed. But also shows I didn't need to spend double on 16GB. 8GB seems to be sufficient!