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Upgrading mid 2012 Macbook pro 13

L

Levent2012

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 23, 2016
4
0
Hey guys,
I actually wanted to buy the new Macbook pro because my old one is at his limits.
But, I am really disappointed with the upgrade and want to wait and look for an alternative.
In the meantime, I wanted to upgrade my mid 2012 macbook pro but I have no idea about hardware stuff :(
That's why I would like to ask u guys for some advise about what to buy. I thought 8gbs ram, cheap SSD 500gb and a new battery would be good. It should be as cheap as possible and still boost the performance. I hope you have some good suggestions.
Current setting:
2x2Gb 1600 MHz DDR3
2,5 GHz Core I5
500Gb HD
 
The 2012 13" MacBook Pros are as reliable as wood-burning stoves. Great machines.

8GB RAM and an SSD (any brand) will make it run better than new. Your machine also supports up to 16GB RAM if you so wish (2x8GB DDR3 1600MHz SODIMM).

No point buying new if you can max out what you've got!
 
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Thanks for your help! Yes, I'm really happy with it and to be honest I treated it horribly and it is still running (fell down the stair, water on touch pad etc.) Do you think I should let it get professorially cleaned or is it unnecessary because I've never opened a computer before... When choosing a SSD, do I have to look for a certain criteria ? Would 16Gb Ram make any sense with my processor ? And what do you think about this replacement battery https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Battery+Replacement/10365
Any other suggestions for improvements or is that all I should do ?
Cheers,
Levent
 
Levent2012 said:
Thanks for your help! Yes, I'm really happy with it and to be honest I treated it horribly and it is still running (fell down the stair, water on touch pad etc.) Do you think I should let it get professorially cleaned or is it unnecessary because I've never opened a computer before... When choosing a SSD, do I have to look for a certain criteria ? Would 16Gb Ram make any sense with my processor ? And what do you think about this replacement battery https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Battery+Replacement/10365
Any other suggestions for improvements or is that all I should do ?
Cheers,
Levent
Click to expand...

No need to clean it up to the point of stripping down the trackpad — if it's working, it's working, so no need to tempt fate.

Opening the computer just involves a few screws on the bottom and pulling off the bottom case. Honestly nothing to be daunted about. :)

Any SSD would do, but best to stick with Crucial or Samsung as they're big reliable brands. Just make sure it's SATA of course. Feel free to post a link to an SSD you're looking to buy if you're unsure.

16GB RAM won't be necessary unless you're running lots of properly memory intensive applications. 8GB would be more than fine.
 
keysofanxiety said:
No need to clean it up to the point of stripping down the trackpad — if it's working, it's working, so no need to tempt fate.

Opening the computer just involves a few screws on the bottom and pulling off the bottom case. Honestly nothing to be daunted about. :)

Any SSD would do, but best to stick with Crucial or Samsung as they're big reliable brands. Just make sure it's SATA of course. Feel free to post a link to an SSD you're looking to buy if you're unsure.

16GB RAM won't be necessary unless you're running lots of properly memory intensive applications. 8GB would be more than fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks again :). I watched this guide and decided to update it like this but with 8gb ram instead of 16gb.
But I am still not sure which SSD to pick. Which one would you choose and why ? Btw I'm from Germany and in the German amazon shop, the already expensive Samsung Evo is even more expensive (the other ones are pretty much the same price).
Ps. I want to buy 2x 250GB SSDs instead of 1x 500GB because it should be much faster ?

DREVO X1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CVDC3R6/ref=twister_B01N8WKZRG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Samsung EVO 850: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-...pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1479998693&sr=1-4&keywords=SSD
SanDisk SSD PLUS 240GB: https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-240G...d=1479999182&sr=8-1&keywords=SanDisk+SSD+PLUS
Crucial MX300 https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX30...F8&qid=1480001127&sr=1-1&keywords=crucial+ssd
As you might guess I'm quit confused :(
 
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keysofanxiety said:
No need to clean it up to the point of stripping down the trackpad — if it's working, it's working, so no need to tempt fate.

Opening the computer just involves a few screws on the bottom and pulling off the bottom case. Honestly nothing to be daunted about. :)

Any SSD would do, but best to stick with Crucial or Samsung as they're big reliable brands. Just make sure it's SATA of course. Feel free to post a link to an SSD you're looking to buy if you're unsure.

16GB RAM won't be necessary unless you're running lots of properly memory intensive applications. 8GB would be more than fine.
Click to expand...

Don't forget: Terminal: sudo trimforce enable
 
Be very gentle with the ribbon cables that connect to the sata drives. Age, along wit multiple hot and cold cycles make them easy to crack sometimes, so make sure nothing is forced or yanked at a weird angle. If you reboot and get a question mark or a stop sign on the screen, it's usually that part.
 
Levent2012 said:
Hey guys,
I actually wanted to buy the new Macbook pro because my old one is at his limits.
But, I am really disappointed with the upgrade and want to wait and look for an alternative.
In the meantime, I wanted to upgrade my mid 2012 macbook pro but I have no idea about hardware stuff :(
That's why I would like to ask u guys for some advise about what to buy. I thought 8gbs ram, cheap SSD 500gb and a new battery would be good. It should be as cheap as possible and still boost the performance. I hope you have some good suggestions.
Current setting:
2x2Gb 1600 MHz DDR3
2,5 GHz Core I5
500Gb HD
Click to expand...
 
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
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I have a 2012 and have the following

10gb of ram
1tb spinner
250gb ssd

I purchased the SSD at Bestbuy last year during black Friday. Found the memory on-line and the 1tb was a replacement for the 500gb that came with the system. Not sure of brands but haven't had any problems with this setup. I am running the latest MacOS. The DVD drive was placed into an external enclosure that I found as a bundle and moved the spinner to the optical drive spot which was purchased from EBAY.

plenty of help on line for how to open and move drives around.
 
Mac Pro 2009-12, MacBook Pro 2012 and Mac Mini 2012 are the best machines. :)

Fully expandable.
 
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keysofanxiety said:
The 2012 13" MacBook Pros are as reliable as wood-burning stoves. Great machines.

8GB RAM and an SSD (any brand) will make it run better than new. Your machine also supports up to 16GB RAM if you so wish (2x8GB DDR3 1600MHz SODIMM).

No point buying new if you can max out what you've got!
Click to expand...
I just updated my Macbook Pro 13", precisely with SSD Samsung 500GB and 2 X Crucial 8GB cards 1600 Mhz SODIMM and made a clean installation of Sierra OS, but is very slow , it takes several seconds after clicking on the Menu to respond.... any idea if there is anything else that needs to be configured?
Regards,
 
alfonsoescn said:
I just updated my Macbook Pro 13", precisely with SSD Samsung 500GB and 2 X Crucial 8GB cards 1600 Mhz SODIMM and made a clean installation of Sierra OS, but is very slow , it takes several seconds after clicking on the Menu to respond.... any idea if there is anything else that needs to be configured?
Regards,
Click to expand...

I suspect HDD cable, they're hugely unreliable on that model. Apple have a silent repair program for the cables so you can just pop into an Apple Store/AASP and have it repaired for free.
 
keysofanxiety said:
I suspect HDD cable, they're hugely unreliable on that model. Apple have a silent repair program for the cables so you can just pop into an Apple Store/AASP and have it repaired for free.
Click to expand...
You were right, it is the cable. I tested with the SSD connected from a USD 3.0 and the MacBook worked perfectly.. quite fast. Will need to be replaced. Thanks..
Regards,
 
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