I recently acquired a free 2010 MacBook Pro 13 inch with a bad trackpad and dead battery. I replaced the battery with a generic from Amazon, added a 240 GB SSD, And was able I was able to fix the track pad after buying a used one on eBay that was mint condition for $10. It’s running very good but still a bit laggy and I’m not a fan of the non-retina display. The keyboard is amazing the weight is a little higher than I would like. Will there be much benefit in expanding the 4 GB RAM to eight or 16 GB? The reason I ask I noticed the ram is a little more expensive than I would’ve expected for this old machine. Even if I add the ram I’d be all in for only about 100 bucks on the machine total with all the parts. Just wasn’t sure if the RAM will really do much. I really want it for basic web browsing iMessage email etc. Just a second machine to use in bed, or in the kitchen when I’m not on my main machine, or for occasional meetings outside the house. I was wondering what I could get for it I sold it, as cosmetically, it’s got a corner ding and some scratches. would it be worth trying to find a 2015 13 inch retina to replace it? The challenge seems to be is most of those models seem to have messed up screens.
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Worth upgrading RAM on all 2010 MacBook Pro 13 inch?
- Thread starter Grubster
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My wife has a 2010 MBP 13. We upgraded the ram and hdd many moons ago. We upgraded it to a 2010 and she's super happy with that. I wouldn't bother with a 2010 unless you are nostalgic and willing to work through any and all issues.
Yes, 8gb ram will make, and you will see, a difference if you are using it for general email, web browsing, etc. 16gb is only needed if you are doing heavier image editing with programs like photoshop, etc. I have upgraded probably 10 of that series MBP 13's (2009 thru 2012) since the pandemic. Most included replacing HD with SSD and going to at least 8gb ram, some to 16gb. Bought all the ram used on ebay. I actually like the screen. I use SwitchResX to bump up my resolution one step to 1680x1050. More than that and the text is too small. Using a 2012 MBP 13 to type this. It's tricked out with 2 500GB SSD's, 16gb ram. Lots of image editiing, I'm a photographer, and it works great.
You are correct. We upgraded her to a 2020 MBP, an Intel model. I waited to get a 2021 M1.
You're probably seeing some swap with 4 GB and going to 16 GB would keep much more, possibly everything, in RAM. I see that this laptop takes 1,066 Mhz RAM. You could put in 1,300 or 1,600 as that shows up cheaper on Amazon for me. I typically put in 1,600 Mhz RAM in older machines regardless of what they are rated for as it give me more flexibility with the RAM sticks.
I'm typing this on a 2010 iMac 27 with 32 GB of RAM.
I'm typing this on a 2010 iMac 27 with 32 GB of RAM.
So I ended up buying a really cheap 2017 MacBook Pro 13 for $200 on e-bay that just needed an SSD and Charger, so I'm in it for so cheap and the retina screen is really sweet. I'm loving it. Might just leave the 2010 alone and have a spare or for my kids. It's a really nice machine and my only one now with a DVD Drive
. I wasn't aware I could use Faster RAM, I guess the machine will just run at the slower BUS Speed. Biggest Issue I see with that machine is slower web browsing and scrolling delays going through the browser. Looks like the 1600 MHZ ram is slightly cheaper, but not significant. If anyone sees some they want to sell or a real cheap deal, I'd be interested!