Looking for some advice. Currently have a 2010 macbook pro 13″,2.4ghz version with 4gb ram and still using snow leopard 10.6.8.
Is it worth spending a few quid upgrading or would a 2nd hand newer version be a better bet. I’m under the impression I can up the ram to 16gb and add an ssd, though not sure of the actual improvement performance wise this will give in comparison to a newer machine. Has anyone done the same and can give me your thoughts. Not looking to spend loads, cheers

I stuck an SSD in my 2009 2.4 core2 15.4″ MacBook, made a huge difference in term of access times- in day to day use of stuff that doesn’t really stress the processor it now seems as fast as my 2 year old retina MacBook.
For the cost, best upgrade you can make. Ram upgrade, a lot less worthwhile.

Look at activity monitor and see where your bottle necks are happening.. Upgrade the bit ram and to ssd if you are hit 100pc on them. If you are hitting 100Pc on the processor buy a new machine.

It’s really down to your usage. Some could live happily on a 2010 machine some couldn’t.

How much ram would I need to run sierra. Where’s the best place to buy or are they all much of a muchness?

i had a 2009, and upgraded to 8gig ram and a 500meg hdd. Made a huge difference.

Upgraded to a 2015 macbook pro retina, faster, but not hugely so for many things.

I upgraded my 2010 core 2 13 to 8 gig ram and 500gig samsung SSD and it flies.

Where did you get your ram and ssd from

8gb RAM is ample to run latest OS, you only need mire for intensive photo / video editing. IME buying one 8gb chip is cheaper than 2×4 and that way you’ll end up with 10 (also I think 2+4 = 6 isn’t worth doing). An SSD will make a massive difference too. I prefer Samsung Evo SSDs (have done 5 now). 250gb is pretty cost effective.

Definitely worth doing bs a new machine which are £££ these days

If younsearch back I have posted a few times how I do the upgrades. If you can’t find email me.

I suggest you make a time machine backup, usb key start up disk and buy a cheap usb caddy to reuse / access your current hard drive

FWIW I put more ram amd an ssd into a friends 2008 MBP, that’s the oldest I’ve done. My Mini is 2009 and others I have done are 2012

Cheers jambalaya, I’ll have a look at that. Why is it they say 2x4gb is better than 1x8gb. Have you a link for the ram and ssd

I added a bunch of extra RAM to my 2011 iMac and it immediately sped up. It was fine until I went in for a OS Sierra upgrade and it slowed down again. So at this point I added a 1TB SSD. The computer is lightening fast now and imagine it’ll last me a few more years yet.

So go for as much RAM as you can first. If that’s not enough then consider adding the SSD. Eventually you’ll get to the point where it’ll be plenty fast enough.

RAM. Matched pairs are faster – in practice makes no difference, keep one 2gb stick and add an 8 is my call. Crucial is good for ram, look on there for ssd (their brand) or amazon.

Can’t seem to find your earlier posts, can you send me link to installation instructions, cheers

SSD will make a noticeable difference in any computer, I don’t think the memory will make much difference to you, unless you leave a lot of stuff open

To explain the two sticks of ram thing;
Two sticks will be read in dual channel mode – both sticks accessed concurrently, and this gives twice the memory read/write speed.
So 2×4 will give twice the memory access speed as 1×8
2+8 will give dual channel speeds for the first 2gb of memory use only.
Real world impact of memory access speed will vary on application, may or may not be noticeable. I personally prefer to keep things matched.

OP here are some older threads (I ise google to search for example “site:singletrackworld.com jambalaya ssd mac” – works better than forum search

Have a read and email me if you wish, can talk you through it inc on phone if needed

This post my option 2) – needs time machine backup. If you don’t have one use option 1. Whole thread worth reading

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/osx-experts-cleaning-up-my-mac/page/2#post-7717712

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dummies-guide-to-replacing-my-hard-drive-with-ssd-in-macbook-pro

My mid 2012 Macbook Pro was getting slow to boot up and run apps like itunes despite having upgraded the RAM from 4GB to 16GB. I replaced the original hard drive for a SSD and it made an amazing difference – much faster to boot and everything runs much quicker despite going back to the original 4GB RAM because of frequent crashes due the additional RAM which I couldn’t sort out.

Definitely recommend installing a SSD as a relatively cheap way to revive an older laptop. I got a Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive for around £140.

^^ I endorse Sludge, 8gb ram and ssd or even just the ssd will make biggest difference. RAM is easy just a small phillips screw driver. SSD needs small Torx ( size 10?) plus software reinstall etc so more complex and time consuming

I’ve done both RAM and SSD in my 2012 MBPro, if you don’t use your SuperDrive much I would strongly suggest putting the ssd in that bay using something like an OWC data doubler. I now use the traditional HD for all data and the ssd for all applications, works pretty darn well.

SSD and 8gbs will keep you happy. I notice most MAC users these days don’t actually carry out too many CPU intensive tasks. The newer CPU / new MBP models are much better on battery though if that is a major consideration.

i just buy a new one about every 3 years, sell the old one on

buy it thought business and claim VAT back because i use it for work/website

last time new one was £1000, (£100 off in sale) less the Vat, sold the old one for £300

saves mucking about with memory

new one is SSD – both are 13″

Don’t forget to enable trim force through the terminal after you install the SSD. Easy to do and ensures that deleted data sections can be written over again.

Sandwich TRIM generally seen as pointless on Macs. I have never set it based on forum posts in MacRumors.

late 2009 basic MacBook here, maxed out at 4Gb Ram and a 1Tb Hybrid drive running Sierra. Works perfectly fine. A bit slower to boot up and shut down than it used to be but still much quicker than any Windows machine i’ve ever used. No issues at all for ‘normal’ use apart from on the Singletrack website – there is something it doesn’t like about Singletrack that causes it to hang up for about 10 seconds at a time occasionally with the spinning beachball, but I don’t have that issue on any other website.

I’d upgrade if I were you and see how you get on. Max out on RAM and get a Hybrid drive, can all be done for less than £100. I don’t really see the point in an SSD for the huge premium you pay for them for anything with half decent capacity.

@wobbliscott, you can get 8Gb of ram in your late 09. My base model late 08 can take it. With an SSD & a new battery, it’s got years of life left in it. Can’t run Sierra, but that’s no biggie.
These macbooks from late 08 to 13 (I think, maybe later) are the easiest to upgrade ram & ssd. Add a new battery if needed & you’re set.

You sure I can get 8Gb in it? I think I did the Crucial Scan thing and it came up with 4Gb max.

I suspect the version of Sierra that the older models are running is a pretty paired down version of the full fat Sierra, but according to Apple my late ’09 model is the oldest that can run it. As usual can’t see that much difference to the previous version of macOS. I just upgraded more to make sure I had the latest and greatest security features.

ssd will dramatically increase battery life too

I can’t remember where I read that the old ones can take more ram than officially stated. It’s 4 or 5 years since I upgraded it. The core 2 duo is pretty slow, but it’s fine for the web& a cd drive is still handy.