Upgrading Macbook Pro components.

Effects

Hey, I have a 2009 Macbook Pro that I'm planning to upgrade to see if it can last me a little longer.
It's a 17" and the apple website tells me I can put 8GB max of Ram into it.
PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz.
I was going to go for this ram from shop4memory for €84, http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-8500cl7d-8gbrl

I'm finding I'm using 3.8 of the 4 gbs of ram constantly so hoping this will speed it up. Have I chosen the correct ram or is there something else that could be recommended?
I was thinking of getting a solid state drive but think I'll try this first before shelling out a lot for a SSD.

ZENER

The RAM you've linked to is DIMM format which is for a desktop system so will not fit your Macbook.

Your Macbook Pro uses SODIMM format modules, assuming yours is the Mid 2009 spec then these are suitable for your computer.

Just confirm the model number before ordering though !

As for Solid State Storage I fitted a Samsung EVO840 256GB to my machine and the difference it makes is amazing. Again from the same site as I've linked to for the memory.

Ken

kevteljeur

I'm reposting a bit so hopefully I won't get hit with the big stick (here). This might help:
http://blog.macsales.com/16302-some-2010-mac-owners-can-get-more-ram-than-they-thought#more-16302

Don't skimp on quality for RAM or SSD. You won't notice such a huge performance gain with more RAM, unless you are doing very RAM intensive work. That is actually very processor-bound, so there's a hard limit on the difference more RAM makes (although more RAM is never a bad thing). Your mac can only go so fast.

What will knock your socks off is a good, fast SSD. The faster the better (cutting corners isn't a good idea). Modern Mac OS uses swap and caching so much that if you're working the machine hard then you'll see a very big difference for a number of things (boot up is a matter of seconds, reading/writing files, loading big apps, etc). And again, use time machine, your SSD will suddenly die after a few years. Apparently, they all do.

If a mod sees this, how about a sticky about SSD/RAM upgrade advice? I'm sure this question comes up more often...

Effects

Thanks for the replies.
Zener, I'll check that link and get the ram from there. I had forgotten about the format as it's been a while since I've changed ram and never on a laptop.
Kevtel, I'm shooting tethered with a 39 mega pixel camera and the program seems to crash quite frequently. Everything else seems to be ok but that program is quite memory intensive.

osnola ibax

Hi there, I recently upgraded my Mac with an ssd and ram from crucial, the difference it has made is amazing and the components are top quality.

They've introduced a new ssd called the mx100 that's €200 for 500gb but it's 500 mb read / write. My Mac boots in 10 seconds, mind you I did put in 16gb ram while I was at it

Nemeses

osnola ibax wrote: »

Hi there, I recently upgraded my Mac with an ssd and ram from crucial, the difference it has made is amazing and the components are top quality.

They've introduced a new ssd called the mx100 that's €200 for 500gb but it's 500 mb read / write. My Mac boots in 10 seconds, mind you I did put in 16gb ram while I was at it

200 smackers for 500gb ain't half bad..

I may consider an upgrade soon.

5uspect

Bear in mind that pretty much any current SSD will saturate the transfer rate of the SATA II port on your Mac. So aim for capacity over speed.