Upgrading to SSD on 2011 MBP, is it worth it?
Hi All,
So here is my situation: Great MacBook Pro 2011, I love it, and I believe it is one of the better series of machines Apple has produced; due to its upgrade ability and longevity. Now I am considering an SSD upgrade!
What's happening?
My boot up speed is very slow. I am guessing around 3-5 mins. It maybe longer, I will need to time it to verify. It is just noticeably slower than before as things happen with older laptops, and I am ready to see about addressing it.
Additionally, it slows down when running multiple applications, so when using resource heavy applications such as Firefox, or League of Legends (game software), I tend to close everything else.
What do you want to do?
I want to make the machine perform quicker. Definitely boot up faster again.
What have I do so far?
- I currently have the original 500G HDD as my boot up disc. It has around 48GB of available storage.
- I have replaced the optical drive with a HDD kit for a 5400 RPM 1.5TB drive. This is just for media storage, photos, movies, music, etc. This was done several years ago.
- I have replaced the RAM with 16GB. This was done about 2 years ago.
- I have replaced both fans. Last year.
- I just bought a new battery this month, and plane to replace it as I received the replace soon sign a few months ago, now have the replace battery warning.
- I have done some clean up to the machine, but any articles or references on how to "clean" the machine, I do welcome. I have removed all necessary apps from the boot up list.
What I am thinking about with regards to SSD?
I understand SSD is fast for boot up. There are hybrids SSHD drives, but I am not sure if it is really worth spending the money, so unless someone wants to make a real case for it, I am thinking of just sticking with replacing to a SSD.
Questions: There are a ton of SSD options
Is it worth going to a SSD at this point in the life span of a MacBook Pro?
My understanding is the next macOS is going to be compatible with my machine, so I think this machine should be good till 2020-2021, is this a bad assumption?
If this is true, what is the opinion on how much to invest in a machine that is aging with technology?
I see some SSD that are 600-700, for only a few hundred dollars more you could buy a brand new MacBook Air.
I am assuming that part of the variance in prices I see is due to speed and storage capacity. I am thinking 1TB instead of a 500GB since I am already reaching capacity.
What is a reasonable speed SSD? I know this is opinion, but I would assume any SSD is faster than what i have now.
What SSD should I stay away from?
Final question:
I read in another forum that if I replace the SSD I need to replace the hard drive/IR cable. Anyone know if it is sold on iFixit? Or another source?
My understanding is to use the 2012 cable, correct?
Thank you for your time.
2条评论
Todd, Did this work on your laptop? How’s it goi ng
由 Spenser Molnar 完成的
My optical drive has been replaced with a HDD. I just replaced that HDD (5400 RPM 1.5TB) with a SSD 500GB, and my machine boots from it, and works fine. I have not removed the original boot drive 500GB from Apple, but plan too. I no longer boot from the original drive and work off the SSD which is placed where the optical drive use to be.
All is good so far.
由 jayfish 完成的