Old or New - Dilemma

[gnders26]

Hi all,

Hopefully you will be able to help me with some advice...

I have an old Macbook 3.1 (2008) which has served me well over the years (occasional use - word processing, organising photos etc..). I have recently started more digital photography and I would like to use the Mac to edit photos, however it tends to be extremely sluggish when I have more than one application open or viewing photos in iPhoto - let alone trying to edit photos in Photoshop. I have started looking into purchasing a new Macbook, however we all know how pricey they can get!

My question is whether I can improve my current laptop's speed without spending a huge amount - say up to £200 - or shall I bite the bullet and cough up the money for a new machine. Any advice on how I could do this would be great (RAMs and processors are all gobbledy-gook to me...) I will also need a bigger hard drive as the memory on this one is not sufficient.

The current software on the machine is Mac OS X 10.6.8.

Many thanks in advance for anything you can suggest!

 

[honestone]

Assuming that the upgraded machine will satisfy your needs for at least 3 to 5 years, there are 3 things you should do in order to both increase the speed and obtain more storage:

1. Take out the internal hard drive and install it in a slim, external case.

2. Install a Solid State Drive (SSD) inside your MacBook. Best size would be 256 gig.

3. Increase the RAM to 4 gig.

I'm assuming you have one of the 3 Macbook models described here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/sp5

With that in mind, here are instructions for #2 and #3:

1. SSD Installation: Even though the guide below is for a hard drive, the same procedure is applicable for an SSD:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook Core 2 Duo Hard Drive Replacement/514

You'll be amazed ay how much faster your machine will run with an SSD! As it is, your current internal drive (assuming it is the original one) is only a 5400 rpm one. When I purchased my Mac Mini about 15 months ago, it came with a (slow) 1 TB 5400 rpm drive. But, last November I replaced that drive with a Samsung 840 Pro 256 gig SSD, and boy was the speed improvement refreshing!

SSD prices have been falling. I would strongly recommend this one:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/memory-cards-hdd-odd/ssd/840-pro/MZ-7PD256BW

It is the one I installed inside my Mac Mini, and it has had quite a few positive reviews. In the US, one can get them for around $160 (about 100 pounds).

2. RAM Upgrade:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook Core 2 Duo RAM Replacement/512

Note that from the first link above, the type of RAM your machine uses is 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300). That's extremely important, as you must use the correct RAM. You can get a 4 MB "kit" of such RAM (has 2 2 gigabyte RAM "sticks") for about $55 (about 34 pounds).

If you purchase an external case, I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Less-ORICO-2588US3-2-5-inch-Enclosure/dp/B00B0RD2RA; It is the exact same one I have, and I installed the 1 TB 5400 rpm drive from the Mac Mini inside it. The installation is a snap!

The steps you would go through are:

1. Install the SSD inside the external case.

2. Connect the external case to your MacBook (the case comes with a USB cable).

3. Start up your Mac Book.

4. Use the "free" version of SuperDuper! to clone your "system" on your hard drive onto the Samsung SSD. You need this earlier version:

http://superduper.en.softonic.com/mac

It will make a bootable backup.

4. If you want, you can test this by restarting your Mac from the SSD.

5. Shut down your Mac, disconnect everything, and follow the instructions above for removing your internal drive and replacing it with the SSD (you'll of course need to remove the SSD from the external case. But, that is easy).

6. Install your "old" drive inside the external case.

7. Connect the external case to your MacBook, and start your Macbook up. It should start up from the SSD. You can then wipe off the external drive with Disk Utility, format it, and if I were you, partition it. Use one of the partitions for backing up your DDS. Again, you can use SuperDuper! for this.

For the RAM installation, you can do that separately.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

I agree with honestone re RAM and solid state drive

 

[honestone]

Regarding my post above, the link to amazon for the Orico 2588 external case does not work. Here is another one for the case on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0VN-0003-000H1

Another thing: regarding the last set of steps I described above about getting the SSD ready, after installing it inside the case, connecting the case to your MacBook, and starting up your machine, you'll first need to use Disk Utility to erase the SSD and format it. Then proceed with the cloning of your system onto the SSD with SuperDuper!.

Finally, it looks like you can install and run Yosemite on your machine (assuming you upgrade the RAM). As it is, even though Snow Leopard is a very good OS, you are 4 versions behind. Any particular reason why you are still on OS 10.6.8?

 

[gnders26]

Wow, many thanks for the great advice! The last few points sound a bit complicated but I imagine I'll be able to work it out and save myself some money in the process.

To be honest I haven't upgraded in the past as I never have enough spare memory!

 

[honestone]

Wow, many thanks for the great advice! The last few points sound a bit complicated but I imagine I'll be able to work it out and save myself some money in the process.

To be honest I haven't upgraded in the past as I never have enough spare memory!

You're welcome!

Regarding "complicated", just let us know what you mean by that, and we can help you.

Finally, as you know, the prices I quoted/linked to (except the Samsung SSD on Samsung's site) are what the items cost in the US. Wish you could get those prices over where you are.