Upgrading a 2008 2.4Ghz MacBook Pro (pre unibody)

[john munday]

HI members of Mac Help. My questions are (1) if I take out the 2GB ram that came with the machine,replace with 6GB (4+2). (2) Replace the 160GB HDD with 1TB HDD hybrid or 260 GB SSD, which is a better choice, HDD,SSD or hybrid? Your opinions would be really helpful.With these changes do you think I could run Lion 10.8.5 which is on my 2011 iMac.The MBP is running on Leopard, but I do have a copy on disc of Snow Leopard. Great site you have here. John

 

[honestone]

Hi John,

OK, I can try and answer your questions.

First of all, your Mac can actually run any OS up to and including the latest one, El Capitan. So yes, it can definitely run OS 10.8.5, ie, Lion.

Secondly, upgrading the Ram from 2 gb to 6 gb is a great way to go!

Third, a "pure" SSD is the best way to go. So, if 256 gig of space is enough for you, then a 256 gig SSD is a wise choice. For that upgrade, are you doing it? Or are you having it done? The reason I ask is that you can also install the 160 gig HDD inside an external case, and connect to your MacBook Pro via any of the 3 ports you have. For speed purposes, I suggest an external case that has both a Firewire 800 port and a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port. They are not that expensive. In fact, recently I purchased an iomega external case that has 2 Firewire 800 and 2 USB 2.0 ports for less than $30. I then installed my 1 TB, 7200 rpm Seagate drive inside it, and it works like a charm. I actually partitioned the drive into 3 partitions, with two of the partitions being 250 gig each in size that I use to backup both my Mac Min i and my MacBook Air. The backups go quickly via the Firewire 800 connection.

As for an SSD, ones made by Samsung are the best. You should be able to get a 250 gig 850 EVO one for less than $100. A Samsung 256 gig 850 Pro SSD will cost more, and will last "slightly" longer, but just about all the other specs are identical.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

I have a MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4 GHz - Hi Res Antiglare) with 4 GB RAM and a 250 GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD. It runs all versions of Mac OS X very well, including El Capitan.

As honestone mentioned, upgrading the RAM above 2 GB is a wise investment, and an SSD is the way to go over a hybrid. Officially, your Mac supports 4 GB of RAM - 6 GB is the unofficial limit. I never really saw a need to upgrade mine above 4 GB...depends on what your usage will be. For most folks, 4 GB would be just fine. That's really your call.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[honestone]

Hello and welcome.

I have a MacBook Pro (17-inch Mid/Late 2007, 2.4 GHz - Hi Res Antiglare) with 4 GB RAM and a 250 GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD. It runs all versions of Mac OS X very well, including El Capitan.

As honestone mentioned, upgrading the RAM above 2 GB is a wise investment, and an SSD is the way to go over a hybrid. Officially, your Mac supports 4 GB of RAM - 6 GB is the unofficial limit. I never really saw a need to upgrade mine above 4 GB...depends on what your usage will be. For most folks, 4 GB would be just fine. That's really your call.

Hope that helps,

C

Thanks, Cory. I actually have a 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro inside my Mac Mini, and the machine flies! Inside the MacBook Air is a Samsung 250 gig SSD, but I am not exactly sure what model it is. I suspect is an EVO one, like you have.

And John, Cory is definitely correct that for normal usage, 4 gig of Ram is enough. That is what I have in both of my Macs, and I have never encountered any issues about insufficient Ram. Of course, I do not run many programs simultaneously, and in fact, about 90% of the time, I am running only 1. I actually can't upgrade the Ram in my MacBook Air, but I could in my Mac Mini. But again, really no need to.