Upgrade Dilemma...

Rickster

Rickster

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So I bought I bought a nice Mid 2012 13" MBP for myself 2 months ago for R7500, I love it to bits but it seriously needs a new storage device. (that 5400 RPM drive is dead slow even will a fresh install of Sierra it takes 4 min to open excel)

Im thinking of upgrading the HDD to s SSD and also the RAM while im at it but I cant decide.

Option 1:

Crucial MX300 1TB SSD for R4,899 + Corsair vengeance 16GB RAM (2x8GB) R2,036 = R6936 + shipping.

Pro's - I get a R500 voucher on my next purchase
Con's - 3 Year warranty on the SSD

Option 2:

Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD for R5,351 + Corsair vengeance 16GB RAM (2x8GB) = R7387.00 + shipping.

Pro's - 5 year warranty, its a samsung.
Con's - No R500 voucher

Option 3:

Crucial MX300 525GB SSD R2,697.00 with RAM R2,036 = R4733 + shipping

Pro's - I get a R500 voucher on my next purchase
Con's - 3 Year warranty on the SSD

Option 4

Samsung 500GB SSD R2800 + Ram R2,036 = R4836 + shipping


Really struggling to make up my mind here, please help.

Is 1TB over kill for a work/casual laptop?
 
Or just buy used on carbonite and save a bundle.

1TB is overkill, I have a 960GB samsung in my desktop that I can't fill up :o but it all depends on your usage I suppose.
 
ponder said:
Or just buy used on carbonite and save a bundle.

1TB is overkill, I have a 960GB samsung in my desktop that I can't fill up :o but it all depends on your usage I suppose.
Click to expand...
This is the correct answer, ssd and ram are pretty reliable buying 2hnd isn't too risky and will probably save a nice amount of money, also not wise to invest too much money in an older laptop.

512gb is plenty for a laptop, may even get away with a 255gb, ssd and more ram will make that laptop fly in comparison to what it's like now.
 
You don't need 16 GB of RAM, especially not with the CPU you have in there. What are the specs of the laptop, R7 500 sounds a bit steep?
 
Presuming you don't need the CD rom anymore, take it out and install a smaller SSD say 256 GB in its place and still keep the original 500 GB HDD as well.
Put your OS and apps on the SSD and use the HDD for media storage.
I helped a friend with his the other day, same machine as you but so far only did the 16 GB RAM until he has money for a SSD. The 16 GB already makes a big difference so do that first if you can't afford both at the same time.
When he buys a SSD I'll install it in place of the CD rom so that he still has the HDD for storage.

See my thread https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showth...ok-Pro-mid-2012-anyone-upgraded-RAM-and-drive
 
bigboy529 said:
Presuming you don't need the CD rom anymore, take it out and install a smaller SSD say 256 GB in its place and still keep the original 500 GB HDD as well.

When he buys a SSD I'll install it in place of the CD rom so that he still has the HDD for storage.
Click to expand...

Put the SSD in the HDD bay and move the HDD to the cd-rom caddy/bay.

Why? The cd-rom is usually connected to a slower sata interface on laptops.
 
ponder said:
Put the SSD in the HDD bay and move the HDD to the cd-rom caddy/bay.

Why? The cd-rom is usually connected to a slower sata interface on laptops.
Click to expand...



You are correct, if I get there I'll test and if needed just swop the 2 drives around.
 
bigboy529 said:
Presuming you don't need the CD rom anymore, take it out and install a smaller SSD say 256 GB in its place and still keep the original 500 GB HDD as well.
Put your OS and apps on the SSD and use the HDD for media storage.
I helped a friend with his the other day, same machine as you but so far only did the 16 GB RAM until he has money for a SSD. The 16 GB already makes a big difference so do that first if you can't afford both at the same time.
When he buys a SSD I'll install it in place of the CD rom so that he still has the HDD for storage.

See my thread https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showth...ok-Pro-mid-2012-anyone-upgraded-RAM-and-drive
Click to expand...

What RAM did you use, was it standard RAM or "Mac" RAM, also what timings did you use?

I just want to know if 9-9-9-24 RAM will work in mine.
 
Rickster said:
What RAM did you use, was it standard RAM or "Mac" RAM, also what timings did you use?

I just want to know if 9-9-9-24 RAM will work in mine.
Click to expand...



I used Crucial DDR3 133 MHz
https://www.takealot.com/crucial-16gb-2x-8gb-ddr3-1333mhz-mac-so-dimm-memory-upgrade-kit/PLID30709633
 
Waylander said:
How do you know what he intends to do? Or are you making that assumption on the basis that YOU don't need 16GB of memory?
Click to expand...

Rickster said:
Is 1TB over kill for a work/casual laptop?
Click to expand...

Processor

2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB L3 cache
2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 4MB L3 cache
Click to expand...
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) - Technical Specifications

Yeah, I'm sure he's not going to do anything intensive with that CPU. It's definitely not going to be bottlenecked by 6 or 8 GB of RAM. People on here tend to go overboard with the memory capacity they buy. This guy's just going to waste money.
 
7k to upgrade a 5 year old laptop o_O

Madness... Just buy a current laptop with the specs you need, I just got a 1 yr old one for 5k with an i5, 8GB RAM and SSD for 5k. But not an iSheep luckily.
 
ScottulusMaximus said:
7k to upgrade a 5 year old laptop o_O

Madness... Just buy a current laptop with the specs you need, I just got a 1 yr old one for 5k with an i5, 8GB RAM and SSD for 5k. But not an iSheep luckily.
Click to expand...

I can understand your reasoning, but I can say the the build quality of a mac and the trackpad of a mac is far superior than anything you will find for the same price.


Dat glass trackpad :love:
 
Rickster said:
I can understand your reasoning, but I can say the the build quality of a mac and the trackpad of a mac is far superior than anything you will find for the same price.


Dat glass trackpad :love:
Click to expand...

Financially it makes not sense unless you go with used parts on a 5yr old laptop.
 
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