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.
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2 Comments
Todd, Did this work on your laptop? How’s it goi ng
Spenser Molnar 의
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.
jayfish 의