Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

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derek.fulmer
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p.1 #1 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

I am currently using a 2009 MacBook Pro with a 2.66Ghz core2duo processor, 8GB ram and a 320GB system drive (little more than half full). It runs Lightroom, Photoshop, Safari, etc etc all well. However, I'm starting to see some lag at times and with emerging USB 3.0, better processors, etc I am wondering if I shouldn't upgrade my machine.

Disregarding any potential product updates, I'm considering a 13" MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD drive (this would give me speed and reliability) and I would then move my LR and iTunes catalogs to external drives, unless my LR catalog is okay to stay on a system drive granted I have all my back ups off site.

This would not be an immediate upgrade, if at all.

My other option is to just put an SSD drive into my current machine and see how that fairs. I like to stay as current and "future proof" as possible. I'm not seeing any drastic short comings of my current hardware, just considering options and looking for advice.

Sep 24, 2012 at 09:14 PM

howardm4
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p.1 #2 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

I put an SSD in my 2006 vintage MBP and it was like night-n-day difference in performance.

You may want to consider that you can purchase it and if it still doesn't give you what you want, you can always move it to a new 13" MBP (or do a data-doubler kind of thing). Prices have really come down too. What was $180 for 120G 6G-SSD is now around $120 (OWC)

Sep 24, 2012 at 09:23 PM

derek.fulmer
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p.1 #3 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

howardm4 wrote:
I put an SSD in my 2006 vintage MBP and it was like night-n-day difference in performance.

You may want to consider that you can purchase it and if it still doesn't give you what you want, you can always move it to a new 13" MBP (or do a data-doubler kind of thing). Prices have really come down too. What was $180 for 120G 6G-SSD is now around $120 (OWC)

Thanks for the info. What brand SSD did you opt for? I've looked at OWC, Crucial, SanDisk, and Intel.

Sep 24, 2012 at 09:24 PM

howardm4
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p.1 #4 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

I went w/ the OWC 6G model (although my 2006 MBP can't take advantage of the 6G-ness, I thought I may put the drive in a more recent unit if it didn't pan out).

Also check out OWC's 'Data Doubler'

Sep 24, 2012 at 09:48 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #5 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

The OWC 6G SSDs handle compressed files (most photos) faster than the 3G models, which do their own compression and decompression on the fly. So even on a 3G interface they can still be faster for some applications.

Is a 13" really big enough in either physical size or pixel count for Lr and Ps ? I'd expect to need a bigger screen but with the 15" you are presently forced to decide between retina screen without DVD and some ports and with RAM stuck on the mainboard, or the old screen with the DVD and extra ports and upgradeable RAM. I'd wait for another update, and in the meantime put an SSD into your present computer via a data doubler which replaces the dvd but needs a bit of delicate installation work.

The 2011 MBPs were twice as fast as the 2009 models and the latest will be a little bit faster again but you get a new OS to play with. Do you use file/save as in your applications ? If so then you don't want the new OS.

Best thing: if you can tolerate "slowness" then save a fortune on computer updates and hassles and stick with what you have. I can't, but I had a lot of hassles with my upgrade from a 2009 MBP to a 2011 MBP and the 2012 range is unsuitable for my needs and wants.

- Alan

Sep 25, 2012 at 01:47 AM

derek.fulmer
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p.1 #6 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

Alan321 wrote:
The OWC 6G SSDs handle compressed files (most photos) faster than the 3G models, which do their own compression and decompression on the fly. So even on a 3G interface they can still be faster for some applications.

Is a 13" really big enough in either physical size or pixel count for Lr and Ps ? I'd expect to need a bigger screen but with the 15" you are presently forced to decide between retina screen without DVD and some ports and with RAM stuck on the mainboard, or the old screen with the DVD and extra ports and upgradeable RAM. I'd wait for another update, and in the meantime put an SSD into your present computer via a data doubler which replaces the dvd but needs a bit of delicate installation work.

The 2011 MBPs were twice as fast as the 2009 models and the latest will be a little bit faster again but you get a new OS to play with. Do you use file/save as in your applications ? If so then you don't want the new OS.

Best thing: if you can tolerate "slowness" then save a fortune on computer updates and hassles and stick with what you have. I can't, but I had a lot of hassles with my upgrade from a 2009 MBP to a 2011 MBP and the 2012 range is unsuitable for my needs and wants.

- Alan

Looks like i'll be installing an SSD soon.

What I want ultimately is to have the SSD with my OS (running Mountian Lion), iLife Apps, Photoshop and Lightroom with all the extraneous files on externals like LR catalog, iTunes catalog, documents, etc etc.

Sep 25, 2012 at 01:55 AM

kpjsy
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p.1 #7 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

Save as... is still there...

Alan321 wrote:
Do you use file/save as in your applications ? If so then you don't want the new OS.

Nov 14, 2012 at 03:11 PM

BluesWest
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p.1 #8 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

a 2009 MacBook Pro with a 2.66Ghz core2duo processor

I recently struggled with the same question with regard to my early-2008 MBP, which is only slighly less underpowered (2.4GHz Core 2 Duo) than yours. I decided it would be a waste of both time and money, especially after checking out the capabilities of the new MBPs at the Apple Store. The Core 2 Duo is ancient CPU technology, especially when considering the demands of image processing. And after building a new PC desktop with a core i7-3770K CPU, I re-discovered what a pleasure it is to use a fast computer when editing photos.

Everyone seems to think that an SSD is a magic bullet. I have an SSD in my new PC build - and it does make an enormous difference when booting and launching apps - but an SSD will not improve the basic processing capabilities of an old computer.

John

Nov 14, 2012 at 04:51 PM

kpjsy
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p.1 #9 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

I put SSD and 8GB memory in my late-2008. brought new life to it. the only weakness is the video card i'd say.

Nov 14, 2012 at 06:10 PM

Brit-007
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p.1 #10 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

Getting an SSD will give you a couple of years. It really depends on what you want to do. I had a 6 year old MBP and finally bit the bullet. It was an Intel Core 2 Duo and I had upgraded to Lion. This was when I noticed the slowness. The problem with my system was that the maximun stated Ram was 3GB. At least you have 8GB Ram on your system so that should be good.

In my case I purchased a new system. I went with the new 13" MBP Retina. It is gorgeous. It will boot from cold in 5 seconds. Big advantage of the SSD. CS6 opens in 2 seconds. With the new machine I kept with the standard processor configuration of the dual core i5, 8GB Ram but upgraded the SSD to 256GB.

It is really your call on upgrade or re-purchase. In my case I went new but my system was a lot older.

Nov 14, 2012 at 08:23 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #11 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

kpjsy wrote:
Save as... is still there...

Alan321 wrote:
Do you use file/save as in your applications ? If so then you don't want the new OS.

According to what I read at diglloyd the save as is there but it doesn't work like it had done since it was invented decades ago. Now if you edit a file and realise that you want to save it as something other than the original you can still use save as but the trouble is that Lion saves it as the new file (as you would expect) and also saves it over the top of the original (which you would never expect), instead of leaving the original alone.

Nov 22, 2012 at 08:14 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #12 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

That is just crazy.

EBH

Nov 23, 2012 at 10:48 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #13 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

derek.fulmer wrote:
I am currently using a 2009 MacBook Pro with a 2.66Ghz core2duo processor, 8GB ram and a 320GB system drive (little more than half full). It runs Lightroom, Photoshop, Safari, etc etc all well. However, I'm starting to see some lag at times and with emerging USB 3.0, better processors, etc I am wondering if I shouldn't upgrade my machine.

Disregarding any potential product updates, I'm considering a 13" MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD drive (this would give me speed and reliability) and I would then move my LR and iTunes catalogs to external drives, unless my LR catalog is okay to stay on a system drive granted I have all my back ups off site.

This would not be an immediate upgrade, if at all.

My other option is to just put an SSD drive into my current machine and see how that fairs. I like to stay as current and "future proof" as possible. I'm not seeing any drastic short comings of my current hardware, just considering options and looking for advice.

A C2D is limiting in many ways, but if it is fast enough for your needs then adding an SSD will make the machine far more usable than before. A 480-512GB SSD is only in the $300-400 range now, and prices are dropping. You can always use the SSD in something else should you retire the old laptop later on. That being said, the Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 CPUs are in another league from a C2D.

EBH

Nov 23, 2012 at 10:55 PM

kpjsy
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p.1 #14 · Should I upgrade my aging MacBook Pro?

I have a Late-2008 15" Macbook Pro with 8GB RAM and 120GB OWC 3G SSD. It's running PS CS5 and LR3 just fine. The only thing I could wish is that it had a better video card because demo-ing CS6, I could feel a little jitter because it uses a bit of the GPU. (Probably should turn off the OpenGL or something). Mountain Lion supports Macbook Pros from 2007 and up, so I think since your setup is running well for you that you should wait a bit longer and in the mean time install an SSD from OWC or similar that does hardware TRIM.

The only thing that attracts me about new Macbook Pros are 16GB memory capacity, and IPS Displays in the Retina Models. If you have an external IPS display that you edit with, then displays aren't an issue, but if you're a traveler/mobile person then it would be nice! Honestly, I just want an iMac, but being a mobile person, it would be nice to have that extra memory capacity and more accurate screen for editing.

*EDIT* I just realized I replied to this thread before... WOW

Nov 24, 2012 at 07:47 AM

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