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iMac and MacBook Upgrade Tips

I'm the type that tries to get the most bang out of a computer - where many consider a 3 year old computer "end of life", I can easily double that lifespan.

A lot of people ask me what I've done for upgrades to the Macs I manage.  Here are some examples of what I did.

2009 MacBook (6 years old)
2009 MacBook Pro (6 years old)
  • 250 GB SSD (originally a traditional 250 GB drive) 
  • 4 GB of memory not upgraded.  I find 4 GB to be plenty powerful.
2010 MacBook (5 years old)
  • 250 GB SSD (originally a traditional 250 GB drive)
  • 8 GB memory (originally at 2 GB)
    • G.Skill DDR3 RAM 
    • Although 4 GB is powerful enough, I was upgrading it from 2 GB.  So using the principle of upgrading as few times as possible, I moved it to 8 GB.
2011 iMac (4 years old)
  • 8 GB memory (originally at 4 GB)
    • This iMac had two empty memory slots, so I was able to re-use the 4 GB pulled from my 2011 MacBook Pro to bring the iMac from 4 GB to 8 GB.
  • 4 TB Hybrid drive (originally a traditional 500 GB drive)
2011 MacBook Pro (4 years old)
  • 1 TB Hybrid Drive (originally a traditional 750 GB drive)
  • 8 GB memory (originally at 4 GB)
    • G.Skill DDR3 RAM

My Upgrade "Rules"

There are generally two components that I upgrade in an older computer:  Memory and Drive Storage.

Memory
  • Upgrade if memory is less than 4 GB
  • Do nothing if memory is at least 4 GB
Memory used to be very expensive, but now it is quite affordable.   DDR3 memory is about $8 per gigabyte.  If I encounter a computer with less then 4 GB, I generally upgrade to 8 gigabytes.  If a machine already has 4 GB I generally leave it alone.

I generally buy G.Skill memory because I have had good luck with it.

Hard Drive Storage
  • Upgrade if poor performance, and/or less than 50 GB of space available.
  • Do nothing if performance is good and there is at least 50 GB of available space.
Hard drives have more to do with performance than ever before.  All of the search engine indexing and visualization puts more demand on drive performance than ever before - and so a fast drive can make a real difference.

  • Typical Storage Needs:  I think most people would be best served by a 250 GB SSD drive, about $100.  SSDs are blazingly fast, but a bit more expensive on a per-GB basis (about 40¢ per GB)
  • Very Large Storage Needs: If you have an large storage need (multiple user accounts or tons of music, video, and photos), I'd go with a "hybrid" drive, which provides very good performance with a lot of storage for about $80.  This technology combines an old-school magnetic disk technology with a tiny SSD (about 8¢ per gigabyte).
I wouldn't go with a traditional disk unless you are happy with performance.  The price/performance differential, at 6¢ per gigabyte, isn't worth it.

Tools

I use the following tool set for my upgrades.  Having the right tools is key to success.  I would never use the wrong tool.
Why USB 3.0?  It true that few of the devices I work on use USB 3.0.  But soon they will all have USB 3.0, and USB 3.0 is much faster than USB 2.0.  Given the negligible price difference, I go with USB 3.
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