SSD and RAM upgrade on white macbook unibody

Question about

Add tags:

abhayemadhok June 17, 2012

SSD and RAM upgrade on white macbook unibody

Hi,

I'm looking to upgrade RAM and SSD on my white macbook unibody. I'm looking to increase the overall speed from boot up to using multiple applications which can be a bit slow with my current config. As I'm no pro in dealing with computers, could you please tell me in leman terms what would be the best way to go about this. I've included the specs of my mac below

Serial no - W800943L8PW
Processor 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)

Would appreciate any help.

answer this question

top answers

abhayemadhok's pick

Jgstew 11 months ago

Look here: www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbo...

Your mac will support up to 8GB of RAM, which is a good idea if you are a heavy user. I'd recommend buying RAM that is specific for your Macbook model and says that it supports it, but it does not have to be from Apple Directly. Mac's do not take well to RAM that does not match the speeds and type exactly and many RAM companies offer RAM specifically tested for use on Macs.

As for SSD options, I would recommend the Intel 520 series, the OCZ Vertex 4, Samsung 830, or OWC Mercury. Not all SSDs are created equal, and the controller makes a big difference in performance. To save money it is possible to get a drive that has the same controller as the higher end version but with less expensive flash memory, for instance the Agility 3 vs the Vertex 3 or the OWC Mercury Electra vs Extreme. If you want to see some background on different SSDs, here is a source: pcper.com/ssd-decoder

mark as good answer

1 person likes this answer

| 6 replies

Jgstew 2012-06-17 13:20:57

Here is 8gb of RAM for $45 tested for Apple devices: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00505EZYW/ref=as_li_ss_...

always test your memory using: www.memtest86.com/ after installation.

Jgstew 2012-06-17 13:24:26

The Agility 3 will be your cheapest option for very large SSDs. They had some firmware issues at first, but they have been resolved. I am using Agility 3's in all of my Mac's and PC's without issue, as long as they are updated to the latest firmware. (all new purchases will have the latest firmware installed)

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z0S6S4/ref=as_li_ss_...

All SSDs push performance very far, so make sure you have good backups, no exceptions.

Jgstew 2012-06-17 13:29:41

I'd recommend Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper for moving over to the new SSD. You will need a device to connect your SSD to your macbook to copy over your data.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J01I1G/ref=as_li_ss_...

mullane 2012-06-17 16:21:29

Just a heads-up, if you hover over your post it lets you edit it, so you don't need to reply to your post if you want to add/amend something.

Jgstew 2012-06-18 10:09:38

Sorry for the extra emails & thanks for the heads up, I did not realize that before.

I do actually like the extra info in the reply's to my main answer because it keeps the main answer short, and I can separate out those different pieces into different chunks.

abhayemadhok 2012-06-19 09:15:34

Hi Jgstew,

Thanks for sharing these links, I bet there is tons of options to consider and your response is very well laid out to help me make the final decision. I'm really looking forward to going through these thoroughly. Appreciate your answer and will get back in case I have and doubts.

Thanks a bunch!

abhayemadhok's pick

mullane 11 months ago

Hi abhayermadhok,
You've chosen two upgrades that are fairly easy to complete and they're the two upgrades that bring the biggest speed difference!
To upgrade the RAM, follow this guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKsbHMD7Sc0. It should take about 10 minutes. I would upgrade it to either 4GB or 8GB - you should notice a big improvement over the 2GB you have currently.
To upgrade the SSD, follow this guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtCR5Z5CpU. Do you need 500GB in the SSD? That seems like it would be expensive if you don't have that many files. Count up how much storage you use at the moment, delete anything you no longer need and then get one that will fit everything.
I think those two upgrades will speed up your system a lot!
I'd recommend this site to buy them both from: www.crucial.com/
Thanks

mark as good answer

1 person likes this answer

| 3 replies

abhayemadhok 2012-06-19 09:11:01

Hey Mullane!
Thanks a bunch for your sharing the youtube links, I can see that it's fairly simple to DIY the RAM and SSD swap. The 500GB is really expensive and I would have to rethink how much I really need in as my system memory. I can use my HDD for more memory if needed. I was thinking of heading out over the weekend to get a good price on the whole upgrade and will be sure to follow the simple instructions on youtube links shared by you.

Cheers!

abhayemadhok 2012-06-19 10:01:28

Mullane & Jgstew

I wanted to pick your brains on any one of these

www.flipkart.com/internal-hard-drives/compare?ids=...

I'm from India and this is the best possible place for me to order the SSD from, I'm also looking to get best price from a wholesale market soon. I guess these would be fairly comfortable price range to fit my pocket. So, please let me know which one of these would be best for my system.

Thanks!

Jgstew 2012-06-19 11:00:37

Do not buy the Octane you have linked, it is an older style SSD, much slower.

The Corsair 3 or the Agility 3 are good options, using the same controller.

sort by

votes
date

1 more answer

This answer has been removed.

floydrharper 2012-08-18 17:04:13

I did both of these things with my mid-2010 MB Pro. The difference in performance was nothing short of astounding. I used a 128gb Samsung SSD I bought off Ebay for $60. I'm getting read/write speeds in excess of 250gb/sec according to Blackmagic. My cold boot time is around 20 sec. I used an optical drive adaptor so I could retain the stock HD as well. This computer is now a "beast".

mark as good answer

0 people like this answer

| add reply