How can I speed up my macbook?

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How can I speed up my macbook?

Hey guys,

A friend of mine asked me to see if I can speed up his mac, because it is running very slow. The mac has 5 or 6 years so obviously it is a bit outdated but he doesn't have enough money to buy a new one..

MacBook

MacBook4,1

Intel Core 2 Duo

2.4 GHz

OS 10.5.8

it has 148.73gb of capacity and only 45.44gb used. Is there something I can do to make it a bit faster? Maybe upgrade the ram (it has only 2gb), I don't know...

Thanks,

Tomas

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on May 14, 2013 11:32 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

May 14, 2013 3:43 PM in response to Tomaspv

Here are comlete specs for your friends macbook

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-core-2-duo-2.4-white -13-early-2008-penryn-specs.html

You can upgrade the ram to 6 GB and that will make a big difference. Another worthwhile upgrade is to the OS, I would get Snow Leopard for a mac that age. I have a 2009 model and really enjoy SL on it. You can get SL for $20 from Apple.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Finally you shold consider replacing the hadprd drive with an SSD. That alone is the single most noticible upgrade I've ever done. It's absolutely made my macbook feel like a new computer.

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Answer 2

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

May 14, 2013 3:46 PM in response to Tomaspv

Forgot to mention best places to get reliable ram, stay away from the bargian basement brands.

http://eshop.macsales.com/

http://www.crucial.com/

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Answer 3

Tomaspv Author

Level 1

0 points

May 15, 2013 12:38 AM in response to SeaPapp

Thank you so much for your help! Very complete answer and straight to the point!

I live in Portugal so I can't order from the websites you gave me.. I should have mentioned it. Do you think amazon is a good place to find the ram cards?

About the 6gb ram, isn't there a problem to have a 2gb and a 4gb card? Shouldn't they be the same?

Thanks

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Answer 4

Tomaspv Author

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May 15, 2013 2:25 AM in response to SeaPapp

If I buy on amazon, is this a good ram to buy?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-200-pin-SODIMM-PC2-5300-memory/dp/B000F7QRTG/ref =cm_cr_pr_product_top

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Answer 5

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

May 15, 2013 7:02 AM in response to Tomaspv

Cricial ram from Amazon is fine. Crucial ships world wide but I don't know if you'd save any money over Amazon. As far as matched pairs, yes, there is a small speed gain using matched pairs but not really enough to offset the gain that 2gb more ram will give you. The single most common complaint is having to wait for a spinning beachball because you don't have enough ram. I would go for 6gb if it fits into the budget.

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