gabriel_neto
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Upgrading MacBook Pro late 2011

Good Afternoon,

I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro and I want to upgrade the hardware. According to the Apple website it supports up to 8 gb of ram, but in some topics of the community there are people who say that supports 16 gb ram, wanted to know what the maximum supported and not lose anything in exchange for the memories.

Another thing I wanted to know is how to upgrade the HDD, is possible to install an SSD? It has a maximum capacity? Can be any one or should possess some specific specifications?

If I make the change I need to install OSX Leopard or Mountain Lion can be for a pendrive?

Is there any program to make a backup for EXTERNAL HD?

 

 

thank you

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 26, 2013 1:42 PM

by mende1,Solvedanswer
mende1 mende1
Level 10 (93,329 points)
Desktops
A:

Welcome to Apple Support Communities

 

In fact, the 2011 MacBook Pro supports 16 GB of RAM. You can buy more memory from OWC or Crucial.

 

Respecting to the hard drive, you can upgrade it or install a SSD without voiding warranty. Any 2'5" SATA hard drive will work with your MacBook Pro, and you have three hard drive types: a 5400 rpm HDD, a 7200 rpm HDD and a SSD, choosing the one you most like (if you haven't got enough money for a SSD, go for the 7200 rpm HDD).

 

In the case of Macs, I don't recommend you to install a hard drive bigger than 2 TB in order to avoid some problems. Instead, it would be much better to get an external drive.

 

Your Mac comes with OS X Recovery, so you don't need OS X Mountain Lion on a USB drive. Just start your Mac holding Command, Option (Alt) and R keys, and reinstall OS X. You may need to erase the disk.

 

To make backups, you can use Time Machine > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427 Also, you have cloning apps like Carbon Copy Cloner that will make a bootable copy of your hard disk

Posted on Jun 26, 2013 2:07 PM

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gabriel_neto

Q: Upgrading MacBook Pro late 2011

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  • Helpful answers

  • by mende1,Solvedanswer

    mende1 mende1 Jun 26, 2013 2:07 PM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 10 (93,329 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 26, 2013 2:07 PM in response to gabriel_neto

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities

     

    In fact, the 2011 MacBook Pro supports 16 GB of RAM. You can buy more memory from OWC or Crucial.

     

    Respecting to the hard drive, you can upgrade it or install a SSD without voiding warranty. Any 2'5" SATA hard drive will work with your MacBook Pro, and you have three hard drive types: a 5400 rpm HDD, a 7200 rpm HDD and a SSD, choosing the one you most like (if you haven't got enough money for a SSD, go for the 7200 rpm HDD).

     

    In the case of Macs, I don't recommend you to install a hard drive bigger than 2 TB in order to avoid some problems. Instead, it would be much better to get an external drive.

     

    Your Mac comes with OS X Recovery, so you don't need OS X Mountain Lion on a USB drive. Just start your Mac holding Command, Option (Alt) and R keys, and reinstall OS X. You may need to erase the disk.

     

    To make backups, you can use Time Machine > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427 Also, you have cloning apps like Carbon Copy Cloner that will make a bootable copy of your hard disk

  • by gabriel_neto,

    gabriel_neto gabriel_neto Jun 27, 2013 4:12 PM in response to mende1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 27, 2013 4:12 PM in response to mende1

    mende1, thanks!

    But i have a question, my macbook support 1600 Mhz RAM Memory?

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jun 27, 2013 4:47 PM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 9 (52,793 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 27, 2013 4:47 PM in response to gabriel_neto

    It might but it is not recommended.  IF it works, at best you will get a 2% performance increase.  OWC is the only place to go if you choose to do it.

     

    Ciao.

  • by gabriel_neto,

    gabriel_neto gabriel_neto Jul 2, 2013 12:41 PM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 2, 2013 12:41 PM in response to gabriel_neto

    Hi guys,

    today i update my RAM, i put two 8GB of Corsair RAM, 1333MHz and everthing is ok.

    But i have another question, respecting the upgrade of HDD. Do i want if the Samsung SSD 840 Series 500GB is compatible with Macbook Pro early 2011. I see many inssues in the communities with this SSD. What do you sugest?

  • by mende1,

    mende1 mende1 Jul 2, 2013 12:44 PM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 10 (93,329 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 2, 2013 12:44 PM in response to gabriel_neto

    It's compatible but I have seen a lot of problems with it. I recommend you to have a look at a different SSD for the MacBook Pro

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jul 2, 2013 12:44 PM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 9 (52,793 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 2, 2013 12:44 PM in response to gabriel_neto

    Start a new post.  This is a different topic.  I personally am not knowledgeable about SSD's.

     

    Ciao.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Jun 24, 2016 9:26 AM in response to gabriel_neto
    Level 8 (35,316 points)
    iPad
    Jun 24, 2016 9:26 AM in response to gabriel_neto

    Corsair RAM has come up as problematic in too many posts here for me to feel comfortable with it. I've only used OWC RAM for over a decade and it has always worked perfectly.

     

    Also avoid Kingston "Value RAM" (their regular RAM is fine but hard to find) and PNY.