Late 2008 MacBook Pro, Yosemite, New Ram & HDD?

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Level 1

4 points

Late 2008 MacBook Pro, Yosemite, New Ram & HDD?

I am running a late 2008 MacBook Pro 15" with the following:

2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Memory
250.06 GB Sata Hard Drive with 7200 Rotational Rate
OS X Yosemite 10.10.3

I am the media director for my church, and I am trying to get as much longevity out of this machine as possible. We use it to run ProPresenter 6 (our presentation software) only. It will not have any other application installed on it that doesn't come with the OS. I performed a clean install of Yosemite and upgraded to ProPresenter 6 from ProPresenter 4 just last week. I am looking at upgrading the RAM to 8GB and the hard drive to an SSD. The cost for that would be in the neighborhood of $300. Can I expect a decent upgrade in performance with those two upgrades? I appreciate any help and insight any of you may offer. Thanks.

Stacy Wells

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 2, 2015 6:35 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 2, 2015 7:02 AM in response to EBCmedia

EBCmedia wrote:

Can I expect a decent upgrade in performance with those two upgrades?

Yes, definitely.

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Answer 2

EBCmedia Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 2, 2015 9:03 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks for the quick reply. Okay, so the hard drive install is a piece of cake. However, I've read that there is a small process to get the computer to recognize the 8GB of RAM in older versions of OS X. Is there still a need to change anything system-wise with Yosemite to get the machine to recognize the RAM? What brand of RAM do you recommend? Samsung or OWC SSD? Thanks for the input.

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Answer 3

Jun 2, 2015 9:20 AM in response to EBCmedia

RAM is seen by the hardware so the software doesn't do anything. There won't be an issue with new RAM.

Buy Kingston or Corsair for RAM. Cheaping out on RAM will haunt you later on. OWC is good for SSD drives but Samsung is fine as well.

Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Channel-204-Pin-SO-DIMM-CMSA8GX3M2A1066C7/dp/B0050 5EZYW

Don't buy 4GB extra from a different vendor an put it next to the existing RAM, older systems don't like that. You will need to buy 8GB and sell the current 4GB online or give it away.

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Answer 4

Jun 2, 2015 9:36 AM in response to EBCmedia

Do not buy "value" ram from Kingston or other manufacturer. Get your ram from OWC, http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/. Crucial is a good brand.

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Answer 5

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jun 2, 2015 10:34 AM in response to EBCmedia

The best sources for Mac compatible RAM are what BobTheFisherman has suggested, OWC and Crucial. Macs have a reputation of being very selective when it comes to RAM.

The SSD's most favored on these forums are by Samsung, OWC and Crucial.

Ciao.

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Answer 6

EBCmedia Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 2, 2015 4:58 PM in response to EBCmedia

Thank you all for your input. It will aid me in my decision. Much obliged...

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