General Category > General Computing/Macintosh
Advice for upgrading from a early-2010 MacBook Pro ?
elagache:
Dear WeatherCatters who are keeping an eye on Apple developments,
For many years, I have been running a refurbished early-2010 17" MacBook Pro.
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp621?locale=en_US
Unfortunately, this computer wasn't particular well treated by its previous owner and finally it is showing signs of giving up the ghost. I would much prefer to buy a new computer to avoid these sorts of problems and would also like to get as much ram as possible. 16GB just doesn't cut it anymore.
Apple doesn't make that many computers that would meet that spec. Regular iMacs and MacBook Pros are limited to 32 GB. I'm not sure doubling my memory is sufficient. The iMac Pro certainly would meet the spec, but is extremely expensive - ditto for the Mac Pro. That leaves one candidate as a compromise between price and performance - the Mac mini:
https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/
The options of 64 GB of ram and 1 TB SSD definitely bring up the price, but even with a 5K monitor it is substantially less than the iMac Pro. In fact you could buy 2 monitors and still be cheaper than the iMac Pro.
Of course getting a monitor that supports the full resolution of a Mac is another kettle of fish. Here is an article about it:
https://www.monitornerds.com/best-4k-and-5k-displays-for-mac/
If you want to use the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) adapter, you basically have no choice right now but the LG models sold at the Apple store:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKN62LL/A/lg-ultrafine-5k-display
That still leaves a problem about replacing my obsolete USB hubs to a model that supports USB 3. However, I'm hoping that shifting from Firewire 800 to USB 3 for my hard drives will be seamless
Do I seem to have my head around the basic problem? I'm hoping that I can make the leap from High Sierra to Mojave without too much suffering.
Any thoughts would be definitely appreciated! [tup]
Cheers, Edouard
Blicj11:
Good post, with valid points. I'm right there with you regarding upgrading hardware - been thinking about that macMini as well. I got lucky and found a used Apple Thunderbolt Display as a second display for my iMac in an authorized Mac reseller store and bought it for $300. It was in terrific shape. You are dead on regarding RAM. 24 is the lowest I've run for years and it's not enough on some occasions. 32 might be ok. I'm pretty sure Steve is running 40 GB in his new rig, so I believe it must be an iMac Pro. I've got an external drive for CarbonCopyCloner that runs off the USB 3 bus and its plenty fast.
Steve:
The 27" iMac still allows you to swap out RAM. I bought mine with 8 GB, and added 32GB more for a total of 40GB. I think it will officially take up to 64, but unofficially up to 128. Not positive on the latter numbers, though.
elagache:
Dear Blick, Steve, and WeatherCat seekers of Macintosh harmony,
--- Quote from: Steve on January 29, 2019, 04:02:19 PM ---The 27" iMac still allows you to swap out RAM. I bought mine with 8 GB, and added 32GB more for a total of 40GB. I think it will officially take up to 64, but unofficially up to 128. Not positive on the latter numbers, though.
--- End quote ---
Hmmmmm, I hadn't thought about a regular iMac and upgrading the memory. Other World Computing is more than willing to help:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/imac-2017-27-inch
It can be done in the new Mac mini, but apparently Apple made it really hard. I haven't checked to see how hard it is to swap memory into the iMac. However, that's as easy as checking out the videos!
Thanks for the tips! [tup]
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
Steve:
--- Quote from: elagache on January 29, 2019, 11:31:32 PM --- I haven't checked to see how hard it is to swap memory into the iMac
--- End quote ---
Easy Peasy. Open the door, flip out the carrier, and swap cards. This only works on the 27" (at least as of the 2017/18 model, I assume still.) The 21" is not upgradable. And yea, I got my 32GB from OWC, too. Get two 16 GB cards so you can still use the 8GB built in.
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