Fix Your Stuff Community Store

Mid 2012 model, A1278 / 2.5 GHz i5 or 2.9 GHz i7 processor.

1624 Questions View all

Options

How to get the best performance in MBP 13" mid-2012?

I have a Macbook Pro 13" mid-2012 and I would like to know how to get the best performance out of my laptop. Should I upgrade the memory to 16GB RAM or upgrade the HDD to SSD (or even use both)?

The laptop is 3 years old and it's quite slow. From the 512GB HDD, I use 75GB for Bootcamp, and now I currently have 100GB free in total. I am also still using 4GB RAM. I use my laptop mostly for Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, etc, to edit photos and videos. Sometimes I would also use Sublime Text to code, GarageBand for recording, Microsoft Office to do basic tasks, or even play The Sims 4.

So, let's say I want to upgrade either one, which one should I do first to get the most out of it? And if I happen to upgrade both RAM and SSD, to which capacity? Please share your thoughts with me anyhow! Thank you.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Yes No
Score 0
Add a comment

1 Answer

Filter by:
Most Helpful Newest Oldest
Chosen Solution

Options

If you can afford it, replace both. Doubling RAM to 8 Gb already makes you feel quite a difference with daily use tasks and increases the amount of Vram available. Going up to 16Gb in my humble opinion gives you a marginal benefit and would mostly make a difference just in case of handling large files with demanding Apps such as photo, music and video editing or gaming. SSD prices have dropped significantly as of late and considering the about 4 times faster read speeds a replacement would be a must for a Mac like yours as it carries along less heat production and lower power consumption as bonuses too.

If you replace both at once it would feel like having another Mac from day one. Only make sure your fan and heat sink are always fairly clean to keep temperature under control, that's very important with demanding tasks such as gaming and editing.

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 4

1 Comment:

Here's the IFIXIT guide to add RAM: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 RAM Replacement. Do this first then make sure things are OK before doing the drive.

And here's the guide for swapping out your drive: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Hard Drive Replacement. I strongly recommend you also replace the HD SATA cable at the same time MacBook Pro 13" Unibody (Mid 2012) Hard Drive Cable and place electricians tape on the uppercase where the cable crosses as the rough metal tends to damage the cable. And lastly, don't over stress the folds as bending the cable sharply will damage it.

Here's a guide to create the needed OS installer USB drive How to create a bootable macOS Sierra installer drive I would stick with Sierra on this system as Apple still has issues with SATA based systems running APFS.

by

Add a comment

Add your answer

Putri Ardhia will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 0

Past 7 Days: 0

Past 30 Days: 0

All Time: 454