Give That MacBook Pro a Second Chance
I was recently looking for ways to improve the performance of my MacBook Pro, and truthfully “it rocks”, but the geek inside me wanted to see if there was something I could change/update to get even more performance out of it. My current MacBook Pro is a 13-inch, Mid 2012 – the one with the CD drive, which I’ve used probably once.
My MacBook Pro has plenty of RAM, and memory has never really been an issue. But I kept hearing from friends, colleagues and others about adding an SSD and how I will see a performance boost very quickly. I currently have a 500GB hard drive, and capacity has never been an issue, but the SSD got me thinking about performance.
Don’t use that CD drive in your MacBook Pro?
I also wanted to keep the 500GB drive as extra capacity, but did not want to carry it around with me as an external drive. I did some research on the web and found a solution that met my requirements with a twist.
I found a very intriguing kit that would allow me to keep my 500GB drive as a secondary drive and allow me to install a new SSD drive as the primary drive. I found the DIY Bundle: OWC Data Doubler Kit + 240GB OWC 6G SSD. I was able to buy it on sale and that allowed me to save a few dollars, but living in Canada, the conversion rate did not help – but, eventually, I am thrilled with the device.
For those that enjoy DIY Mac projects
What this bundle allows you to do is replace your hard drive with an SSD and at the same time replace the CD Drive that I seldom use with my original hard drive and use it as secondary storage. OWC has a really good video to help walk you through the process.
I also used the Migration Assistant, found on the Mac, to copy my hard drive to the SSD before I began the process, and it worked great. BTW – It might just be me, but the additional components don’t seem to add any weight to the laptop, which is a plus. So far, so good and I am enjoying the new speed.
Considering updating your laptop? Have you done something similar? Do you have a story to share? Let me know on Twitter, and thanks for reading.