8gb ram vs SSD upgrades

so I will be getting my first Apple since the old iMacs. I will be putting my order through as soon as the latest refresh is out and since i'm in desperate need of a computer, im really hoping this thursday.

anyway...I was looking at the option of the current MBP and like the title suggests I am really only interested in upgrading to a SSD or 8GB RAM. I cannot do both so I'm curious which one will be most beneficial. For the most part, I do fairly simple tasks...mostly streaming music/video or downloads, some audio production (will probably increase in the next year though), and run DJing software.

obviously, this question is based on the current option of the MBP but just want opinions and will move forward accordingly when the new options are out

 

The 8 GB of RAM will likely be of little value for the tasks you listed. The SSD will provide constant benefit in all tasks, and yield a much faster boot.

Understand that Apple's prices on SSD's are rather pricey, which means you will probably see it much more advantageous to go aftermarket.

I think you have to have some unusual uses to take advantage of 8 GB of RAM, and certainly if you ever grow into needing it, you will find it better to only buy it when you do see that need.

 

You will see the most performance out of a SSD.

Now if you're looking to do both then go ahead and get a SSD from Apple (a little overpriced for my taste but to each their own) and then get a 8gb kit for the macbook. Right now newegg is running a discount code for 15% off all laptop memory. That means you could buy ram for the computer for less then $80 where as Apple will charge you $400 for the same stuff.

Upgrading the ram does not void your warranty and is super easy, 10 screws on the bottom and the cover pops off and then its a matter of taking out the old sticks and putting the new ones in.

 

What is your budget? You can have both 8GB of RAM and an SSD if you do both aftermarket, neither of which will void your warranty.

Get an aftermarket SSD like the OCZ Vertex 2, which are relatively cheap right now and an 8GB memory kit.

However, I would definitely go with the SSD before doing the memory, as you'll see immediate benefit in pretty much everything you do. More RAM is far less noticeable, unless you're running lots of virtual machines or something like that, at least from the tasks that you've described you'd be using the laptop for.

 

What do you call cheap? An adequate size ssd is rather costly. Its worth it if yo have the money, but it is costly.

 

Depending on the size you can get a 60GB drive for a little over 100$, thats pretty cheap, and the ram at 80$ also cheap. Compared to what Apple will charge I guess

 

I got a 90GB Agility 2 for my MBP... wow, i can't believe I used the 320GB disk this thing came with... I cut my boot speed in half (at least). I think I'm at about 9-12 seconds from press of button to working desktop. let put it this way, if I have to wait for something that means the machine has locked up (exceptions being large program installs).

yes, I'd get an aftermarket SSD (mine was 170$), and 8GB of ram is about 80$ or so.

 

I got a very good deal on my Vertex 2 240GB for $250 canadian a little while back. I'd say that's relatively cheap for the adequate size plus the great performance increase.

 

Seagate Momentus XT and get the 8GB of ram aftermarket. Now you have plenty of ram for any project, the fast boots of an SSD, a ton of space and your under budget.

 

were and how? I'd love one for 250$.

 

It was an instant rebate at Canada Computers + mail in rebate from OCZ. I don't think they're running that deal anymore though for this particular model. But they always seem to have some kind of mail in rebate + instant rebate on the OCZ drives every week.

 

Oops - failed to read.

 

thanks for the responses guys. i'll wait and see what the options and pricing are on the new MBP and go from there now. most likely i'll be going the after market route on both. first on the RAM then on the SSD unless Apple actually releases those hybrid drives.

 

Another option would be a small ExpressCard SSD to use along with the HDD. There are all kinds of rumors out there on the new MacBook Pros:

HDD + small SSD on Motherboard
ExpressCard slot returning to MacBook Pro 15 inch

You can get a 48 GB Filemate ExpressCard SSD for $130 - this is what I have on my MacBook Pro and you get the speed of an SSD and the space of an HDD. So that's one additional option to consider. It also means that you can just take the SSD out and put it in another MacBook Pro and boot.

I think that there are few reasons to go with 8 GB unless you do virtual machines. I have 4 GB in my MacBook Pro and have had no performance issues related to memory with it. I do plan to get into using VMs more in the future though, so I would probably go with 8 GB + SSD in the future.