I need to upgrade MacBook Pro

Question

Hello and happy new year to you guys!
I own a MacBook Pro 15" 2,53 GHz mid-2009. since I'm a poor student I can't really afford buying a new one for now, I just purchased an iPad mini 2 (which I don't regret at all).
So here I wanted to upgrade it since the ram seems to be not enough now (It has 2x2 gb), I always only have 800 - 150 MB left. I am not sure if it's why my Mac is a little bit slow, but anyway. I decided to upgrade the ram.
The thing is I'm not sure if I can actually post link there but I was actually going to buy these:
http://www.amazon.fr/Komputerbay-DDR3-SODIMM-broches-1066Mhz/dp/B0031GELDM/ref=s r_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420154084&sr=8-1&keywords=SO-DIMM+DDR3+PC3-8500 the problem is there are multiple versions of it, like:
2x4 Go
2x4 Go Apple HS
2x4 Go HS
2x4 Go HS Apple
I really wanted to do all this by myself I've checked here: http://support.apple.com/fr-fr/HT1270#link2 but I still have no idea what HS and HS Apple mean, please help.
Since I am here I wanted to ask a few more question:
-Do I also need to upgrade my Mac which has 250 GB with a SSD? Or just replacing the RAM will be enough for now? I don't really need a lot of space I have about 3 external disk with 2TB in.
-Also is there a site cheaper than Amazon to buy the rams? I live in France.
-And is it worth buying a new bluetooth card so I can use Handoff on my MacBook Pro with my iPhone 5 and iPad mini 2? While looking for upgrading my MacBook Pro I've read that I could actually upgrade the bluetooth to use Handoff.
Thanks for reading. (Sorry English is not my native language)

Answer 1

I looked at the Mactracker program and it says the memory specs for the Mid 2009 MacBook Pro 15" are:
204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM
and wherever you get them, make sure you ask them they are guaranteed to work in your particular MacBook or that you can return them if they don't work. One thing you might want to look at is faster memory - it might be cheaper. So if the memory were rated at 1333 MHz, it would run fine in your MacBook since it memory bus is only 1066 MHz (you can always use memory rated faster than your bus, but never slower). For example I just saw the 1333 MHz 8GB kit for $75 US (at http://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-2-pack-4gb-1-3ghz-ddr3-sodimm-laptop-memory- kit/1623588.p?id=1218273846150&skuId=1623588&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sk u=1623588&extensionType=pla:g&s_kwcid=PTC!pla!!!66713924146!g!!55678495279&kpid= 1623588&k_clickid=6bd738e7-c831-4005-9bae-e56cd74712ff&kpid=1623588&lsft=ref:212 ,loc:1&ksid=6bd738e7-c831-4005-9bae-e56cd74712ff&ksprof_id=8&ksaffcode=2760&ksde vice=c) and the 1066MHz memory was $90 US - so 75 euros seems same as the $90 memory, but not as good a deal as the $75 memory or the $70 memory at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=889312&gclid=CPu__NXA9MIC FegRMwodnHIAgw&Q=&is=REG&A=details
Try to get memory with a lifetime warranty also. I've always had good luck with Amazon (and never a problem for returns). Also OWC or macsales.com is a good source, but not sure what issues are to sell from US to France and if VAT issues (is that only in UK?).
But as long as you verify with seller the memory will work with your model of MacBook Pro and if they say it will and it doesn't, you should be OK as long as they are reputable and stand behind their sales. You should probably ask advice of friends in France who have upgraded their memory and see what their experience was where they bought their memory. And verify that the warranty will still be valid in France(?) or where ever you live also from where every you buy it.
I think the "Apple HS" and "HS Apple" and "HS" are just minor typo's, as could not find anything like those comments in my looking at US memory web sites. When you get the memory look closely at all the memory chips on each of the cards - they should all be the same make/model/speed/type if good quality memory - not chips from several makers on the same card even if the specs might be the same.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is the voltage rating of the memory - memory rated at 1.35v is higher quality than memory rated at 1.5v according to what I read at http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1771553/35v-memory.html
Also, the SSD upgrade I think is a very good idea - I did that on my MacBook and have been very happy with it - speeded things up a bunch compared to the regular hard disks. All the newer MacBooks now come standard with SSD drives and there's a reason why - they are a lot faster. Transfer speeds up to 5 times faster (about 150MBps max vs 30MBps for regular disk drives). Another thing to think about is if you don't use the DVD much you can put a second drive (like the SSD where the DVD drive fits) and have lots of disk capacity. The down side is if you use your DVD a lot, it's awkward to carry around an external DVD player, but having a SSD for speed (with the OS and APPS on it) and the hard drive with your data/user_files on it is very nice). Boot up speed with and SSD is typically under 20-30 seconds and from a regular drive about a couple of minutes if I recall right. You need to get a special bracket to fit in the space that the DVD drive was in that holds the SSD drive (or another 2.5" SATA drive). I got a Crucial CT480 SSD drive and have been very happy with it for the last year. Would guess they have faster drives now than it, so do a little research and ask lots of questions.
Good luck..bon chance