To overhaul/upgrade MBP or buy new?

Hey guys, apologies in advance for submitting such a commonly asked question, but circumstances are always unique so I hope I can still appeal to the collective brain trust for some feedback
Quick rundown: I have a Spring 2010 MBP 15-inch (version 6,2) with anti-glare screen. Ram is maxxed out to 8gb.
I am not a power user. I’m a writer, so I use Word, Safari (usually when I should be using Word ;)), Evernote, FaceTime, and do some light Photoshop work. I occasionally use iTunes and watch movies. This computer has been fabulous. When I bought it new, it was obviously overkill for my needs, but I wanted the size, antiglare-screen and keyboard real estate, so I went big and have been very happy.
I’m coming up on the 5-year mark and the most pressing issue for me is battery life is, of course, getting very bad, at <2 hours. It’s also running a bit slower lately, and I wonder if it’s because I only have about 10% of the HDD left, or that Mavericks (need to upgrade to Yosemite perhaps) just doesn’t like how old my laptop is. It’s maybe both?
I was thinking I could do one final upgrade to eke out 2 or even 3 more years of this workhorse - and perhaps that’s overly optimistic, but again, with my light user needs, it seems realistic. The upgrade would be installing a new 512GB SSD and a new battery, with total cost being about $360
Talking to my tech-savvy buddy, he’s a strong proponent of me just dumping the old computer and getting a new MBA 13 or MBP 13, but I feel like I’d miss the screen size and the anti-glare screen (i work in bright environments about 30% of the time). I understand the Retina screen is awesome, but I’m not a photo/video guy, and I understand it still has a layer of glass that would give off a good bit of glare.
That aside, I also know I could do what i did 5 years ago and throw down for a new rMBP 15 with all the bells and whistles, but I feel like it would be a waste of money given my light usage, and I also feel there’s still some good life left in my old MBP 15, especially if i upgrade it.
I know this sounds like I’ve already made a decision to just upgrade the old rig, but I really am open to any and all suggestions. So, what are your guys’ thoughts?
Thanks for reading!
Dan

OK, you sound as though you've thought the SSD thing through, so go for it. As for the backup instead of paying BackBlaze each month buy a backup drive instead so your data are right there when you need them and won't take hours to get over the Internet. If you buy a 500 GB SSD then you just need a 500 GB backup HDD. OWC has just your ticket: OWC 500GB Mercury On-The-Go Portable FW800&400-USB3 for $125.99. Here's some good backup software to use with it:
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

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Upgrade MBP or buy new?

Hi!
I am currently using an early 2011 13"mbp. As of recently it has started being sluggish and showing its age. I also get to work on a late 2013 13"mbp which makes mine look really slow!
I have though of buying a brand new one, like the one I use at work ,but I also thought that maybe if I upgrade the RAM and the HDD to an SSD i just boost its performance close to the 2013 model.
Has anyone made such an upgrade? And if yes, is the speed boost worth it?
PS1
For those who will tell me to check WHY my computer became sluggish.. I am very carefull not to install app i dont use. I also use Appcleaner so any app I used once and got deleted I delete all asociated files with it. Plus I check to have enough space on my HDD.
PS2
My personal computer specs are: MBP 2,3GHz Intel core i5, 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ram, 320Gb HDD, OSX Mavericks.
The computer i use at work is: MBP-Retina 2,4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 8 GB 1600 MHz ram, 256 GB PCIe-based SSD, OSX Mavericks
So what do you think? Should I upgrade or buy new?
Money is not a problem but I also dont want to spent upgrading to an SSD, RAM and installation costs and then go buy a new MBP if the speed bump was not worth it.

There's no telling why your computer is sluggish. It could be a number of things: eminent hard drive failure, software conflict, bad system configuration, etc.
I upgraded my Late 2011 with 15" 16GB of RAM and a SSD shortly after I bought it. It's a very fast machine.
Upgrading the RAM will allow you to run more apps concurrently and will boost some applications speeds. A SSD would speed up disk intensive tasks. Upgrading your model would be less expensive that configuring a new model with 16GB of RAM and a 256-512GB SSD.
My 2¢...
Clinton

Upgrade eMac or Buy New iMac

I've got an obsolete ol' eMac running Mac OSX 1.3.9, as I never upgraded to Tiger. Well now that Leopard's come along, I figure I might as well go for it. However, my eMac's only got 512MB of memory and I'd need to spend like $100 or more on 1GB of memory alone just to run Leopard. On top of that, I need another external hard drive, and my eMac's fan is loud (though I guess there's nothing wrong with it exactly, it's just being loud and weird).
All that said, would it be worth it to even bother upgrading my eMac and everything, or should I just get a new iMac? I mean eMac's are already obsolete as it is, and it'd be a waste of money if I upgraded it now and in a year or so just ended up having to buy a new computer for some reason anyway (such as if this one dies, like if the wack fan leads to it's demise or something)...

Obsolete! Older, yes. No longer sold, yes, but gosh dag nabbit, my old eMac is still my primary machine and does the job very well with everything I need it to do (video editing, iTunes, iPod, etc.). That said, I have been drooling over the new iMacs lately, but this eMac still has a lot of life left in it.
But back to your eMac. First thing I would do is invest in a nice external hard drive if you do not have one. Get one that can be connected via Firewire so you can take advantage of Firewire speed if your eMac is an older model without USB2 ports. Then back up everything important to that external.
An external is not a bad investment at all, even for an old machine, because it can go with you when you upgrade so there is no risk of "leaving it behind" if the eMac dies. If and when you get a new iMac, the drive can simple be moved to that machine and you keep using it. So regardless of which way you go, keep the eMac or move to an iMac, the external hard drive is still a great idea to protect your irreplaceable data (family digital photos, home videos, etc.).
As to the eMac, if you wanted to upgrade the operating system, I would look into getting a copy of Tiger. It is a nice upgrade to Panther (10.3.9) and with Leopard (10.5) out, will should start to see copies of Tiger for very affordable prices. While more would be better, under Tiger, you can probably do fine with the 512MB RAM you have now if you don't do any sort of heavy processing.
So like the others, a new iMac would be fantastic and you wouldn't regret it. But if you want to stick with the eMac for a bit more, get the external hard drive anyway as you will want it to backup even if you get the iMac. Now either continue to use the eMac as is (10.3.9 & 512MB) or find a cheap copy of Tiger and upgrade to that and stick with the same RAM and just turn off some of the memory hogging eye candy in Tiger like the Widgets. I bet if you looked around you might be able to find Tiger for $50-ish so your total upgrade cost is $50 (the external hard drive I don't count since it will go with you to the iMac).
Patrick

Upgrade OS or buy new Macbook?

Hi,
I'm contemplating upgrading my eMac to the latest OS and adding more memory. I'm noticing that some software isn't compatible with my current OS, but other than it being a lil sluggish, it's worked fine for my everyday needs (email, web). It is still stock since purchasing it in '04 (10.3.9, 256 MB RAM).
My dilemma is that even if I add more memory & upgrade to Leopard, that won't change the fact that it's already 5 years old. How many more years could I expect out of it? Would it be worth it to just splurge for a new computer? I have to admit, I would rather just get a new system and not deal with upgrading and potentially losing any work/programs (would I have to buy an external HD to backup?), but we are talking $150 vs. $1K.
Thanks in advance!

Hello,
I have an eMac as my only computer and gee I must say I have had it for 7 years and it's still a workhorse. I mean it has a 750GB HDD, and a 900MHz (700MHz overclocked) processor and 512MB of RAM. Let me tell you. It is running Leopard. No hacks. Just Installed it. I have a HD-DVD-RW-R DL Super Drive with LiteScribe (It didn't come with it, I added it myself) but yeah, I love the **** out of this Machine. I'm thinkin about getting a 1.42GHz Mobo to replace it's 900MHz one to make it pump out another 5-8 years of enjoyment. I have the PowerBook G4 too. It is 1.67GHz. I love that Macintosh too. I guess like roam said, go with what ever you feel is right. I think I'm stickin with PowerPC for another 10 years or so because the economy is all F*ed up and until Obama does something about the economy, I can't afford a new Macintosh. I will just make whatever I have last a good while. I love the eMac. And I agree with roam. The iMac's are sweet. I use them at school (I'm a Junior in High School) all the time and they are extremely fast (We have the 24" models loaded.). Well sorry to just enter your post to just ramble on. But I gotta say DO NOT BUY ANOTHER PC! Get to know a Mac and trust me you know what they say "Once you go Mac, you never go back." It's all true. I've been around Mac's since the iMac G3 came out in 1996. I have one. (I just don't use it much. It has OS X 10.3.9 on it.) It is decently fast. My eMac is way faster though. My eMac is only 900MHz with 512MB of RAM with Tiger, and It is faster than my mom's Dell she bought in Dec. 2008 With a 1.6GHz processor and 2GB of RAM running Vista!
Mac's Are just too good I guess. Well I wish you luck!
Your Fellow eMac User,
Matt K.

To upgrade or to buy new

Hello,
I got my macbook, with a 2.16 processor and 2 GB ram, and 111 GB memory in 2007. I'm quite happy with it, although I had to repair the manufacturing defect - where the lid comes down on the base and creates a abrasion over time.
This year in the fall I will be starting my phd and am wondering whether I should just upgrade my processor and use external memory drives
or
should I get a new macbook pro?
I will be using my computer for my phd work and I also do some graphic work as a blogger so I do use photoshop etc.
Bear in mind that phd students are poor
thanks

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
To see if more memory would help your system, bring up the Activity Monitor (on your hard drive in applications/utilities). Look at the system memory tab, and note page ins and page outs. If page outs are 10% or more of page ins, more memory would help the system. OS X writes a page of memory to the hard drive when another program needs the memory. Too much of this can really hurt performance.
See this FAQ also on maximizing performance: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/performance.html
If your current system is working for you, I'd do the steps above, possibly adding more RAM if indicated or your want to, and keep the existing system. Unless, as Jay pointed out, it's just time for a new system, and you could offset it's cost by selling your current one.

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http://www.datamemorysystems.com/apple-mac-pro-quad-core-intel-xeon-nehalem-3-2g hz-mc560ll/a-cto-mid-2010-memory-upgrades/

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To overhaul/upgrade MBP or buy new?

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