What is the best Mac OS for MBP Early 2011 8,1 with 2.3 GHz 2nd Gen Core i5, 16Gb RAM, 500GB SSD?

[rautashish]

Hello there,

It's August 2019 AND have got Macbook Pro Early 2011 - 8,1 with following specs:
2.3 GHz 2nd Generation Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
312 GB HDD
Currently Running: OS Sierra

PROBLEMS:
Extremely SLOW PERFORMANCE w.r.t. boot-up time / app-launching (all apps) / video-editing on iMovie (I do mostly 5 to 30 minutes videos) / Photoshop / Google Chrome

FUTURE USAGE PURPOSE: Video Webinar Broadcasting, Video Editing (5 - 30 Minutes each), General Photo editing with Adobe Photoshop

MY QUESTIONS:
1. Should I upgrade to HIGH SIERRA from current Sierra on the my above mentioned MBP in Aug 2019?

2. Should I upgrade to 8GB OR 16GB RAM? (I am upgrading my HDD with 500BG SSD)

3. Are WD (Western Digital) RAMs and SSDs reliable?

It's URGENT, please answer a.s.a.p.

Thank you in anticipation!

 

[Kamolas]

1-Get an SSD first. The HDD is the main cause of your speed issues.
2- 16 GB definitely
3- WD doesn't produce RAM. If you search for reviews of their SSDs you will find good reviews and some bad ones, just like other brands.

 

[rautashish]

1-Get an SSD first. The HDD is the main cause of your speed issues.
2- 16 GB definitely
3- WD doesn't produce RAM. If you search for reviews of their SSDs you will find good reviews and some bad ones, just like other brands.

 

[Kamolas]

Sorry but your reply doesn't appear.

 

[rautashish]

1-Get an SSD first. The HDD is the main cause of your speed issues.
2- 16 GB definitely
3- WD doesn't produce RAM. If you search for reviews of their SSDs you will find good reviews and some bad ones, just like other brands.

Thanks for the help.
But, which OS is better "Sierra" OR "High- Sierra" for my kind mbp??

 

[Kamolas]

in my opinion High Sierra

 

[rautashish]

Thanks a lot Kamolas. I have ordered following memory:
Kingston DDR3 1333MHz Non-ECC CL9 So-DIMM Notebook Memory,
16 GB Kit (8Gb x 2 Nos.). [Crucial/Corsair RAMis available at 3X more than this brand].

And
Crucial MX500 SSD 500GB.

Hope that works for me.. As per your prompt suggestion, I will upgrade from Sierra to HIGH Sierra.
THANK YOU very much for your kind help!

Stay blessed.

in my opinion High Sierra

 

[Kamolas]

You are welcome. Let us know how it goes after you upgrade it

 

[rautashish]

Hi there,
I have replace my old HDD with 500gb Crucial MX500 SSD. I also installed OS High Sierra and it is working good after a few tweaks in the system preferences.

After that,
I have also installed the old HDD hard disk into the optical bay of my mbp.

TRICKY SITUATION FOR ME NOW:
Now, I have Mac is Sierra on the old HDD (that is now 2nd drive) AND the new main SSD has "High Sierra" installed on it.

I am not sure what to do next?

THE QUESTIONS:
1. Will here be any problem/conflict, if I start the machine (with 2 different OS on 2 internal hards disks and entire data on hdd)?

2. What precautions should I take now? (I have backed up my imp data on another external hard disk)

3. Can I use 2nd HDD for storing just audio/videos and pictures?

Please help asap.

Regards
Ashish

 

[Kamolas]

Hi again
Glad you made it and that everything is working.

1-No problem or conflict, you could even had more OS. On system preferences, booting disk, it should be already selected the High Sierra disk. If not, select it. This way, it will always go directly for the SSD when you start the computer
2- Did you enable TRIM ?
3-Yes