Should I Upgrade My Mac to SSD?

Do you remember the time when apps launched in a fraction of a second and boot time was less than a minute? That’s what SSDs promise to bring back, especially if you’re using older hardware – think iMacs before 2010 or early-generation MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs. But there is a simple trick that can refresh that oldish Mac and allow you to enjoy using it again, and it doesn’t even require too much of an investment.

Upgrading to SSD (are you ready to go the extra mile?)

The reason for Apple dropping hard drives in its new line of MacBooks and favoring solid state drives (SSDs) in all-in-ones is very simple: SSDs come with serious speed improvements that are essential in modern computing. The cost of such an upgrade, however, is pretty high: a brand new 15-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, which isn’t cheap at all.

But there is a way to extend the Mac’s life-cycle by upgrading the hard drive to an SSD. This step will bring major speed improvements, but it isn’t something everyone is able to do and there are a few things to consider. For instance, are you comfortable digging around inside your beloved machine and potentially voiding its warranty? If not, is it worth the expense of letting a third party authorized service provider do the replacement? That isn’t cheap, and neither is an SSD itself.

If you are willing to take the risk of disassembling your Mac and going through the steps required to replace your HDD with an SSD, you should of course do that. Remember to be prepared for lengthy ‘surgery’ and have all the tools at hand to streamline the process. The result will be worth the effort, but be aware that the road there is a bit rocky, and surprises may arise during the operation. So be prepared.

The easy way to speed up your Mac

Not every Mac needs an SSD upgrade to reach optimal performance; some just need extra care and good maintenance software, just like any other tool for work. If maintained properly it will serve you for many years and deliver the expected results. If not, it will quickly wear out and you’ll need to replace it.Mac optimization apps such as CleanMyMac, OnyX, CCleaner, and MacKeeper include a variety of tools that – after analyzing your computer – help to make your Mac run more smoothly without the need for the hefty investment of an SSD, not to mention saving you from the stress of opening up your computer (especially if you own a MacBook).

A Mac optimization app will scour through the system and identify junk files, offer to uninstall unnecessary apps, and reclaim precious disk space. It also has the potential to speed up the boot process by identifying apps that launch at login. Reducing the number of apps that start up when you log in will positively impact your Mac’s boot time. And did you know that macOS needs roughly 10% of disk space free to run at optimal performance?

A high-quality Mac optimization app will also keep an eye on your system continuously and identify unresponsive apps and ways of freeing up memory. In other words these third party apps help you get the most out of your hardware and do a very good job of maintaining it. Of course, the feature sets vary between programs, but we have reviewed the majority of them so you can get the best value for money.