I was recently gifted an old Mid 2010 Macbook Pro with the following specs listed here:
I would like to do a few things to it, but I have never owned an apple computer before and I know there are some restrictions on the hardware i can purchase to upgrade it.
These are the things I want to do
1) Upgrade Ram: Currently it has 2x2GB of RAM in it. This model is rated for up to 8GB but I have been reading online and it seems some people have been able to successfully install 16GB of RAM, so i am confused. Does anyone have a definitive statement on whether or not this Macbook Pro will work with 16GB of RAM? If it does accept 16GB total which RAM should i buy for a Macbook Pro like this? If it only accepts 8GB total which RAM should i buy? And I know the clock speed must be 1066Hz for this Macbook Pro, but can i use DDR3, or DDR4 RAM? Does the DDR type matter?
2) Install Secondary Hard Drive: I am not 100% so i need someone to inform me but i believe there is space in this Macbook Pro for a second hard drive. Does the CD Drive need to be removed in order for a second Hard Drive to be put in? Or is there simply space inside it for a second hard drive but not installed by Apple? Either way I would like to install an SSD into it and install the Operating System onto that SSD. Which SSD can i look to buy that is compatible with this Pro?
3) Fresh install of Mac OSX: As it currently stands my friend who gave this laptop to me didn't erase his data. I am uncomfortable with this and want a fresh start. How do I do a fresh install of Mac OSX Mavericks (or should i wait for Yosemite?). Where can i buy a Disk/USB for it (or make a disk/USB for it) to do a clean install and how do i format a Macbook Pros hard drive and install fresh? Should this be done at an apple store?
4) Higher Screen Resolution: This is my lowest priority and I don't think it is possible to do without major invasive changes to the Macbook Pro but i want to know if it is possible. Currently the Max Resolution on the Device is 1440x900, i would like to know if it is possible to replace the LCD with one that is 1920x1080 for high resolution.