@@tooobe12345 yes i have done ✅ I have modified the lcd port, and 1 A1286 2012 logic support on 2011 17inch display. But 17inch extra usb port is the problem. However you can swap the screen.
I recently bought a 15 inch mid 2012 Macbook Pro and upgraded the ssd, ram, and battery, and overall has been a beast and have been using it as my daily laptop.
@@TopCars90 Why not? It still works good and for now I’m using it as a backup wile I’m waiting for my new laptop to arrive and I got it off a friend for $70.
I'm still using the mid 2012 Macbook pro I bought in 2013 and it's still in pristine condition. The only issues I have had was the faulty drive cable that I've replaced twice in the space of 10 years. I've since maxed out the ram and replaced the HDD with an SSD and it's perfect for my day to day requirements.
Similar situation for me, except that I had to finally upgrade to keep up with work. It has all the upgrades, and a few battle scars, and honestly it would still be capable for most other workloads. Now that I can't upgrade squat on my M1, I'm not sure if I can keep it relevant to me beyond 5 years.
I bought a mid 2012 13” i7 brand new when it came out… I’ve used it for 10 years djing, light room, canva, logic x plus all the usual daily stuff It’s been all over the world with me, I’ve repaired it myself a couple times and upgraded it with 2xSSDs and full ram… keep wanting a new shiny MacBook but this one just keeps going strong 💪 Only thing I use that it struggles with is OBS whilst using an external camera
I use a 2011 MacBook Pro alongside my main Mac Mini and my desktop gaming rig. I upgraded the ram to 12GB, andI have an SSD in here, and this laptop seriously outdid my expectations. Got it for free from my friends mom, and I do not regret taking the time to fix, and update this pc. It's great for everyday tasks, and can do some "light" gaming. It runs Garry's Mod, Minecraft, and Turbo Dismount pretty alright with low/medium graphics. I love using it at school and home, and I appreciate the knowlegde that you share in your videos always.
It's about to be five years since I've started watching you in a few months and I am actually shocked. The real reason these Macs make me nostalgic is because I used to watch your videos on them years ago. Thanks so much for the content ❤
I picked up a 2012 15” for $50, figuring it would be a base model basket case. It was missing a few case screws and the hd bracket, but otherwise it was in great shape, with the maxed out core i7 and matte display. If you look around long enough, there are great deals out there!
Still using my MBP 2012 i5 daily, with great success. Absolutely bulletproof machines that you can upgrade to MacOS Monterey with a bit of OpenCore trickery. They're still great!
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
@@emilsecker7881 You are an absolute flog. Ever considered that other people maybe have budget constraints and can’t just arbitrarily upgrade computers every time Apple release a new OS? If you are so flush with cash, perhaps you should buy everyone in the comments thread the latest and greatest MacBook. You are a muppet!!!
Up until recently I was using a 2010 polycorbante white Macbook as a tertiary device for some basic web browsing work. Only reason I stopped was because my old 2015 Macbook Air took its place when I get the new M2 Air finally. These old war horses can still put up a decent fight. Especially since web browsers like Chrome still support as far back as High Sierra with their latest versions.
Those old MacBook Airs are tanks too, everyone thought they'd be too weak to last a long time and here we are 7-10 years into the lifespan of a $999 laptop. Pretty impressive!
Love the old unibody MacBook Pros, my daily driver is a 2011 17". Have upgraded the RAM to 16GB, fitted a 240GB SSD and replaced the CD drive with a 1TB HDD, also permanently switched off the AMD GPU and running Linux Mint which it runs flawlessly 👍
I have a bunch of MacBook Pros I’ve been fixing and collecting. Starting at 2007 A1150s. But I have an a1278 unibody from mid 2010. Got it running and used a patcher to get Catalina on it. Works great. Was going to look at getting more, but Luke you’ve given me reason to look for 1012 and up. They really aren’t much more. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
Your videos encourage me to buy MacBook Pro from 2015 for 300 Pounds. It's still awesome machine with superb screen, a lot of upgradability and I am sure it will serve me for next years.
@@emilsecker7881 Not everyone has a spare grand or so sitting around to constantly buy/upgrade to the latest MacBook. Why don’t you shut up, Emil. Unless you want to buy everyone a new laptop
I’ve been daily driving a 13” 2009 for the past two years and I’ve actually been enjoying every minute of it, I’ve currently got it running Monterey and although it’s not the fastest i don’t really expect it to be. it still works for everything I could want it to and it’s still an incredibly lovely machine to use day to day.
@@emilsecker7881 it may have been unsupported officially for years now, but I’m running the latest patch of monterey (12.6.1) on it so there isn’t anything security wise with using it. the only problem *really* is that it’s a little slow..which doesn’t bother me
@@emilsecker7881 Apple support is irrelevant if you know what you are doing. if you read his post he said he was running Monterey !!!!! so the machine date is meaningless.
@@emilsecker7881 They just said that it does everything that they would want it to do. Why buy new when what you have works fine? Macs don't really get viruses and even if they did, they upgraded to Monterey using a patcher. Sent from my 13'' MacBook Pro early 2011 (the ones without failing GPUs)
These machines may be vintage but even vintage machines have a place. A lot of creatives rely on older machines for budget-minded singular-purpose workhorses. I have a collection of what, ~30 Apple portables from Pre-G3 through M1... and most of them have a place in my life! I have a 2015 Retina running Windows dedicated to a CNC machine, I have a stack of G4 Aluminums that I use to write and play maxed-settings on vintage (OS 8/9) games. The unibody is a wonderful balance of price, forward compatibility, hackability and reliability. I'm currently putting together a 2009 17" 3.06ghz anti-glare (Luke, remember the video you did on those in your bedroom in 2018?) for a writing mule to keep in my vintage travel trailer. My partner was SO disappointer when we upgraded her from her 2012 unibody, which she still insists on using for budgeting and similar tasks and barely touches her 2014 loaded retina 15". The usefulness of a machine rarely diminishes with time. The march of progress is really us expanding our intentions and needs over and beyond what said machine can do. There's life in old things, we just need to respect their purpose and give them a place to exist. Unibodies deserve love too!
@@emilsecker7881 I assume you mean not secure on the internet? 2012 Catalina compatible macs are still supported, dude. Even macOS High Sierra still plays RUclips just fine. Catalina Patcher works fine to bring many ~2009-2011 machines up into current Catalina/Apple support range (security updates et al) and of course High Sierra had updates through 2020 ... BUT even in that case who cares on a work mule that's often not connected to internet? Plenty of computers are plenty useful even without the internet. In many cases, /especially/ without the internet. The reason I view Chromebooks as a borderline joke. Many of us remember a time when you had to keep your family members off the wall phone in the kitchen, to successfully retrieve your email. The idea that 'a computer is only useful on the internet' says more about your middling use of a computer than it does about the computer's usefulness.
I recently picked up the top spec i7 2.9ghz 13" 2012 with 16GB ram and have been running linux on it. It's still a wonderful machine for basic tasks and I'm incredibly happy with it.
I have 2014 and 2015 15s and they still work fine. Replaced the batteries two years ago. My son uses the 2014 for work and the 2015 is my backup. I always expect 10 years of useful life from Macs. I often get more than that.
I got a 13-inch mid-2012 MBP just as they were going off the market and held onto it until 6 months ago when I got my 2021 model. I put an SSD in it and it ran great. Honestly I’d still be using it if not for the limited screen resolution.
I purchased a 15” retina based on the recommendations from several of your videos. I’m super happy! I can run Big Sur for the latest and “greatest” and I can run Mavericks (for older-and in my opinion-far better iLife apps). Keep up the great work. Best Mac coverage (old and new).
My favorite MBP? My 2012. $200 last month... and it had a 1T SSD + 256 SSD inside. 2.6ghz cpu. Luke, you got me on this whole 2010-2012 era Mac kick I've been on for a while now. Thank you. They're great. Your punchline surprises me a bit. I have a 2016 MPB and end up using my 2012 more often. I don't do much video editing with it, though could. I've open core legacy patched it to run Monterey 12.6 (which it does like a charm). And down the road, as Apple becomes ever more proprietary, I'll probably branch off into Linux use if all else fails. You are an Apple guy... and down deep I sense I'm only here for the hardware. The Unibody era hardware.
Thanks for the video Luke, Besides of your main uploads I’ve watched every old macbook or secondhand MacBook videos you have made and heck I bought a 2012 15” MacBook Pro (an entry level one) watching your videos. After upgrading I’ve been using it as my main gaming laptop since I live at my uni dorm room. Anyways thanks for the content its brilliant as always. Take care and much love !
Just few hours ago swamped my HDD in the OptiBay for the new ssd, so now I have 750gb of storage in my mbp 15” 2012. Thank you, Luke, you made this happen for me!
One of your earlier videos inspired me and I picked up an i5 mid 2012 13" this year and did the full upgrade: 8GB/500GB HDD ---> 16GB/500GB SSD, and refreshed the CPU thermal paste. I also pulled the multidrive and installed an SSD adapter for an additional 240GB of storage (I use it for Time Machine), and I installed a new battery. In other words, I way overspent and will never get all of my money back if I sell it. The thing is, as tempting as the new MBPs are (some of them, anyway) I really enjoy using this laptop as my travel computer, and I can run BootCamp on it, so I'm keeping it.
picked up a Mid 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro with 500GB SSD, 16GB RAM and a 2.6GHz core i7 for $100 a few days ago seller replaced the battery before listing it. Works perfectly and i have installed Big Sur on it.
Hi, Luke! I am watching your RUclips video every time it’s updated. I really enjoy it. Talking about MacBook Pro, actually now I am watching your new video about old MacBook Pros on my MacBook Pro 15-inch Mid 2012 with 500gb SSD, 8 GB ran and running Mac OS Big Sur by using Opencore Legacy Patcher. I don’t have any problems with browsing web site, watching RUclips videos, using Photoshop, emailing and even editing videos with iMovie. I have 2 of MacBook Pro Mid 2012. I installed Mac OS Monterey 12.6 on the other one and it is working very well. You are right that looking for old MacBook Pro is worth it but it should be after MacBook Pro 2011. My 2 of MacBook Pro Mid 2012 are not super snappy if you play 3D games or editing video on Final Cut Pro but it is very reliable and trusty. I still love it.
I had my mid 2012 13" Macbook as my main DJing laptop till last month when I upgraded to 14" M1 Pro. Didn't have any problems with ever and loved it! Only reason I upgraded was that I could streamline my production and didn't have to jump between PC as my Ableton production computer and the Mac. So yeah, you can also run DJing programs with that besides just web browsing!
I use a 2012 13 inch MacBook Pro I did all the upgrades to. I use it as a full time college student along with my main PC set up. Great for writing papers and browsing on the go.
I have a Late 2011 MacBook Pro upgraded with 16 gb ram and 240 gb SSD with Monterey OS 12.6. The only use for it is as a multimedia server. This unibody has a strong thing: repairly, today I fix a loose hinge without any trouble, I love that machine.
The 17" early 2011 MacBook Pro had an ExpressCard/34 slot, not a compact flash slot. Could use it to add a USB 3.0 port, sata port, etc... Quite useful. Just wanted to point that out. I would say that makes it the most valuable despite the graphics card issue.
My 2012 15" unibody (i7 2.6gHz, 16gb RAM, 2tb SSD) is now a backup to my 2021 M1 Max, as well as my wife's 2015 MBA. I still turn it on and backup to time machine once a week, so that all my google drive and dropbox files get sync'd. This enables me to hit the ground running if anything happens to our current machines. It came in handy last month, when my wife's MBA SSD adaptor died, and it took a week for a new one to arrive. The only problem was the blown out speakers.
I fixed my speakers with white glue, cheap and easy fix, they're not the best now but they don't make the horrible sound they did when they were loose. I did it before it break even more, on my partner's laptop I wasn't able to do it as they were already destroyed.
@@emilsecker7881 Getting Ventura installed on a 2015 is not going to be hard, though. The people working on OCLP 0.5 have already figured out so much now and even 2011 Macs w/o AVX2 support can now run it. I wouldn't call a 2015 MBA a beast, though. I can totally see it doing well for web and office. But jikes those TN panels..
I'm watching this on my mid-2012 15-inch Macbook Pro. I bought it new in 2012 and I had no idea it would last this long. Sure, the original battery is waaay past its best (but it still holds some charge). And I had a few problems with this machine when it was still in its youth. But thankfully Apple fixed those problems (for this machine Apple's after-sales service was spectacularly good, even without Apple Care). This was the machine that got me into using Macs. I wonder if it will still be working in 2032!
I have a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro that I'm using right now, and I also have a 2012 MacBook Pro, which I am also using right now! It's perfect as a DVD player, backup Windows machine, and to use with older devices such as iPods. It's still really speedy and I love it!
As a user of hand-me-down MacBooks I concur that there’s more life left in these things than people realize. I recently retired 2009 MacBook Pro and replaced it with an 11 inch MacBook Air, functional, and a 2015 MacBook Pro that needs some updates.
My work was e-wasting a bunch of broken 2015, 13in macbooks like 2 years back. Mainly because they were out of warranty and it just wasn't worth the time to buy parts and repair them when the M1's were right around the corner. Ended up taking a couple of broken ones home one day and kitted together a top end one for myself for $0. 16gb ram, 1tb ssd, good battery, no de-lamination etc. Still goes strong and worked great for school.
I’m super proud to say I bought the top model 2012 15”… It’s still my daily! Modified and maxed out of course. I only just purchased top of the line M1 Max 15”… waiting for it to be delivered. But credit to this particular 2012 model. Once in a blue moon, Apple make an immortal MacBook. I hope the new M1 is one of those. Only bummer is repairability on the new models.
We had the 2011 15” which was scrapped when it developed the well known graphics controller issue. And its battery swelled. But it was great as long as it lasted.
Great content Luke. My friend gave me his 2014 i7 15" MacBook Pro. I think I use it more than my current 2019 13" MacBook Pro. It's a solid machine for everyday tasks.
MacBook Pro mid 2014 13” was my first Apple machine. I was not sure if I would like the OS as so far I always used Widows OS. But I got an IPad for the study and an IPhone. MacBook was totally worth it! Now I gave it to my mom as she doesn’t need a high-performance machine and got myself M1 air. The retina displays even from 2014 are simply amazing. As well as the keyboard!❤
Funny this video pops up on my youtube main page, I just upgraded a 13" Mid 2012 9,2 MBP to AC wireless with a Mac Book Air WiFi card with an 12+6 to 30pin molex adapter from intriguing industries, seeing my WiFi speeds well above 480mbps is nice to see and pages seem to load snappier than before, Mid 2012 are still fantastic computers for the age, also upgrades are super cheap for them now.
I recently bought a 15” 2012 Unibody. Gave it the 16GB RAM + 1tb SSD treatment, plus a dusting and thermal paste replacement. Tribooted OS X Mountain Lion (was on the SSD I put in, it came from a 13”), macOS Ventura (because a MacBook can kinda be a Hackintosh, just minus a ton of the hassle), and Windows 10 on it. Also made sure to install Macs Fan Control so it didn’t thermal throttle, and upped the GPU memory clock in Windows to 2600MHz (no overheating thanks to fan control + thermal paste) It works great, does some ridiculous shit in Windows 10 (runs Genshin Impact, playably, and I have the 512mb VRAM model!) and has no issues in Ventura! Only issue with it are the fact that it’s missing the rubber feet. With a little bit of care, these things can still be amazing machines. Hell, the 15” still puts up a fight against Windows laptops at a similar pricepoint. BTW, in total, this costed me $160 USD, because that’s all I paid for the computer and all the other parts I either raided from a (broken) 13” 2012 Unibody, or already had on hand.
Got a stack of these at my tech shop... Gonna start making content covering. I also just brought a 2012 iMac back to life, trying to install Mojave now
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
Unibody MacBook pros are a lifesaver to keep hanging around. Before I bought my new laptop, I got stuck borrowing a 2011 13” i5 unibody. I grabbed some more ram, bought an ssd and patched to Ventura. It was really slow with Ventura but I used it for a good 3 months before buying a secondhand 2019 16”. Then, my 2019 had a motherboard issue and had to get sent in. I used the 2011 again and it was even better. I only patched to Catalina and it seriously ran great. Battery somehow stayed in good condition so I was getting almost a full 5 hours of on time. If you have a unibody just keep it hanging around, because who knows when you’ll need it.
I have a 15’ MacBook Pro unibody mid 2012 that my sister gave to me. It is running macOS Monterey which I installed using opencore legacy patcher. I upgraded it to 12GB of ram from the default 4GB and changed out the thermal paste and installed a 250gb ssd and it runs quiet and really fast. It even handles 4K video now after the thermal paste and upgraded ram and ssd.
I still have the mid 2010 MBP, and all I’ve done to it is replaced the hard drive and upgraded ram. Still use it, and its really a treat to use. Sure theres little I cannot do with it, but for my needs its good enough. Still gets security updates.
4:22 A detail I’d like to point out, those Mid-2012 13” Macs had the “802.11n” (Wi-Fi 4), not the 11ac (Wi-Fi 5) spec. I have the base model and its Wi-Fi is usually my bottleneck when connecting to public Wi-Fi or any network that’s serving a lot of other clients
Luke, I love watching your reviews of apple devices. You have good insight of the Apple ecosystem, and mention things missed by other channels. I still use a 17 inch Mid 2010 MacBook Pro from time to time. With the big screen, the screen estate is awesome. I use it for web browsing, basic office work, and backup photos. The issue is it had first generation i7, and limited to 8 GB of ram. It had lots of ports, and the last MacOS officially supported is High Sierra. Upgrade the system to the maximum supported ram, removing the apple drive, and replace it with SSD give it a new life. Also, it is also one of the last generation of MacBook Pro that comes with Nvidia discrete graphics card.
Still using my macbook pro mid2012 but has a lot of issues i.e the LCD being broken, I plug it on tv or portable screen and battery life is short. It may be "vintage" but can still do the job. I just hope the newer models can also last just like this. I'm really a fan of this channel since it's still "review" the older models!
Dear Luke, Thanks - My son has a 13" and I have several. I do a lot of work in audio - one of the things you forgot is the firewire. If you have legacy hardware, and software for that matter, this id the way to go. I have my machines set up with Catalina and an earlier OS to run legacy software. Easy to upgrade, and inexpensive too. peace
I loved 17" laptops both Windows and Mac owned a few of them over the years. All that screen real estate is so handy working on audio or video and watching movies or video is way cool. Big screen rule!
I'm running a 2012 Macbook pro with upgraded SSD and 16 gigs of RAM. I can say first hand it still holds up, I'm able to run Logic Pro, Final Cut, and even Blender with some (but not too many) occasional slowdowns. It's a power house, all of these can be updated to the newest OS pretty easily as well which makes them run even better. As you said, I kind of think it's nearing the end of its life as better machines come out/become more affordable on the second hand market, but yeah crazy that an over 10 year old machine still runs this well.
I run a 2012 15 inch as a daily still. Ran Monterey with oclp for a while but started having problems with my ipods so I went back to Catalina. 16gb of ram and a 512gb ssd its perfect for day to day.
I have a 2012 15 inch MBP with a 1 TB SSD and 16GB of RAM. It needs a new battery, but I still use it. I wish I could run Monterey, but there are ways to do that. Because of the SSD is is FAST. Thanks for this.
Great content. Thank you. Bucking the trend of always having to buy everything new and shiny; when most people are surfing the web, streaming vids, Word, Excel + emails. I'm still using my 2012 13inch daily doing those tasks. In fact, it's my main work machine, hooked up to a 27 Thunderbolt display, even if I have a much newer PC supplied by my employer.
I bought a 2011 13" in 2011, and it's still my only computer. Upgraded to SSD and 16GB of RAM as well as a battery change and renewed thermal paste. It's also now on Catalina. I'm in Canada so there's not the selection of cheap old Macs to choose from, they exist, but not in the amount you can find them in populated parts of the States.
I have an Imac I bought in 2012 which runs great. I also have a MacBook pro I bought in 2017 which also runs great. No problems. I use them both mostly just for music purposes. Both are great machines. I use them a lot....
If I needed a MacBook Pro, right now, this is absolutely a great deal. Basically the machine I want, I can’t get right now, but this will buy me some time. Thanks Luke.
13" MacBook Pro Mid 2012 2.9 GH i7, 16 GB of RAM, 2 TB of SSD drive. All the ports along the SuperDrive still working like a charm. Every year I open and clean it and every three years change the thermal paste. Still going strong along the 14" MacBook Pro M1 with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD drive. So easy to upgrade and repair. Too bad the new models are basically disposable units once they break down.
You can use OpenCore Legacy Patcher to run macOS Monterey on your unibody MacBook Pro. For 2012 and later macs you can even run the upcoming macOS Ventura on them as OpenCore has completed development for macs with Metal GPUs. They are still working getting Ventura working on Non-Metal GPUs.
Ι use my 15” 7320QM daily as my main laptop. I’d prefer it to have slightly lower temperatures and better battery but for medium workload at the office is more than enough
I am still using my Anti-Glare 2.5GHz 17 inch 2011 MacBook Pro. I owned the machine since day 1. The AMD 6770M is still working for me. It has not failed nor did I take it in for the recall. I have to say if it lasted me this long. I guess I am lucky.
I have a 2012 MacBook Air on which I installed Ubuntu Linux. Works like a charm. That's what I'd do with a 2012-2014 MacBook Pro. New software and an up to date system.
I’m going to refute the fact that the 13” is only for web browsing and video streaming, I upgraded mine two years ago with the 16Gb of ram and 1Tb Ssd and I used it for Full HD video editing, and mostly for audio production with protools and handles 100 track mixes(struggling a bit but it does it), also I played some CSGO smooth enough to have fun, it doesn’t work on a competitive way, something that it’s a game changer is having a good cooler it improves the performance a lot! Anyway great video!!👍🏽 I always suggest this computers for people on a budget
I have a 15 inc 2013 RMP and recently I bought a new 14 inc RMP 2021 M1 max. For photo editing I like the old one more. For all the other things I like the new one more. But I can still use both of them.
Here in the UK I have a 17inch i7 matte screen Macbook Pro 2011 and it is my workhorse machine for music and photography , it cost £300 in 2018 and all I have done is put in 16gb RAM and lately a 1TB SSD. Not worried now about cost as I have a working spare which I picked up for less than £200 last year. Both running on Catalina and hopefully no graphics issues.
I had a 2009 15” MacBook Pro that got me through college and was my main system until 2015. When it first came out, the unibody 15” MacBook Pro was so far ahead of its PC competition in terms of design, battery life, display quality, and the quality of the touch pad. Windows laptops are just now catching up with the touchpad, battery life, and display quality of macs. The only laptop I have ever owned that is better than that old 15” MacBook Pro is my current 14” MacBook Pro.
I still use my 15 inch macbook pro from mid 2014, 2,5 Ghz Quad core i7 with 16GB ram, 1TB SSD, works great for photo editing in Capture One and everything else. (new battery 2-3 years ago) 🙂
This channel is pretty unique. Normally channels will not review stuff if it's more than a few months old. And it's not a vintage channel either.
Only here will you find a review of 10 year old laptops 😎
@@lukemiani Here's an idea for a video for you @Luke Miani: Can you put a 2012 15" MBP motherboard in a 2011 17" MBP?
@@tooobe12345 yes i have done ✅
I have modified the lcd port, and 1
A1286 2012 logic support on 2011 17inch display.
But 17inch extra usb port is the problem.
However you can swap the screen.
I recently bought a 15 inch mid 2012 Macbook Pro and upgraded the ssd, ram, and battery, and overall has been a beast and have been using it as my daily laptop.
why would you buy a 10 year old MacBook
@@TopCars90 You have a fair point there, I mean you could get something like a 2015 15"
@@TopCars90 Why not? It still works good and for now I’m using it as a backup wile I’m waiting for my new laptop to arrive and I got it off a friend for $70.
@@SombreroKnight what new laptop did you get?
Get A High resolution anti glare screen .
I'm still using the mid 2012 Macbook pro I bought in 2013 and it's still in pristine condition. The only issues I have had was the faulty drive cable that I've replaced twice in the space of 10 years. I've since maxed out the ram and replaced the HDD with an SSD and it's perfect for my day to day requirements.
Similar situation for me, except that I had to finally upgrade to keep up with work. It has all the upgrades, and a few battle scars, and honestly it would still be capable for most other workloads. Now that I can't upgrade squat on my M1, I'm not sure if I can keep it relevant to me beyond 5 years.
I bought a mid 2012 13” i7 brand new when it came out…
I’ve used it for 10 years djing, light room, canva, logic x plus all the usual daily stuff
It’s been all over the world with me, I’ve repaired it myself a couple times and upgraded it with 2xSSDs and full ram… keep wanting a new shiny MacBook but this one just keeps going strong 💪
Only thing I use that it struggles with is OBS whilst using an external camera
How it last so long. Mine lasted 6 years. 🥹
Bought my 2012 15" new over 10 years ago. Still using this workhorse, zero issues. Fantastic machine.
I use a 2011 MacBook Pro alongside my main Mac Mini and my desktop gaming rig. I upgraded the ram to 12GB, andI have an SSD in here, and this laptop seriously outdid my expectations. Got it for free from my friends mom, and I do not regret taking the time to fix, and update this pc. It's great for everyday tasks, and can do some "light" gaming. It runs Garry's Mod, Minecraft, and Turbo Dismount pretty alright with low/medium graphics. I love using it at school and home, and I appreciate the knowlegde that you share in your videos always.
Should stop using that MacBook Pro. It’s unsupported, has been for a few now now
@@emilsecker7881 Mr Sucker you can easily run these machines perfectly safely with some basic intelligence.
@@mikepxg6406 and also there’s patches for newer versions
@@GigaDarth made it to Big Sur - it works great!
@@GigaDarth I know. Open core legacy patcher does a great job.
It's about to be five years since I've started watching you in a few months and I am actually shocked. The real reason these Macs make me nostalgic is because I used to watch your videos on them years ago. Thanks so much for the content ❤
I picked up a 2012 15” for $50, figuring it would be a base model basket case. It was missing a few case screws and the hd bracket, but otherwise it was in great shape, with the maxed out core i7 and matte display. If you look around long enough, there are great deals out there!
Still using my MBP 2012 i5 daily, with great success. Absolutely bulletproof machines that you can upgrade to MacOS Monterey with a bit of OpenCore trickery. They're still great!
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
luke, because of you i bought myself a mbp 2012 13', and upgraded it. i regret nothing. thank you!!
Time to upgrade again. Catalina is unsupported. You wasted money
@@emilsecker7881 You are an absolute flog.
Ever considered that other people maybe have budget constraints and can’t just arbitrarily upgrade computers every time Apple release a new OS?
If you are so flush with cash, perhaps you should buy everyone in the comments thread the latest and greatest MacBook.
You are a muppet!!!
Up until recently I was using a 2010 polycorbante white Macbook as a tertiary device for some basic web browsing work. Only reason I stopped was because my old 2015 Macbook Air took its place when I get the new M2 Air finally. These old war horses can still put up a decent fight. Especially since web browsers like Chrome still support as far back as High Sierra with their latest versions.
Those old MacBook Airs are tanks too, everyone thought they'd be too weak to last a long time and here we are 7-10 years into the lifespan of a $999 laptop. Pretty impressive!
@@lukemiani Not so much as a wobbly hinge
Love the old unibody MacBook Pros, my daily driver is a 2011 17". Have upgraded the RAM to 16GB, fitted a 240GB SSD and replaced the CD drive with a 1TB HDD, also permanently switched off the AMD GPU and running Linux Mint which it runs flawlessly 👍
I have a bunch of MacBook Pros I’ve been fixing and collecting. Starting at 2007 A1150s. But I have an a1278 unibody from mid 2010. Got it running and used a patcher to get Catalina on it. Works great. Was going to look at getting more, but Luke you’ve given me reason to look for 1012 and up. They really aren’t much more. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
Your videos encourage me to buy MacBook Pro from 2015 for 300 Pounds. It's still awesome machine with superb screen, a lot of upgradability and I am sure it will serve me for next years.
What a waste. You’ll need to upgrade again in 2 years once Monterey is unsupported
@@emilsecker7881 Not everyone has a spare grand or so sitting around to constantly buy/upgrade to the latest MacBook.
Why don’t you shut up, Emil. Unless you want to buy everyone a new laptop
Yup, that’s why I hung on to my mid2012 15” until the M1 Max 16” this year. Gotta have the upgrade screen on the 2012 though.
I’ve been daily driving a 13” 2009 for the past two years and I’ve actually been enjoying every minute of it, I’ve currently got it running Monterey and although it’s not the fastest i don’t really expect it to be. it still works for everything I could want it to and it’s still an incredibly lovely machine to use day to day.
Shouldn’t be using a 2009 machine anymore. Time to upgrade. That thing has been unsupported for years now
@@emilsecker7881 it may have been unsupported officially for years now, but I’m running the latest patch of monterey (12.6.1) on it so there isn’t anything security wise with using it. the only problem *really* is that it’s a little slow..which doesn’t bother me
@@emilsecker7881 Apple support is irrelevant if you know what you are doing. if you read his post he said he was running Monterey !!!!! so the machine date is meaningless.
@@emilsecker7881 They just said that it does everything that they would want it to do. Why buy new when what you have works fine? Macs don't really get viruses and even if they did, they upgraded to Monterey using a patcher.
Sent from my 13'' MacBook Pro early 2011 (the ones without failing GPUs)
@@actuallyaridan because it’s unsupported. Time to upgrade that thing. Wifi on that is so bad too
These machines may be vintage but even vintage machines have a place. A lot of creatives rely on older machines for budget-minded singular-purpose workhorses. I have a collection of what, ~30 Apple portables from Pre-G3 through M1... and most of them have a place in my life! I have a 2015 Retina running Windows dedicated to a CNC machine, I have a stack of G4 Aluminums that I use to write and play maxed-settings on vintage (OS 8/9) games. The unibody is a wonderful balance of price, forward compatibility, hackability and reliability. I'm currently putting together a 2009 17" 3.06ghz anti-glare (Luke, remember the video you did on those in your bedroom in 2018?) for a writing mule to keep in my vintage travel trailer. My partner was SO disappointer when we upgraded her from her 2012 unibody, which she still insists on using for budgeting and similar tasks and barely touches her 2014 loaded retina 15".
The usefulness of a machine rarely diminishes with time. The march of progress is really us expanding our intentions and needs over and beyond what said machine can do. There's life in old things, we just need to respect their purpose and give them a place to exist. Unibodies deserve love too!
Shouldn’t be using 2009 and 2012 machines anymore. They’re unsupported
Shouldn’t be using a 3009 model anymore. It’s unsupported
@@emilsecker7881 I assume you mean not secure on the internet? 2012 Catalina compatible macs are still supported, dude. Even macOS High Sierra still plays RUclips just fine. Catalina Patcher works fine to bring many ~2009-2011 machines up into current Catalina/Apple support range (security updates et al) and of course High Sierra had updates through 2020 ... BUT even in that case who cares on a work mule that's often not connected to internet? Plenty of computers are plenty useful even without the internet. In many cases, /especially/ without the internet. The reason I view Chromebooks as a borderline joke. Many of us remember a time when you had to keep your family members off the wall phone in the kitchen, to successfully retrieve your email.
The idea that 'a computer is only useful on the internet' says more about your middling use of a computer than it does about the computer's usefulness.
@@blackcoffeegarage correct. It’s unsupported by Apple
@@emilsecker7881 What 3009 model would that be ?????
I recently picked up the top spec i7 2.9ghz 13" 2012 with 16GB ram and have been running linux on it. It's still a wonderful machine for basic tasks and I'm incredibly happy with it.
I have 2014 and 2015 15s and they still work fine. Replaced the batteries two years ago. My son uses the 2014 for work and the 2015 is my backup. I always expect 10 years of useful life from Macs. I often get more than that.
Once macOS Big Sur and Monterey are unsupported, it’ll be fine to upgrade those to newer machines
@@emilsecker7881 silly boy sucker.
0:13 start of the video😂
Hahaha you forget to put the cut in the beginning😂
Awesome video!
I got a 13-inch mid-2012 MBP just as they were going off the market and held onto it until 6 months ago when I got my 2021 model. I put an SSD in it and it ran great. Honestly I’d still be using it if not for the limited screen resolution.
Been subscribed since late 2017 when you had 7k subscribers
I purchased a 15” retina based on the recommendations from several of your videos. I’m super happy! I can run Big Sur for the latest and “greatest” and I can run Mavericks (for older-and in my opinion-far better iLife apps). Keep up the great work. Best Mac coverage (old and new).
My favorite MBP? My 2012. $200 last month... and it had a 1T SSD + 256 SSD inside. 2.6ghz cpu. Luke, you got me on this whole 2010-2012 era Mac kick I've been on for a while now. Thank you. They're great. Your punchline surprises me a bit. I have a 2016 MPB and end up using my 2012 more often. I don't do much video editing with it, though could. I've open core legacy patched it to run Monterey 12.6 (which it does like a charm). And down the road, as Apple becomes ever more proprietary, I'll probably branch off into Linux use if all else fails. You are an Apple guy... and down deep I sense I'm only here for the hardware. The Unibody era hardware.
Thanks for the video Luke, Besides of your main uploads I’ve watched every old macbook or secondhand MacBook videos you have made and heck I bought a 2012 15” MacBook Pro (an entry level one) watching your videos. After upgrading I’ve been using it as my main gaming laptop since I live at my uni dorm room. Anyways thanks for the content its brilliant as always. Take care and much love !
Just few hours ago swamped my HDD in the OptiBay for the new ssd, so now I have 750gb of storage in my mbp 15” 2012.
Thank you, Luke, you made this happen for me!
Time to stop using the 2012 model. Catalina has just gone unsupported
@@emilsecker7881 patched it for Big Sur - it’s working perfectly!
@@emilsecker7881 You are commenting to people who know what they are doing. You on the other hand clearly do not.....
@@emilsecker7881 you can send me a thousand dollars if you want me to update my Mac 🤡
I bought two of those 15” mid 2012s this year. Last one featuring Firewire. Last one that’s got easily upgradable guts. LOVE THEM.
I am still using a 13" 2011 Macbook Pro as my writing machine, the keyboard is unbelievably good, typing on that is a treat.
One of your earlier videos inspired me and I picked up an i5 mid 2012 13" this year and did the full upgrade: 8GB/500GB HDD ---> 16GB/500GB SSD, and refreshed the CPU thermal paste. I also pulled the multidrive and installed an SSD adapter for an additional 240GB of storage (I use it for Time Machine), and I installed a new battery. In other words, I way overspent and will never get all of my money back if I sell it. The thing is, as tempting as the new MBPs are (some of them, anyway) I really enjoy using this laptop as my travel computer, and I can run BootCamp on it, so I'm keeping it.
Shouldn’t be using a 2012 anymore. Time to get a newer machine. macOS Catalina has just gone unsupported last month
@@emilsecker7881 my 2012 is running Monterey just fine
@@theartshow1476 don’t count on it getting updates from Apple though. Still a hacky solution
@@emilsecker7881 ok lol
@@emilsecker7881 just updated it with on official update from Apple yesterday but ok
I _love_ my 15” 2012. Rocking 2 hard drives in it (optical drive delete) and maxed out ram. Totally runnable for even Lightroom 💪🏼
picked up a Mid 2012 15" Retina MacBook Pro with 500GB SSD, 16GB RAM and a 2.6GHz core i7 for $100 a few days ago seller replaced the battery before listing it. Works perfectly and i have installed Big Sur on it.
I have my 2011 in pieces for restoration. It's a beauty and a beast.
Hi, Luke! I am watching your RUclips video every time it’s updated. I really enjoy it.
Talking about MacBook Pro, actually now I am watching your new video about old MacBook Pros on my MacBook Pro 15-inch Mid 2012 with 500gb SSD, 8 GB ran and running Mac OS Big Sur by using Opencore Legacy Patcher. I don’t have any problems with browsing web site, watching RUclips videos, using Photoshop, emailing and even editing videos with iMovie. I have 2 of MacBook Pro Mid 2012. I installed Mac OS Monterey 12.6 on the other one and it is working very well. You are right that looking for old MacBook Pro is worth it but it should be after MacBook Pro 2011. My 2 of MacBook Pro Mid 2012 are not super snappy if you play 3D games or editing video on Final Cut Pro but it is very reliable and trusty. I still love it.
Time to upgrade the 2012 model
@@emilsecker7881 Why do you want it Mr sucker.
I had my mid 2012 13" Macbook as my main DJing laptop till last month when I upgraded to 14" M1 Pro. Didn't have any problems with ever and loved it! Only reason I upgraded was that I could streamline my production and didn't have to jump between PC as my Ableton production computer and the Mac. So yeah, you can also run DJing programs with that besides just web browsing!
I use a 2012 13 inch MacBook Pro I did all the upgrades to. I use it as a full time college student along with my main PC set up. Great for writing papers and browsing on the go.
I have a Late 2011 MacBook Pro upgraded with 16 gb ram and 240 gb SSD with Monterey OS 12.6. The only use for it is as a multimedia server. This unibody has a strong thing: repairly, today I fix a loose hinge without any trouble, I love that machine.
The 17" early 2011 MacBook Pro had an ExpressCard/34 slot, not a compact flash slot. Could use it to add a USB 3.0 port, sata port, etc... Quite useful. Just wanted to point that out. I would say that makes it the most valuable despite the graphics card issue.
My 2012 15" unibody (i7 2.6gHz, 16gb RAM, 2tb SSD) is now a backup to my 2021 M1 Max, as well as my wife's 2015 MBA. I still turn it on and backup to time machine once a week, so that all my google drive and dropbox files get sync'd. This enables me to hit the ground running if anything happens to our current machines. It came in handy last month, when my wife's MBA SSD adaptor died, and it took a week for a new one to arrive. The only problem was the blown out speakers.
I fixed my speakers with white glue, cheap and easy fix, they're not the best now but they don't make the horrible sound they did when they were loose. I did it before it break even more, on my partner's laptop I wasn't able to do it as they were already destroyed.
Woot. I have a fully loaded mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro. It's awesome. 😃
My mid 2012 MBP 13 just started having boot problems. Normally would try to fix it somehow, but it’s day has come. New 14 MBP purchased.
Because of you, I bought a MBA 2015 Core i7, I regret nothing. It's an actual beast.
You will decree a lot when it’s unsupported in 2 years time. Plus it’s not getting macOS Ventura, yeah you wasted money
@@emilsecker7881 Getting Ventura installed on a 2015 is not going to be hard, though. The people working on OCLP 0.5 have already figured out so much now and even 2011 Macs w/o AVX2 support can now run it.
I wouldn't call a 2015 MBA a beast, though. I can totally see it doing well for web and office. But jikes those TN panels..
@@Wokiis still, absolutely worth getting a newer machine. You’re missing out
@@emilsecker7881 buy it for him then, if you have so much time spamming every comment, you seem to be rich
@@ImpactSpace surely you can do it if you can afford to make an impact and go to space. 🤣🤣🤣
I just got a 2012 retina and installed Monterrey, works like a charm~!
If it wasn't for Luke, I wouldn't be able to own a 17-inch 2010 MacBook Pro, this thing is huge
Time to upgrade. High Sierra has been unsupported for years now
@@emilsecker7881 No shit Sherlock........
I have a 2011 13“ Macbook Pro and althought it hasn‘t mutch Performance it I‘m always impressed what this thing can still do
I'm watching this on my mid-2012 15-inch Macbook Pro. I bought it new in 2012 and I had no idea it would last this long. Sure, the original battery is waaay past its best (but it still holds some charge). And I had a few problems with this machine when it was still in its youth. But thankfully Apple fixed those problems (for this machine Apple's after-sales service was spectacularly good, even without Apple Care). This was the machine that got me into using Macs. I wonder if it will still be working in 2032!
i still rock my 2015 15” MBP from time to time.
I have a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro that I'm using right now, and I also have a 2012 MacBook Pro, which I am also using right now! It's perfect as a DVD player, backup Windows machine, and to use with older devices such as iPods. It's still really speedy and I love it!
As a user of hand-me-down MacBooks I concur that there’s more life left in these things than people realize. I recently retired 2009 MacBook Pro and replaced it with an 11 inch MacBook Air, functional, and a 2015 MacBook Pro that needs some updates.
THAT'S the music!! RIGHT THERE. Whatever it was you played at the end is the one that best fits your channel, from my perspective at least ;)
My work was e-wasting a bunch of broken 2015, 13in macbooks like 2 years back. Mainly because they were out of warranty and it just wasn't worth the time to buy parts and repair them when the M1's were right around the corner. Ended up taking a couple of broken ones home one day and kitted together a top end one for myself for $0. 16gb ram, 1tb ssd, good battery, no de-lamination etc.
Still goes strong and worked great for school.
Oops. Didn't cut off the outtake at the beginning.
I’m super proud to say I bought the top model 2012 15”…
It’s still my daily! Modified and maxed out of course.
I only just purchased top of the line M1 Max 15”… waiting for it to be delivered.
But credit to this particular 2012 model. Once in a blue moon, Apple make an immortal MacBook. I hope the new M1 is one of those. Only bummer is repairability on the new models.
I’m still using my MacBook Pro 13 mid 2012 for music production and it’s working pretty good
We had the 2011 15” which was scrapped when it developed the well known graphics controller issue. And its battery swelled. But it was great as long as it lasted.
Depending on how bad the issue was, I think the GPU can be disabled with a firmware hack, did you try that?
Great content Luke. My friend gave me his 2014 i7 15" MacBook Pro. I think I use it more than my current 2019 13" MacBook Pro. It's a solid machine for everyday tasks.
That awkward beginning lmao
Picked up a Late 2013 13in MacBook Pro for $187 on eBay.
256gb SSD, 8GB Ram.
Love it
MacBook Pro mid 2014 13” was my first Apple machine. I was not sure if I would like the OS as so far I always used Widows OS. But I got an IPad for the study and an IPhone. MacBook was totally worth it! Now I gave it to my mom as she doesn’t need a high-performance machine and got myself M1 air. The retina displays even from 2014 are simply amazing. As well as the keyboard!❤
Love your videos, you also have a cool personality.
Funny this video pops up on my youtube main page, I just upgraded a 13" Mid 2012 9,2 MBP to AC wireless with a Mac Book Air WiFi card with an 12+6 to 30pin molex adapter from intriguing industries, seeing my WiFi speeds well above 480mbps is nice to see and pages seem to load snappier than before, Mid 2012 are still fantastic computers for the age, also upgrades are super cheap for them now.
My 2012 15” was my longest running Mac I’ve ever owned…. Ran it until the late 2019 15”…. I still have it. Need to repurpose it for something
Shouldn’t be using a 2012 on the net anymore. It’s unsupported
@@emilsecker7881 lolz
@@emilsecker7881 Catalina still gets security updates. Far from unsupported. Supports everything, modern web browsers aswell
I recently bought a 15” 2012 Unibody.
Gave it the 16GB RAM + 1tb SSD treatment, plus a dusting and thermal paste replacement.
Tribooted OS X Mountain Lion (was on the SSD I put in, it came from a 13”), macOS Ventura (because a MacBook can kinda be a Hackintosh, just minus a ton of the hassle), and Windows 10 on it. Also made sure to install Macs Fan Control so it didn’t thermal throttle, and upped the GPU memory clock in Windows to 2600MHz (no overheating thanks to fan control + thermal paste)
It works great, does some ridiculous shit in Windows 10 (runs Genshin Impact, playably, and I have the 512mb VRAM model!) and has no issues in Ventura! Only issue with it are the fact that it’s missing the rubber feet.
With a little bit of care, these things can still be amazing machines. Hell, the 15” still puts up a fight against Windows laptops at a similar pricepoint.
BTW, in total, this costed me $160 USD, because that’s all I paid for the computer and all the other parts I either raided from a (broken) 13” 2012 Unibody, or already had on hand.
Got a stack of these at my tech shop... Gonna start making content covering. I also just brought a 2012 iMac back to life, trying to install Mojave now
The 2012 models run Monterey like a charm!
It's definitely best to have an anti glare display for the 15" and 17" versions.
I've got a 2012 13" i7 2.9 dual core MacBook Pro that is running Monterey 12.6.1 'flawlessly!' Not yet OpenCore 5.1 that'll make MacOS Ventura probable? I'll transfer Monterey to a 2012 15" MBP 4x 2.6g/1tb ssd/16g machine I have, and put Win95 on the 13"? (Windoze sees it as a 4x 2.9g i7, so its VERY usable!)
@@jrstrong I think Ventura still needs a decent amount of work before properly working on a 2012.
But Monterey 12.6.1 runs perfectly!
I still know a bunch of creatores that use unibody macs for work. A lot of deejays still use them
Unibody MacBook pros are a lifesaver to keep hanging around. Before I bought my new laptop, I got stuck borrowing a 2011 13” i5 unibody. I grabbed some more ram, bought an ssd and patched to Ventura. It was really slow with Ventura but I used it for a good 3 months before buying a secondhand 2019 16”. Then, my 2019 had a motherboard issue and had to get sent in. I used the 2011 again and it was even better. I only patched to Catalina and it seriously ran great. Battery somehow stayed in good condition so I was getting almost a full 5 hours of on time. If you have a unibody just keep it hanging around, because who knows when you’ll need it.
I love my ‘14 MBP! 16/512GB. New battery has it running strong and reliable, w/ latest Sonoma OS. 😈
I have a 15’ MacBook Pro unibody mid 2012 that my sister gave to me. It is running macOS Monterey which I installed using opencore legacy patcher. I upgraded it to 12GB of ram from the default 4GB and changed out the thermal paste and installed a 250gb ssd and it runs quiet and really fast. It even handles 4K video now after the thermal paste and upgraded ram and ssd.
I still have my 2008 and 2014. They are solid.
Stop using the 2008. It’s unsupported
@@yodaisgod2 that’s fine then
@@emilsecker7881 Oh so glad you approve.......
I bought a Macbook Pro mid 2012, upgraded with 2TB SSD and 16gb of RAM in December 2016 and it's still going strong...Just thick as a brick.
I still have the mid 2010 MBP, and all I’ve done to it is replaced the hard drive and upgraded ram. Still use it, and its really a treat to use. Sure theres little I cannot do with it, but for my needs its good enough. Still gets security updates.
4:22 A detail I’d like to point out, those Mid-2012 13” Macs had the “802.11n” (Wi-Fi 4), not the 11ac (Wi-Fi 5) spec. I have the base model and its Wi-Fi is usually my bottleneck when connecting to public Wi-Fi or any network that’s serving a lot of other clients
Luke, I love watching your reviews of apple devices. You have good insight of the Apple ecosystem, and mention things missed by other channels. I still use a 17 inch Mid 2010 MacBook Pro from time to time. With the big screen, the screen estate is awesome. I use it for web browsing, basic office work, and backup photos. The issue is it had first generation i7, and limited to 8 GB of ram. It had lots of ports, and the last MacOS officially supported is High Sierra. Upgrade the system to the maximum supported ram, removing the apple drive, and replace it with SSD give it a new life. Also, it is also one of the last generation of MacBook Pro that comes with Nvidia discrete graphics card.
Still using my macbook pro mid2012 but has a lot of issues i.e the LCD being broken, I plug it on tv or portable screen and battery life is short. It may be "vintage" but can still do the job. I just hope the newer models can also last just like this.
I'm really a fan of this channel since it's still "review" the older models!
Dear Luke, Thanks - My son has a 13" and I have several. I do a lot of work in audio - one of the things you forgot is the firewire. If you have legacy hardware, and software for that matter, this id the way to go. I have my machines set up with Catalina and an earlier OS to run legacy software. Easy to upgrade, and inexpensive too. peace
I loved 17" laptops both Windows and Mac owned a few of them over the years. All that screen real estate is so handy working on audio or video and watching movies or video is way cool. Big screen rule!
I'm running a 2012 Macbook pro with upgraded SSD and 16 gigs of RAM. I can say first hand it still holds up, I'm able to run Logic Pro, Final Cut, and even Blender with some (but not too many) occasional slowdowns. It's a power house, all of these can be updated to the newest OS pretty easily as well which makes them run even better. As you said, I kind of think it's nearing the end of its life as better machines come out/become more affordable on the second hand market, but yeah crazy that an over 10 year old machine still runs this well.
Here before the reupload!
I run a 2012 15 inch as a daily still. Ran Monterey with oclp for a while but started having problems with my ipods so I went back to Catalina. 16gb of ram and a 512gb ssd its perfect for day to day.
Time to get a new machine. Catalina is unsupported
lol yeah ok.
@@rickyt11010 it is. Time to upgrade
No not really.
@@rickyt11010 yes really. It’s not up for debate. Time to upgrade
Still using my 2011 17-inch Pro 🤘🏽
I have a 2012 15 inch MBP with a 1 TB SSD and 16GB of RAM. It needs a new battery, but I still use it. I wish I could run Monterey, but there are ways to do that. Because of the SSD is is FAST. Thanks for this.
Time to upgrade again. macOS Catalina is unsupported
@@emilsecker7881 Why don’t you buy him a new laptop?
Great content. Thank you. Bucking the trend of always having to buy everything new and shiny; when most people are surfing the web, streaming vids, Word, Excel + emails. I'm still using my 2012 13inch daily doing those tasks. In fact, it's my main work machine, hooked up to a 27 Thunderbolt display, even if I have a much newer PC supplied by my employer.
I bought a 2011 13" in 2011, and it's still my only computer. Upgraded to SSD and 16GB of RAM as well as a battery change and renewed thermal paste. It's also now on Catalina. I'm in Canada so there's not the selection of cheap old Macs to choose from, they exist, but not in the amount you can find them in populated parts of the States.
Just perfect with the 15" antiglare display ❤
I have an Imac I bought in 2012 which runs great. I also have a MacBook pro I bought in 2017 which also runs great. No problems. I use them both mostly just for music purposes. Both are great machines. I use them a lot....
If I needed a MacBook Pro, right now, this is absolutely a great deal. Basically the machine I want, I can’t get right now, but this will buy me some time. Thanks Luke.
13" MacBook Pro Mid 2012 2.9 GH i7, 16 GB of RAM, 2 TB of SSD drive. All the ports along the SuperDrive still working like a charm. Every year I open and clean it and every three years change the thermal paste. Still going strong along the 14" MacBook Pro M1 with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD drive. So easy to upgrade and repair. Too bad the new models are basically disposable units once they break down.
You can use OpenCore Legacy Patcher to run macOS Monterey on your unibody MacBook Pro. For 2012 and later macs you can even run the upcoming macOS Ventura on them as OpenCore has completed development for macs with Metal GPUs. They are still working getting Ventura working on Non-Metal GPUs.
Ι use my 15” 7320QM daily as my main laptop. I’d prefer it to have slightly lower temperatures and better battery but for medium workload at the office is more than enough
I am still using my Anti-Glare 2.5GHz 17 inch 2011 MacBook Pro. I owned the machine since day 1. The AMD 6770M is still working for me. It has not failed nor did I take it in for the recall. I have to say if it lasted me this long. I guess I am lucky.
As someone who still uses a Pentium 4 system as my main desktop PC, my 2011 13 inch macbook is lightning fast and the pinnacle of modern technology.
One big advantage of older MBP's is that you can install Linux on them. I have a 2008 Mac Pro running Pop OS. Works great!
Yeah I'm running Linux on a 2012 13" MBP and a 2012 13" Air. It works flawlessly on both!
@@Xeptance Thanks for sharing.. I’m off to investigate how to do the same
Was that intro intentional? Can’t tell 😂
I have a 2012 MacBook Air on which I installed Ubuntu Linux. Works like a charm. That's what I'd do with a 2012-2014 MacBook Pro. New software and an up to date system.
I’m going to refute the fact that the 13” is only for web browsing and video streaming, I upgraded mine two years ago with the 16Gb of ram and 1Tb Ssd and I used it for Full HD video editing, and mostly for audio production with protools and handles 100 track mixes(struggling a bit but it does it), also I played some CSGO smooth enough to have fun, it doesn’t work on a competitive way, something that it’s a game changer is having a good cooler it improves the performance a lot! Anyway great video!!👍🏽 I always suggest this computers for people on a budget
I have a 15 inc 2013 RMP and recently I bought a new 14 inc RMP 2021 M1 max. For photo editing I like the old one more. For all the other things I like the new one more. But I can still use both of them.
Here in the UK I have a 17inch i7 matte screen Macbook Pro 2011 and it is my workhorse machine for music and photography , it cost £300 in 2018 and all I have done is put in 16gb RAM and lately a 1TB SSD. Not worried now about cost as I have a working spare which I picked up for less than £200 last year. Both running on Catalina and hopefully no graphics issues.
I had a 2009 15” MacBook Pro that got me through college and was my main system until 2015. When it first came out, the unibody 15” MacBook Pro was so far ahead of its PC competition in terms of design, battery life, display quality, and the quality of the touch pad. Windows laptops are just now catching up with the touchpad, battery life, and display quality of macs. The only laptop I have ever owned that is better than that old 15” MacBook Pro is my current 14” MacBook Pro.
I still use my 15 inch macbook pro from mid 2014, 2,5 Ghz Quad core i7 with 16GB ram, 1TB SSD, works great for photo editing in Capture One and everything else. (new battery 2-3 years ago) 🙂