Picked up an '09 MacBook Pro cheap

If your budget is only around 800, get a windows laptop, they are clearly better bang for buck in that price category. There are no good macs on a budget, best you could get is some hopelessly outdated tech with no warranty.

P.S. I am very disturbed that somebody would pay 700 for a 2009 mbp

bsurb said:

well id rather buy a late 2010 or early 2011 mac... and put windows on it..

what does the macbook8,1 mean? the 8 and 1

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Will it be too much of a hassle to pick up 8gb and install a ssd 256gb on the 2009 mbp
in your hand ? for extra say $350 or less. You get yourself a good working machine that will put you in
fast lane and get some experience with the mac machine. Make sure your ssd is sata 3,
you can always put in your new mbp say 2011 or later one.

Do not worry about your mbp as a stolen property, here is apple com support https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do
enter your serial # would show up it is a legit purchase. Otherwise police will knock
on your door.
it means 2011 model year for mbp
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=MacBookPro8,1
just my 2 cents.

bsurb said:

well id rather buy a late 2010 or early 2011 mac... and put windows on it..

what does the macbook8,1 mean? the 8 and 1

Click to expand...

I'd get at least a 2011 model, as it has sandy bridge and can take up to 16gb of cheap ram, which you'd want for windows and other vms, prior models only go up to 8.

The integrated intel HD3000 graphics on a 2011 13" should be faster than the graphics on the '09 C2D. The 09 also only only Sata 2 speeds, the 2011 has Sata 3; the 2009 cannot take full advantage of the latest SSD's.

It's a perfectly valid option to upgrade to 8gb of ram and a 750gb momentus xt ssd/7200 rpm HDD drive for $150-$200 and drive that puppy until the wheels fall off of it. My wife is still using my 2008 15" 2.4ghz C2D as a desktop replacement with 8 gigs of ram for doing ordinary browsing, etc, and she doesn't feel the least bit deprived.

bsurb said:

so its not worth keeping a 2009, upgrading to windows 7 and adding more ram?

also, whats the average life of one cycle of the battery if your constantly on it?

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it is up to you to decide, if you can go to an apple store test out battery and see if they can get you the plugs of the laptop install.

upgrade to 8gb and use the pure ssd.

bsurb said:

so the highest i can upgrade to is 8gb of ram and what is the SSD exactly and whats its job? is it a flash

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yes 8gb is the highest.
google ssd for its exact meaning. It is far better than regular HD, trust me.

I hope you don't get shot when meeting in that dark alley.