2012 MacBook Pro upgrades?

[pers0n]

I've maxed ram out to 16gb. I know i could put in a SSD or 2 with the data doubler.

Is a eGPU possible? And if so I'm guessing it will cost more than its worth as I think they are like $200+

Any other upgrades possible? USB, whatever...

My main limits with this laptop:

• is that I can only hook up 1 extra monitor to it
• video cam streaming wont work on some sites w FF, but Safari usually does, but not always. like on jitsi, tinychat, etc... (these are almost essential to keep sane during the lockdown), sure zoom/skype work though

 

[Falhófnir]

SSD would easily be the biggest upgrade you could make for performance if your computer is still running on a HDD. Thunderbolt 1 would be severely limiting for an eGPU (even TB 2 offers a poor experience) so no on that one. If your computer is only powerful enough to drive a single additional display, there's not a lot that can be done to get around that. They're quite upgradable machines, but ultimately you're running up against the limits of the non upgradable CPU and GPU now, 8 years on from its release.

 

[pers0n]

I tried to research more about this:

It might be possible with a USB to DVI/whatever. One comment on the youtube had me concerned, so not going to try it as no one has confirmed with the 2012 it will do it

Dual display with MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) and would like to set up two 24" Acer monitors so I can have an easier working life. The monitors support CDMI, DVI and VGA, I am new to MacBooks, so I'm no...

apple.stackexchange.com

Connect 2 monitors to Macbook Pro 2012

I own a 2012 Macbook Pro with Core i7, 1GB Nvidia Graphics, 8GB RAM and 1 TB HDD. I want to connect 2 external monitors to it using the thunderbolt port because thats the only port I have. It doesn't

apple.stackexchange.com

EGPUs - too expensive for this old machine

Undervolting - not something im going to try

Enabling sidecar on old macs

If anything I'm posting this to come back to later, rather than saving bookmarks

 

[Jack Neill]

I've maxed ram out to 16gb. I know i could put in a SSD or 2 with the data doubler.

Is a eGPU possible? And if so I'm guessing it will cost more than its worth as I think they are like $200+

Any other upgrades possible? USB, whatever...

My main limits with this laptop:

• is that I can only hook up 1 extra monitor to it
• video cam streaming wont work on some sites w FF, but Safari usually does, but not always. like on jitsi, tinychat, etc... (these are almost essential to keep sane during the lockdown), sure zoom/skype work though

My 9,2 has 16Gb and a 2TB SSD. Runs 15 well. I have no problems streaming anything. What OS and HD do you currently have? You need a SSD to make that machine usable in any meaningful way.

 

[pers0n]

I'm on the latest OS and still have a 700gb+ HDD. I haven't gone to SSD yet, as I'm trying to decide whether to get a Mac Mini or just upgrade this laptop.

I think I just need to try out Bootcamp on it. If I can get Windows (7 at least, the licenses are much cheaper) and Linux installed and configured as other bootmodes, then I may keep this even longer as I'll be able to use it for many more uses.

 

[Alexis Noel]

Add SSDs, preferably SLC or maybe even MLC, not them cheap TLCs. V-NAND/3D-NAND
If you wanna take the risk for more speed, do a RAID 0 configuration to potentially double SSD speed (but if one SSD eventually fails, both will). Another caveat would be MacOS updates as RAID 0 is known to have issues on boot when doing updates.

Wouldn't recommend an eGPU due to sheer price, unless it will double as an eGPU for another Mac that you may have. (I have a 2018 Mini so if I were to get an eGPA I would just swap em out as needed.)

Some articles on the web, and even on a forum or two here, discuss a potential airport card mod so you can get AC Wi-Fi, which exceeds N Wi-Fi speeds, and BT 4.2 for handoff.

Not really and upgrade, but make sure your insides are clean and clear of any dust/dirt. Clean the CPU and heatsink. Afterwards reapply thermal paste. Check battery health and replace when needed.