Advice on early 11 MacBook pro

[Shan5742]

I have the chance to buy a early 11 15 inch MacBook Pro at a steal. It's the 2.2 Ghz i7.

I was after some advice as I've never used a Mac before and I'm concerned these are a little old now.

Can they easily be upgraded or am I better off just forking out a little more for something newer?

Or maybe these are still great machines in their own right.

 

[RichardC300]

I have the 2.2 GHz early-2011 15" MBP, and to this day, it's still a beast. I've upgraded to 8 GB of RAM and threw in an SSD, though. Other than the battery getting a little old, I have zero complaints and haven't had any issues for the 5 years that I've owned it.

Some people have issues with the graphics card, but Apple has a repair program that is in effect until this December. You'll find many complaints on this website about that issue, but it's a very small percentage of MBPs out there that have developed this problem. I have had no problems with my GPU.

If you're getting a REALLY good deal, like $400 or less, I'd say go for it. If not, get something newer.

 

[Shan5742]

I have the 2.2 GHz early-2011 15" MBP, and to this day, it's still a beast. I've upgraded to 8 GB of RAM and threw in an SSD, though. Other than the battery getting a little old, I have zero complaints and haven't had any issues for the 5 years that I've owned it.

Some people have issues with the graphics card, but Apple has a repair program that is in effect until this December. You'll find many complaints on this website about that issue, but it's a very small percentage of MBPs out there that have developed this problem. I have had no problems with my GPU.

If you're getting a REALLY good deal, like $400 or less, I'd say go for it. If not, get something newer.

Thanks for the input. Haha you're right on the money with $400. Guy wanted $450 but will take $400.

I was just worried that it is fairly dated. Although upgrading memory and to an ssd shouldn't cost too much.

My usage is fairly light. I'm a freelance writer, so will be mostly used for surfing the web, doing research and what not and then writing pieces.

No gaming, minimal video etc.

 

[matt_on_a_mtn]

For $400, that's a pretty solid deal in the event that it's in good condition. I'd say expect to replace the battery, HDD with an SSD, and upgrade RAM. Add up what those will cost, and see if your needs and wants for a machine will A, be met, and B, be worth it in that machine or a newer one that may last longer - which may cost a little more than the 2011 and the upgrades needed for it.

 

[JTToft]

Computing wise, it will still run circles around all current portable Macs except, naturally, for the 15" Retina MBP.

You do need to seriously consider the significant possibility that it will succumb to the widespread video issues eventually. But as for speed, with 8-16 GB RAM and a good SSD, there's little it can't do.

 

[Shan5742]

Computing wise, it will still run circles around all current portable Macs except, naturally, for the 15" Retina MBP.

You do need to seriously consider the significant possibility that it will succumb to the widespread video issues eventually. But as for speed, with 8-16 GB RAM and a good SSD, there's little it can't do.

Thanks for this. Seems like I should probably go for this then. Any ssd recommendations?

 

[JTToft]

Thanks for this. Seems like I should probably go for this then. Any ssd recommendations?

- Samsung 850 EVO. It's as simple as that.

 

[Queen6]

Walk away, and look for as 2012/2013 Retina, the 2011 15" MBP with dGPU is flawed. If the dGPU is pushed the GPU will fail, this is why the price is on the low end of the spectrum. Apple will repair these Mac`s until the end of this year under extended warranty, after this they are little more than expensive paperweights.

Apple don't launch extended warranty programs for just a small percentage of failed units, a significant number of users have been effected, ultimately all users as it related to a design flaw. Apple replaces the Main Logic Board in the event of failure, these boards are refurbished/reworked and in many cases fail again in a short period of time.

FWIW, we still have one 2011, it `s due a battery change, even this I consider a waste of money as it`s equally likely to fail.

Q-6