Best OS for Macbook Pro 2012? (16 RAM/SSD)

[aespana]

Hello guys!

I just revived my Macbook Pro 2012 and just installed 16GB of RAM and a SSD.

Right now I'm thinking which OS could be the best to run in this laptop. I don't need nothing special to do more than just navigate the web and watch videos on youtube. I could be Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS, or Linux)

I already tried:

- Chrome OS Flex: It works fine but it put a lot heat in the laptop (always runs hot btw) but it is a lot more limited due the OS
- Catalina: I really like the performance but it is just too old at this moment
- Monterey: It runs fine. Maybe I should give it a try again without login the iCloud account.
- Windows: Got a blue screen after the initial updates. It was an error of MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION. I searched it and it can be related to the heat but I don't know

Don't know if I should stick with Monterey for a decent software support or go up to a recent OS but with a worst performance.

What do you think it is the best? Thank you in advance!

 

[!!!]

Have you checked out Linux? I would say either Fedora or Debian. (I typically use Debian, but I have heard that fedora releases have been quite good)

You could try OCLP to install a more recent version of macOS. You get the security updates and "bug fixes" (honestly I think Monterey is more stable), but you have to deal with potential issues from the modified OS. Not all that different from dealing with Linux I guess.

If all you want is web/youtube, I'd recommend Linux, it will be the easiest in terms of long-term updates/support, eventually OCLP will stop working, Win10 will go EOL, etc.

 

[rovostrov]

Hello guys!

I just revived my Macbook Pro 2012 and just installed 16GB of RAM and a SSD.

Right now I'm thinking which OS could be the best to run in this laptop. I don't need nothing special to do more than just navigate the web and watch videos on youtube. I could be Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS, or Linux)

I already tried:

- Chrome OS Flex: It works fine but it put a lot heat in the laptop (always runs hot btw) but it is a lot more limited due the OS
- Catalina: I really like the performance but it is just too old at this moment
- Monterey: It runs fine. Maybe I should give it a try again without login the iCloud account.
- Windows: Got a blue screen after the initial updates. It was an error of MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION. I searched it and it can be related to the heat but I don't know

Don't know if I should stick with Monterey for a decent software support or go up to a recent OS but with a worst performance.

What do you think it is the best? Thank you in advance!

Are you by chance using OCLP to run Monterey? I thought the 2012 MPB's last OS was Catalina. I had a 2012 running Catalina that usually ran well but I started to get daily kernel panics. I downgraded back to Mojave and all was good.
I'm now on a 2015 MBP and use Monterey, which I really like better than the others.

 

[aespana]

Have you checked out Linux? I would say either Fedora or Debian. (I typically use Debian, but I have heard that fedora releases have been quite good)

You could try OCLP to install a more recent version of macOS. You get the security updates and "bug fixes" (honestly I think Monterey is more stable), but you have to deal with potential issues from the modified OS. Not all that different from dealing with Linux I guess.

If all you want is web/youtube, I'd recommend Linux, it will be the easiest in terms of long-term updates/support, eventually OCLP will stop working, Win10 will go EOL, etc.

Thank you for your response!

I don't like Linux that much. I tried before to get along with it but never could. Maybe I can try Elementary OS since is more like a Mac OS style but I don't know.

I can try to re-install Monterey. I believe is a good spot between not going to a recent heavy OS like Sonoma but neither going to backward like Catalina. And since Chrome is dropping support for Big Sur soon, I guess my best bet is Monterey.

Are you by chance using OCLP to run Monterey? I thought the 2012 MPB's last OS was Catalina. I had a 2012 running Catalina that usually ran well but I started to get daily kernel panics. I downgraded back to Mojave and all was good.
I'm now on a 2015 MBP and use Monterey, which I really like better than the others.

Yeah I can go to Monterey thanks to OCLP. I really like Catalina but it is just to old right now. Firefox supports it though.

Maybe I can also try something more modern like maybe Sonoma or going crazy with Sequioa to see how the performance is