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Best OS version for 13" rMBP Late 2013

C

cappo3

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 3, 2014
214
72
Hi guys!
Since 2013 I own a 13" rMBP (2.8 i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD).

Apart from the battery, which I will have replaced at an Apple Store within the next months (the capacity dropped to about 65% by now, after over 1100 cycles), I am still very happy with its functionality and performance. And USB ports. :p

It came with Mavericks installed, which I thought was a very good system indeed. Two years ago I decided to bite the bullet and pulled the trigger on an update to El Capitan. While it was not the latest version back then, it sounded like the most suited for this 3-years-old machine.

Now I am starting to ponder if an update to a newer OS version could be something. I do not care much about additional features like Siri or Dark Mode, but I am starting to have issues with Safari on many webpages and sometimes with software that does not support El Capitan anymore.

Would you recommend an update to a more modern version of MacOS and, if so, which would be the most solid release for this aging machine?
Thanks!
 
I'd just upgrade to the latest version that it supports. There's no real reason not to. I never noticed a performance hit on new macOS versions compared to an older one to be honest.
 
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Thank you for your insights, guys!
I heard of many people (on this forum) having issues with High Sierra and Mojave, I figured I can settle for an older version of MacOS in order to squeeze some more life out of my rMBP. Since my battery health is running low and I use my laptop a lot away from the mains, I care about battery life a lot...
Would I get any advantage in overall speed and battery life by updating to Sierra or Mojave?
 
Mine (a lower spec 2013 model) is still on Sierra, but mainly because I never got round to updating to High Sierra or Mojave (and as its replacement is on the way there's little incentive to do so). I can't say I noticed any performance loss on the updates though.

It sometimes has crashes awaking from sleep, but I'm pretty sure it did that with El Cap as well (Mavericks is so far in the past I couldn't say).
 
cappo3 said:
Hi guys!
Since 2013 I own a 13" rMBP (2.8 i7, 16GB, 512GB SSD).

Apart from the battery, which I will have replaced at an Apple Store within the next months (the capacity dropped to about 65% by now, after over 1100 cycles), I am still very happy with its functionality and performance. And USB ports. :p

It came with Mavericks installed, which I thought was a very good system indeed. Two years ago I decided to bite the bullet and pulled the trigger on an update to El Capitan. While it was not the latest version back then, it sounded like the most suited for this 3-years-old machine.

Now I am starting to ponder if an update to a newer OS version could be something. I do not care much about additional features like Siri or Dark Mode, but I am starting to have issues with Safari on many webpages and sometimes with software that does not support El Capitan anymore.

Would you recommend an update to a more modern version of MacOS and, if so, which would be the most solid release for this aging machine?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

With your processor and RAM you can run Mojave fine. I have no problems on my 2012 and your processor is better.
 
CmdrLaForge said:
I have almost the same machine. Late 2013 13“, 16GB, 1 TB SSD, battery already replaced. Runs Mojave almost fine. Takes a little long to wake from sleep. That’s my only issue so far.
Click to expand...
I find my machine runs perfectly well on El Capitan, I did not notice any performance loss over Mavericks. I think I'd hate for it to get slower, especially while waking from sleep, since I open and close it quite often... Is it that noticeable? But tell me more about the battery replacement experience! Did they replace the whole top case, with keyboard and trackpad? How long did it take for you to have your mac back?
[doublepost=1538909571][/doublepost]
Complex757 said:
With your processor and RAM you can run Mojave fine. I have no problems on my 2012 and your processor is better.
Click to expand...
Did yours come with Mavericks preinstalled, or with an even older version? Do you notice no hiccups at all in your workflow since you updated?
 
cappo3 said:
Did yours come with Mavericks preinstalled, or with an even older version? Do you notice no hiccups at all in your workflow since you updated?
Click to expand...

It came with Mountain Lion. I haven't had any problems at all so far. No slowness or crashes.
 
You should consider what software you are using. Some softwares are not compatible with High Sierra or Mojave.

Also some softwares require you to upgrade if using High Sierra or Mojave.

You might not want to spend $ on software upgrades.
 
Hadron said:
Mine (a lower spec 2013 model) is still on Sierra, but mainly because I never got round to updating to High Sierra or Mojave (and as its replacement is on the way there's little incentive to do so). I can't say I noticed any performance loss on the updates though.

It sometimes has crashes awaking from sleep, but I'm pretty sure it did that with El Cap as well (Mavericks is so far in the past I couldn't say).
Click to expand...

I had the crashing from sleep issue on my 2012 MBP with Sierra. This is a thread which wasn't to do with sleep issues but went off topic and I was given a fix that worked
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/do-macbook-pros-have-soldered-batteries.2117691/
 
Last edited:
cappo3 said:
I find my machine runs perfectly well on El Capitan, I did not notice any performance loss over Mavericks. I think I'd hate for it to get slower, especially while waking from sleep, since I open and close it quite often... Is it that noticeable? But tell me more about the battery replacement experience! Did they replace the whole top case, with keyboard and trackpad? How long did it take for you to have your mac back?
Click to expand...

First questions - wake up from sleep is a few seconds slower. Besides this almost no issues. Almost means some. E.g. my screensaver just changed the default photo album I have chosen to a standard one.

Second question - my battery was expanding and the MBP started to wobble on the table. I called Apple and they directed me to an authorised third party Apple Service. Took them one week. They had to replace the keyboard and maybe even the trackpad. Anyhow - I paid the standard fee as per Apples website.
 
It is now 2021, Big Sur is a done thing and I will pose the question again!

I am still in love with my rMBP 13" Late 2013. The second battery now has seen 445 cycles and has 92-95% of its capacity left. I hope this will allow for a couple more years of intense usage.
Running Mojave now, would an update to something more modern make any sense on this machine?

Probably not, but I'd like to know what some of you with more experience would do.
 
cappo3 said:
It is now 2021, Big Sur is a done thing and I will pose the question again!

I am still in love with my rMBP 13" Late 2013. The second battery now has seen 445 cycles and has 92-95% of its capacity left. I hope this will allow for a couple more years of intense usage.
Running Mojave now, would an update to something more modern make any sense on this machine?

Probably not, but I'd like to know what some of you with more experience would do.
Click to expand...
Dude, just use Mojave or Catalina because anything after that is garbage
 
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I’m using the latest OS, works fine.

however, my screen is beginning to deteriorate on the inside. Anyone else having this on late 2013 MacBook Pro?
 
@CmdrLaForge Oh yes, I already replaced my speakers with some from ebay. After just a few months the left one died once more! It's a lost cause, I guess...

My display seems to be working fine, how does yours look @nightlong ?

I would love to have a second new battery service at Apple sometimes in the future, in order to get a new trackpad/keyboard assembly. The 2013 rMBP is now "vintage", but not yet "obsolete". Does that mean I could still theoretically get service?
 
cappo3 said:
I would love to have a second new battery service at Apple sometimes in the future, in order to get a new trackpad/keyboard assembly. The 2013 rMBP is now "vintage", but not yet "obsolete". Does that mean I could still theoretically get service?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, „theoretically“ there should be no longer any service by Apple. But I think it cannot hurt to ask them!
 
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