Buying an A1226 or A1260 for my dad... Does Mavericks run good on it?

[HIMAN1998]

As the title says, I'm getting an older MacBook Pro for my dad. Will the models mentioned run Mavericks good? I'll probably put 4GB RAM in it, but will it run fine on 2GB? If it has a better video card than my current late 2008 MacBook, I might keep it for myself and give my dad this . Would I be able to accurately see how the older Pro will run on 2GB RAM by putting 2GB back in my late 2008 that has 8GB? The processor on the Pro is faster than my 2GHz Core 2 Duo, so that's a plus about the older model.

 

[BrettApple]

I bought a mid 2007 (a1226) in September and upgraded it to 4GB RAM and a 120GB SSD and it is currently running Mavericks. It runs great, primary usage is Photoshop CS6, Chrome, iTunes, Office, and the like. The SSD helped a lot, but when I got it it was running Mountain Lion on the stock 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD, and it was still perfectly acceptable.

Only thing to look out for is the 8600M GT that can fail. But as long as it's kept well ventilated and cool, it will probably be ok, seeing as if you're getting one now, it's at least made it 5-6 years without failing. But it could at any point. I took that risk, and also replaced the thermal paste with some Arctic Silver 5.

 

[HIMAN1998]

I bought a mid 2007 (a1226) in September and upgraded it to 4GB RAM and a 120GB SSD and it is currently running Mavericks. It runs great, primary usage is Photoshop CS6, Chrome, iTunes, Office, and the like. The SSD helped a lot, but when I got it it was running Mountain Lion on the stock 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD, and it was still perfectly acceptable.

Only thing to look out for is the 8600M GT that can fail. But as long as it's kept well ventilated and cool, it will probably be ok, seeing as if you're getting one now, it's at least made it 5-6 years without failing. But it could at any point. I took that risk, and also replaced the thermal paste with some Arctic Silver 5.

How easy was it to get to the heatsink on it? Also, is there a way to put a second hard drive in the optical drive bay, or is that not available for this model? I've only dealt with my MacBook, and it seems hard to get to the heatsink on mine, but then again it's a unibody. I use SMC fan control and try to stay under 150 Fahrenheit. Will I have a problem with just putting the hard drive from this into the Pro?

 

[triplelucky]

Just wondering why you would pick out those two models to get for your dad.

 

[HIMAN1998]

My budget isn't much, and he doesn't do much. I found an eBay seller who sells used ones for $250ish, so I'm gonna go through them for it. He will get my Late '08 MacBook Aluminum if I find out the graphics performance is better on one of the models I chose.

 

[triplelucky]

Ok…but I would think long and hard about putting any new money in an 8600M GT machine even on a tight budget.

 

[HIMAN1998]

It's either the 8600M GT or Intel GMA 950... My original choice was an early 2008 MacBook.

 

[HIMAN1998]

And if the GPU problem happens, I'll just use the oven trick. I have no problem with taking apart a laptop and fixing it, even if it means a complete disassembly of it.

 

[triplelucky]

Well in that case why not spend your money on a later model unibody that needs some work?

If you can fix them up you would end up with a better machine for your money.

 

[HIMAN1998]

Well in that case why not spend your money on a later model unibody that needs some work?

If you can fix them up you would end up with a better machine for your money.

Because my price limit is $250, no more than that can be invested. I've decided that I will most likely give him mine if I end up getting anything that has a better graphics card, integrated really sucks when it comes to Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.