Fun Project: MacBook Unibody --> MacBook Pro

[iDutchman]

Fun Project:

I had a dead water damaged MacBook Pro 13" 2010 (looking new!) given for free. I knew the only dead part was the logic board so I went ahead and looked for some fun project.

I found an late 2008 MacBook unibody with a dead screen for €275 euro's. I went ahead and bought the MacBook. The outer casing had no visible damage whatsoever and there were no signs of a water spill.

So far so good!

The took the MacBook Pro apart and installed the screen onto the MacBook. Also, I took the backlight from the MacBook Pro as well as the little backlight keys and installed them as well! I had some 8GB 1333Mhz RAM lying around and the 128GB APPLE SSD that was inside the given MacBook Pro still worked, so I installed that as well!

Now, I have a late 2008 MacBook looking like a 2009+ MacBook Pro 13''. The only difference is on the bottom (user-removable battery).

Specs:

2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
8GB 1333Mhz RAM
128GB APPLE (Toshiba) SSD
Nvidia 9400M 256MB graphics.

Pretty nice for 275 euro's eh?! Just wanted to share!

 

[east85]

Fun Project:

I had a dead water damaged MacBook Pro 13" 2010 (looking new!) given for free. I knew the only dead part was the logic board so I went ahead and looked for some fun project.

I found an late 2008 MacBook unibody with a dead screen for €275 euro's. I went ahead and bought the MacBook. The outer casing had no visible damage whatsoever and there were no signs of a water spill.

So far so good!

The took the MacBook Pro apart and installed the screen onto the MacBook. Also, I took the backlight from the MacBook Pro as well as the little backlight keys and installed them as well! I had some 8GB 1333Mhz RAM lying around and the 128GB APPLE SSD that was inside the given MacBook Pro still worked, so I installed that as well!

Now, I have a late 2008 MacBook looking like a 2009+ MacBook Pro 13''. The only difference is on the bottom (user-removable battery).

Specs:

2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
8GB 1333Mhz RAM
128GB APPLE (Toshiba) SSD
Nvidia 9400M 256MB graphics.

Pretty nice for 275 euro's eh?! Just wanted to share!

This is awesome. Looks like it'd be worth it just for the higher resolution screen, how hard was it to connect the screen into the original MacBook? I definitely have thought about making this mod for the resolution upgrade alone (the upgraded resolution would be perfect).

 

[iDutchman]

This is awesome. Looks like it'd be worth it just for the higher resolution screen, how hard was it to connect the screen into the original MacBook? I definitely have thought about making this mod for the resolution upgrade alone (the upgraded resolution would be perfect).

There is no resolution upgrade. It's just the name that's changed. It's the identical screen

 

[Medic278]

I got to hand it to you this was a great idea. It looks great and all for 275 euros! Much cheaper than replacing the logic board. Kudos for the idea.

 

[east85]

There is no resolution upgrade. It's just the name that's changed. It's the identical screen

Ah bummer, on a positive note though you definitely got your moneys worth and a working MacBook!

 

[yanksrock100]

Woah, I litteraly always wanted to try this but didn't have the skill! Nice

 

[SuperDuperCruzr]

13 inch Macbook Unibody & 13 inch Macbook Pro Unibody

I'd like to upgrade my Macbook Pro Unibody to use the 2-piece bottom cover from a Macbook Unibody. It looks possible when I removed the 1-piece bottom cover of the Macbook Pro, but I don't have a Macbook Unibody to compare any longer. Can you confirm this modification? This would be a sweet modification for Macbook Pro users that want to easily swap a second battery when on travel.

 

[imageWIS]

How does Lion run on your computer?

 

[RedTomato]

How hard was the transplant job? I am looking to do something similar. I have built several PCs but I am wary of fiddling around inside laptops. Do you think this job is within my skills?

As an example, I've replaced the hard drive on two ibooks - a job which required total disassembly of the laptop (and killed one