Is it possible? Late 2012 hardware install into a 2008 Unibody?

[ferdinando33]

Hi there,

I've tinkered with my own macbook pro (installed an ssd as well as replacing the optical drive with another drive, changed the sata cable when it failed - you could really see the shoddy quality compared to the replacement!) but I was wondering about a much larger project/idea....

I know that most unibody cases do differ from model to model but how possible would it be to take an old unibody case and install the hardware of a newer model into it from the logic board up?

It's just a thought as I think it could be quite an interesting (but probably quite costly!) project.

Thanks! 😀

 

[IlikeMacsSoMuch]

That would be very costly!😱 Maybe on ifixit if you compare the available repair guide of both 2008 and 2012 unibody MBP you would get the answer and maybe even an idea of how much it would cost if it's possible

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

While in theory this could work, there could also be chassis differences between the 2008 and 2012 unibody laptop cases. Also why would you want to do this?

 

[ferdinando33]

It was mainly just a flippant thought....

The chassis differences are minimal but what makes this really impractical is the fact that a refurbished logic board for a 2012 15" Macbook pro is looking at costing £500-£600! All in the total cost would probably be about the same as buying one new!

Think I'm just going to stick to my current macbook7.1 as it has, and continues to, serve me well.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[7itanium]

Biggest issue I can think of is that the fan area might be a bit too think and the display may not connect right

 

[Essenar]

There's no viability in this unless you either know or are a salvager for PC hardware. A LOT of MacBooks and laptops in general are scrapped from broken screens, disconnected/broken soldered DC sockets, failed batteries or other hardware aside from the mother/logic board. When this happens, you essentially have a fully working board inside of a neglected chassis that can be retrofitted into a compatible chassis with only a busted board (common with water damage) but otherwise good looking, better conditioned working chassis components.

I've seen people swap an i7 2012 logic board into a 2011 or 2010 13" MacBook Pro without any issues. They essentially got a GPU and CPU upgrade. Things to note are that: The serial number of the MacBook itself changes when you do this, so either file off or swap the bottom case lid as well when you do it or just remember the serial changed and also, take your time to clean the board when you do this.

It does work and it's entirely possible but the main reason it's not done is because usually the logic board is an expensive piece. But like I said, if you know or ARE a salvager, you can find them relatively cheaply. Also check out Craig's List for MacBook Pro's with broken screens. People will usually see that the Apple Store price for a screen repair is around $400-500, combined with fully working MacBook Pro's selling for $700 and deduce that their laptop is worth $200-300 at most.

A friend of mine picked up a 2012 MBP i7 with a broken screen for $275, swapped his working LCD from his 2011 MBP i5 to it and basically had a fully working, less than 50 battery cycle count 2012 MBP i7 for around $375 out the door.

 

[7itanium]

There's no viability in this unless you either know or are a salvager for PC hardware. A LOT of MacBooks and laptops in general are scrapped from broken screens, disconnected/broken soldered DC sockets, failed batteries or other hardware aside from the mother/logic board. When this happens, you essentially have a fully working board inside of a neglected chassis that can be retrofitted into a compatible chassis with only a busted board (common with water damage) but otherwise good looking, better conditioned working chassis components.

I've seen people swap an i7 2012 logic board into a 2011 or 2010 13" MacBook Pro without any issues. They essentially got a GPU and CPU upgrade. Things to note are that: The serial number of the MacBook itself changes when you do this, so either file off or swap the bottom case lid as well when you do it or just remember the serial changed and also, take your time to clean the board when you do this.

It does work and it's entirely possible but the main reason it's not done is because usually the logic board is an expensive piece. But like I said, if you know or ARE a salvager, you can find them relatively cheaply. Also check out Craig's List for MacBook Pro's with broken screens. People will usually see that the Apple Store price for a screen repair is around $400-500, combined with fully working MacBook Pro's selling for $700 and deduce that their laptop is worth $200-300 at most.

A friend of mine picked up a 2012 MBP i7 with a broken screen for $275, swapped his working LCD from his 2011 MBP i5 to it and basically had a fully working, less than 50 battery cycle count 2012 MBP i7 for around $375 out the door.

Im sorry but I have to believe this post is basically made on hunch..... the problem that you have here is that there were very few different model macbooks that had the same port set. So even though the board from an 06 macbook will fit into an 08 macbook.... the ports dont line up. That is an issue