I just bought the Mid 2009 MacBook Pro. It has a Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB HDD, and macOS El Capitan. How should I pimp it up? Btw this is my first MacBook.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Just Bought MacBook Pro 13” Mid 2009. How should I pimp it up?
- Thread starter Rexi11
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How much did you end up paying for it the core 2 duo is definitely gonna be your down fall even if you do upgrade the ram and SSD as the core 2 duos from that year are basically like having an intel celeron. My suggestion would be not to waste your money upgrading it an instead re-sell it and take the money you were going to put into it and get your self a 2011 or newer the core i5 will serve you a lot better even if it is a sandy bridge.
Hard to recommend upgrades to a MacBook Pro that is that outdated. It can only run up to El Capitan (10.11.6), which apparently, isn't receiving updates anymore. That's 3 OS's out of date.
If it was relevant, I would suggest an SSD upgrade, and max out the RAM. But with such an outdated machine, it's hard to justify spending money on such a device. Honestly, you're better off selling it and putting the cash into a newer laptop. Even with my late 2011 13" MBP I'm at a crossroads... sell it now while it's still semi-supported (it can run up to High Sierra), or keep it for another year or two until Apple leaves it out in the cold.
I just sold my 17" after making that hard decision. It was a work horse for years