Hi everyone, I just want some help looking to buy a late 2011 MacBook pro for 375.00. is that a good price. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 2.4Ghz 4Gb memory .
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Late 2011 MacBook pro
- Thread starter Batman7728
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What are the rest of the specs? For a base model, it might be OK price-wise, assuming everything is working properly. I seem to recall though that model year had an issue with the GPU failing early.
If it just has a hard drive, you'll have to swap in an SSD. Also, 4 GB is just OK for lighter usage. 8 GB preferred. That adds a fair bit to the price.
If it just has a hard drive, you'll have to swap in an SSD. Also, 4 GB is just OK for lighter usage. 8 GB preferred. That adds a fair bit to the price.
The 13" late-2011 MBP only has the Intel HD 3000 iGPU, so it doesn't suffer the widespread dGPU problems that the 15" and 17" models do.
However, you might want to see if you can spend a few extra $ to get the 13" mid-2012 non-Retina model. It has the HD 4000 GPU, which is (according to benchmarks) about 50%-75% faster than the HD 3000. I have the HD 4000 GPU on a couple of my computers and it's adequate for my purposes - general web browsing, no games, viewing 1080p videos at 25-30fps (of course the 13" has 1280x800 resolution, higher resolutions would be through an external monitor). The 2012 model also has USB 3 vs. USB 2 for 2011. You might also be able to find newer models as the 13" 2012 non-Retina MBP was produced until at least 2016 (from reports I've seen) and sellers may not be able to command that great a premium from newer computers.
MBP's after the mid-2012 non-Retina model start having more difficult/expensive battery, disk and screen replacement.
I don't follow the used market that closely but $375 doesn't seem unreasonable presuming it's in good working condition. Besides the memory upgrade, if the disk is old, that may need replacement.
However, you might want to see if you can spend a few extra $ to get the 13" mid-2012 non-Retina model. It has the HD 4000 GPU, which is (according to benchmarks) about 50%-75% faster than the HD 3000. I have the HD 4000 GPU on a couple of my computers and it's adequate for my purposes - general web browsing, no games, viewing 1080p videos at 25-30fps (of course the 13" has 1280x800 resolution, higher resolutions would be through an external monitor). The 2012 model also has USB 3 vs. USB 2 for 2011. You might also be able to find newer models as the 13" 2012 non-Retina MBP was produced until at least 2016 (from reports I've seen) and sellers may not be able to command that great a premium from newer computers.
MBP's after the mid-2012 non-Retina model start having more difficult/expensive battery, disk and screen replacement.
I don't follow the used market that closely but $375 doesn't seem unreasonable presuming it's in good working condition. Besides the memory upgrade, if the disk is old, that may need replacement.
Is it upgradeable? I have a 2009 MacBook just looking for something newer that still can do updates.
In the mid-2012 non-Retina model, you can change the memory (up to 16GB), the HDD, the optical disk and the battery (later models have the glued-in battery). With the optical disk port, you can usually get 6Gbps so you can put in a second SSD if you want (that's what I did). In the 2011 model, you can't count on getting 6Gbps on the optical port. Both 2011 and older 2012 models may have HDD cable issues but that's a inexpensive replacement.
A 1TB disk (SSD or HDD) that works in the 2009 MBP will work in the 2011 MBP. If it's a SSD that's SATA2, however, it's not taking full advantage of the SATA3 port that the 2011 (or 2012) MBP has.
Actually I was off my computer now is an early 2008. 2.4 processor. 5gb memory, storage 1TB
Why do you want to upgrade to a 2011 from a 2008? That's not really a great upgrade, esp. considering they're both 2.4 GHz.
Going to a 2012 would be my recommendation, like treekram suggests. The 2012's USB 3 support is a huge advantage.
Going to a 2012 would be my recommendation, like treekram suggests. The 2012's USB 3 support is a huge advantage.
I can't do anymore updates on my 2008, So I thought moving up to something newer would be better.
Yes you can do more updates. Or at least you can if your WiFi module is supported:
http://dosdude1.com/sierrapatch.html
And if your WiFi module is not supported, you can get a new WiFi module off eBay.
Check my sig. ALL of my Macs in my sig are actually running High Sierra.
http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/
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Forget that. I thought he had a different 2008.
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The early 2008 model has a different case than the late 2008-mid 2012 models. If you know the model of the HDD, make sure it's not 15mm in height. Some people say 12.5mm will fit in the HDD slot in the 2011/2012 models, others say you should stick to 9mm. If you open the Disk Utility app, the vendor and model number will usually appear. If not, the System Information or System Profiler app (depending on what OS you're running) should tell you. You can look up the specs on the web to find the height.
Oh wait, you actually have a 2008 white MacBook, right? In that case you can't install Sierra or High Sierra. The 2008 MacBook Pro and 2008 aluminum MacBook would be supported.
However, don't spend so much money on getting a USB 2 system. Spend just a little more to get a USB 3 system, the 2012.
However, don't spend so much money on getting a USB 2 system. Spend just a little more to get a USB 3 system, the 2012.
Check this thread out and check my specs in my signature:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-late-2011.2103239/
You can make it hum with $150 investment. 250GB SSD and 8GB memory. Happy to tell you more about my memory if you are interested. It ain't cheap. Battery replacements don't yield a bang for the buck. These machines are hogs.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-late-2011.2103239/
You can make it hum with $150 investment. 250GB SSD and 8GB memory. Happy to tell you more about my memory if you are interested. It ain't cheap. Battery replacements don't yield a bang for the buck. These machines are hogs.
I have a late 2011 13' MacBook Pro
2.3GHz, Intel Core i5
Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB
16GB RAM from Crucial
I just replaced the HD with a 500GB Samsun Evo SSD, and has been running under OS High Sierra without a hitch for several months already on the HD and now the SSD. With the Intel i5 and graphics it should work with Windows, but I haven't had the need to use it that way.
I have been using this laptop at work and home since 2011, and seldom turn it off. However, whenever I am using it, it's plugged to the electrical outlet 90% of the time, and it has never had the battery problems mentioned in this forum. The lowest I have used battery power alone is to 70%.
2.3GHz, Intel Core i5
Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB
16GB RAM from Crucial
I just replaced the HD with a 500GB Samsun Evo SSD, and has been running under OS High Sierra without a hitch for several months already on the HD and now the SSD. With the Intel i5 and graphics it should work with Windows, but I haven't had the need to use it that way.
I have been using this laptop at work and home since 2011, and seldom turn it off. However, whenever I am using it, it's plugged to the electrical outlet 90% of the time, and it has never had the battery problems mentioned in this forum. The lowest I have used battery power alone is to 70%.
Well if you have it plugged in 90% of the time, you aren't going to see it drain before your eyes, no?
Apple MacBook Pro 2012 / 13" / 2.9GHz i7 / 500GB HD / 8GB RAM / MD102ll/a Tell me what you guys think of this!!
[doublepost=1520036385][/doublepost]![]()
Apple MacBook Pro 2012 / 13" / 2.9GHz i7 / 500GB HD / 8GB RAM / MD102ll/a
[doublepost=1520036385][/doublepost]
Apple MacBook Pro 2012 / 13" / 2.9GHz i7 / 500GB HD / 8GB RAM / MD102ll/a
This is a better deal than the 2011 in the original post, IMO. The 2011 4GB RAM very likely is 2 modules so to go to 8GB, which is typically a good minimum amount, would be about $75 or more, which would only be $50 less than this model. $50 gets the faster GPU, USB 3. You just swap your HDD into this one and go. This presumes you are currently running an OS no earlier than Lion on your current computer and that your 1TB is not too tall (again 9mm works - no problem, 12.5mm is OK according to multiple posts). Also note that if you just swap your HDD in, any software which relies on the MAC (media access control) or serial number of your computer will need to be reconfigured/re-installed (software licensing keys, software which uses the MAC address to identify the computer).
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No. At the beginning the charger's LED at the plug will be orange color, indicating that the battery is charging, then after a while it will turn green when fully charged. Sometimes it takes from a few minutes to an hour or more depending on how discharged that battery had been. But my point is that I haven't had any reason to let the battery discharge very much.
Ok, I gues we are taking about different battery issues, mine being that battery life sucks on these model MBP’s.
OP wrote:
"Is it upgradeable? I have a 2009 MacBook just looking for something newer that still can do updates."
You don't want to "upgrade" from 2009 to 2011.
That's not "a big enough jump" to be worth it.
I would not recommend ANY MacBook unless it's a 2012 or later (with USB3).
The 2012 non-retina MacBook Pro's might be a good choice.
The RAM and drive in those ARE upgradeable.
They were popular enough to remain in production until about 2015, if I recall correctly.
"Is it upgradeable? I have a 2009 MacBook just looking for something newer that still can do updates."
You don't want to "upgrade" from 2009 to 2011.
That's not "a big enough jump" to be worth it.
I would not recommend ANY MacBook unless it's a 2012 or later (with USB3).
The 2012 non-retina MacBook Pro's might be a good choice.
The RAM and drive in those ARE upgradeable.
They were popular enough to remain in production until about 2015, if I recall correctly.
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LarryJoe33: I tried to access your link above to see your set-up but received an error. Not sure I have permission to view it, but I'm very interested in your set up. I have a Late 2011 MBP with 8GB of memory that's starting to run pretty slow with High Sierra. Looking for suggestions. I'm thinking of maxing out the RAM to 16 Gig and go with the SSD drive. Is there anything else you can suggest to help my aging favorite?
Hey there, happy to help. You are on the right track. This is what I did:
500GB Crucial MX300 SSD (Amazon)
16GB of Kingston HyperX Overclocking Memory at 2133ghz (Amazon)
New Battery - NuPower (from B&H)
Pretty much any reputable SSD will do for our machines because the SATA bus will only allow so much through put. The Samsung EVO line are the cream of the crop in terms of read/write speed, but the SATA will be a limiter. Nothing noticiable though. So, Crucial, Sandisk or other sold brands will do. Go for price.
Your machine is spec'd for a max 8GB of memory at 1333mhz. It will run 16GB at 1600mhz just fine. I went with Kingston Hyper X self overclocking memory which sets itself to 2133mhz. It's pricey though, but I have proven the speed and the benchmark improvements.
Battery - of you need one, don't cheap out. Get the NuPower from B&H.
Happy to answer any other questions. Bring them on. I’ll walk you through the how to as well. It’s easy with the right tools, software and hardware.
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Do you know of a less costly brand for Ram? I tried A-Tech on my 2011 and it did not work. Crucial is pretty pricey.