MacBook Mid-2010 in 2018?

[Pozeidon]

Hi guys! So right now I don’t have any laptops and I want to buy one, I’m thinking on getting a MacBook because I’ve never had one before and I only have money to buy a MP mid-2010 as a daily driver.


I don’t do big stuffs on laptops, very much the things I do when I’m using a laptop is web-browsing, listening music in iTunes, watching videos in YouTube (720P is fine to me), Twitter, FB and reddit. You guys think I’ll be fine with a MP mid-2010? Thanks in advance you guys!

 

[EugW]

The 2010 MacBook will work (with High Sierra) for a few years but it sometimes will be a bit sluggish. You also want SSD plus 8 GB RAM ideally although 4 GB could work if you are on a very tight budget.

 

[Idefix]

I put Sierra on a Macbook 2010 recently for a friend and installed 8 GB RAM for $60 from amazon. Even with a spinning HD, it was surprisingly useful. You can find them for low prices but upgrading the RAM and installing cheap SSD are essential.

 

[Pozeidon]

I put Sierra on a Macbook 2010 recently for a friend and installed 8 GB RAM for $60 from amazon. Even with a spinning HD, it was surprisingly useful. You can find them for low prices but upgrading the RAM and installing cheap SSD are essential.

Cool! I'm aiming for this deal on eBay, a Macbook mid-2010 with a 4GB ram and an SSD for $188
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The 2010 MacBook will work (with High Sierra) for a few years but it sometimes will be a bit sluggish. You also want SSD plus 8 GB RAM ideally although 4 GB could work if you are on a very tight budget.

Yeah, I've been reading some things about using this MacBook in 2018 but now I don't know, there's an eBay offer of a mb mid-2010 with 4gb ram and an SSD for $188 but I don't know if I should buy it after all I've read.

 

[EugW]

Well, it will work. If you just want to get your feet wet in macOS, it will be OK. For $188 it isn’t a big risk either, assuming it’s in good condition. Just don’t expect miracles from a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4 GB RAM.

BTW, 720p h.264 YouTube video will work fine. iTunes and most light browsing will be OK but you may notice that some multimedia rich web sites can lag. In addition, it’s important to run an ad blocker on these old machines because ad-heavy web pages can bring these machines to their knees.

For the record, I have a 2.26 GHz 2009 MacBook Pro with SSD and 8 GB RAM, and a late 2008 2.0 GHz MacBook with SSD and 8 GB RAM. I notice the 2.26 to be a bit smoother than the 2.0 but both do show their age.

 

[MultiFinder17]

I use a 2010 MacBook (2.4GHz C2D, 12GB RAM, 160GB SSD) in my classroom daily, and it works wonderfully for basic productivity and web work. I teach middle school Robotics and Programming, and it does everything that I need it to. Mostly Office, grading, text editing, and occasional 3D modeling.

 

[EugW]

Perceived performance will also depend on what you’re used to. If you’re used to older machines the performance may seem just fine.

In my case my primary desktop is a 2017 iMac and my primary laptop is a 2017 Core m3 MacBook so I do notice the difference in performance of the older dual core Core 2 Duo machines. That said I still use my 2.0 GHz C2D kitchen MacBook every day.

 

[Pozeidon]

Well, it will work. If you just want to get your feet wet in macOS, it will be OK. For $188 it isn’t a big risk either, assuming it’s in good condition. Just don’t expect miracles from a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4 GB RAM.

BTW, 720p h.264 YouTube video will work fine. iTunes and most light browsing will be OK but you may notice that some multimedia rich web sites can lag. In addition, it’s important to run an ad blocker on these old machines because ad-heavy web pages can bring these machines to their knees.

For the record, I have a 2.26 GHz 2009 MacBook Pro with SSD and 8 GB RAM, and a late 2008 2.0 GHz MacBook with SSD and 8 GB RAM. I notice the 2.26 to be a bit smoother than the 2.0 but both do show their age.

Welp. I guess I'm going to go with the MacBook, seriously. I was doing some research about some laptop on $200 or under and welp. The MacBook Mid-2010 looks like the better one.

I use a 2010 MacBook (2.4GHz C2D, 12GB RAM, 160GB SSD) in my classroom daily, and it works wonderfully for basic productivity and web work. I teach middle school Robotics and Programming, and it does everything that I need it to. Mostly Office, grading, text editing, and occasional 3D modeling.

Oh wow! Looks like it goes pretty fine with an SSD and at least more than 4GB of Ram!
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Perceived performance will also depend on what you’re used to. If you’re used to older machines the performance may seem just fine.

In my case my primary desktop is a 2017 iMac and my primary laptop is a 2017 Core m3 MacBook so I do notice the difference in performance of the older dual core Core 2 Duo machines. That said I still use my 2.0 GHz C2D kitchen MacBook every day.

Right now I'm actually using my sister's laptop, she brought it so I can use it until I get a new one, hers is a Gateway NV59 and it's from 2010 too and it has 4GB of Ram, it's pretty fine for what I do actually so I'm guessing the MacBook is probably going to be like this one or faster since it'll have a 4GB of Ram and an SSD.

 

[BrianJ844]

I am still using a 2008 Aluminum Core2Duo 2.0GHz as my daily laptop as well. It even runs Adobe Photoshop (CS5.1 mind you) regularly. It has 4GB RAM and a SSD in it. The SSD was a big performance increase. The laptop is not nearly as fast as the HP i7 I use at work but it gets the job done. Assuming the 2010 is in good working order and has a SSD, it will do you fine if you are used a older computer performance.

I am finally starting to think of getting a new macbook because of battery swelling issues on the 2008 but who knows, I might try a few third party batteries first.

 

[EugW]

I am still using a 2008 Aluminum Core2Duo 2.0GHz as my daily laptop as well. It even runs Adobe Photoshop (CS5.1 mind you) regularly. It has 4GB RAM and a SSD in it. The SSD was a big performance increase. The laptop is not nearly as fast as the HP i7 I use at work but it gets the job done. Assuming the 2010 is in good working order and has a SSD, it will do you fine if you are used a older computer performance.

I am finally starting to think of getting a new macbook because of battery swelling issues on the 2008 but who knows, I might try a few third party batteries first.

Buy the battery from a place with a good return policy, like Amazon.

 

[Hls811]

So, I actually have the same MacBook that I just dusted off and fired up, its a Mid-2010 C2D 2.4 with 2GB Ram and 250GB hard drive. I can pick up a 250GB SSD from Amazon for about $50, and 8GB RAM for another $50, or go up to 16Gb for about $90. Is it worth it to go up to 16GB? Would it really make a difference?

My 11 year old daughter is going to use it, so it'll mainly be for her homework (safari, word, powerpoint) and probably YouTube.

 

[EugW]

So, I actually have the same MacBook that I just dusted off and fired up, its a Mid-2010 C2D 2.4 with 2GB Ram and 250GB hard drive. I can pick up a 250GB SSD from Amazon for about $50, and 8GB RAM for another $50, or go up to 16Gb for about $90. Is it worth it to go up to 16GB? Would it really make a difference?

My 11 year old daughter is going to use it, so it'll mainly be for her homework (safari, word, powerpoint) and probably YouTube.

For that machine, for an eleven year old, stick with 8 GB. Install High Sierra on it.

 

[technano]

you would be fine, I myself, a macbook fan also got hold of one. upgraded to 8GB ram and a cheap SSD. Excellent download machine!

 

[brdeveloper]

I have a MacMini 2010 which has the same specs as the Unibody, mid-2010 Macbook. I see it struggling a little when running High Sierra on dual 1080p monitors. However, if I use Safari it behaves way better than with Chrome. Opera is even lighter since it's more aggressive when blocking ads and cryptocurrency mining. At 1280x800, the default resolution of this Macbook, it will behave way better. Just avoid Google Chrome and Microsoft Office online. Google docs on Opera saves a lot of battery, reaching a full 3,5h class.