Hi, posting this on behalf of my father in-law. He has a 2007 MacBook Pro and mainly uses it for work ... emails, internet and lots of Microsoft Excel work. He's having problems editing clients' Excel spreadsheets as the software's too old. Can anyone suggest whether he should get a newer MacBook, or whether the newest version of Excel will be a worthwhile investment (£120 short term vs £900 long term for a new computer)? I know Mac likes to make it very difficult for people with older computers to work with any software going. Any advice welcome, many thanks.
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.
MacBook Pro 2007 do i need a new one? Want newer version of Microsoft Excel
- Thread starter froggy1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Based on some simple search, and based on current Mac lineup update status, I would suggest you to buy Microsoft office for Mac 2011 first, if Microsoft supports it under 10.7 leopard. Wait until Apple updates Mac lineup then buy the newer machine, or older one in a discount price.
Office 2011 has 10.5.8 (10.7 is Lion BTW) as a minimum requirement so the OP can at least upgrade to that.
What OS version is he running?
What version of Excel?
Likely needs newer version of Excel. If he get a new computer, he still will need to get a newer version of Excel.
What version of Excel?
Likely needs newer version of Excel. If he get a new computer, he still will need to get a newer version of Excel.
Pick him up a used mac. Any Core i5 model from 2011 will be light years quicker than his 2007. You can find 2011 13" Macbook Air and Macbook Pro's for $300-$400 on the forums here, eBay, or Craigslist. The excel 2011 software should be available for quite cheap on eBay as it is not the newest version.
Macs don't come with Windows software so he'll need to buy new software whatever he does.
At 9years old he may want to get a new computer anyway.
But any excell version he wants to buy should run well on that computer so yes just a software update.
Like others have suggested a newer Mac would do the job and anything from 2011 onwards would do. But I would also take advantage of the newer platform and install Office 365. Not sure where you are but in the UK it is £60 a year for a single user or £80 for a family license that covers 5 machines. Split the cost between you and get the latest version, and you both get 1TB of OneDrive. this way you will always have the latest version and always be able to open files from clients.