MacBook Pro 2010 (Worth upgrading)

[Uberend23]

Hey guys,

Bought the Macbook Pro (2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor) about five years ago and now I'm wondering whether it's worth my money upgrading it, or just getting a new one?

The computer has almost everything wrong with it: It's slow to start up, the speed is poor in general, the charger is broken, the screen is as well, the track pad is jammed in to the unit and a new battery needs to be installed.

I want to know whether it's worth putting a bit of love in to it (either for my own use, or to sell on)? I'm going to be using it for word processing and making music...I want to save cash, but don't mind putting money in to a worthwhile investment at the same time.

I need to the computer to potentially pursue a life of academia, so reliability is king.

On a side note, I am keen to get a new Macbook Pro but am put off by the soldered hardware. Is there an earlier model of the retina display Macbook Pro (eg. 2013 / 2014) that has changeable parts?


Cheers,

S

 

[ApolloBoy]

On a side note, I am keen to get a new Macbook Pro but am put off by the soldered hardware. Is there an earlier model of the retina display Macbook Pro (eg. 2013 / 2014) that has changeable parts?

None of them do, the SSD is changeable but there isn't much in terms of upgrades, and of course the RAM is soldered onto the logic board. The battery is also glued to the top case so you'd have to send it in to get it replaced.

Anyway, from what it sounds like you'd probably be better off getting a newer computer. I'd sell your current one as a fixer-upper or for parts, and then use the money towards a nice used mid-2012 cMBP. It's not as powerful as the rMBP, but you still get upgradeable RAM and you've got Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 as well.

 

[ToyTrains]

just did mine

I just put a clean install of Yosemite on my mid-2010 MacBook Pro. Mine however is the i7. Seems to run nice so far. No problems working with my RAW pictures through Capture One. Hoping to get a few more years out of this.