Oldest Macbook Pro's still in use?

[themumu]

My early 2008 15" MBP is still kicking, though had quite a few parts changed through the years. Aside from a couple of warranty repairs, it was dropped and get its screen messed up twice. First it was during the warranty period, and although I had to pay for repairs out of pocket, they made sure to note down that my warranty would still be valid for future problems. Then a few months ago I dropped it on the corner again, this time bought the same laptop with a busted logic board from Craigslist and did the brain transplant on it, because both my screen and lower aluminum case were messed up. Now I'm just waiting for my SSD to arrive so I can breathe more life into it.

 

[lummers13]

Mid-January 2006, just weeks after it released in this body style.

15" Macbook Pro rocking a whopping 2GHz Intel Core Duo with 'upgraded' 2GB RAM. Running 10.5.8 Leopard. Got it as a high school grad gift for college. Parents were skeptical about Macs, now 3 out of the 4 of us have them lol. Been reliable as ever, up until 2 weeks ago when my left 'shift' key popped off. Only had to replace a power adapter because my magsafe started fraying.

Ever since I got my Canon 5Dm2, this STRUGGLES to work with the 20-25MB pics in Lightroom 2.

Moving up to the rMBP soon, can't wait.

 

[PM Harold Saxon]

I still use an Early 2008 15" MBP with 2.4 GHz C2D and 4GB of RAM.

Still works like a treat despite having to change the battery and replacing the Logic Board due to nVidia GPU issue.

I'll be buying the 2.6GHz rMBP soon because I feel like an upgrade and because my wife is eye-balling my Early 2008 MBP as a replacement for her Mid 2009 MacBook which is dying off slowly...

However, still not bad for a four and a half year old computer (in fact, it still works like a beast).

 

[heyimandy]

I actually just stopped using my Macbook Pro (Late 2007) two weeks ago as I'm now using the new Macbook Pro Retina. I even edited my most recent HD music video which aired for broadcast on that 2007 Macbook Pro. It now sits in its bag... I'm pretty sure this thing is only worth $200 max.

 

[mcb001982]

I bought my MBP back in Sept 2007 and at the time maxed it out. I added the higher res screen, 7200rpm drive, 2.4 c2d, and what ever other options were at the time. Over the years I have also upped the ram to 4gb but other than that it has run pretty well except for the logic board going out once and I have gone through 4 batteries over the years. I'm at a cross road now where I'm not 100% sure I want to go retina but I'm also worried that it is only a matter of time before something goes on my current MBP so I feel like I have to do something soon...

One thing I will say though is that I'm not on this computer every single day so I'm sure that has helped prolong its life too + I have a late 2010 2.66ghz Mac Mini but rarely use that these days...

 

[PM Harold Saxon]

I actually just stopped using my Macbook Pro (Late 2007) two weeks ago as I'm now using the new Macbook Pro Retina. I even edited my most recent HD music video which aired for broadcast on that 2007 Macbook Pro. It now sits in its bag... I'm pretty sure this thing is only worth $200 max.

Look your 2007 MBP up on http://www.everymac.com to find out. My one still worth ~$2000.00 despite being an Early 2008 15" MBP.

 

[heyimandy]

Look your 2007 MBP up on http://www.everymac.com to find out. My one still worth ~$2000.00 despite being an Early 2008 15" MBP.

Thanks for the resource, I'll check it out.

 

[darwinian]

2000 PowerBook Pismo (FireWire) G3. Battery is a little more than dead, buuuut, it's still humming along on Tiger (one of the best OS X releases). It can't handle Twitter, but it can handle MacRumors duty.

 

[Braniff747SP]

Not a pro, but my barebones early '08 BlackBook was my primary machine until a few weeks ago. Great machine, ran well, but I've upgraded to a 13" MBP and could not be happier.

 

[kap91]

Currently using the first Macbook Pro. Early 2006, 2GB RAM, 2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo, and a 100GB hard drive....and I'm editing a feature film on it. Still works magnificently...although I can't say the same for my early 2006 iMac -that thing has issues.

 

[Dysfnctnl85]

'06 C2D here. Upgraded to 3GB of RAM, a 500GB internal, and just recently an Intel X-25 SSD. It still feels new with the SSD and I'm really going to miss this keyboard when I upgrade. I still play SC2 on it with my fiancee (she has an '08 17")

Contemplating the rMBP 256/16GB...

 

[Raptura]

Using my early 2008 Penryn 15" MBP. I'm using it now for the first time since January as I'm gearing up to get a Retina MacBook Pro. My MBP's battery is really bad and needs to be replaced, but that's too late into it's life now. It also gets so hot its impossible to place on your lap.

It's had a lot of problems over the years. Thanfully Apple Care took care of all of the problems. The logic board, the screen including the top shell, two fans, two super drives have all been replaced, one battery, four god damn MagSafes have had to been purchased.

Can't wait to get the rMBP, I've been waiting too long for an upgrade!

 

[xcommander]

5 Years and counting...

Bought my 2.4 C2D 15" Santa Rosa MPB in June 2007, so just hit 5 years. The only "upgrades" that I had were the 160 GB of space @ 7200 rpm and 4GB of RAM.

This still is my only computer, has taken me through the later half of my engineering degree (a MatLab star!), and left continuously on as a server/main computer for the last 3 years (AirVideo over 3G & wifi, PS3 Media Server). I'm really impressed by how Apple has continued to give me improvements over the years (initial wifi file transfers with Tiger maxed out at 6MB/s, but now it's up to 11MB/s, just installed the new ML GM and Safari 6 is sooo smooth!, etc...).

Repairs (all covered under AppleCare):
1) Cracked screen bezel due to open-close fatigue (screen/bezel replaced)
2) Failed GPU/Motherboard due to the "Nvidia incident" (they threw in a New battery as well)
3) MagSafe connector frayed (got the new "smaller" power adapter)

The battery only holds a charge for an hour now, but so far it has been worth the premium $3300 price I paid in 2007. Will run this setup until it dies, and since the way I use technology has changed (iPad for most surfing/reading/watching), I'll probably go for a MacMini next.

A pretty happy customer overall!

 

[DoNoHarm]

Look your 2007 MBP up on http://www.everymac.com to find out. My one still worth ~$2000.00 despite being an Early 2008 15" MBP.

Whoa. Awesome resource. Crazy that this thing is still $1500!

 

[MacRazySwe]

I still use my 5 year old Glossy MBP Santa Rosa. 2.2GHz, 120GB HDD, 2GB Ram. This was the first computer I bought with my own money. I still love it. Runs Lion. However, it does start to feel quite slow. Does not always boot up on the first attempt.

Replaced it with a new MacBook Air this spring. Amazing how far technology has come in 5 years. I paid nearly half the price for this MBA, compared to the old MBP. Still, it's half as thick, lightyears faster, features an SSD, et.c.
I'm hoping to keep this computer for at least two years, until hopefully the retina display finds its way into the Air.

Edit: Oops, forgot this was the MBP forums. I might be in the wrong territory here nowadays!

 

[fongyuen]

my late 2008 penryn 17" mbp is still going strong. Battery was replaced last year by apple cause it started bulging, other than that, no other repairs. Upgraded ram to 6gb a while ago and M4 256 ssd this year and feels like new life was breathed into it. Running lion. Probably gonna hold out for Haswell or Broadwell.

 

[proximo]

Late 2007 17" MBP still running great. It was my main computer until June 12th when I bought a 2011 17" MBP refurb. The 2007 was still capable for my main daily task (programming) but I needed more memory for VMs and the 2011 allowed me to upgrade to 16GB.

 

[Adorada]

My 2007 2.4Ghz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro is still going pretty strong with all things considered. I did upgrade the drive to 500GB (at the time, SSDs were fairly expensive) and upgraded to 4GB RAM. The screen is still in perfect condition (17" Hi-Res 1920x1200).

Had to fix a few issues but I still use it for a secondary laptop. Only issue is that it needs a new battery due to the current one is bloated/exploded. I would buy a new one if I was going to use it fairly often but I just bought a new retina MacBook Pro and use that instead.

 

[/dev/toaster]

My wife is still using an early 2006 Macbook Pro, but honestly it is on its last leg. Those initial units had a lot of problems with heat and the fans need to be replaced for the 3rd time.

We are in the process of transferring her crap off it on to my old 2008 (I think its the early model). I upgraded to the Retina now.

They tend to last a while depending on how much you use it. Treat them well and they will be around a while.

 

[Milfin]

Early 2008 Macbook Pro. It was my primary computer that I would use for business. I was also using parallels. Today I made the big jump with the 2.7 16 gb 512 gb rmbp.

 

[proximo]

Only issue is that it needs a new battery due to the current one is bloated/exploded. I would buy a new one if I was going to use it fairly often but I just bought a new retina MacBook Pro and use that instead.

If you have an Apple Store near you, take the MBP w/battery in to them. They replaced my swollen battery on the spot even though my MBP was a year out of warranty.

 

[intothepolis]

15" Ti Book was the best notebook Apple ever made. Yes, they still work. 15" screen with a 13" MBP foot print due to screen coming ALL THE WAY TO THE BORDER OF THE BEZEL. ARE YOU LISTENING APPLE?!

 

[pHeNom]

early 2008 MBP.

All OEM parts no upgrades no new battery.

Last about 1.5 hrs on battery.

Since I got a the new RMBP I just mostly use that MBP for music and movie DL and transfering pics to my hard drive.

 

[kiantech]

Have/Had a 2007 MBP that I just retired for my new MBPr

 

[darwinian]

15" Ti Book was the best notebook Apple ever made. Yes, they still work. 15" screen with a 13" MBP foot print due to screen coming ALL THE WAY TO THE BORDER OF THE BEZEL. ARE YOU LISTENING APPLE?!

It was a very nice notebook, definitely. And you're spot on about the bezel. Strangely enough, that tiny bezel was the thing that most made my Pismo "feel" obsolete. (Typing this on the Pismo.)

But in my opinion, the Titanium PowerBook was not the best. In many respects, it was fragile. Flexed under its own weight when handling. Chipping paint. Also, despite the "magnets holding the keyboard" stuff, it was largely noted for its sponginess. I believe there were reports of hinge failures, but if I recall people complained about that with the G3 PowerBooks, too.