Refurbishing a used MacBook Pro (Intel)!?

[Fallinangel]

Hello,

In a few weeks, I'm going to get my brother's "old" 15" MacBook Pro and I want to refurbish it for my own use. He's getting a newer model.
He has used it primarily for school work and heavy gaming, usually "World of Warcraft", which has worn it down quite a bit: the battery is dead, the keyboard is worn down, some keys are broken, the hard-drive is slow, and the computer heats up pretty quickly (fan noise)!

Here are the current specs:
- Model #: A1211
- System: v. 10.5.7
- 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
- 120 GB Hard-drive

I'm going to install Snow Leopard, max out the RAM to 4 GB, replace the hard-drive with a bigger and faster specimen (7200 rpm vs. currently 5400 rpm), replace both fans, and install a new battery.

1) Do you think that it is profitable to refurbish the notebook?
It was a pretty expensive machine, and isn't ready be scrapped just yet.
I want to use it for pretty easy tasks, like word processing, movie watching (some HD material), some photoshopping, etc..

2) Do you know any good spare parts sellers, which ship to Europe?
I already know of "ifixit.com" and like their guides, but I want to check out some alternatives.

3) Is it worth replacing the old fans in order to cool the notebook down?

4) Should I consider a solid state drive over a regular one, or isn't the price worth the speed bump?

5) Do you have any tips, or are their important thinks to consider?

Thanks guys.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

1) Do you think that it is profitable to refurbish the notebook?

Not usually.

2) Do you know any good spare parts sellers, which ship to Europe?
I already know of "ifixit.com" and like their guides, but I want to check out some alternatives.

ifixit is probably your best bet.

3) Is it worth replacing the old fans in order to cool the notebook down?

No. Unless the fans are broken or look disgusting, there's no need to replace them. If they're $10 a piece or less, then replace them.

Use smcFanControl and bump the fan speed up to ~2500 RPM to keep it from getting too hot and noisy. 3000 RPM would be ever better.

4) Should I consider a solid state drive over a regular one, or isn't the price worth the speed bump?

Standard HDD is fine.

5) Do you have any tips, or are their important thinks to consider?

Replace the keyboard. If you can find one cheap enough, do the screen, too if it doesn't look too great. New battery as well.

Although once you do all this, you may be in the range of a refurb MacBook or MacBook Pro.

 

[neosferatu]

2.33 mbp only maxed out at 3GB cmiiw

 

[DivineEvil]

I'm going to install Snow Leopard, max out the RAM to 4 GB, replace the hard-drive with a bigger and faster specimen (7200 rpm vs. currently 5400 rpm), replace both fans, and install a new battery.

Get a 5400 rpm HDD 500GB, for like 80$. The extra $30 or $40 for $7200 drive is not worth it.

1) Do you think that it is profitable to refurbish the notebook?

Yes it is. Unless you need to replace expensive parts like the MB, Display etc.

2) Do you know any good spare parts sellers, which ship to Europe?

Sorry I don't know...

3) Is it worth replacing the old fans in order to cool the notebook down?

Depends on how much the new ones cost. If I were you I'll clean and than grease/oil the old ones and see if there is any difference. If there is none then I'll replace them.

4) Should I consider a solid state drive over a regular one, or isn't the price worth the speed bump?

Solid state for Word processing and little photoshop?!? Not worth it, until a 512GB SSD is 100$ .

5) Do you have any tips, or are their important thinks to consider?

 

[kolax]

1) Do you think that it is profitable to refurbish the notebook?

2) Do you know any good spare parts sellers, which ship to Europe?
I already know of "ifixit.com" and like their guides, but I want to check out some alternatives.

3) Is it worth replacing the old fans in order to cool the notebook down?

4) Should I consider a solid state drive over a regular one, or isn't the price worth the speed bump?

5) Do you have any tips, or are their important thinks to consider?

1. No - it'll just depreciate in value as we go on. Don't spend a huge amount refurbishing it - the hard drive is the only thing I'd upgrade. Leave the RAM.

2. http://www.applemacparts.co.uk/ is good.

3. One thing to do is hoover the dust that'll be clogging up the fans. The reason the fans are spinning so much is because the airflow is restricted by dust. Take the back off, and just put a hoover over the fans to clean them out. Then download Fan Control 1.2 and PM me if you want help getting good values for the fan speeds (try to avoid using SMCFanControl - I like Fan Control 1.2 better simply because it adjusts the fan speeds automatically).

4. If you did invest in a SSD, you could always put that into another laptop if you upgrade at some point in the future. But I personally would just buy a 500GB hard drive for that MacBook Pro.

5. As I said, clean out the fans. They'll certainly be clogged up with dust. Then use Fan Control 1.2 so you can adjust what speed the fans should be going at what temperature and let it do that automatically. Replace the hard drive (I wouldn't recommend splashing out on a SSD yet). Don't bother with upgrading the RAM.

Also, get a cleaning cloth and wipe down the keyboard and trackpad etc - any guy that uses a laptop will at some point have sinned