Second hand MacBook Pro 17-inch Late 2011

[MacBookPro17inch]

Hello guys,

I finally did it! I purchased the last and legendary Macbook Pro Late 2011 17" online for a rather low price.
It has been already upgraded with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.
According to the seller the GPU is working fine and the Device is supposed to arrive by tomorrow.
If it is working fine. I'd like to install macOS Catalina it should work just fine.
Did it for a friend last January who got the 15" version of the 2011 model.
It features almost the same hardware so everything should work fine I assume?
Is there a way how can I keep the GPU alive? Should I just deactivate it right away?
How can I test best if the GPU is working fine after the Notebook arrives?
Is there a way to utilize the TB1 port? Like an adapter from TB1 to USB-C? I couldn't really find such thing online.


Thanks

 

[MacBookPro17inch]

Update: According to Catalina Patcher the GPU isn't supported anyway...
In which way should I deactivate it?
Thanks!

 

[Audit13]

Force 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 with failed AMD GPU to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU (EFI variable fix)

If you don't have time to read my story (which also describes some interesting technical approaches) just scroll down this thread until a "100% WORKING SOLUTION" text Discrete AMD GPU of my 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 has finally failed because of the reasons mentioned here (...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[MacBookPro17inch]

I have received the Computer but I got scammed BIG TIME.
It's almost funny already how damaged the Computer actually is.
The Computer that was shown on the picture on eBay had an US Keyboard and the one I got has a German keyboard.
The Case is damaged, it is distorted and one screws on the bottom is broken.
Screen has some white bright spots on it.
Next to the hinge I can even see some corrosion! I don't wanna know what this Macbook looks like inside.
Superdrive makes very weird noises when I turn the Macbook on and of course the GPU is dead! Not shown in the System Report.
Luckily on eBay I always use Paypal to pay I will 100% get my money back but still it's such a waste of time and a disappointment.
The seller is registered since 2002 and has almost 1000 ratings. Pretty weird.

Thread can be closed... No Late 2011 17" for me, they are crazy expensive in my country. I'm not going to spend $700-800 on such an old Macbook.

Fun fact: The Magsafe Charger is original and in good condition also I actually received a Late 2011 17" not some other years model. lol