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Sell my Mid 2010 MacBook or upgrade?

robertsawicki

robertsawicki

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 2, 2015
50
5
Hickory Hills
Should I upgrade the hard drive to a 256GB Samsung SSD and install 8GB RAM or sell it and buy a 2011/2012 model 15' MBP? Specs are 2.66ghz i7 with turbo boost up to 3.3ghz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, mid 2010. I primarily use for web browsing and blackboard at school, but I would like to do 3D models/assemblies on AutoCAD, Inventor, and Solidworks on here. I also use Photoshop and plan on learning Xcode in the future. Can it handle all that or should I upgrade to the quad core i7?
 
robertsawicki said:
Should I upgrade the hard drive to a 256GB Samsung SSD and install 8GB RAM or sell it and buy a 2011/2012 model 15' MBP? Specs are 2.66ghz i7 with turbo boost up to 3.3ghz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, mid 2010. I primarily use for web browsing and blackboard at school, but I would like to do 3D models/assemblies on AutoCAD, Inventor, and Solidworks on here. I also use Photoshop and plan on learning Xcode in the future. Can it handle all that or should I upgrade to the quad core i7?
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Stay away from the 2011 models at all costs. They have Radeongate.

Your MBP is getting quite dated anyway, so I'd recommend a 15" rMBP refurb at this stage.
 
The only way I am getting a new MB like that is if I work at the Apple Store. I guess you get some sort of discount. I am on budget as a college student so I can spend a maximum of $800 if I sell my current one.
 
An SSD and bumping to 8gb will certainly give that MBP a bit more life. I'm not sure about 3D performance with the 330M for Autodesk and Solidworks though, it never really was a performer. As has already been said, you'll want to stay far away from the 2011 models. It seems to be not a question of if, but when their GPU will give out. The 2012 classic MBP models are pretty solid though, but I don't think you will find one for $800. Being the last generation of Classic 15" MacBook Pros and everyone with a 2011 model going after them as replacements has kept the resale value pretty high.
 
robertsawicki said:
The only way I am getting a new MB like that is if I work at the Apple Store. I guess you get some sort of discount. I am on budget as a college student so I can spend a maximum of $800 if I sell my current one.
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Unfortunately, $800 won't get you anywhere, not even refurbs.

3D performance on the GT 330M is going to be pathetic if you ask me, and besides, your model of the MBP with GT 330M is also prone to GPU failures. The GT 330M is notorious for failing in MBPs from 2010.

You'll have to look for something no earlier than a mid-2012 model.
 
I'd say go to 8gb (I don't think you can do 16) and raid SSDs, or buy a 15" retina.

If you think about it, it doesn't really make sense to go in the middle.

Main differences of the three options.

2.66 i7 - 2.66 i7 - 2.8 i7

SATA II - SATAIII - PCIE

1066MHZ - 1333MHZ - 1600MHZ

USB 2.0 no TB - USB 2.0 and TB - USB 3.0 and TB 2.0 (Thunderbolt)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M - CRAP - Iris Pro 5100 2gb (I'll be corrected if I'm wrong on this part)

And the smaller things like battery life, speaker set up and audio capabilities, non retina/retina, bluetooth and wi fi.

The cost to upgrade ratio on getting a 2012 isn't enough for my liking. I think you'll get more Mac for your buck if you upgrade all the way, or just SSDs and Ram.

Either way you won't notice much of a difference between upgrading yours and just buying a 2012. You'll notice it MORE in more intensive apps, but it may not be enough to justify the cost. I'd go with upgrading what you have NOW and then going with a whole new huge upgrade when you really start getting into that 3D modeling.

So in a nut shell, without using the Mac to the full potential, it's like going from a 3, to a 4 , to a 7. Using it to it's full potential is like going from a 3.5, to a 4, to a 7.
 
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robertsawicki said:
The only way I am getting a new MB like that is if I work at the Apple Store. I guess you get some sort of discount. I am on budget as a college student so I can spend a maximum of $800 if I sell my current one.
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It's perfectly understandable that you have a budget. Does your school have a computer lab? Some of that software isn't even available on OSX, meaning that you need a drive large enough to comfortably install bootcamp. I don't know what to say about 3D performance. If you did that kind of work for a living you certainly wouldn't be happy with the graphics options. Students aren't likely to work on anything too demanding, but I still think you would be better off using the computer lab for any demanding work. Like others have already said, avoid the 2011 models. Also keep in mind that batteries do wear out, and replacement service from Apple is in the $200 realm. Refurbished models have received battery replacements, but if you buy used, check the cycles and battery health via a utility. It's worth knowing if you're likely to incur that expense soon after purchase.
 
I'd avoid the 15" 2011 rMBP, it has a known problem where the dGPU fails. Avoid that like the plague.

If you're going to get into Solidworks Autocad, etc, I suspect you'll need a more powerful machine and so I'd look to sell it and upgrade to a newer model (just not the 2011). If budget is an issue, then upgrading your machine so it will last a few mores works as well but i'd look to see if you can get a 2012 or newer.
 
I just upgraded my 2010 macbook pro to 8 gig ram plus samsung 840 evo 256gig SSD..... MIND BLOWN. :eek: It's like a whole new computer. Battery performance and heat are also improved. No more beachballs.

By spending $200 I have extended the life of my macbook for about a year, at which point I'll buy the latest generation. IMO, it makes more sense to do the cheap upgrade and then invest in the new generation chips when they hit in 6-8 months.

FYI, I'm still running Mavericks, as I've read the latest Yosemite has some wonky performance issues with older macbooks. Mavericks runs like a champ, almost as good as mountain lion.
 
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I just went through and upgraded my mid2010 13" macbook pro to a 256 GB Crucial MX100 SSD as a boot drive and moved by 1.5 TB hdd to where the optical drive is to increase speed. Major improvement on that alone.

However, after that I decided to increase the ram from 4GB to 8GB as I was almost always maxed out using Mavericks and playing a game on it. Didn't see a major change on that but now I am usually only using 6.5GB RAM and I still have memory free.

I plan on keeping mine for another 3-4 years unless I have issues with it. Runs great now and still have no plans to upgrade to Yosemite based off what I read on issues. This will definitely pay for itself rather than buying a new computer.
 
$800 isn't enough for a new one that will be significantly better, and I have no idea how much yours would sell for. If you can sell it for enough that you can afford a refurb rmbp, then that's the way to go. 330M isn't much slower than an Iris GPU, but it is a lot slower than an Iris Pro GPU and a 650M/750M. So, I'd go for a 15". Alternatively, an SSD and more ram isn't a bad idea. I have the same computer with those upgrades, and it handles my needs fine. My usage is more MS Office and lots of PDFs open at once though, so my needs are very different.
 
Can you save a bit?

Your computer is already 5 years old...tossing a few hundred at it just seems like a waste.

I'd rather keep it for now and make do, while saving for something better.
 
I run CAD and Inventor daily on the school computers and they run fine, but I just thought it would of been nice to have my own machine that can run these big boy apps. And I know I cannot get a new 2012 MBP for the price, but I think I can score a deal on Craigslist. I have seen some in excellent condition going around the $800 price range.

It's just a hard decision plus the fact that no one will want to buy an old computer. I actually bought this one on accident. The seller tricked me into thinking it was a 2012 and a quad core. Paid $750 for this thing.
 
I'm currently on a 2010 MBP 15 with Samsung 256 SSD and 8gb of ram...and I don't like it at all. My school has a 13" 2012 that is admittedly maxed out but with a HDD, and I prefer it over mine any day of the week. When I got mine, I thought I was trading up from my 13" MacBook alu, but I don't think I got that much in return. This 15" is a bit of a dog.
 
Mine actually runs quite fast. Used a little bit of PS and CAD on here and its nice and responsive with Yosemite. I get random crashes because of the GPU, but other than that, it runs fine. The previous owner kept good care of it. At least it looks brand new..
 
robertsawicki said:
I run CAD and Inventor daily on the school computers and they run fine, but I just thought it would of been nice to have my own machine that can run these big boy apps. And I know I cannot get a new 2012 MBP for the price, but I think I can score a deal on Craigslist. I have seen some in excellent condition going around the $800 price range.

It's just a hard decision plus the fact that no one will want to buy an old computer. I actually bought this one on accident. The seller tricked me into thinking it was a 2012 and a quad core. Paid $750 for this thing.
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While that seller is a worthless human being, I would suggest avoiding the used market if you were already duped once (and yeah I know the post is a month old). Craigslist is full of dishonest people.
 
Tell me about it. But I got some good news. Apple is replacing my logic board for a new one at no cost after I spoke with a supervisor. So next is the SSD. It's gonna be literally a new machine!
 
That's great. They had a repair program on the 2010s for a while. Given the sheer number of generations with gpu problems, I'm opting to avoid buying another Apple notebook with discrete graphics.
 
Congrats! I think you'll be fine with a SSD and ram upgrade for the time being. They do a lot to these older macs.
 
I have a mid-2010 MBP with the following:

Core i7 (2.66GHz)
8GB memory (max)
850 Pro SSD (1TB)

I just upgraded to an SSD yesterday. I figure this setup will get me another year or two. The only thing I wish for is more memory, as I do some visualization and could really use the extra memory.

It's a pretty solid machine for being nearly 5 years old.
 
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