Hello All. So I ordered the MacBook Pro Mid 2012 with 500GB and optical drive last week. I know its antiquated but I use my computer only for web browsing, word processing, business bookkeeping and family photo printing/basic editing. I also will use it primarily at a desk but sometimes may need to take it with me and like the idea of having a built-in optical drive. I am thinking I should upgrade the Hard Drive to an SSD out of the box along with some extra memory. My question is would that void the warranty/AppleCare? Also what are some option for an SSD? Thanks in advance.
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Upgrading MacBook Pro Mid 2012(Non-Retina)
- Thread starter phillymacuser
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No, you will not void the warranty/Apple Care. These are considered to be user configurable parts in that system.
I would suggest that you look at the Samsung EVO line of SSD’s, their performance and reputation are very solid.
Once you put a SSD in that system and “max” out the RAM you will not consider it antiquated. Check my sig……my 2011 MBP is still a great system and performs very well and I see no need to upgrade it any time soon.
I would suggest that you look at the Samsung EVO line of SSD’s, their performance and reputation are very solid.
Once you put a SSD in that system and “max” out the RAM you will not consider it antiquated. Check my sig……my 2011 MBP is still a great system and performs very well and I see no need to upgrade it any time soon.
I hope that you didn't pay anywhere near full price for the laptop.
Upgrade to 8 GB of 16 GB DDR3 1600 and an SSD.
I have always been a fan of Crucial SSDs (avoid the BX200).
Upgrade to 8 GB of 16 GB DDR3 1600 and an SSD.
I have always been a fan of Crucial SSDs (avoid the BX200).
Yeah if you ordered a new one I hope it was on a deal, they really aren't worth apples retail price at all.
I like the crucial ssd's as well as tube says avoid the bx200 it's a dog, especially as the bx100 was such a good bit of kit. Other than that Samsung Evo series are good ssd's at a decent price, and sandisk make some good ones too.
I like the crucial ssd's as well as tube says avoid the bx200 it's a dog, especially as the bx100 was such a good bit of kit. Other than that Samsung Evo series are good ssd's at a decent price, and sandisk make some good ones too.
[doublepost=1473845934][/doublepost]I paid $999 education pricing, with the free headphones(I do not need them, maybe I can sell them to recoup some money).
Ouch. Can you return it. You can buy a used one that is the same thing for a lot less. Gazelle is high, and had used 2012 13" for 649 and 2011 15" for $699. Since you are going to replace disk and memory there is no use going new.
I see the older unibody macbook pros on craigslist for $300 to $600. I got my early 2011 13" for $260 or something like that last year off craigslist.
There's nothing particularly wrong with the 2012 non-retina MacBook Pro.
I have the mid-2010 version, and it's still doing fine almost 7 years later.
Yes, DO upgrade the internal drive to an SSD.
The job takes only about 15 minutes, but be sure to buy and use THE RIGHT TOOLS.
(I think you'll need a Phillips #00 driver and a TORX T-6)
You can find the drive change-out guide at ifixit.com.
8gb of RAM would probably make it run a little better, although with an SSD the difference won't be too noticeable.
If it was me, I'd just buy -ONE- 8gb DIMM, and replace the "topmost" 2gb DIMM, for a combined total of 10gb.
Also buy an external USB3 enclosure to hold the factory HDD. It will serve as a great backup drive, or additional portable storage as required...
I have the mid-2010 version, and it's still doing fine almost 7 years later.
Yes, DO upgrade the internal drive to an SSD.
The job takes only about 15 minutes, but be sure to buy and use THE RIGHT TOOLS.
(I think you'll need a Phillips #00 driver and a TORX T-6)
You can find the drive change-out guide at ifixit.com.
8gb of RAM would probably make it run a little better, although with an SSD the difference won't be too noticeable.
If it was me, I'd just buy -ONE- 8gb DIMM, and replace the "topmost" 2gb DIMM, for a combined total of 10gb.
Also buy an external USB3 enclosure to hold the factory HDD. It will serve as a great backup drive, or additional portable storage as required...
Meh.
I'd return it and get this:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1128913-REG/apple_z0rj_mjvg2_13_3_macbook_air_notebook.html
$100 more, no tax if you're not in NY State, with 8GB of RAM and a faster 256GB SSD out of the box. Thinner, lighter, significantly better battery life with a higher resolution 1440x900 screen along with the much newer broadwell processors.
The Mid 2012 cMBP is a good solid computer with a beautiful screen, even if not retina. In comparison to the latest and best Apple has to offer it holds up well, and surpasses all in ease and ability to upgrade components.
I can concur that substituting a SSD will not void your Apple Care warranty. I took this exact same model to an Apple store when it developed serious problems, with among other things the motherboard needing to be replaced. Apple did so free of charge under my extended Apple Care coverage (being close to the three-year mark). Only noting the non-standard SSD I had installed, so aware of it, but otherwise no issue.
Do note that while you'll thus bypass Apple's outrageous asking price for a SSD, my understanding that their new configuration of preinstalled SSD's will run faster than that you can install in a cMBP. Technology marches on.
Apple will happily preinstall and charge you handsomely for their SSD, however again my understanding that a SSD compatible with a cMBP can never match the performance of that within a rMBP. Thus certainly from a cost standpoint, and likely most other considerations, you are better of installing your own SSD in a cMBP.
As also mentioned by another, you will require two simple tools (the small screwdriver and Torx) to install a SSD on your own. A simple procedure made all the simpler if you read up on the install procedure in advance, so understanding the nuances.
Do not overlook that part of that is formatting the new SSD drive (again, simple), and that you'll be beginning with a clean slate. So give some thought to how you'll be transferring or installing the OS.
Perhaps consider reverting to the Mountain Lion (10.8) OS which came standard in 2012. Others will argue that the latest OS from Apple is preferable. Your cMBP can run that, with the latest OS (El Capitan, or soon Sierra) having more bells and whistles; also able to run some newer software requiring it, if likely not some older software or games no longer supported. But aside from that the case can be made the last of the cats, or the previous Snow Leopard, remain Apple's best configured and solid OS's. Even though now supplied with the new OS, the hardware of the cMPB will support revision to the older OS, should one desire (and then you've some homework to do in figuring that out).
Back to the SSD. I did that upgrade on day one and never looked back. Undoubtedly the single best upgrade you can make. Highly recommended.
I can concur that substituting a SSD will not void your Apple Care warranty. I took this exact same model to an Apple store when it developed serious problems, with among other things the motherboard needing to be replaced. Apple did so free of charge under my extended Apple Care coverage (being close to the three-year mark). Only noting the non-standard SSD I had installed, so aware of it, but otherwise no issue.
Do note that while you'll thus bypass Apple's outrageous asking price for a SSD, my understanding that their new configuration of preinstalled SSD's will run faster than that you can install in a cMBP. Technology marches on.
Apple will happily preinstall and charge you handsomely for their SSD, however again my understanding that a SSD compatible with a cMBP can never match the performance of that within a rMBP. Thus certainly from a cost standpoint, and likely most other considerations, you are better of installing your own SSD in a cMBP.
As also mentioned by another, you will require two simple tools (the small screwdriver and Torx) to install a SSD on your own. A simple procedure made all the simpler if you read up on the install procedure in advance, so understanding the nuances.
Do not overlook that part of that is formatting the new SSD drive (again, simple), and that you'll be beginning with a clean slate. So give some thought to how you'll be transferring or installing the OS.
Perhaps consider reverting to the Mountain Lion (10.8) OS which came standard in 2012. Others will argue that the latest OS from Apple is preferable. Your cMBP can run that, with the latest OS (El Capitan, or soon Sierra) having more bells and whistles; also able to run some newer software requiring it, if likely not some older software or games no longer supported. But aside from that the case can be made the last of the cats, or the previous Snow Leopard, remain Apple's best configured and solid OS's. Even though now supplied with the new OS, the hardware of the cMPB will support revision to the older OS, should one desire (and then you've some homework to do in figuring that out).
Back to the SSD. I did that upgrade on day one and never looked back. Undoubtedly the single best upgrade you can make. Highly recommended.
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If you're sticking with getting the non retina, for sure swap out the HDD for an SSD. My late 2011 felt like it was on it's last legs before putting an SSD in it, now it feels like I could get another 5 years out of it. I think Mac OS just generally doesn't work well with hard drives anymore. If Apple wishes to continue selling the 2012 I don't think they should be selling it without an SSD. I would recommend the Samsung 750 EVO (256GB) or the Crucial MX300 (275GB)
You can follow this guide to swap out the SSD: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Replacement/10378
If you're upgrading the RAM I would recommend getting a complete kit of 8GB or 16GB, mixing RAM is bad practice. You can usually get 16GB kits for pretty cheap (yes despite what the website says, these will take 16GB no problem) although 8GB would be fine for your needs, 4GB is on the low side. I would recommend the 16GB or 8GB 1600mhz 1.35v kit by Crucial.
You can follow this guide to change the RAM: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+RAM+Replacement/10374
I still think buying a 4 year old laptop at new prices is questionable. I would consider the 13 inch pro retina or the 13 inch air. You can always buy an external superdrive, the knock off ones are really cheap.
You can follow this guide to swap out the SSD: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Replacement/10378
If you're upgrading the RAM I would recommend getting a complete kit of 8GB or 16GB, mixing RAM is bad practice. You can usually get 16GB kits for pretty cheap (yes despite what the website says, these will take 16GB no problem) although 8GB would be fine for your needs, 4GB is on the low side. I would recommend the 16GB or 8GB 1600mhz 1.35v kit by Crucial.
You can follow this guide to change the RAM: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+RAM+Replacement/10374
I still think buying a 4 year old laptop at new prices is questionable. I would consider the 13 inch pro retina or the 13 inch air. You can always buy an external superdrive, the knock off ones are really cheap.
[doublepost=1473900324][/doublepost]I like the idea of having the optical drive on my personal machine. I currently have a 256GB rMBP 13" from my work and the screen isn't a big deal for me. For my purposes I do not see a big speed difference between the rMBP and my 2011 iMac.
[doublepost=1473900582][/doublepost]Thank
[doublepost=1473900675][/doublepost]
Thank your for the detailed advice on the upgrade and the links!!
I have a quick question which could also be interesting for the OP:
If you swap out the HDD with an SSD do you need to enable something like TRIM? I kept reading it on the forum some years ago, but I don't know if it is now automatically enabled by OS X or not?
If you swap out the HDD with an SSD do you need to enable something like TRIM? I kept reading it on the forum some years ago, but I don't know if it is now automatically enabled by OS X or not?
Yes, you need to enable TRIM and also do so again every time you update macOS.
It is not enabled automatically, but you can and should enable it by running the command below in Terminal. This works in the latest version of Yosemite and El Capitan.
Code:
sudo trimforce enableThanks! But I just need to enable it every time a macOS update gets installed and not when doing things like PRAM resets or something similar? I remember that back in time you had to enable it whenever you did a slight change to the system. You also had to use some 3rd party tool to re-enable it again.
But now it's just that simple of a command line? That's convenient!
Thanks again for the quick responses.
PRAM reset won't disable it, and OS X point updates have not been disabling it lately. I'm not sure if you go from say El Capitan to Sierra is it will need to be reenabled or not.
I looked into the question of Trim prior to installing a SSD and in the end decided not to mess with it. That may not be the best choice for everyone, but in three plus years of heavy use I've noticed little if any change in performance.
Would it be nice to have a feature which automatically adjusts drive apportioned space and in effect cleans up the trash? Yes. A feature one will receive with any Apple installed SSD, so a reason one might favor that option.
Yet in researching this question at one point, advice and reports were conflicting, properly enabling Trim seemed problematic and dependent on one's particular equipment, as well possibly of less use on an older system like a cMBP which could not fully utilize it. This being the non-technical answer.
Anyway, it is possible to ignore this option.
Would it be nice to have a feature which automatically adjusts drive apportioned space and in effect cleans up the trash? Yes. A feature one will receive with any Apple installed SSD, so a reason one might favor that option.
Yet in researching this question at one point, advice and reports were conflicting, properly enabling Trim seemed problematic and dependent on one's particular equipment, as well possibly of less use on an older system like a cMBP which could not fully utilize it. This being the non-technical answer.
Anyway, it is possible to ignore this option.