@pearelectronics3083 He did, but not in this video here. The video I watched was from summer 2024 I guess and after checking out eBay I found one in almost mint condition here in Europe for circa $35. According to Luke I went for the 2012 version (never the 2011 model!) with 8 GB RAM and the 1680x1050 px anti-glare display. It came with a 500 GB hard disk which I replaced with a new WD 500 GB SSD for circa $40. Installed macOS 15 Sequoia using OpenCore Legacy Patcher as I always do with my older Macs and there you are .. .😎 Did the same with both a 2015 iMac and a late 2012 Mac mini (Core i7 quad core). Sold my 2020 Mac mini M1 to a friend of mine and bought a Mac mini M4 basic model (but 512 GB SSD) as a Christmas present for myself. 😀.
The best usable low priced Apple MacBook Air starts from 2015 - 2017, it can be upgraded on the SSD and you can replace the battery at any time for 40+. The 2015 - 2017 models have 4K video 3840x2160 at 60 Hz capabilities using Thunderbolt 2 and the screen ist not that bad, not retina but usable .The keyboard is the best ever made, no issues there. And you can get these for 150 USD with 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD and you can also run Windows 11 or Linux. I would advise to go with the intel Core i7 2.2 GHz config, it is the fastest version. And it runs macOS Sequoia 15.2 (in January 2025) perfectly fine using Open Core Legacy Patcher 2.2.0. Whether you go with a 2015 or 2017, it does not matter if you opt for the i7 with 2.2 GHz, the models are exactly the same.
I have a 2015 macbook air, 13 inch. Bad trace on the original ssd, so i chucked it out in favor of a 1tb samsung 870 evo+. Bad battery, so i went with an upgraded battery. I spent $200 on this Air on the upgrades
Absolutely agree. This year After 9 years I cleaned out the dust from the same laptop, replaced the thermal paste and upgraded the SSD drive, and it feels like new. And yes did open core legacy patcher to get sequoia... Runs better than when it has Sonoma.
I'm looking for a computer for my elderly mother. She mainly watches pictures and videos and browses the web. Your video couldn't be at a better time! Thank you very much for putting this together. You saved me a few hundred dollars, and we will be all happy!
I just bought a late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13in, i5 for $40 bucks. The ebay seller thought there was an issue with the machine not charging. Taking a chance, I bought it. All it needed was a new charger. The machine looks brand new, inside and out. I just used the Open Core Patcher to install Sequioa on the machine. I use it for UA-cam, email, and managing my websites. As a very long-time PC users, this is my first Apple machine, and I am loving the Macbook Pro. So much that I am waiting for a 2015 Macbook Pro Retina to arrive.
Still using my 2011 17" every day. Sure, it's on its second gpu, but curiously all three of my 2011 17" models still have their original batteries in perfectly working order (~88% state of health, which my first one was already at ten years ago).
I found a 2013 13inch Pro about a year ago that was abandoned in a junk shop. It had bad battery swelling, but after replacing that I spent no more than 100 dollars total. It is still going strong.
I bought my gf a MacBook Air, M1 for Christmas, and as someone that came from a Windows machine, she was blown away by the speed! I personally have the m4 max 14" for web dev, and even I was impressed by the speed and 24 hour battery given how many years ago it was built. Apple shot themselves in the foot with these!
@@IvanCalderonIdk if there was something comparable on the Windows side before the Snapdragon laptops came which seem to be great unless the stuff you need has compatibility issues. Before that you either had to have a fan and a short battery life or something that doesn’t perform as well. 😅 Granted you could get a “gaming laptop” for the same price to get performance but again it would be bulky, not last a full day on battery and most likely be built out of plastic with crappy speakers.
My daughter is an art major at USF and is doing all of her Photoshop work on a 2015 13 inch MBP (16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD). She still loves it. It really IS the best of the old group. My 2018 MacBook Pro has a screen issue, a battery issue, and some sticky keys. It's no longer my primary computer.
@@redphone1438 Little known fact - if you have Creative Cloud, you can download and run older versions. And mostly all you're missing out on is the BS AI stuff. We do also have some M1 Macs in the house if she ever needed an advance feature.
Tip for your grandmother’s MacBook Pro, get her an extension cord or outlet that has a button for it and when she gets a low battery message she just turns on the outlet to charge the Mac and when she is full enough she can turn it off
Does that mean it's a bad idea to keep your MB plugged in all the time? I thought there was some kind of internal regulator that protected the battery...
Secret Third Option: Anything with an M1 is ridiculous value. That chip was better Goldilocks sweetspot optimized on power/performance than any of the newer M chips. Surely they are faster newer better, but they don't do as much on as little battery power or as little $$$ as the M1. It's the king and will cost you LESS than anything else because it will last longer in years per buck.
I actually upgraded from my 2015 macbook a little over 6 months ago. It's an INCREDIBLE machine! It just worked so well for me. It was 9 years old so it started shutting off randomly and having some issues here and there so I decided to upgrade to an M3 air but my gosh does that laptop have my whole heart. Absolutely marvelous little laptop.
I mean... if all you want to do is watch DVDs and play StarCraft Brood War, the PowerBook G3 Wallstreet is perfectly useable. AND, can usually be found for pretty cheap. :)
Been using a 2015 13in Pro recently and it’s actually been a lifesaver! For doing work/video playback on the go, it’s literally perfect. The older MacBook for light portable use + powerful desktop PC for more intensive tasks is exactly what I needed
Watching on my 15" mid-2015! So glad I got 16 GB of RAM & that it's quad core! She's still trucking, just will need OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Still running Catalina currently.
The 13 inch Macbook Pro 2015 is leggendary. I have the version with i7 dual core and 16gb of ram. I upgrade the ssd with 500gb SK hynix gold p31, and change the battery with a brand new one of the duracell. I’m using it since 2021 and i don’t need to change it. I studied for high school, did work, did high school final exam and now i’m using for the university and is soo powerfull. Best Macbook apple ever create.
Getting an older intel mac is such an incredible value. The chromebooks they gave us back in high school were legitimately less powerful than an iBook G4 💀
I have a 2020 M1 Pro (I absolutely love it), and my mom inherited my 2011 and then my 2015 MacBook Pro. They still work perfectly to this day, even the 2011 one runs my Ableton. :)) The Apple engineers are crazy! :) We've become so attached to them, and we didn’t want to sell them. :) thx
I just got a 2012 MacBook Pro that that my mother got brand new in 2012. I just replaced the ram, put an SSD in it, and upgraded the software to the latest with OpenCore. As a student, it does everything I need it to and works great. It has the 2.9 GHz Dual Core i7. I just bought another one for $30 on eBay.
i've had my 15 inch 2012 unibody since 2019 and have just been upgrading it's storage and ram when needed (literally only twice) open core is my bestfriend!
I just retired mine into a machine that just runs Sierra so I can use iTunes and bootcamp with windows 7 to use old windows software. Even the base model M4 chip of the new machines just blows them away.
My 3rd option: keep using the old macs you already own. Personnaly I've a mid 2010 15'' MBP i5 and it works perfectly well for light web browsing, checking a wiki page or a cooking recipes, upload and download big files, etc. And it can run 32 bits apps and plugins. It's somewhere in my studio and I use it almost every day for these simple tasks. The perfect grand'ma computer.
I almost never throw away or sell my computers. my Mac Pro 2.1 from 2007 still works perfectly fine for music production! In fact quite fast!Only it’s useless for the web… I still runs OS Snow Leopard
If your macBook can still run 32 bit apps and plugins in 2025 maybe you shouldn't connect it to the internet. Catalina hasn't received a security update in years, you are putting yourself in danger if you browse the internet with it
I recently had to buy the cheapest possible MacBook for a friend. I ended up getting a 2014 13" Retina MacBook Pro in like-new condition with 256Gb of SSD and 8Gb of Ram and an i5 for about $140. We upgraded it to Sequoia, which it runs perfectly. It's quite snappy and he loves the display, the keyboard and all of the onboard ports. These systems were the GOAT back in the day, and they still rock.
I just picked up a Dell Latitude 7410 for $70 on ebay. After shipping and taxes I paid just $104 for a business class workhorse from 2020 with an i5-10310U. Not only is this machine built better but it is also easy to open so when I have to replace the battery it will be quick and easy to do so
Just bought a used good as new m1 air two weeks ago for €430. 69 cycles (nice) and 95% capacity remaining. Perfect machine for everyday stuff and even some light gaming.
Here I am watching you on my 2015 MacBook Air, 8GB. got it for 100$ came with original charger , box and manuals. I have to say that it's perfect for what I do. Office work on the go, light photoshop editing, watching UA-cam, sending/recieving mail and social media. It works like a charm. But what I do like the most....it's that back logo that lights up :)))))
I agree completely, loved this video. I have collected quite some older macbooks, learning a lot from your video's. 12 inch macbook 2017, MBPro 15 inch 2014, MB Pro 13 inch 2015, macbook air 11 inch 2014. All very usable.
Dumb take. Upgrades are worthless. You can only install 16gb of RAM and a slow SATA SSD. Outdated inefficient CPU and unusable garbage low resolution screen (not even IPS) stays with that machine forever.
@@leopoldbuttersstotch6060if you can find a dead 2011 anti-glare optioned one you can swap the screen over to a 2012. It’s a bit higher res and looks a lot better.
After watching a few of your flicks I picked up a mid2015 MacBook Pro approximately 2-3 years ago . Currently rocking Ventura w/ OCLP. This is my preferred device for most tasks. Beautiful machine and works great. In my experience Ventura is the cutoff for upgrading OS. You’re an angel. I love you.
I got me a 2008 17" MacBook Pro HiRes, and I am still using it today running Sonoma. But idk about the price tag today, I paid 300€ back in 2017 getting with it an 1 TB SSD and 6 GB of RAM built in. It doesn't hold up well by any means when it comes to speed, and the housing is wabbling and not very stiff (I wouldn't carry it around, and rather use it stationary), but man, this one is just beautiful! It has the PowerBook G4 design which is absolutely fantastic.
Just gave my niece my old late 2013 mbp and it will work totally fine for her school work. Not gonna edit 4K video but it’ll do spread sheets and word like a boss!
Nice overview! Own several MacBooks + Mini. My oldest is the very first MacMini G4, but not in use right now. My Intel MacBook late 2008 is in use still. Has a SSD inside it now and runs both OSX + Windows 10 as a music server+storage, Optical out to an external Dac. Works quiet well still.
Funny we have 4 MacBooks in the household, a 2015 MacBook Pro 15 2.8 with m370x, a 2015 MBP 13, a 2015 MBA 13, and a 2023 MBA M2 15inch. We hit all three! And yes, all of our 2015 are rocking Sequoia no problem. They are really still usable.
I have a 2010 MacBook Pro Unibody and it still works amazing. I don’t know how, but I have optimized it to the best of my ability, its running the latest supported OS (High Sierra), and I can’t afford a new one (so unfortunately I use Windows.) Someday I plan to get a MacBook Air M-series processor, but for now this does the job for what I need a Mac for: productivity stuff. (I use Firefox ESR on this Mac, and it runs so fast you won’t even believe.)
My very first “Mac” was a mid 2010 17” MacBook Pro. It’s heavy and creates heat, but I’ve never used it as an on the go tool and they still make laptop cooling stands. I don’t use it often, but it’s paid for and works. I’ve thought about an SSD as well as that mod to utilize a newer OS, I’ve just not had the time to research these.
Picked up an early 2011 macbook pro a few months ago. Coworker rescued it from bring thrown out. Free ssd upgrade (500gb 860 evo), free ram upgrade to 16gbs. All in all, a solid laptop
I loved my 2015 MBP until it caught fire and nearly burned my house down. Happily I was home at the time and was able to safely remove it before any major damage was done.
I have the unicorn - Mid 2012 Pro 15 inch. It was the last of the old unibody line, but has an Ivy Bridge i7. Yes, the panel is lower resolution. The trade off is the Geforce 650 and Intel graphics are pushing 1/4th the pixels It feels like it flies compared to the Retina version of the same machine. Can easily swap out the drives and RAM. I put 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD in mine. Used OpenCore, and it's happily running Sequoia. Having 8 threads and the extra cache helps it along compared to the dual core machines
These are the videos that I want to see on your channel. I miss these. 2012 15" i7 with matte screen and OCLP works great. I even have a 2010 15" matte screen which also works fine. May be a little more than the MB Air but still very usable. I actually like the keyboard better on the old ones than the 15" 2015, which is still my daily. Thank you again, awesome!
My main Mac these days is a M1 Mac Mini, but I still use my 2013 13” MacBook Pro when I need a laptop (which isn’t often, but happens at least every few months). It still works really well, I bought it when it first came out and I’m keeping it around because it still works for what I need it to do.
Gotta love all the praise given to the 2015 13” MacBook Pro… which I’ve been using myself since I got it 10 years ago. 😂 That thing is a trooper! 8 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, and still works like a charm. Yes, you can tell it’s slowed down. Yes, the battery has been in service mode for years (though it still lasts for hours). No, it doesn’t have USB-C. But it still works for me, and even when I do upgrade eventually, I plan on keeping it around!
I love the channel. I had to pick up a computer with a HDMI port and I picked up a Mid 2014 inch7 Retina MBP and am very happy with it for less than $200 a couple of years ago. I am very happy with it.
2012 mbp for the win. I use it for everything. Graphic design and coding and honestly I am happy with it. It’s even great for emulating old ps1 running big sur. I also sometimes run blender under Linux on it and it’s crazy smooth
My main MacBook is still a 2015 MacBook Pro 15" with the 2.8ghz i7 and the Radeon R9 M370x. It's still a really nice machine and does everything I need to do on a Mac. I bought it for $285 a few years back, and replaced the battery.
The screen on the MBP 2015 holds it's own against more mundane newer stuff and it's way better than the desktops at work.. while not cutting edge anymore, it's a fine bit of kit for most general use.. I occasionally edit videos on mine, which still has a reasonable apple battery. Would be curious to try a M1 though.
Watching this on my 2012 Quad i7 Mac Mini (running Catalina) with a 30" cinema display. Yes I have an apple silicon MacBook pro, but I use this mac mini ever day for normal web browsing, but also I use is it a lot for transferring older video cameras that require firewire. Its nice having a machine dedicated to older tech.
Currently watching this on a 2009 17" MacBook Pro Running Windows 7. It is literally my dream PC. While not cheap, I've upgraded every single part in this computer, and it can easily run 1080P Video flawlessly. I would definitely recommend to anyone who want's Usable Vintage Apple.
I bought a used £100 Macbook Air 2017 and it's fabulous. I used OCLP to patch to Sequoia and it works brilliantly. I have upgraded the SSD to 1TB and it's fabulous. I have written, edited and marketed my first novel on it and I couldn't be happier. In Dollars that $124 which I think is a bargain. I bought it thanks to the videos on this channel so thanks Luke for all the advice!
Totally agree with you, buy something out of the 2015 line up or skip straight to apple silicon. 2013 and 2014 macbook pros are also not tooo bad of a choice if you get one really cheap (typing this from a 2013 macbook pro 13 inch), but in most cases the price difference to a 2015 model just isn´t big enough to consider the older model.
Nice subject! The MacBook Pro 2015 was my first Macbook after coming from a Lenovo Windows laptop. Wow. What a screen, what a nice trackpad, so responsive! I loved it. So nice, that it is still usable after 10 years. Indeed laptop nowadays are longer usable. Actually, the speed of the newest processors out-speed the general need of what we do.
I bought the cheapest max spec 2015 15 inch MBP on ebay in 2022. It had minor liquid damage on the keyboard, needed a battery, and the screen was delaminating. I bought it cheap with issues because I wanted a near perfect example from Apple. I took this laptop to Apple and they replaced everything but the bottom cover to open the laptop. Having Apple do it wasn’t cheap, but I keep the laptop pristine and it was so worth it for me. Basically a new 2015 MBP in 2022 and hopefully it will last another 10 years with no issues!
With old Mac Books I prefer MacBook Air 2015/2017 base on I7-5650U this CPU is super energy effective (half power use compare to CPU in Pro version). HDD is PCI-e v.2 so transfers are 1,3/1,4 GB. Work perfect with FHD+ monitors.
I upgraded to an M1 Pro 14" from my 2013 MBP 15 about 2 years ago because the battery went bad. I do still use it for some things though! It works fine plugged in.
I love my 2015 15". It's still going strong to this day on Monterey, I got it to replace my 2013 13" that I bought new. It is definitely getting long in the tooth at this point though, I think within this year it'll have to get replaced. The fact the design is as old as it is and still looks like it could have came out yesterday is insane to me. Think of what a laptop that came out 13 years before this body style launched looked like, it would be from 1999! Thinking of using a computer from 1999 in 2012 was insane as well, yet here we are 13 years later and the machine is still more than capable of meeting most peoples needs.
I have a 2013 MB Air with an i7. I keep it around as a spare and for my wife whose primary computer is a M1 iPad Pro. The Air is capable of running Parallels when I need Windows (seldom). I also created a boot volume with High Sierra on it so I can use iTunes to manage old iPods without dealing around issues with Apple Music and iPods incapable of playing those tracks.
I picked up my current 2012 15” 2.6GHz Unibody MacBook Pro for US$54 about a year ago. It needed a bit of TLC (no RAM, no SSD, and the battery was very unhappy), but I had spares of all of it since I was replacing another 2012 15” Unibody which I killed while trying to fix a fan. My only qualm is the lack of AVX2.
I still use the 2015 MBP for streaming content and also some photo editing. I also have a thunderbolt SSD, so they are perfect for each other. The SD card slot also helps a lot.
I’ve had two non Retina 2012 MacBook Pros back in the day, and “upgraded” to newer models and mostly regretted it. I’m not sure how they’d be today with their out-of-date operating system, but machines they were! They were the last properly upgradable MacBook Pros, nearly everyone bought the lower specification memory models and then bought after marketing memory modules taking it to 16GB…Apple itself, for some reason, maxing out at 8GB! I swapped out the HDD for an SSD too, made a marked difference in performance. The battery was a piece of cake to replace, a quite cheap, and the non Retina versions came with a DVD/CD rewriter built-in (which is why I chose these over the similar specification Retina models). These machines were easy to service for things like dust and fluff removal, and nearly all parts were available…I swapped the trackpad on the 13” and it was so easy. In my opinion Apple went backwards from the 2012 non Retina MacBook Pros onwards I had a 13” 2.9Mhz dual-core and a 15” 2.6Mhz quad-core. As an experiment on the 15” 2.6Mhz quad-core I removed the disk drive, bought mounted and installed a second SSD to parallel boot both SSDs as RAID-0…that thing was really quick then. Looking back, I now think that I should have kept at least one of them.
Still using a macbook pro 2015 for work. Just had its battery replaced and upgraded to sequoia with the help of OCLP. At home, still using a 2012 iMac with a new SSD and upgraded to sequoia too.
Hi Luke, I recently purchased a 2017 Macbook Air from Mac Sales/OWC for $179. I upgraded the SSD to 1TB and installed MacOS Sonoma via OCLP. The battery only has 28 cycles, and there is not a mark on the body. It is a great “coffee house” machine. I can throw it in a backpack and take it anywhere. I used Bootcamp to install Windows 10, and then upgraded to Windows 11 with Rufus. Very happy with this purchase!
I got a 2011 MacBook Air 11 inch, put Ventura on it with opencore legacy patcher, and am now happily using it as a device for playing with and syncing old iPhones and iPods
as a cybersec analyst and tier 2 SOC in company, having late 2012 macbook pro back then was a beast. as the time goes by and several updates doesn't make any better change. with some ball-a** 13 years old processor, which less than enough to lift my server and sandbox, i decided to give up and bought M1 proc macbook air last year. it would be better if those laptops that you mentioned running the latest OS with opencore patch.
I'm still using my 15" MBP Retina, which I upgraded myself a couple of years ago to a 1 TB SSD, as my main computer for work and private tasks (like taxes, streaming etc). It's still a great laptop that pretty much suits all of my needs. The only three limitations I've noticed: 1. It still has the original battery running now at 86% capacity, but it won't last more than like 3.5 hours. 2. I'm lacking the nerve to upgrade to Sequoia, but running Catalina is becoming problematic. 3. The old USB/Thunderbolt connections are really slow.
Still using my 2008 Unibody Macbook for work, watching youtube, word processing etc. OCLP on Big Sur (yeah, I know...) and honestly, I love this Macbook. I paid 50 bucks for it but that was a few years ago now. I bought one of those M1 Wal Mart Macbooks awhile back, its fine, but doesn't have the "something" that the 2008 Macbook has.
The battery on my 2019 16" MBP decided it's not going to hold a charge. I called an independent shop and the guy said a new battery doesn't always cure the issue. So, either I take the charger with me to the garage when I'm on the ski machine or I shop for its replacement.
I've refrained from updating my MBP 15" Mid2015 to OCLP since apparently there's an issue with the dual graphics swap ... so not sure about it though. I got my latest MacBook 13" (mid 2010 white polycarbonate) for under $35USD and then fully upgraded it with OCLP to Sonoma and it runs awesome! (i'm watching YT on it actually everyday)
Not a Mac user but I'd say that what Macs do good they do great and I like the fact that the OS is built with a hardware specific kernel, not all the extra you see in linux and BSD kernels, just what's needed. There's tons of info on the kernel of MacOS, how Steve Jobs left Apple, formed NeXT, was bought by Apple and lots of other stuff from the way-back-machine. It's an interesting read if you're a geek.
The last version of the old-school 13-inch MBA is the 2017 model, mostly similar to that 2015 model. I have one, and I still use it sometimes. Quite useable for basic stuff, with great (not “butterfly”) keyboard. There are even some advantages compared my M1-nothing 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020). MagSafe power connector doesn’t use USB-C port. Two USB-A ports (one on each side), one Thunderbolt port (can be used as mini-DisplayPort), plus SD card slot. The SD card slot is particularly useful; I use with a flushed-fitting adapter for tiny micro-SD card, now available up to 2TD. Mine is 1.5TB in an adapter by BaseQi (still sold new - $25 on Amazon). SD card not super fast but fine for off-loading my user data from internal SSD. The old design is also VERY easy to upgrade internal SSD and replace worn-out battery, compared to newer MacBooks. I even like the wide silver bezel around display and glowing Apple logo.
@ColoCulture At least 6 years. I needed it initially because internal SSD was only 128GB, later upgraded to 1TB. When I bought BaseQi adapter, its description said compatible with up to 500GB micro-SD card. I first used with 400GB. But it worked fine with 1TB and then 1.5TB as they became available and more affordable. Functionally, it seems to be like the adapter that come with some micro-SD card to use as standard SD card, but with shorter shape so it fits flush in MBA. All the micro-SD cards I’ve used have been SanDisk.
@@ColoCulture I’m sure you did, but make sure it’s the right size to fit flush in your MBA. They make different sizes (how short it is) for different laptop models. I wish my M1 MBP had a an SD card slot like my old MBA.
Adding to the chorus: The 2012 MacBook Pro (both 13" and 15", esp. the latter with a hi-def matte screen). Yes, the weight is a minus. But the ability for the end user to do whatever she/he/they want to do with the hardware.... that's just *such* a gift. I have three or four of these. Still my favorite MacBook.
I picked up a 2013 MacBook Pro, and it’s great, spent about $30 on a new battery, it was a big job and a pain to swap out but worth it in the end since it has worked like a charm. I did upgrade the OS using OCLP, however, probably due to it being an i5 model, it can’t handle Sonoma or Sequoia at all, so I’ve settled on Ventura.
2015 15 inch Macbook Pro Dual Graphics hands down the best laptop I’ve had. I purchased mine 2 years ago for $250 on ebay based on watching Lukes videos. I got the battery replaced under the recall through Apple. I replaced the stock 512gb ssd for a OWC Aura Pro X2 1Tb ssd. I’ve used it for everything. College. Windows gaming and I still use it currently for my work from home job with an extra monitor. I see multiple clients over zoom and screen share presentations. It never skips a beat. Only complaint it’s old intel macs are noisy and hot. That’s probably the only reason I want an Apple Silicon mac. Oh and they can run Mac os Monterey natively. Haven’t needed to use opencore for a newer OS. Great buy go get one.
This video was very helpful, looking to get my aunt a laptop to replace her dead one and watching this video helped me make my choice on what to get her. Thank you.
I'll be buried with my 2012 MacBook Pro
not me..... sold it to move on from that heater
same
The greatest macbook pro that's ever lived
the greatest technician that's ever lived, what brings you here?
Why? It'll still be useable.
I just picked up a 2012 unibody for $60. It’s amazingly useable.
As long as it has an ssd it should be fine, I’m surprised Luke didn’t even mention these since they can still be patched to the latest OS no worries
i might do that too
Great find. Congrats
@pearelectronics3083 He did, but not in this video here. The video I watched was from summer 2024 I guess and after checking out eBay I found one in almost mint condition here in Europe for circa $35.
According to Luke I went for the 2012 version (never the 2011 model!) with 8 GB RAM and the 1680x1050 px anti-glare display. It came with a 500 GB hard disk which I replaced with a new WD 500 GB SSD for circa $40. Installed macOS 15 Sequoia using OpenCore Legacy Patcher as I always do with my older Macs and there you are .. .😎
Did the same with both a 2015 iMac and a late 2012 Mac mini (Core i7 quad core). Sold my 2020 Mac mini M1 to a friend of mine and bought a Mac mini M4 basic model (but 512 GB SSD) as a Christmas present for myself. 😀.
Love the 2012 13 inch, mine runs sonoma with opencore
The best usable low priced Apple MacBook Air starts from 2015 - 2017, it can be upgraded on the SSD and you can replace the battery at any time for 40+. The 2015 - 2017 models have 4K video 3840x2160 at 60 Hz capabilities using Thunderbolt 2 and the screen ist not that bad, not retina but usable .The keyboard is the best ever made, no issues there. And you can get these for 150 USD with 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD and you can also run Windows 11 or Linux. I would advise to go with the intel Core i7 2.2 GHz config, it is the fastest version. And it runs macOS Sequoia 15.2 (in January 2025) perfectly fine using Open Core Legacy Patcher 2.2.0. Whether you go with a 2015 or 2017, it does not matter if you opt for the i7 with 2.2 GHz, the models are exactly the same.
I have a 2015 macbook air, 13 inch. Bad trace on the original ssd, so i chucked it out in favor of a 1tb samsung 870 evo+. Bad battery, so i went with an upgraded battery. I spent $200 on this Air on the upgrades
Absolutely agree. This year After 9 years I cleaned out the dust from the same laptop, replaced the thermal paste and upgraded the SSD drive, and it feels like new.
And yes did open core legacy patcher to get sequoia... Runs better than when it has Sonoma.
I currently using my MBA 2017 with Sequoia through a 60Hz monitor and run smoothly, also the ssd replacement was cheap and easy to do.
Yep, spot on advice. 2017 MB Air here, 1.8GHz i5, 8GB, 512GB NVME upgrade. It was super cheap.
I'm looking for a computer for my elderly mother. She mainly watches pictures and videos and browses the web. Your video couldn't be at a better time! Thank you very much for putting this together. You saved me a few hundred dollars, and we will be all happy!
iPad was better for my mom. And much, much less “maintenance” from your side needed…
I just bought a late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina 13in, i5 for $40 bucks. The ebay seller thought there was an issue with the machine not charging. Taking a chance, I bought it. All it needed was a new charger. The machine looks brand new, inside and out. I just used the Open Core Patcher to install Sequioa on the machine. I use it for UA-cam, email, and managing my websites. As a very long-time PC users, this is my first Apple machine, and I am loving the Macbook Pro. So much that I am waiting for a 2015 Macbook Pro Retina to arrive.
You got lucky, that's a totally great machine, and the screen quality and insane PPI simply humiliates most PC laptops even today)
I just watched this on a mid 2012 macbook pro (with a macbook air mid 2011 sitting next to it). Unibody era was a powerhouse era for macbooks.
i dont miss my 2012 mbp. that thing was a heater hog. glad to have sold it.
@@redesignedlife777now that it’s winter, that barely matters lol. And if it’s on a desk, it doesn’t make the area really hot.
@ lol. Good one.
I have converted mine to Debian 12, so I can use the latest browsers etc. Very fast too.
Still using my 2011 17" every day. Sure, it's on its second gpu, but curiously all three of my 2011 17" models still have their original batteries in perfectly working order (~88% state of health, which my first one was already at ten years ago).
bought a 13inch 2015 MacBook Pro about a year ago off ebay $150, spent 80 on a internal 1tb ssd, its been great
I found a 2013 13inch Pro about a year ago that was abandoned in a junk shop. It had bad battery swelling, but after replacing that I spent no more than 100 dollars total.
It is still going strong.
I bought my gf a MacBook Air, M1 for Christmas, and as someone that came from a Windows machine, she was blown away by the speed! I personally have the m4 max 14" for web dev, and even I was impressed by the speed and 24 hour battery given how many years ago it was built. Apple shot themselves in the foot with these!
You talk of windows machines as if they were all the same. There's quite the price and power range between them
M1 MacBook Air here too, super machine. The UI is familiar as I run Linux with a Dock. No Microsoft here since 2010.
@@glittery_fairy Exactly! Most of the people "blown away" by the speed of macs always come from using the crappiest and cheapest Walmart laptops.
@@IvanCalderonIdk if there was something comparable on the Windows side before the Snapdragon laptops came which seem to be great unless the stuff you need has compatibility issues.
Before that you either had to have a fan and a short battery life or something that doesn’t perform as well. 😅
Granted you could get a “gaming laptop” for the same price to get performance but again it would be bulky, not last a full day on battery and most likely be built out of plastic with crappy speakers.
My daughter is an art major at USF and is doing all of her Photoshop work on a 2015 13 inch MBP (16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD). She still loves it. It really IS the best of the old group. My 2018 MacBook Pro has a screen issue, a battery issue, and some sticky keys. It's no longer my primary computer.
How does Photoshop even run on a 2015 model if the latest version requires a 6th gen Intel processor?
@@redphone1438 Little known fact - if you have Creative Cloud, you can download and run older versions. And mostly all you're missing out on is the BS AI stuff. We do also have some M1 Macs in the house if she ever needed an advance feature.
2012 MacBook Pro. All ports. And the last you can work on yourself.
I just helped my colleague buy a 2015 13" MacBook Pro, as he was stuck with a crappy plastic Chromebook. The difference is like night and day.
Tip for your grandmother’s MacBook Pro, get her an extension cord or outlet that has a button for it and when she gets a low battery message she just turns on the outlet to charge the Mac and when she is full enough she can turn it off
Thats smart.
Great idea!
Or, get a WiFi outlet set on a schedule of like 12 on 12 off or some other schedule
Does that mean it's a bad idea to keep your MB plugged in all the time? I thought there was some kind of internal regulator that protected the battery...
@ Yeah because the batery it's a lithium-ion and if it doesnt have optimised charge it is indeed bad idea
Secret Third Option: Anything with an M1 is ridiculous value. That chip was better Goldilocks sweetspot optimized on power/performance than any of the newer M chips. Surely they are faster newer better, but they don't do as much on as little battery power or as little $$$ as the M1. It's the king and will cost you LESS than anything else because it will last longer in years per buck.
I actually upgraded from my 2015 macbook a little over 6 months ago. It's an INCREDIBLE machine! It just worked so well for me. It was 9 years old so it started shutting off randomly and having some issues here and there so I decided to upgrade to an M3 air but my gosh does that laptop have my whole heart. Absolutely marvelous little laptop.
Use a 2015 MBA with arch linux on it as my throw away travel pc. Basically a cheap email, youtube machine that I dont care if it gets lost or damaged.
I still use my Late 2013" 15" rMBP I bought new back in the day occasionally. Amazing how well it still does 11 years on
I mean... if all you want to do is watch DVDs and play StarCraft Brood War, the PowerBook G3 Wallstreet is perfectly useable. AND, can usually be found for pretty cheap. :)
Now that you mentioned I badly want play StarCraft ! 😊
@@igor-iofe I know the feeling
A 2017 MacBook Air is also worth a look for a slightly faster cpu, it’s the last one with a decent keyboard
Good call, also they aren´t much more expensive than the 2015 one.
My only problem with Air models is the storage, there's no way of replacing it.
@@CMarco all airs until the 2017 have removeable Storage just Like the mbp‘s. The 2018 air is the First Model with soldered non-upgradeable Storage
@ you can in pre 2018 models, you can adapt the proprietary ssd connector to a normal m.2 nvme drive
$80 i paid for the 2017 macbook air but my daughter is still attached to her macbook pro 2012 and has a hard time parting with it.
the 2015 MBP's can run Monterey by default
Yes, the 2014 stopped at Big Sur.
Been using a 2015 13in Pro recently and it’s actually been a lifesaver! For doing work/video playback on the go, it’s literally perfect. The older MacBook for light portable use + powerful desktop PC for more intensive tasks is exactly what I needed
Watching on my 15" mid-2015! So glad I got 16 GB of RAM & that it's quad core! She's still trucking, just will need OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Still running Catalina currently.
The 13 inch Macbook Pro 2015 is leggendary. I have the version with i7 dual core and 16gb of ram. I upgrade the ssd with 500gb SK hynix gold p31, and change the battery with a brand new one of the duracell. I’m using it since 2021 and i don’t need to change it. I studied for high school, did work, did high school final exam and now i’m using for the university and is soo powerfull. Best Macbook apple ever create.
Getting an older intel mac is such an incredible value. The chromebooks they gave us back in high school were legitimately less powerful than an iBook G4 💀
Watching this on my mid 2015 maxed out MacBook Pro, it get's me through everything as a college student.
would be cool to see a Chrome OS Flex vs Mac OS comparison on these old Macs.
Watching this on my Early 2014 MBA. Macs really are a golden machine and age like a fine wine.
I have a 2020 M1 Pro (I absolutely love it), and my mom inherited my 2011 and then my 2015 MacBook Pro. They still work perfectly to this day, even the 2011 one runs my Ableton. :)) The Apple engineers are crazy! :) We've become so attached to them, and we didn’t want to sell them. :) thx
I just got a 2012 MacBook Pro that that my mother got brand new in 2012. I just replaced the ram, put an SSD in it, and upgraded the software to the latest with OpenCore. As a student, it does everything I need it to and works great. It has the 2.9 GHz Dual Core i7. I just bought another one for $30 on eBay.
I got the same macbook last year, But I don’t know if I can update it to the last time with Open core and still running so good that with catalina
@@lucasdan09 OpenCore for me took a little time to figure out, but once I got it running it runs really smoothly, but if Catalina smoothly then 👍.
i've had my 15 inch 2012 unibody since 2019 and have just been upgrading it's storage and ram when needed (literally only twice) open core is my bestfriend!
I just retired mine into a machine that just runs Sierra so I can use iTunes and bootcamp with windows 7 to use old windows software. Even the base model M4 chip of the new machines just blows them away.
@ ooh nice! when or if mine goes under i’ll consider it but she’s still doing good
My 3rd option: keep using the old macs you already own. Personnaly I've a mid 2010 15'' MBP i5 and it works perfectly well for light web browsing, checking a wiki page or a cooking recipes, upload and download big files, etc. And it can run 32 bits apps and plugins. It's somewhere in my studio and I use it almost every day for these simple tasks. The perfect grand'ma computer.
I almost never throw away or sell my computers. my Mac Pro 2.1 from 2007 still works perfectly fine for music production! In fact quite fast!Only it’s useless for the web… I still runs OS Snow Leopard
If your macBook can still run 32 bit apps and plugins in 2025 maybe you shouldn't connect it to the internet. Catalina hasn't received a security update in years, you are putting yourself in danger if you browse the internet with it
Bought an MB Air 2013 put a new battery in it and a 1TB SSD.
It’s now my „running SSD with a Display“
I recently had to buy the cheapest possible MacBook for a friend. I ended up getting a 2014 13" Retina MacBook Pro in like-new condition with 256Gb of SSD and 8Gb of Ram and an i5 for about $140. We upgraded it to Sequoia, which it runs perfectly. It's quite snappy and he loves the display, the keyboard and all of the onboard ports. These systems were the GOAT back in the day, and they still rock.
I just picked up a Dell Latitude 7410 for $70 on ebay. After shipping and taxes I paid just $104 for a business class workhorse from 2020 with an i5-10310U. Not only is this machine built better but it is also easy to open so when I have to replace the battery it will be quick and easy to do so
Just bought a used good as new m1 air two weeks ago for €430. 69 cycles (nice) and 95% capacity remaining. Perfect machine for everyday stuff and even some light gaming.
Here I am watching you on my 2015 MacBook Air, 8GB. got it for 100$ came with original charger , box and manuals. I have to say that it's perfect for what I do. Office work on the go, light photoshop editing, watching UA-cam, sending/recieving mail and social media. It works like a charm. But what I do like the most....it's that back logo that lights up :)))))
I agree completely, loved this video. I have collected quite some older macbooks, learning a lot from your video's. 12 inch macbook 2017, MBPro 15 inch 2014, MB Pro 13 inch 2015, macbook air 11 inch 2014. All very usable.
Hot take: 2012 Unibody MacBook Pro still cheapest compared to those cuz it's upgradability compared to ASi MacBooks.
Yeah I absolutely agree, besides the display, it's still essentially a premium, more capable Chromebook you can easily find for $50
Dumb take. Upgrades are worthless. You can only install 16gb of RAM and a slow SATA SSD.
Outdated inefficient CPU and unusable garbage low resolution screen (not even IPS) stays with that machine forever.
@@leopoldbuttersstotch6060if you can find a dead 2011 anti-glare optioned one you can swap the screen over to a 2012. It’s a bit higher res and looks a lot better.
@@intensifiedhipster I see the first reply which is agreed with me, and now this. Perfectly balanced.
@@intensifiedhipsterwhat do those even matter for most people? Need an IPS screen? Hook it up to a monitor. Retina displays are beautiful.
After watching a few of your flicks I picked up a mid2015 MacBook Pro approximately 2-3 years ago . Currently rocking Ventura w/ OCLP.
This is my preferred device for most tasks. Beautiful machine and works great.
In my experience Ventura is the cutoff for upgrading OS. You’re an angel. I love you.
I got me a 2008 17" MacBook Pro HiRes, and I am still using it today running Sonoma. But idk about the price tag today, I paid 300€ back in 2017 getting with it an 1 TB SSD and 6 GB of RAM built in. It doesn't hold up well by any means when it comes to speed, and the housing is wabbling and not very stiff (I wouldn't carry it around, and rather use it stationary), but man, this one is just beautiful! It has the PowerBook G4 design which is absolutely fantastic.
Just gave my niece my old late 2013 mbp and it will work totally fine for her school work. Not gonna edit 4K video but it’ll do spread sheets and word like a boss!
Nice overview! Own several MacBooks + Mini. My oldest is the very first MacMini G4, but not in use right now. My Intel MacBook late 2008 is in use still. Has a SSD inside it now and runs both OSX + Windows 10 as a music server+storage, Optical out to an external Dac. Works quiet well still.
Funny we have 4 MacBooks in the household, a 2015 MacBook Pro 15 2.8 with m370x, a 2015 MBP 13, a 2015 MBA 13, and a 2023 MBA M2 15inch. We hit all three! And yes, all of our 2015 are rocking Sequoia no problem. They are really still usable.
I have a 2010 MacBook Pro Unibody and it still works amazing. I don’t know how, but I have optimized it to the best of my ability, its running the latest supported OS (High Sierra), and I can’t afford a new one (so unfortunately I use Windows.) Someday I plan to get a MacBook Air M-series processor, but for now this does the job for what I need a Mac for: productivity stuff. (I use Firefox ESR on this Mac, and it runs so fast you won’t even believe.)
My very first “Mac” was a mid 2010 17” MacBook Pro. It’s heavy and creates heat, but I’ve never used it as an on the go tool and they still make laptop cooling stands. I don’t use it often, but it’s paid for and works. I’ve thought about an SSD as well as that mod to utilize a newer OS, I’ve just not had the time to research these.
For a used based model M1 Air for just $50! Was sold for parts but I discovered it still had AppleCare+, which allowed me to get a free replacement.
congratulations years ago i did that with a iphone 7
Picked up an early 2011 macbook pro a few months ago. Coworker rescued it from bring thrown out. Free ssd upgrade (500gb 860 evo), free ram upgrade to 16gbs. All in all, a solid laptop
I loved my 2015 MBP until it caught fire and nearly burned my house down. Happily I was home at the time and was able to safely remove it before any major damage was done.
Was it a 3rd party battery?
@@eltamarindo No, absolutely not. In fact, it was the battery that Apple replaced during a repair because the original was recalled.
I still have my 2015 MacBook Air! It still works great too! I don't use it as often because I got an M1 MacBook Air.
why dont you sell it off?
@@redesignedlife777 don't really want to. I still get some use out of it.
I have the unicorn - Mid 2012 Pro 15 inch. It was the last of the old unibody line, but has an Ivy Bridge i7. Yes, the panel is lower resolution. The trade off is the Geforce 650 and Intel graphics are pushing 1/4th the pixels
It feels like it flies compared to the Retina version of the same machine. Can easily swap out the drives and RAM. I put 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD in mine. Used OpenCore, and it's happily running Sequoia. Having 8 threads and the extra cache helps it along compared to the dual core machines
These are the videos that I want to see on your channel. I miss these. 2012 15" i7 with matte screen and OCLP works great. I even have a 2010 15" matte screen which also works fine. May be a little more than the MB Air but still very usable. I actually like the keyboard better on the old ones than the 15" 2015, which is still my daily. Thank you again, awesome!
My main Mac these days is a M1 Mac Mini, but I still use my 2013 13” MacBook Pro when I need a laptop (which isn’t often, but happens at least every few months). It still works really well, I bought it when it first came out and I’m keeping it around because it still works for what I need it to do.
Gotta love all the praise given to the 2015 13” MacBook Pro… which I’ve been using myself since I got it 10 years ago. 😂
That thing is a trooper! 8 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, and still works like a charm. Yes, you can tell it’s slowed down. Yes, the battery has been in service mode for years (though it still lasts for hours). No, it doesn’t have USB-C. But it still works for me, and even when I do upgrade eventually, I plan on keeping it around!
I love the channel. I had to pick up a computer with a HDMI port and I picked up a Mid 2014 inch7 Retina MBP and am very happy with it for less than $200 a couple of years ago. I am very happy with it.
2012 mbp for the win. I use it for everything. Graphic design and coding and honestly I am happy with it. It’s even great for emulating old ps1 running big sur. I also sometimes run blender under Linux on it and it’s crazy smooth
My main MacBook is still a 2015 MacBook Pro 15" with the 2.8ghz i7 and the Radeon R9 M370x. It's still a really nice machine and does everything I need to do on a Mac. I bought it for $285 a few years back, and replaced the battery.
Hey Luke! I was curious what you use for your decorations? What lamps and lighting do you use? Much appreciation!
The screen on the MBP 2015 holds it's own against more mundane newer stuff and it's way better than the desktops at work.. while not cutting edge anymore, it's a fine bit of kit for most general use.. I occasionally edit videos on mine, which still has a reasonable apple battery.
Would be curious to try a M1 though.
and i was just thinking about how much i've missed your vids. nice of you to upload. 👍🏾👍🏾
Watching this on my 2012 Quad i7 Mac Mini (running Catalina) with a 30" cinema display. Yes I have an apple silicon MacBook pro, but I use this mac mini ever day for normal web browsing, but also I use is it a lot for transferring older video cameras that require firewire. Its nice having a machine dedicated to older tech.
Currently watching this on a 2009 17" MacBook Pro Running Windows 7. It is literally my dream PC. While not cheap, I've upgraded every single part in this computer, and it can easily run 1080P Video flawlessly. I would definitely recommend to anyone who want's Usable Vintage Apple.
I bought a used £100 Macbook Air 2017 and it's fabulous. I used OCLP to patch to Sequoia and it works brilliantly. I have upgraded the SSD to 1TB and it's fabulous. I have written, edited and marketed my first novel on it and I couldn't be happier. In Dollars that $124 which I think is a bargain. I bought it thanks to the videos on this channel so thanks Luke for all the advice!
really good video today Luke. i still own all my MacBooks from 2009 onward, and alll have a purpose in my home. thanks for this
Totally agree with you, buy something out of the 2015 line up or skip straight to apple silicon.
2013 and 2014 macbook pros are also not tooo bad of a choice if you get one really cheap (typing this from a 2013 macbook pro 13 inch), but in most cases the price difference to a 2015 model just isn´t big enough to consider the older model.
Nice subject! The MacBook Pro 2015 was my first Macbook after coming from a Lenovo Windows laptop. Wow. What a screen, what a nice trackpad, so responsive! I loved it. So nice, that it is still usable after 10 years. Indeed laptop nowadays are longer usable. Actually, the speed of the newest processors out-speed the general need of what we do.
Mid 2015 MBP 15 running Sequoia and W11 24h2 as needed. With 16 gb Ram and a SSD it runs like a champ.
I bought the cheapest max spec 2015 15 inch MBP on ebay in 2022. It had minor liquid damage on the keyboard, needed a battery, and the screen was delaminating. I bought it cheap with issues because I wanted a near perfect example from Apple. I took this laptop to Apple and they replaced everything but the bottom cover to open the laptop. Having Apple do it wasn’t cheap, but I keep the laptop pristine and it was so worth it for me. Basically a new 2015 MBP in 2022 and hopefully it will last another 10 years with no issues!
With old Mac Books I prefer MacBook Air 2015/2017 base on I7-5650U this CPU is super energy effective (half power use compare to CPU in Pro version). HDD is PCI-e v.2 so transfers are 1,3/1,4 GB. Work perfect with FHD+ monitors.
I upgraded to an M1 Pro 14" from my 2013 MBP 15 about 2 years ago because the battery went bad. I do still use it for some things though! It works fine plugged in.
I love my 2015 15". It's still going strong to this day on Monterey, I got it to replace my 2013 13" that I bought new. It is definitely getting long in the tooth at this point though, I think within this year it'll have to get replaced. The fact the design is as old as it is and still looks like it could have came out yesterday is insane to me. Think of what a laptop that came out 13 years before this body style launched looked like, it would be from 1999! Thinking of using a computer from 1999 in 2012 was insane as well, yet here we are 13 years later and the machine is still more than capable of meeting most peoples needs.
I have a 2013 MB Air with an i7. I keep it around as a spare and for my wife whose primary computer is a M1 iPad Pro. The Air is capable of running Parallels when I need Windows (seldom). I also created a boot volume with High Sierra on it so I can use iTunes to manage old iPods without dealing around issues with Apple Music and iPods incapable of playing those tracks.
I bought a 13inch 2015 MacBook Pro about two years ago. Still works great as a daily driver. Open core-patcher has given it a new lease on usability.
my 2013 13 inch is amazing! i got it for free with a brand new battery and it holds up really well for being over 10 years old.
I picked up my current 2012 15” 2.6GHz Unibody MacBook Pro for US$54 about a year ago. It needed a bit of TLC (no RAM, no SSD, and the battery was very unhappy), but I had spares of all of it since I was replacing another 2012 15” Unibody which I killed while trying to fix a fan. My only qualm is the lack of AVX2.
Two of my friends are still driving the traditional MacBook Air!!
1 of them has a 2017 one.
1 of them has a 2015 one.
Good video. Small correction, the 2015 model runs Monterey so one generation more than Big Sur that you mentioned.
I still use the 2015 MBP for streaming content and also some photo editing. I also have a thunderbolt SSD, so they are perfect for each other. The SD card slot also helps a lot.
I’ve had two non Retina 2012 MacBook Pros back in the day, and “upgraded” to newer models and mostly regretted it.
I’m not sure how they’d be today with their out-of-date operating system, but machines they were! They were the last properly upgradable MacBook Pros, nearly everyone bought the lower specification memory models and then bought after marketing memory modules taking it to 16GB…Apple itself, for some reason, maxing out at 8GB! I swapped out the HDD for an SSD too, made a marked difference in performance.
The battery was a piece of cake to replace, a quite cheap, and the non Retina versions came with a DVD/CD rewriter built-in (which is why I chose these over the similar specification Retina models). These machines were easy to service for things like dust and fluff removal, and nearly all parts were available…I swapped the trackpad on the 13” and it was so easy. In my opinion Apple went backwards from the 2012 non Retina MacBook Pros onwards
I had a 13” 2.9Mhz dual-core and a 15” 2.6Mhz quad-core. As an experiment on the 15” 2.6Mhz quad-core I removed the disk drive, bought mounted and installed a second SSD to parallel boot both SSDs as RAID-0…that thing was really quick then.
Looking back, I now think that I should have kept at least one of them.
my 2012 15" Unibody (16GB RAM, SSD) runs the latest MacOS (with the patch) just fine. And Windows 11 24H2 on bootcamp, also just fine.
Good video Luke.
I agree the 2015 was the golden era. The CPU, GPU, and other hardware is still usable.
Thank you for sharing. 😊
Still using a macbook pro 2015 for work. Just had its battery replaced and upgraded to sequoia with the help of OCLP. At home, still using a 2012 iMac with a new SSD and upgraded to sequoia too.
Hi Luke, I recently purchased a 2017 Macbook Air from Mac Sales/OWC for $179. I upgraded the SSD to 1TB and installed MacOS Sonoma via OCLP. The battery only has 28 cycles, and there is not a mark on the body. It is a great “coffee house” machine. I can throw it in a backpack and take it anywhere. I used Bootcamp to install Windows 10, and then upgraded to Windows 11 with Rufus. Very happy with this purchase!
Consider installing Debian 12, I have the xfce variant and it's way faster than Windows.
I got a 2011 MacBook Air 11 inch, put Ventura on it with opencore legacy patcher, and am now happily using it as a device for playing with and syncing old iPhones and iPods
Still using my mid 2014 15” MBP with Sequoia and running great!
I think you should include the generation of the processors when listing the specs and/or the name of the processor generation
6:26 There's something ethereal about seeing a granny handling/examining an opened up Macbook Pro. XD I dunno, can't explain it.
as a cybersec analyst and tier 2 SOC in company, having late 2012 macbook pro back then was a beast.
as the time goes by and several updates doesn't make any better change.
with some ball-a** 13 years old processor, which less than enough to lift my server and sandbox, i decided to give up and bought M1 proc macbook air last year.
it would be better if those laptops that you mentioned running the latest OS with opencore patch.
I'm still using my 15" MBP Retina, which I upgraded myself a couple of years ago to a 1 TB SSD, as my main computer for work and private tasks (like taxes, streaming etc). It's still a great laptop that pretty much suits all of my needs. The only three limitations I've noticed:
1. It still has the original battery running now at 86% capacity, but it won't last more than like 3.5 hours.
2. I'm lacking the nerve to upgrade to Sequoia, but running Catalina is becoming problematic.
3. The old USB/Thunderbolt connections are really slow.
Still using my 2008 Unibody Macbook for work, watching youtube, word processing etc. OCLP on Big Sur (yeah, I know...) and honestly, I love this Macbook. I paid 50 bucks for it but that was a few years ago now. I bought one of those M1 Wal Mart Macbooks awhile back, its fine, but doesn't have the "something" that the 2008 Macbook has.
still using my 13 inch 2015 MBP. amazing machine that still works very well (despite some obv inferior tech).
The battery on my 2019 16" MBP decided it's not going to hold a charge. I called an independent shop and the guy said a new battery doesn't always cure the issue. So, either I take the charger with me to the garage when I'm on the ski machine or I shop for its replacement.
I've refrained from updating my MBP 15" Mid2015 to OCLP since apparently there's an issue with the dual graphics swap ... so not sure about it though.
I got my latest MacBook 13" (mid 2010 white polycarbonate) for under $35USD and then fully upgraded it with OCLP to Sonoma and it runs awesome! (i'm watching YT on it actually everyday)
Mid 2012 13 inch with ssd upgrade and extra memory still is usable for pretty much all basics. We have 2 of them still running fine.
Not a Mac user but I'd say that what Macs do good they do great and I like the fact that the OS is built with a hardware specific kernel, not all the extra you see in linux and BSD kernels, just what's needed.
There's tons of info on the kernel of MacOS, how Steve Jobs left Apple, formed NeXT, was bought by Apple and lots of other stuff from the way-back-machine. It's an interesting read if you're a geek.
The last version of the old-school 13-inch MBA is the 2017 model, mostly similar to that 2015 model. I have one, and I still use it sometimes. Quite useable for basic stuff, with great (not “butterfly”) keyboard. There are even some advantages compared my M1-nothing 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020). MagSafe power connector doesn’t use USB-C port. Two USB-A ports (one on each side), one Thunderbolt port (can be used as mini-DisplayPort), plus SD card slot. The SD card slot is particularly useful; I use with a flushed-fitting adapter for tiny micro-SD card, now available up to 2TD. Mine is 1.5TB in an adapter by BaseQi (still sold new - $25 on Amazon). SD card not super fast but fine for off-loading my user data from internal SSD. The old design is also VERY easy to upgrade internal SSD and replace worn-out battery, compared to newer MacBooks. I even like the wide silver bezel around display and glowing Apple logo.
How long have you been using the BaseQi adapter? I'm thinking about getting one. Thanks!
@ColoCulture At least 6 years. I needed it initially because internal SSD was only 128GB, later upgraded to 1TB. When I bought BaseQi adapter, its description said compatible with up to 500GB micro-SD card. I first used with 400GB. But it worked fine with 1TB and then 1.5TB as they became available and more affordable. Functionally, it seems to be like the adapter that come with some micro-SD card to use as standard SD card, but with shorter shape so it fits flush in MBA. All the micro-SD cards I’ve used have been SanDisk.
@@ken1w Thank you for the response, I just bought the adapter.
@@ColoCulture I’m sure you did, but make sure it’s the right size to fit flush in your MBA. They make different sizes (how short it is) for different laptop models. I wish my M1 MBP had a an SD card slot like my old MBA.
@ Yes, I confirmed it will fit my 2015 MBP. Thanks again for mentioning this here.
I've got a mid-2015 MacBook pro. I'm pretty happy with it. I use it for web browsing, UA-cam, and Google Docs.
Adding to the chorus: The 2012 MacBook Pro (both 13" and 15", esp. the latter with a hi-def matte screen). Yes, the weight is a minus. But the ability for the end user to do whatever she/he/they want to do with the hardware.... that's just *such* a gift. I have three or four of these. Still my favorite MacBook.
I picked up a 2013 MacBook Pro, and it’s great, spent about $30 on a new battery, it was a big job and a pain to swap out but worth it in the end since it has worked like a charm.
I did upgrade the OS using OCLP, however, probably due to it being an i5 model, it can’t handle Sonoma or Sequoia at all, so I’ve settled on Ventura.
2015 15 inch Macbook Pro Dual Graphics hands down the best laptop I’ve had. I purchased mine 2 years ago for $250 on ebay based on watching Lukes videos. I got the battery replaced under the recall through Apple. I replaced the stock 512gb ssd for a OWC Aura Pro X2 1Tb ssd. I’ve used it for everything. College. Windows gaming and I still use it currently for my work from home job with an extra monitor. I see multiple clients over zoom and screen share presentations. It never skips a beat. Only complaint it’s old intel macs are noisy and hot. That’s probably the only reason I want an Apple Silicon mac. Oh and they can run Mac os Monterey natively. Haven’t needed to use opencore for a newer OS. Great buy go get one.
I gave my mother a 2009 white plastic Macbook about four years ago. It cost £43 and hasn't missed a beat.
This video was very helpful, looking to get my aunt a laptop to replace her dead one and watching this video helped me make my choice on what to get her. Thank you.