Complete Guide to all 2012 MacBook Pro 15" Upgrades - A Definitive How to Upgrade Your Laptop Video
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- Not a guide showing you how to perform each upgrade, but a guide to all upgrades possible on this old Apple machine. This one took a lot of effort and research to make. My Patreon is $3.99 if you wish to support the channel directly. No pressure, as viewing the video helps me out anyway.
www.patreon.com/user?u=111524730
Any other upgrades greatly appreciated in the comments!
Links to help you upgrade (not created by or affiliated with me):
Display: www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+...
RAM: support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201165
Storage: How to Install a Second Drive in Your 13” Mid-2012 ...MacSales.comeshop.macsales.com › blog › 36523-how-to-ins...
AirPort Card: www.intriguingindustries.co.u...
Operating System:
MacOS: www.macworld.com/article/6724...
Windows: support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201468
CPU: www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+...
GPU:
Razer eGPU Box: Razer - Core X Chroma: Thunderbolt 3 External Graphics Enclosure (eGPU) for Windows 10 and Mac with RGB Chroma Lighting£379.99Amazon.co.uk30-day returns (most items)
iBoff xGPU mod: iboffrcc.com/pages/x-gpu-project
Cooling:
Thermal Pads: Thermal pad mod on a unibody MacBook Pro 15" Early 2011UA-cam · Andy Knows Tech!12 minutes, 56 seconds15 Jan 2021
Holes lol: www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments...
Battery: MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2012 Battery ReplacementiFixitwww.ifixit.com › Guide › MacBook+Pro+15-In...
Optical Drive Upgrade: Can I replace internal DVD drive with a BLU-RAY drive?iFixitwww.ifixit.com › Answers › View › Can+I+repl...
Here’s a guide to how to repaste the CPU and GPU, as this can help reduce temps, too: Repasting 2012 Macbook Pro - CoolingForums - Linus Tech Tipslinustechtips.com › ... › Cooling
TIMESTAMPS...
00:00 Intro
0:19 Display
1:12 Storage
1:50 Airport Card
2:24 OS
3:00 CPU
3:46 Graphics
4:52 Cooling & Thermals
5:34 Battery and Power Supply
6:11 Optical Drive - Навчання та стиль
I don’t know why I crammed so much information into such a short video, looking back on it. Like if I should re do the video in better quality going into more detail?
5:47 a slightly better than factory battery is available from Other World Computing. The stock battery in the 2012 15" is 77.5Wh, while the NewerTech NuPower battery is 85Wh. I currently have the slightly upgraded battery and it works great, verified capacity with the power tab in system information. Great video!
Thanks for the tip! Had no idea there was a difference. Glad you liked the video.
I love my 2012 MacBook Pro. I use it everyday and run various Linux distributions using UTM.
I have Linux Mint installed on my MBP 17" 2011. Because it has older hardware there are fewer problems with WiFi and WebCam drivers than newer MacBook models which often require building your own kernel drivers due to Apple license restrictions. Linux works very well and Linux can provide better privacy, security and speed than either MacOS or Windows. Great for coders who want to test Linux programs on bare metal.
Changing the thermal paste is also a good idea, but does require the logic board to be removed first. Make sure the fans are connected afterwards or you risk blowing up the GPU! If you have problems with the keyboard, it would be a good idea to replace it at the same time.
The speakers disintegrate on these old models. Replacements are hard to find and fairly expensive. To repair them, take them out and cover them completely with a layer of plastic wrap. Then cut out the wrap around the disintegrating speaker cone. Use spray contact cement on the exposed speakers then put new plastic wrap on, gluing the wrap to the old speakers making a new seal for the driver cone. After the glue has dried, remove the excess plastic wrap and trim the edges. You have now repaired the speakers to almost normal.
I adore the 17” models, but unfortunately fear the GPU issues strongly. I hope you see many years out of your machine yet.
I realised a little late that I forgot the thermal paste replacement. It’s probably a good idea on most of these since they’re all rather old.
Brilliant tip about the speakers. I had no idea such a fix existed! I appreciate the comment, and in future I might end up documenting your advice into a video lol.
I'm sure dosdude can add a couple to your list
That’s true. I should have mentioned the micro soldering possibilities for the really advanced lol
@@montaguebarnabasltd I've been talking with him "dosdude" and getting some tips. I've procured a solder reflow station and the tools and plan soon to make some modifications. I would love to know if it's possible to upgrade the video ram by soldering the proper chips. I know that you can swap a processor on these with little to no issues at all. The battery that are being sold by NuPower are EXPENSIVE. 100.00 for the battery alone
@@ScottLynn-gz2hl cool! Yeah I don’t currently have the space or money to get into mobo level repairs, but have wanted to for a while now. I’d absolutely love it if you could reach out if you get any results on the 2012!
Also, 100 bucks for a battery is far more than I’d pay for sure… considering they’re hard to find working now though it might sadly be worth it.
actually i realized dosdude is very familiar with russian tech forums :)
@ScottLynn-gz2hl I'm told one should target their VRAM capacity to be 1/4 the size of the system RAM. But Colin can advise you about that issue.
Properly useful. Thanks.
Any time
Great information 😅
I really need to look into the screen upgrade for mine. I added an SSD years ago, that's a must have.
I agree. The screen isn’t a massive upgrade in quality, but I find anti glare is brilliant.
still running my maxxed out 2012 no probs.
Muito bom o vídeo, bem explicado e detalhado, uma obra prima da edição e de apego aos detalhes, mesmo entendo 80% do que diz (pelo meu entendimento do idioma), ficou claro pra mim how to upgrade. Ótimo em muitos sentidos. Abraços do Brasil!
Muito obrigado meu amigo!
Your comment means a lot, thank you :)
Luke Miani Covered this including High Res displayupgrade. I have 2 of these machines fully spec with High Res displays and Twin EVO SSD's. They are great fun. Run ventura on mine.
Yeah, his vids are great. I love the whole dual ssd compatibility
I really like uaing these older MacBooks. I do have an M1 MacBook Air (and a Samsung Galaxy Book 3 360 Ultra). Yet I find myself going back to the older MacBook Pro 2012 that I added a 1TB SSD, 16GB of memory & a new battery as my go-to laptop
There’s something lovely about them. They seem so solid.
Did you replace the original HD with the 1TB SSD or add the 1TB SSD as second storage in place of the DVD Drive?
Does it support a 2 TB SSD instead of the original HD?
I have a MacBook Pro 13 i7 2.9 Ghz 2012 HD 500gb 16 RAM
@@TheMASSARIEI replaced the HDD with the SSD. I still use the disk drive to watch old movies and listen to CDs.
@@TheMASSARIEIt can support a 2TB Sata SSD.
I still use a 2012 MacBook Pro 9,1 to edit my videos, I think it is undoubtedly the best MacBook ever created by Apple. If I wanted to install a Blu-ray player instead of a DVD, what would you recommend?
Thanks for the comment! Agreed.
For Blu-Ray I’d suggest getting one of these
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191895629657?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=SlcC6ghiRSe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=hJ_-LATyTsm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
They can be very tricky to find, and this is the only one I could find on eBay that states in the listing it works on MacOS.
What you essentially need is a ‘slot loading’ SATA internal laptop Blu-Ray drive, but one that supports MacOS. Also be careful to avoid tray loading ones, and those that might be too thick or wide.
Hope this helps.
😱
Lot of effort went into this one, eh
Brother how can I upgrade OS Version to 13 ventilne 2:31
I’m still using my 17” MacBook Pro 2.2ghz (2011)1TB SSD, eGPU Radeon Bega 56. Running Ventura . Look for blu ray drive for it. Hard to find
That’s very impressive. A decent experience these days?
Just seen one on eBay for £95 - far more than I expected
I replaced my MBP 15" 2012 display with a hi-res anti glare coming from a 2011 A1286, but i'm stuck with a blank black screen upon start up. Mac boots up and chimes, keyboard lights up, but I have no video. If I connect an HDMI monitor it works fine. Any advice? Thanks!
Apologies for the late reply, as far as I’m aware the 2011s should be compatible. It might be that you have a broken screen on your hands? Or possibly the connector… have you tried putting the old one back on?
Getting decent battery replacements for this model is next to impossible. I have been through 4 replacements from ifixit all of them failed after 2-3 months of use. I am currently using the original battery which now has 2268 cycles and 3849mA capacity left. I get maybe 2 hours life.
I agree, it’s difficult as a lot of them are old when bought ‘new’. Personally I’ve had luck buying ones that are used but with few cycles.
Does AirDrop, Handoff, Continuity and Universal Clipboard work? My 2013 Air still feels pretty modern with these features. The base 4gb RAM is probably the most noticeable bottleneck.
Yup, they all work. Ah, yeah, that’s only gonna get worse unfortunately. Glad to hear you’re still making use of an old device though
@@montaguebarnabasltd I find it’s still good for media consumption and light productivity. I just got myself a base 2021 MBP 14. The Touch ID login, display and speakers are really nice quality of life upgrades. I’ll be ecstatic if I can get 10 years out of it like my old workhorse Air.
@@slalomie Solid, man, the 2021s are a massive leap. Genuinely hard to believe how good the 2019-onwards speakers are… Here’s hoping they do last eh
@@montaguebarnabasltd The speakers are seriously impressive. It’s terrible that Apple solders flash chips onto the board but at least the battery is replaceable. The iFixit teardown makes it look needlessly complicated though.
@@slalomie yessir. Yeah, ifixit tend to be more over careful than under. Not always a bad thing tho
Would all these modifications be available to the 13” as well??
Other than the display, yup
@@montaguebarnabasltd great, thank you for the reply! I’m completely new to these things but I’m very excited to attempt some of these modifications. Some look a little too complicated for me 😅
Can you still use final cut pro on it with a patched version of macOS?
You can. I recently switched to M1 because my 2012 was dragging its heels and holding me back. It should run half decently, though.
Worried about upgrading my mid 2012 macbook pro to Sonoma OS, anyone have experience with that?
I’ve seen it done with smooth results. Personally I see no reason to update vs Ventura. Imo if there’s a feature you’re vying for, do it, if not, don’t bother!
Guyz, I just have one query. Since I cant use the AppStore to download any app, if I upgrade my Mid 2012 13" MacBook Pro, will I still face such kind of issues? Also, what about the Apple updates? And Security Updates?
If you’re asking if the App Store will work once the OS is updated, it should work fine.
If you’re using OCLP to patch it to Ventura/Sonoma then security updates aren’t going to be easy to install. I find myself avoiding them.
@@montaguebarnabasltd thank you for the reply. Although this makes me a little sceptical. If there's no Apple security, won't we face any issues in the future?
I would just like to share that this is my first ever Apple product, not really in a place to make mistakes. Hope you get my point.
Imagine one day the next Apple CEO gets saved by Jesus Christ and decides to give us great products with upgrade ability and Apple becomes consumer friendly.
Wake up babe it was just a dream
Replacing the DVD with an extra hard drive, I rate that upgrade 1/10. Don't! You remove the ability to make safe (non-erasable) backups! This is invaluable. However, if you can put in a Blue-Ray burner instead of the DVD, sure! Is that possible? Are they compatible?
Concerning OS'es other than MacOS, Ubuntu runs very well and with the Budgie desktop a Mac user will feel pretty comfortable.
By non erasable I assume you mean on a DVD? The speed and noise levels at which they operate ranks SATA drives more important in my mind. I do see the long term benefits to DVD usage though, so to each their own - whatever suits you best.
Blu-Ray is an option for these, but it’s very difficult to find the right part these days. Not to mention probably fairly expensive!
Thanks for the comment
@@montaguebarnabasltd My point is security. A SATA drive can be erased or encrypted by an attacker. With your most valuable files on a DVD-R or even Blue-Ray, it is safe from such attacks.
Many don't think about that these days so I just had to mention it.
It is good that you brought up the Blue-Ray option, and I don't think a Blue-Ray writer is super expensive these days. And you made me look it up which is good! :)
Let me mention that I agree much more with other parts. The RAM upgrade is an absolute must-have as well as the SSD. What is so great with this model is that the HD/SSD, RAM and battery are all easily accessible.
@@Ragnemalm oh I agree, but I don’t consider a second hard drive a backup drive, more an expansion of storage. For backups I’d go with a USB SATA drive, SSD or HDD, which I’d then keep cold somewhere. I just don’t find using optical discs convenient, really.
Am I just NOT seeing the link for the storage upgrade?
www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Dual+Hard+Drive/13787
Try that, apologies
What about ram can you upgrade it too??
@00:54
Ok brother my mistake
Can this work for 13"
Which one..?
I planning to buy the same MacBook Pro but 2011 because I want to install Mac OS X Snow Leopard because it's my favorite operating system, and I have old apps.
Word to the wise - it may be worth disabling your AMD gpu. The graphics problems on the 2011s are more common than you’d think. Mine died within a month of me getting it!
Why would you replace the dvd player, thats one of the main reasons for buying this model. Weird.
I bought one and had absolutely no desire to play DVDs. It’s just great to have a second SATA port.
You forgot to mention the ram! 16gb upgrade is possible.
0:53
Th biggest upgrade you missed. The high resolution anti glare display.
My brother that’s the first upgrade I talked about
looks like 15" MacBook Air & 17" MacBook Air