I still use my 2011 MacBook Pro! It put me through college and it’s putting me through grad school. I create a lot of worksheets since I’m a teacher and I use photoshop for fun etc. Still works amazing 👌🏼👌🏼
Juan Moreno It’s a bit hard if you’re buying online because you’re just relying on someone to tell you and they might dazzle it up for you just so they can sell it. But if the seller has pictures first check the outside to see if it has any dents or scratches on the screen or body. Also the ports. They must all be working. See if the seller mentions that it’s still booting up normally, ram and condition of battery. But then again like the video mentions that you can swap those out so that’s pretty cool. Also, check if the seller offers returns. Just in case you don’t end up liking it! If you’re only going to use it for light work then it can be worth it especially if you upgrade the ram and swap the ssd & battery.
I have the same MacBook (Early 2011, 2,3GHz, 8GB RAM and an 250GB Samsung SSD and patched Catalina and i can say that this thing is still a beast in 2020.
Maikp735KR Can I ask if you played UA-cam on 1080p 60fps did it lags or stuttering?because I have iMac 2008 an it can’t play UA-cam 1080p 60fps it’s just stutter too much
I still use my early 2011 macbook pro every single day , usually work on it for over 8 hours a day. I had the hard disk replaced by a 480GB SSD and upgraded the RAM memory to 10 GB a couple of years ago and it was like getting a new laptop. It's still super snappy.
Same here and run's. But depending on what to do with it it will serve or not ... If you dev the lac of compatibility in libs start to be a problem. For that reason i have to upgrade this year ... or put linux on it :-)
I love my 2011 mbp ,but it started struggling while I had multiple programs running at once. I upgraded the ram and installed an ssd and it definitely helped for a while. Just got the 16 inch and mbp and holy cow. Next level machinery! I still enjoy hopping on my 2011 mbp and using it for simpler tasks. Thanks for the vid.
Riverdale tales apple engineers have an obsession with thinness and they made the lid so thin they couldn’t fit in the part that lets the logo light up. so they took it out 🤦🏽♂️
@Satwik V Its actually from the backlight from the display, which is a plain white LED panel behind the coloured LCD panel. They made a hole in the back of the backlight to allow the light to bleed through the back. If you've got an old MacBook, you can take a flashlight (when your screen brightness is all the way down) , and shine it through the apple logo, you can then see whats on the display. There is no reason as to why they couldn't bring it back.
Still 100% worth it! I have a mid 2010 MacBook Pro. The only two things I have ever done was increase the RAM to 8GB and replaced the HDD with an SSD. Absolutely fantastic! Feels like new. The battery of course is the worst part. But other than that I love it!
which do you prefer first : upgrade more RAM to 8gb or buy an SSD. bcz my '11 Mac Pro always get circle beachball to open Microsoft office 2016 :( I'm using OSX High Sierra btw let me now, please reply. Cheers!
ezterixx def SSD would be the best thing. You will need a USB to SATA connector and you can use Carbon copy cloner to clone your hard drive to the SSD. Once it’s cloned you can swap the drives and it’ll boot no problem. Just make sure all updates are done before cloning. Cloning will take a few hours. Also make sure the SSD you buy is the same size or larger than your current HDD.
Thanks for the information. I will upgrade my badboy soon haha. I did change the battery after doing 2230 cycles. The brand from the new battery is Hecker and I'm very happy about the quality. It's as original.
Hi Brandon. Great video. Thanks. I purchased mine new in early 2011. Great machine. Was getting slow so was looking to upgrade. As you recommended, installed a 500GB SSD and 16GB RAM. Night & day... It's so snappy. It would definitely rival many laptops out there today for performance. Really solid, reliable and enjoyable workhorse. A few years left in her yet! Thanks again and G'day from Sydney Australia. Mark
This is such a magic m/c.Have had mine from new and its been awesome. Upgraded RAM & hdd to ssd. Dual-booted with Win10 for a while, now running Win10 solo. Windows has always run better on Mac hardware
I still use my 2011 MBP to this day. Upgraded to 8gb and 256ssd. I use Logic Pro X everyday to make music. Never a single issue. IMO in a couple ways mines better than new since Evil Apple took away ports and upgradability on everything. My battery is at 1000 cycles and still working. And I can still replace in in 2 mins for $40.
@@jandersoares62 does the job! Little loud at times when I’m really using it hard, and I’m still using Mojave but overall I’m very please with my decision, rather than going newer with same specs for more money.
I have a mid 2012,, the max is 16gb,, it refuses anything above, they come with 500gb HDD's as minimum too,, don't wanna be that guy who corrects the info but...
I call bullshit. The Macbook Pro only accepts 16GB of ram. 32GB of the DDR3 it accepts run at different clocks and CAS Latency so it wouldn't even work to begin with.
Lol, enjoying that high sierra os? Bet you arent. Bet you arent using microsoft apps either. Might as well be a brick in a building at that point. I call BS.
DailyBimmers you did it yourself? How do you know what ssd to buy for compatibility with the macpro? How much ram can the 2011 take? (Not too computer literate so wanting to know)...still have my 2011 but my drive blew out on me...
I am still using my 2011 MacBook Pro 15” today. Over time I have upgraded to a 1tb ssd, 16gb memory, a new battery and recently a “new” screen. I’d love to upgrade it, but it works fine for everything that i am doing on it right now. I still run Microsoft office, fcpx, and the adobe cs6 (all programs), and quick books. It’s my main work computer and i still wont give it up even in late 2021.
J Snadow Can I ask if you played UA-cam on 1080p 60fps did it lags or stuttering?because I have iMac 2008 an it can’t play UA-cam 1080p 60fps it’s just stutter too much
I couldn't believe how big the difference was when swapping the HDD in my late 2011 MBP for an SSD. E.g. restarting the machine went from about 2 minutes to 20 seconds. You might say that it doesn't bother you, but: Those HDD's don't last forever. There are three things that DO annoy me and that would personally keep me away from buying a 2011 model in 2020: 1. The fan is really, really loud. Even with regular cleaning, it's just loud and I wouldn't want to use this Macbook in a crowded library. 2. I like to browse with lots of privacy addons: uBlock Origin, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, WoT...but browsing gets really, really slow with all those addons. I uninstalled Ghostery and it became significantly better, but still that's a bummer. 3. Its just waaay too expensive for its age. For 200 bucks you can get way faster windows or Linus machines. But other than that, 2011's models were the second best models, after the 2012's. Why? You can change battery, RAM, HDD/SSD, keyboard has no issues and MacSafe is nice, too. And its pretty robust (at least mine is). Once I feel it gets slower and slower, I'll try to revive it again with Linux. Maybe it will last till 2031.
I actually STILL use my MacBook Pro 2,7 GHz bought early 2011. Now I'm stuck on High Sierra and only get Secury Patches for my system from the AppStore (no real updates for any app or OS). But last year I swapped my old hard drive for the fastest available SSD from Samsung, maxed out my RAM to 8GB and replaced the old battery for a new one. Conclusion: It's faster than ever and serves my daily needs still very well: Working on my University stuff, Apple Music, synching my iPhone, browsing the web and light video editing in iMove. All still works VERY well and even kinda fast. I might upgrade to a new 13inch MacBook Pro (when it comes out) or to a MacMini (when the 8th Intel Chipset gets updated). Or maybe I'm still happy for a while with my current setup. Still serves my need pretty well and I'm impressed how awesome this machine still is - even in 2020.
Bro I'm rocking my mid 2012 macbook pro still. I have a 512gb ssd boot drive and a 1tb (replaced cd drive with it) and 16gb ram. Works like a charm and renders premiere 4k videos quite decent.
I have a early 2011 MacBook Pro and I upgraded to an SSD, took out the optical drive and put another hard drive in its space, and added 16 GB of ram. I run macOS high Sierra on it. No mod or workaround. It runs almost as fast as the new Macs today, even thought it’s 10 years old.
Great overview, just dusted off my MB early 2011, having added 16gb RAM along with SSD, took out the CD drive and added another SSD, love the keyboard and the glowing apple too. Planning to do animation using OpenToonz, so far so good! Thanks for jogging the memory and confirming what I thought. My MB 2017 is super fast etc, these days with so much remote desktop and google suite focus, I could even get away with working from the 2011!
I have the same "issue". Just upgraded my 2011 and my wife surprised me w/a birthday gift yesterday with the new Air. My old 2011 is working well and I'm thinking of telling her to return the Air. What differences do you see?
This is still my main laptop in 2020. I’ve changed the battery so it lasts decent 4-5 hours on a full charge, depending on the workload. I’ve upgraded RAM to its max 16GB and replaced the original HD with a new 1TB one. I’ve also taken the DVD out and replaced it with a 256 GB SSD which I turned into a startup disk. This thing runs really well and I am using it with a wide variety of programs. Microsoft Office runs just fine, I got no problems with web browsing, emailing, social media apps, VLC plays videos without glitches, UA-cam as well, Netflix runs fine - even when connected to an external display, Spotify, cloud storage etc. all running well. I don’t play games much but when I do it’s usually Civilization IV that I have installed on this machine - works well. My main productivity would be using Adobe CC package and Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all run fine. I edit large files with this machine without issues. Premiere Pro can handle 1080 video editing but this is where you start noticing the lag. 4K will definitely not work. XCode works but cannot be updated to the latest version anymore without patching which I don’t want to do. All is not well however. The SD card slot stopped working long time ago, speakers were fried back when Apple issued an update that would fry speakers so I use either headphones or external speakers. Bluetooth works but it’s not fast and sometimes drops a connection with devices that are further away from the machine. One USB port is also becoming less and less reliable. Overall, this machine works really fast as a home laptop. As a productivity machine it has it’s limits but it can get the job done. I love it and use it almost daily. I would love to get a new MacBook but I’m just not sold on the new MacBooks with zero upgradeability. Also, I love the proper keyboard it has although the new 16” MacBook Pro fixes the keyboard issue. I don’t need two laptops so I’m staying with this one and selling it seems like such a wrong thing to do as this machine is worth way more being in use than being sold.
Replace the thermal paste, clean the dust of the heatsink and fan. Put 8gb on it and an ssd and you have a good computer for basic tasks and even photoshop and lightroom can run without issues. Great video! You should do a real day in life video of an iphone, i think it would be pretty cool.
Thank you for giving this old device a review in 2020. After >8 years of using my MBP A1278, I FINALLY had some work done to it for the first time last week. Pretty much still with all of its original hardware, except for replacing the keyboard and WiFi chip. No significant upgrades to its internal, be it memory or storage. The only software upgrade I've had done is installing the MacOS High Sierra. This baby is a beast in terms of durability. I do hate the speaker quality, but Brandon gave a good solution which is to plug in an ear/headphone. Will probably take me another year or two to save up and get myself a new device, considering how pricey the newer Macbooks are. But for now as a daily driver, it still does the job for me.
I still using my MBP late 2013 with OS Catalina and it run smoothly ! I've never have major problem with it . I use the MBP for anything ; office work, drawing , internet surving and occasionally light editing video clip. I also have and iPad pro 1st gen (10.5"), I use these 2 together via iCloud and Airdrop. The only downside is that my MBP doesn't have the support for Sidecar. That's the only reason I consider to buy the new one.
Still using mine till this day, Got me through highschool, Collage and been all over the world with me, and still strong af. Sad they don't make these anymore built like this
I have my own 2011 macbook pro 13” and also still run smoothly. I have upgraded with 8GB RAM, replace the battery just now, replace the track pad few months ago, and the rest are just fine! And you are right, it still can do so much.
@@superdoppiaggio I think what you found is quite good. It depends on the apps that you will be going to use it for. Currently, mine, I just use it for making music with garage band apps. I'm getting tired of how it is slow (I need something faster) and most of it is about the battery life. The rest is still okay.
I currenly use a 2013 13 inch Retina Macbook pro, and it's holding up well. I don't have any problems with it other than the battery holding less charge which is to be expected. The machine upgraded from was the same 2011 Macbook Pro that you have and it still works fine except for the CD drive. I might put an SSD in the old macbook pro like you mentioned, I want to see how much better the performance is myself. Great video Brandon, informative as usual!
I use the early 2011 13" macbook pro too, and its running on Mojave just perfect. I even feel it is faster than it was with high sierra. Dosdude rocks!
@@ivanf.144 It is a struggle. I use firefox and tampermonkey to lower it to 30fps. This dual core second gen i5 is a bit old nowdays. I use the 2010 macbook white too with nvidia 320m and core 2 duo cpu, and 720p is way to go. Your imac with your screen resolution is underpowered for 1080p, try 720p.
@@alamar1205 im using firefox too, even with 720p 60fps its still stutter, i just want to upgrade too a bit nicer device that atleast can handle youtube 1080p 60fps, can this 2011 i5 13 can do it without stuttering?
Ivan F. Some videos it can, some of them it cannot, it is a lottery. I would not recommend 2011 macbook pro, go for 2012 13inch. I am content with 30fps streaming it is not that bad.
I did a complete overhaul on my 13" mbp late 2011, Samsung 860 Evo SSD, 2x Timetec Hynex IC 8GB ram cards, upgraded to a sata 3 cable and lastely I replaced the thermal paste with some good 'ol Arctic MX-4, now doing all of this has literally brought new life to this old mbp and I love it
Mid-2011 Macbook Air here. Running High Sierra (last supported OS for 2011 MBAs) The 2011 MBA is still fine for 2021. However, if anyone is still using their 2011 MB Air for long term, I would try doing a custom upgrade (using a patcher like Catalina Patcher) or using Bootcamp to Windows for continous support. However, the 4GB RAM may pose a bottleneck for most power users, but for any regular user it's still fine. Despite the opportunity to upgrade the SSD, I just wish the RAM could be upgraded...which only available for early Macbook Pros :(
So I recently bought an iPhone and dusted off my wife’s old 2011 MacBook Pro to join the ecosystem. I changed the track pad, changed the battery and added additional ram. I did a factory reset. The system works great. Runs smoothly. No performance issues. However, I can’t get more than 3 hours out of mine. I calibrated the battery but still no better. Thoughts? Can’t find a solution that works.
just got my 2011 Macbook pro with the SSD and 1 TB storage preinstalled. It's my first Mac so the learning curve is a little rough for a grandpa. But your video was good and easy to understand...and made me feel even better about my purchase.
Using a 2011 late macbook pro with i7 processor, 250GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM. I've replaced the keyboard on two separate occasions and it's still running great. Battery lasts over 3 hours still.
You should be able to upgrade that machine to High Sierra officially, directly from apple. It really is amazing how well older MacBooks hold up. Until very recently I was using my mid-2012 MacBook Air and to this day my sibling is still using it.
To be honest within the last 10 years laptops have gotten so powerful/good and software has been made so efficient that upgrading every 5 years or even 10 years would be a waste of money for most people. These 10 year old laptops run so well and thanks to their upgradeability, buying one even today will be a good option for most people because you are getting something that is still premium and getting something that performs much better than a $300.00 laptop you can buy new from a store. I still use my mid 2012 13 inch MBP and still love it thanks to the upgrades I made. TBH I think I can squeeze out another 3 to 5 years outta this machine :)
Still using my Macbook Pro 2011 with i7 processor. After a defect CD drive I replaced it with a bay + 500GB SSD disk + doubled the RAM and since performance has been fantastic. During the years I've had my issues with batteries that needed to be replaced, but also there, for a while this has been stable. The only thing that sometimes bothers me is the fan noise, especially if I have to do audio recordings in the same room. The amount I have spent on upgrades has been only a fraction of what I would have needed to invest in a new system. Checking always out the new systems that come on the market, but it feels confortable not to be in a hurry and be able to wait for the next model, that will obviously always be even better :)
I literally just upgraded from my 2011 to my 2019 MacBook Pro. I was having many of problems but the thing that probably annoyed me the most was it didn’t run a lot of things anymore. But great review!
My 2012 was a Beast until the drive started going out on me so bought the 2016 and just.recently the 2019 16. I wonder if upgrading to SSD would fix it... hmmm
Hi I am using 2011 MacBook Pro. Great machine, never had a problem with it until recently, it slowed down dramatically. And I can hear the fan noise every now and again. Do you think upgrading to SSD would help?
2011 is probably my favorite. Man I have a 2019 , and this shit is out of control. I hit the "I" key and it does this a lot " II" ...Sometimes my volume wont even work!! I need to restart my computer... I never had these issues with my 2011!!!
You have faulty keyboard. It’s covered under apples warranty plan specifically for the keyboard. Take it to Apple or ship it to them, and they will cover it under warranty
I have the MacBook Pro late 2011. I updated the hardrive to SSD and put in 8GB ram. Its just runs fine for general web browsing and lightroom. I love it and really enjoy the keyboard and the glowing apple logo :-)
Still going strong! Early 2011 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3. I did have to replace the graphics card twice but it looks like the second time was a charm! The only regret so far is not being able to upgrade my FCPX.
I'm still using an early 2011 MacBook Pro 13", with I7. I upgraded to an SSD and 16GB RAM around JAN2020. The machine still runs flawlessly. It still runs MS Office, web browsing, streaming services just fine. I'm to the point of looking at upgrading but not sure it's worth it yet. To note: The SSD and RAM upgrade made significant improvements.
Still using my macbook 13' mid 2012, battery is almost a thousand cycle now and will be ready to replace soon. How amazing are the old MacBook because we can upgrade them and use it for years to come.
The last version for 2011 macbook pros was high sierra and not sierra. Although no matter how much you upgrade, even the high sierra is no longer supported. Microsoft office 2019 recently stopped supporting high sierra. Even if you put an SSD and 8 gigs of ram(the maximum upgradeable), it's just not recommended as you're stuck on old OS. With the M1 mac, there's absolutely no reason to hold on to this old buddy.
Just upgraded to SSD and 8GB RAM. I also replaced the battery. Runs High Sierra like a champ. Also running Win10 via Bootcamp. Runs MS Office like a champ.
I'm a graphic designer and I use a 2015 MBP (getting a 2020 16" tomorrow!) and i have a 2011 13.5" that I maxed out the ram and put an SSD in, well I wasn't using it and handed it down to my bf who used it in college to become a data scientist, he just graduated and he loves it, uses it every single day on github and using all these crazy utilities that i didn't even know existed, and he says it's easier on a mac and it runs great. so yeah i'd say it held up great.
Using a 2010 Macbook Pro in 2022. It works, but gets frustrating. Really considering getting a new one, and using my old one to listen to videos in the kitchen.
Instead of putting in a new HDD just put a nice SSD in it just like Rodrigo said. It's going to make it even faster ;) Plus, it's easy to do (I only know the process for the 2010 MBP lol idk if the 2012 is the same)
HEY HOW ARE YOU DOING? I HAVE A MACBOOK 2011 ALSO AND IT DOES NOT HAVE GARAGE BAND OR IMOVIE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE WHAT CAN I USE TO DO VOICE OVERS WITH THAT YOU VERY MUCH KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!! 😃
I'm still using my late 2011 MacBook Pro and for the most part, everything runs smoothly. You definitely need to have at least 8GBs of RAM however, as 4GB just won't cut it in 2020. I'm not sure if I would recommend this laptop for students though, since they always have 20-odd tabs open on a browser, whilst also running Word and PowerPoint in the background. The laptop will just freeze up on you and you won't be able to achieve anything. Battery life is also abysmal, so if you're in a classroom or lecture hall and you don't have any outlets around you, you're gonna be in for a bad time. It still cuts it for light browsing at home, including things like checking emails or watching UA-cam. But I definitely would not recommend an old laptop like this for school work.
Hey thanks so much for this video. It really gave me the information I needed about what the latest update is for my own 2011 MacBook Pro (15inch). I am still using mine in 2021 (just watched your video on it) and I don't plan on retiring it any time soon. Thanks for the great review and info.
i have a mid 2012 macbook, if u throw an SSD in it works literally perfect, i've used bootcamp to run some lightweight games aswell, it's insane how capable it is in 2020...
TheBestContent on UA-cam Keep looking you can get a WAY better price for both of those. I got my 2012 13” MacBook Pro for under $300! Dell has a good processor and overall a bit more powerful! Depends on what you’re planning to use it for..I would STILL continue researching better prices! Good luck
love to see so many people still rocking this beast of a machine, I never boot into mac os and get incredible boot speeds and performance in a slick all metal package with a very nice screen and great keyboard
I bought the 2011 17-inch MBP at launch with the anti-glare screen, 8 GB RAM and upgraded 2.3 GHz processor. It literally powered my journalism career and I have a spot for it. It was top of the line back then and it impressed colleagues and even my interview subjects. It cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it. All I had to do was pull it out and people instantly got the message: No more games, let's get down to business. About 5 years ago, I changed the battery, switched to a 500 GB Samsung SSD and it really helped speed up the machine. It runs a little too hot today even with the software GPU disable fix, so it needs some work. I plan to increase the RAM to 16 GB, get the hardware GPU disable, and change the CPU fans and thermal paste to reduce the heat. For now, it's a great backup machine for lower intensive tasks and the big screen still pleases.
The 13" 2011 models in recent years have started to overheat and even changing the thermal paste doesn't solve this. This is why i recommend going for the 2012 models instead... you also get USB 3.0 and HD Graphics 4000
I also have this 2011 early MacBook Pro at home. Even I have another 2018 MacBook Air when I work outside. More than 10 years.....OMG....I really love to use this old guy.
I just picked up one as a trade so I only have about $50 in it. For another $160 I upgraded to 16GB of RAM, 2 internal SSD drives by replacing the DVD drive and put a new battery in it. The new battery gives me about 6 hours of use and only ost $35. I have 2 newer MacBook Pros but wanted to see how fast that ould go with all the upgrades. I used a fast 240 GB SSD drive to replace the original HDD and then a slower 1TB SSD to replace the DVD/Optical drive. It worka great and all the upgrades are easy enough for jut about anyone to do.
What MacBook are you currently using? Or do you use an iPad/tablet instead?
Brandon Butch i use an ipad 7 and my dad’s hp laptop from 2017
I’m using a 2019 MacBook Air
im using the 2019 13 inch base model and its my first mac
2012 MacBook bro, 16GB Ram, 500gb SSD
Running like a top.
Pro*
I still use my 2011 MacBook Pro! It put me through college and it’s putting me through grad school. I create a lot of worksheets since I’m a teacher and I use photoshop for fun etc. Still works amazing 👌🏼👌🏼
You think it’s good for $250 I’m trying buy one
Juan Moreno It really depends on the condition it’s in and what the previous owner was using it for. Check everything before you buy!
@@Nashtradamus90 what should I look for he has it on the screen that says create a computer account
Juan Moreno It’s a bit hard if you’re buying online because you’re just relying on someone to tell you and they might dazzle it up for you just so they can sell it. But if the seller has pictures first check the outside to see if it has any dents or scratches on the screen or body. Also the ports. They must all be working. See if the seller mentions that it’s still booting up normally, ram and condition of battery. But then again like the video mentions that you can swap those out so that’s pretty cool. Also, check if the seller offers returns. Just in case you don’t end up liking it! If you’re only going to use it for light work then it can be worth it especially if you upgrade the ram and swap the ssd & battery.
@@Nashtradamus90 he said it was updated in 2018 and there’s no dents or nun
I have the same MacBook (Early 2011, 2,3GHz, 8GB RAM and an 250GB Samsung SSD and patched Catalina and i can say that this thing is still a beast in 2020.
Glad to see fellow 2011’s out there still running strong 💪
dude, i have same macbook, i'll try it patching osX
Maikp735KR Can I ask if you played UA-cam on 1080p 60fps did it lags or stuttering?because I have iMac 2008 an it can’t play UA-cam 1080p 60fps it’s just stutter too much
Ivan F. Well for me it works perfectly and i am also using an external Display
Ayyy bro we have almost exactly the same specs (mine has a 240 gb SSD), mine still performs like a champ, just need to replace the battery
I still use my early 2011 macbook pro every single day , usually work on it for over 8 hours a day. I had the hard disk replaced by a 480GB SSD and upgraded the RAM memory to 10 GB a couple of years ago and it was like getting a new laptop. It's still super snappy.
I still use this macbook pro, it use 256 gb ssd dan 16 GB Ram,
Same here and run's.
But depending on what to do with it it will serve or not ... If you dev the lac of compatibility in libs start to be a problem.
For that reason i have to upgrade this year ... or put linux on it :-)
What do you IOS use?
@@oscarabellorios High Sierra
@@oscarabellorios hight sierra that runs good but some soft is not compatible anymore :-(
Noe with Ubuntu 20 lts no prob :-)
Seriously I was watching this video on the 2011 MacBook Pro
Me too
Me too
Me too
Is it any good?
@@iammar7798 me too also
I love my 2011 mbp ,but it started struggling while I had multiple programs running at once. I upgraded the ram and installed an ssd and it definitely helped for a while. Just got the 16 inch and mbp and holy cow. Next level machinery! I still enjoy hopping on my 2011 mbp and using it for simpler tasks. Thanks for the vid.
I miss the glowing Apple
They should bring it back
Riverdale tales apple engineers have an obsession with thinness and they made the lid so thin they couldn’t fit in the part that lets the logo light up. so they took it out 🤦🏽♂️
@Satwik V Its actually from the backlight from the display, which is a plain white LED panel behind the coloured LCD panel. They made a hole in the back of the backlight to allow the light to bleed through the back. If you've got an old MacBook, you can take a flashlight (when your screen brightness is all the way down) , and shine it through the apple logo, you can then see whats on the display. There is no reason as to why they couldn't bring it back.
Satwik V it’s just the backlight on the computer itself. I don’t why they got rid of it. Probably to make it .001 thinner.
Ed Gauci I feel like it would look to 2010 and less slick on the new macbooks
Still 100% worth it! I have a mid 2010 MacBook Pro. The only two things I have ever done was increase the RAM to 8GB and replaced the HDD with an SSD. Absolutely fantastic! Feels like new. The battery of course is the worst part. But other than that I love it!
Jake Healy just put a new one in.
which do you prefer first : upgrade more RAM to 8gb or buy an SSD.
bcz my '11 Mac Pro always get circle beachball to open Microsoft office 2016 :(
I'm using OSX High Sierra btw
let me now, please reply. Cheers!
ezterixx def SSD would be the best thing. You will need a USB to SATA connector and you can use Carbon copy cloner to clone your hard drive to the SSD. Once it’s cloned you can swap the drives and it’ll boot no problem. Just make sure all updates are done before cloning. Cloning will take a few hours. Also make sure the SSD you buy is the same size or larger than your current HDD.
Thanks for the information. I will upgrade my badboy soon haha. I did change the battery after doing 2230 cycles. The brand from the new battery is Hecker and I'm very happy about the quality. It's as original.
Jake Healy can the ssd be lower than the hdd?
Hi Brandon. Great video. Thanks. I purchased mine new in early 2011. Great machine. Was getting slow so was looking to upgrade. As you recommended, installed a 500GB SSD and 16GB RAM. Night & day... It's so snappy. It would definitely rival many laptops out there today for performance. Really solid, reliable and enjoyable workhorse. A few years left in her yet! Thanks again and G'day from Sydney Australia. Mark
I did it on my pro 2011 late and works great
This is such a magic m/c.Have had mine from new and its been awesome. Upgraded RAM & hdd to ssd. Dual-booted with Win10 for a while, now running Win10 solo. Windows has always run better on Mac hardware
I still use my 2011 MBP to this day. Upgraded to 8gb and 256ssd. I use Logic Pro X everyday to make music. Never a single issue. IMO in a couple ways mines better than new since Evil Apple took away ports and upgradability on everything. My battery is at 1000 cycles and still working. And I can still replace in in 2 mins for $40.
glad to hear that, i thinking to bought some new laptop for my portability coz am pc user, what daw do u use?
Does it work for steaming that’s what I need it for
i just got hold of 2011 MacBook Pro today for $125 in Canada. its my first ever mac laptop i ever own
Just ordered a 2013 with a 3.3 turbo core i7 processor, 16gb ram, 512gb ssd for music production purposes! Such a beast for its age
How was it?? I'm think to buy one as a backup when i'm traveling or stuff like that
@@jandersoares62 does the job! Little loud at times when I’m really using it hard, and I’m still using Mojave but overall I’m very please with my decision, rather than going newer with same specs for more money.
Mine is 2012 I’ve upgraded the 4 GB ram to 32GB and the 256HHD to 1TB SSD so it’s perfect
i thought you can only upgrade the ram to 16gb???
32gb? damn it i thought can only upgrade to 16 -_-
Max is 16gb of RAM due to a chipset limitation, and it's called an HDD
I have a mid 2012,, the max is 16gb,, it refuses anything above, they come with 500gb HDD's as minimum too,, don't wanna be that guy who corrects the info but...
I call bullshit. The Macbook Pro only accepts 16GB of ram. 32GB of the DDR3 it accepts run at different clocks and CAS Latency so it wouldn't even work to begin with.
Upgrade my SSD and Memory 2 years back and I still use my 2011 MBP... It's a beast and a tank!!! Still worth so worth it.
I am getting a Macbook pro A1278, i7, 16gb RAM and 1tb HDD, 128gb SSD of 2012 @480dollars....should i bargain or take it?
Lol, enjoying that high sierra os? Bet you arent. Bet you arent using microsoft apps either. Might as well be a brick in a building at that point. I call BS.
@@foellerd It's called dosdude1 Catalina Patcher. You can also use Opencore Legacy Patcher to get Big Sur.
still using my 2012 macbook air 11 inch! hasn’t failed me yet lol
Nice! Planning on keeping it for the foreseeable future?
Brandon Butch yessir as long as it keeps running
Fire Emoji Music use Catalina patcher
Fire Emoji Music I’m still using my 2014 MacBook Pro and it is still chuggin’
Fire Emoji Music i use my Mac book air from 2012 11inch too
i bought a bunch of 2011 macbook pros on ebay and then upgraded all the ram and memory myself. it works way better than the newer computers
i also want to buy it... i found one with 17 inch, 18gb ram and 2tb... the price is 450/500... is it good?
@@superdoppiaggio sounds a little expensive but they did put those extra upgrades so might be worth it so you don’t have to buy the extra memory
Still using mine. All I did was upgrade my ram and replace the hard drive with an ssd and it works like new
DailyBimmers you did it yourself? How do you know what ssd to buy for compatibility with the macpro? How much ram can the 2011 take? (Not too computer literate so wanting to know)...still have my 2011 but my drive blew out on me...
@@shengvang3149 16gb max for the ram... Ssd on ebay come pre installed... High sierra is as far as this model can go program wise
I am still using my 2011 MacBook Pro 15” today. Over time I have upgraded to a 1tb ssd, 16gb memory, a new battery and recently a “new” screen. I’d love to upgrade it, but it works fine for everything that i am doing on it right now. I still run Microsoft office, fcpx, and the adobe cs6 (all programs), and quick books. It’s my main work computer and i still wont give it up even in late 2021.
I am using my 2011 MBP with a 1TB HHD replacing the Optical Drive and a 120GB SSD. Runs awesome. The rest is factory components. I love it so much!
I’m using the 2009 MacBook which has been discontinued & still performs well.
Me Lo should i get MacBook Pro 2011 for just uploading photos on social media and essays?
This is one of the few positive reviews for this MacBook. Love it
I have. 2011 MacBook Pro and I did install more ram 8gig and a 512 SSD and this computer is still working for my needs like a charm.
J Snadow Can I ask if you played UA-cam on 1080p 60fps did it lags or stuttering?because I have iMac 2008 an it can’t play UA-cam 1080p 60fps it’s just stutter too much
Incredibly stable machines.!! I still have my 2011 with updates and it runs great.
the 2011 I'm typing on is VERY slow getting on the internet when turned on. I usually put in on sleep, except when I need to put it away.
I couldn't believe how big the difference was when swapping the HDD in my late 2011 MBP for an SSD. E.g. restarting the machine went from about 2 minutes to 20 seconds. You might say that it doesn't bother you, but: Those HDD's don't last forever.
There are three things that DO annoy me and that would personally keep me away from buying a 2011 model in 2020:
1. The fan is really, really loud. Even with regular cleaning, it's just loud and I wouldn't want to use this Macbook in a crowded library.
2. I like to browse with lots of privacy addons: uBlock Origin, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, WoT...but browsing gets really, really slow with all those addons. I uninstalled Ghostery and it became significantly better, but still that's a bummer.
3. Its just waaay too expensive for its age. For 200 bucks you can get way faster windows or Linus machines.
But other than that, 2011's models were the second best models, after the 2012's. Why?
You can change battery, RAM, HDD/SSD, keyboard has no issues and MacSafe is nice, too. And its pretty robust (at least mine is). Once I feel it gets slower and slower, I'll try to revive it again with Linux. Maybe it will last till 2031.
I actually STILL use my MacBook Pro 2,7 GHz bought early 2011. Now I'm stuck on High Sierra and only get Secury Patches for my system from the AppStore (no real updates for any app or OS). But last year I swapped my old hard drive for the fastest available SSD from Samsung, maxed out my RAM to 8GB and replaced the old battery for a new one. Conclusion: It's faster than ever and serves my daily needs still very well: Working on my University stuff, Apple Music, synching my iPhone, browsing the web and light video editing in iMove. All still works VERY well and even kinda fast. I might upgrade to a new 13inch MacBook Pro (when it comes out) or to a MacMini (when the 8th Intel Chipset gets updated). Or maybe I'm still happy for a while with my current setup. Still serves my need pretty well and I'm impressed how awesome this machine still is - even in 2020.
I was still using a widows laptop with intel duo with 2 GB ram till 2019!😂😂😂 From 2008
😆
Got you moneys worth out of that😂
I’m surprised a laptop last that long. Nice
And I thought I am the only one😂😂.
And I am still using it in 2020
Is converting hdd to ssd worth it in that ? Btw me too same
Bro I'm rocking my mid 2012 macbook pro still. I have a 512gb ssd boot drive and a 1tb (replaced cd drive with it) and 16gb ram. Works like a charm and renders premiere 4k videos quite decent.
watching on my 2011 mac and still works fine. updated him to catalina and is a BEAST!
did you have to replace the hard drive before the patch or will it work with the SATA hard drive it comes with. None of my patch attempts have worked.
I have a early 2011 MacBook Pro and I upgraded to an SSD, took out the optical drive and put another hard drive in its space, and added 16 GB of ram. I run macOS high Sierra on it. No mod or workaround. It runs almost as fast as the new Macs today, even thought it’s 10 years old.
Great overview, just dusted off my MB early 2011, having added 16gb RAM along with SSD, took out the CD drive and added another SSD, love the keyboard and the glowing apple too. Planning to do animation using OpenToonz, so far so good!
Thanks for jogging the memory and confirming what I thought. My MB 2017 is super fast etc, these days with so much remote desktop and google suite focus, I could even get away with working from the 2011!
Mine is a mid-2010. Upgraded the RAM to 16GB, new battery, and a new hard drive. Thing works as if I just bought it in 2023!
I was still using my MacBook Pro Late 2011, two days ago I just replaced it with a MacBook Air (M1 2020)
I have the same "issue". Just upgraded my 2011 and my wife surprised me w/a birthday gift yesterday with the new Air. My old 2011 is working well and I'm thinking of telling her to return the Air. What differences do you see?
@@rvlewis1950 the difference is that your wife will be super mad and you won't be getting any juice soon my guy
@@don.viitto 😂😂
This is still my main laptop in 2020. I’ve changed the battery so it lasts decent 4-5 hours on a full charge, depending on the workload. I’ve upgraded RAM to its max 16GB and replaced the original HD with a new 1TB one. I’ve also taken the DVD out and replaced it with a 256 GB SSD which I turned into a startup disk. This thing runs really well and I am using it with a wide variety of programs.
Microsoft Office runs just fine, I got no problems with web browsing, emailing, social media apps, VLC plays videos without glitches, UA-cam as well, Netflix runs fine - even when connected to an external display, Spotify, cloud storage etc. all running well. I don’t play games much but when I do it’s usually Civilization IV that I have installed on this machine - works well. My main productivity would be using Adobe CC package and Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all run fine. I edit large files with this machine without issues. Premiere Pro can handle 1080 video editing but this is where you start noticing the lag. 4K will definitely not work. XCode works but cannot be updated to the latest version anymore without patching which I don’t want to do.
All is not well however. The SD card slot stopped working long time ago, speakers were fried back when Apple issued an update that would fry speakers so I use either headphones or external speakers. Bluetooth works but it’s not fast and sometimes drops a connection with devices that are further away from the machine. One USB port is also becoming less and less reliable.
Overall, this machine works really fast as a home laptop. As a productivity machine it has it’s limits but it can get the job done. I love it and use it almost daily. I would love to get a new MacBook but I’m just not sold on the new MacBooks with zero upgradeability. Also, I love the proper keyboard it has although the new 16” MacBook Pro fixes the keyboard issue. I don’t need two laptops so I’m staying with this one and selling it seems like such a wrong thing to do as this machine is worth way more being in use than being sold.
How did you do the ram updates and HD To SD? I want to try doing that my my old Mac book but have no idea how
@@dokessezeaka5159 it depends on the model but in my case RAM was easy and SSD was done by the shop where I went to purchase the SSD.
Replace the thermal paste, clean the dust of the heatsink and fan. Put 8gb on it and an ssd and you have a good computer for basic tasks and even photoshop and lightroom can run without issues. Great video! You should do a real day in life video of an iphone, i think it would be pretty cool.
Thanks! I do have a series coming soon on a real day in life with older iPhones :)
@@BrandonButch that would be pretty cool! Cant wait for that
The thermal paste and cleaning are the only things I don’t recommend. Ruined my mid 2009 mbp. If cleaning, be very gentle.
Thank you for giving this old device a review in 2020. After >8 years of using my MBP A1278, I FINALLY had some work done to it for the first time last week. Pretty much still with all of its original hardware, except for replacing the keyboard and WiFi chip. No significant upgrades to its internal, be it memory or storage. The only software upgrade I've had done is installing the MacOS High Sierra. This baby is a beast in terms of durability. I do hate the speaker quality, but Brandon gave a good solution which is to plug in an ear/headphone. Will probably take me another year or two to save up and get myself a new device, considering how pricey the newer Macbooks are. But for now as a daily driver, it still does the job for me.
I still using my MBP late 2013 with OS Catalina and it run smoothly ! I've never have major problem with it . I use the MBP for anything ; office work, drawing , internet surving and occasionally light editing video clip. I also have and iPad pro 1st gen (10.5"), I use these 2 together via iCloud and Airdrop. The only downside is that my MBP doesn't have the support for Sidecar. That's the only reason I consider to buy the new one.
Still using mine till this day, Got me through highschool, Collage and been all over the world with me, and still strong af. Sad they don't make these anymore built like this
My 2010 pro just passed. It was good to me gonna get a new one soon I hope
What broke?
I have my own 2011 macbook pro 13” and also still run smoothly. I have upgraded with 8GB RAM, replace the battery just now, replace the track pad few months ago, and the rest are just fine! And you are right, it still can do so much.
i want to buy it... i found one with 17 inch, 18gb ram and 2tb... the price is 450/500... is it good?
@@superdoppiaggio I think what you found is quite good. It depends on the apps that you will be going to use it for. Currently, mine, I just use it for making music with garage band apps. I'm getting tired of how it is slow (I need something faster) and most of it is about the battery life. The rest is still okay.
@@HanFita is your mac slow? does it have ssd?
"Bricking your machine" by installing a newer version or macOS?! Really. At very worst it would just mean an OS reinstall.
I currenly use a 2013 13 inch Retina Macbook pro, and it's holding up well. I don't have any problems with it other than the battery holding less charge which is to be expected. The machine upgraded from was the same 2011 Macbook Pro that you have and it still works fine except for the CD drive. I might put an SSD in the old macbook pro like you mentioned, I want to see how much better the performance is myself. Great video Brandon, informative as usual!
I use the early 2011 13" macbook pro too, and its running on Mojave just perfect. I even feel it is faster than it was with high sierra. Dosdude rocks!
alamar1205 can I ask if you played UA-cam on 1080p 60fps did it lags or stuttering?because I have iMac 2008 an it can’t play UA-cam 1080p 60fps
@@ivanf.144 It is a struggle. I use firefox and tampermonkey to lower it to 30fps. This dual core second gen i5 is a bit old nowdays. I use the 2010 macbook white too with nvidia 320m and core 2 duo cpu, and 720p is way to go. Your imac with your screen resolution is underpowered for 1080p, try 720p.
@@alamar1205 im using firefox too, even with 720p 60fps its still stutter, i just want to upgrade too a bit nicer device that atleast can handle youtube 1080p 60fps, can this 2011 i5 13 can do it without stuttering?
Ivan F. Some videos it can, some of them it cannot, it is a lottery. I would not recommend 2011 macbook pro, go for 2012 13inch. I am content with 30fps streaming it is not that bad.
Ivan F. Get at least the 2012 one. It has usb 3.0, bluetooth 4.0 and support for Catalina and Handoff
I did a complete overhaul on my 13" mbp late 2011, Samsung 860 Evo SSD, 2x Timetec Hynex IC 8GB ram cards, upgraded to a sata 3 cable and lastely I replaced the thermal paste with some good 'ol Arctic MX-4, now doing all of this has literally brought new life to this old mbp and I love it
Hi Brandon, thanks for uploading this video! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the support Thomas!
Mid-2011 Macbook Air here. Running High Sierra (last supported OS for 2011 MBAs) The 2011 MBA is still fine for 2021. However, if anyone is still using their 2011 MB Air for long term, I would try doing a custom upgrade (using a patcher like Catalina Patcher) or using Bootcamp to Windows for continous support. However, the 4GB RAM may pose a bottleneck for most power users, but for any regular user it's still fine. Despite the opportunity to upgrade the SSD, I just wish the RAM could be upgraded...which only available for early Macbook Pros :(
I still have mine, recently I updated for an 12.9” iPad Pro. But I’m looking forward to get a 2019 MacBook Pro.
Chris Cruz should of gotten the MacBook first. I’m getting a 2019 refurbished MacBook air from apple to upgrade my 2014 macbook air 11 inch.
So I recently bought an iPhone and dusted off my wife’s old 2011 MacBook Pro to join the ecosystem. I changed the track pad, changed the battery and added additional ram. I did a factory reset.
The system works great. Runs smoothly. No performance issues. However, I can’t get more than 3 hours out of mine. I calibrated the battery but still no better.
Thoughts? Can’t find a solution that works.
mrfld change battery
I have it and it’s very fast with 8gb ram, the battery lasts 2 hours, however the audio card is damaged so i don’t use it often
just got my 2011 Macbook pro with the SSD and 1 TB storage preinstalled. It's my first Mac so the learning curve is a little rough for a grandpa. But your video was good and easy to understand...and made me feel even better about my purchase.
Still have Mid2009 13” MBP & MID 2010 17”
Both 512Gb SSD, *Gb RAM, Catalina
If only iPad Pro ran XCode as build times the only issue with these macs
how run catalina on your macbook? i have a macbook pro early 2011, maybe i try it
@@emmaenk9607 Catalina Patcher
@Emma Enk you have to hackintosh it
Using a 2011 late macbook pro with i7 processor, 250GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM. I've replaced the keyboard on two separate occasions and it's still running great. Battery lasts over 3 hours still.
You should be able to upgrade that machine to High Sierra officially, directly from apple. It really is amazing how well older MacBooks hold up. Until very recently I was using my mid-2012 MacBook Air and to this day my sibling is still using it.
My late 2011 is running High Sierra. Has even gotten a recent security update from Apple.
You can even use DosDude1's patcher to get Catalina and it runs just as good.
my mom spent like $2000 back in 2011 for this and it has photos from 2003 to 2024, insane it still works
watching with early 2011 macbook pro :))
Can it play sims 4 good
Laura Andersen can’t even go into setting lol
Same here!
same
same here
Early 2011 13" MBP w/ i7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD and High Sierra. Running great and don't have any plans on replacing anytime soon.
Well I use a 2010 MacBook so why not use 2011 version 🤣 my Mac running high Sierra
To be honest within the last 10 years laptops have gotten so powerful/good and software has been made so efficient that upgrading every 5 years or even 10 years would be a waste of money for most people. These 10 year old laptops run so well and thanks to their upgradeability, buying one even today will be a good option for most people because you are getting something that is still premium and getting something that performs much better than a $300.00 laptop you can buy new from a store. I still use my mid 2012 13 inch MBP and still love it thanks to the upgrades I made. TBH I think I can squeeze out another 3 to 5 years outta this machine :)
I still using my 2011.. 2TB OF SSD, 16GB ram and i7
Nice! Still running strong?
It's running so strong I sold my 12' macbook retina to buy an iPad pro 2018 (big one). Best decision ever. Now that 2011 is my only Mac
@@LacayoDe you nailed it brou❤🔥
Still using my Macbook Pro 2011 with i7 processor. After a defect CD drive I replaced it with a bay + 500GB SSD disk + doubled the RAM and since performance has been fantastic. During the years I've had my issues with batteries that needed to be replaced, but also there, for a while this has been stable. The only thing that sometimes bothers me is the fan noise, especially if I have to do audio recordings in the same room. The amount I have spent on upgrades has been only a fraction of what I would have needed to invest in a new system. Checking always out the new systems that come on the market, but it feels confortable not to be in a hurry and be able to wait for the next model, that will obviously always be even better :)
i want to buy it... i found one with 17 inch, 18gb ram and 2tb... the price is 450/500... is it good?
I have a 2010 MacBook Air, still works like the day I got it!
I literally just upgraded from my 2011 to my 2019 MacBook Pro. I was having many of problems but the thing that probably annoyed me the most was it didn’t run a lot of things anymore. But great review!
My 2012 was a Beast until the drive started going out on me so bought the 2016 and just.recently the 2019 16. I wonder if upgrading to SSD would fix it... hmmm
Sell me ur old one
It'll probably fix it. HDD drives tend to start to break/slow down after a few years of use.
Its sata cable, not hdd. Every 2009-2012 tend to fail like this.
Hi I am using 2011 MacBook Pro. Great machine, never had a problem with it until recently, it slowed down dramatically. And I can hear the fan noise every now and again. Do you think upgrading to SSD would help?
2011 is probably my favorite. Man I have a 2019 , and this shit is out of control. I hit the "I" key and it does this a lot " II" ...Sometimes my volume wont even work!! I need to restart my computer... I never had these issues with my 2011!!!
You have faulty keyboard. It’s covered under apples warranty plan specifically for the keyboard. Take it to Apple or ship it to them, and they will cover it under warranty
I have the MacBook Pro late 2011. I updated the hardrive to SSD and put in 8GB ram. Its just runs fine for general web browsing and lightroom. I love it and really enjoy the keyboard and the glowing apple logo :-)
Can you do something to edit it with 4k
I used my mid 2010 up until 2019 n it works still LOL but ofc has disadvantages like battery life, etc
I have a 17” 2011 MacBook Pro 8gb ram Intel i7 1tb ssd and it is still running great
Using a late 2013 atm it’s great!
Still going strong! Early 2011 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3. I did have to replace the graphics card twice but it looks like the second time was a charm! The only regret so far is not being able to upgrade my FCPX.
I had it but I recently upgraded to the 16’
Sell me ur old one brudda
Travis Turay nah I rather keep it as a backup
i use my 2011 macbook air 13 inch and 2017 macbook pro the 2011 i use the least but, it runs very smoothly thats pretty good for me already
Just got one and love it 😊
I'm still using an early 2011 MacBook Pro 13", with I7. I upgraded to an SSD and 16GB RAM around JAN2020. The machine still runs flawlessly. It still runs MS Office, web browsing, streaming services just fine. I'm to the point of looking at upgrading but not sure it's worth it yet. To note: The SSD and RAM upgrade made significant improvements.
I dont even have a 2000 Mackbook pro. All I have is no computer. Every day I hope that I will have one soon. Ha
How did you type this
@Justretrospect a phone is a computer.
Still using my macbook 13' mid 2012, battery is almost a thousand cycle now and will be ready to replace soon. How amazing are the old MacBook because we can upgrade them and use it for years to come.
Hey Brandon.. Can i install PS and AI 2019 version on it? Im looking to buy a 2011 MacBook pro
get 2012 at least. Mojave (and dark mode) still supported on them.
bro how its work please tell me
PS and AI latest version, in my early 2011 model (with upgrades like in this video), work like perfection
Hey, have you bought one? How's it goin? I'm also planning to buy 2011 macbook pro?
The last version for 2011 macbook pros was high sierra and not sierra. Although no matter how much you upgrade, even the high sierra is no longer supported. Microsoft office 2019 recently stopped supporting high sierra. Even if you put an SSD and 8 gigs of ram(the maximum upgradeable), it's just not recommended as you're stuck on old OS. With the M1 mac, there's absolutely no reason to hold on to this old buddy.
omg you didnt use an ssd?
He did
Just upgraded to SSD and 8GB RAM. I also replaced the battery. Runs High Sierra like a champ. Also running Win10 via Bootcamp. Runs MS Office like a champ.
Should I hold on to my 2015 pro i5?
I'm a graphic designer and I use a 2015 MBP (getting a 2020 16" tomorrow!) and i have a 2011 13.5" that I maxed out the ram and put an SSD in, well I wasn't using it and handed it down to my bf who used it in college to become a data scientist, he just graduated and he loves it, uses it every single day on github and using all these crazy utilities that i didn't even know existed, and he says it's easier on a mac and it runs great. so yeah i'd say it held up great.
I have a 16GB ram and 500gb ssd on this mac, and my thing is like shit now
Something is up or you did something wrong. I have the late 2011 17” with a 1 TB SDD and 16G of RAM and it runs amazzzzing.
Using a 2010 Macbook Pro in 2022. It works, but gets frustrating. Really considering getting a new one, and using my old one to listen to videos in the kitchen.
The most quality I would be watching with our internet is 244p
mine is 24p
Got myself a new one in 2011. That was the most expensive thing I have buyed till that point. Still running good in 2021 with 500gb ssd and 16GB RAM
Have you updated it recently? Mine is needing an update, but I'm scared to do it...
I actually still have my 2012 MacBook Pro but it has a hard drive issue
put an ssd
Instead of putting in a new HDD just put a nice SSD in it just like Rodrigo said. It's going to make it even faster ;) Plus, it's easy to do (I only know the process for the 2010 MBP lol idk if the 2012 is the same)
I might try that
CJBomber1 it will completely change the performance. It will fell like a 2020 pc
CJBomber1 yeah you absolutely won't regret it!
HEY HOW ARE YOU DOING? I HAVE A MACBOOK 2011 ALSO AND IT DOES NOT HAVE GARAGE BAND OR IMOVIE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE WHAT CAN I USE TO DO VOICE OVERS WITH THAT YOU VERY MUCH KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!! 😃
when this is actually your laptop you use on a day to day basis😐
I'm still using my late 2011 MacBook Pro and for the most part, everything runs smoothly. You definitely need to have at least 8GBs of RAM however, as 4GB just won't cut it in 2020.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this laptop for students though, since they always have 20-odd tabs open on a browser, whilst also running Word and PowerPoint in the background. The laptop will just freeze up on you and you won't be able to achieve anything. Battery life is also abysmal, so if you're in a classroom or lecture hall and you don't have any outlets around you, you're gonna be in for a bad time.
It still cuts it for light browsing at home, including things like checking emails or watching UA-cam. But I definitely would not recommend an old laptop like this for school work.
4:13 butterfly keyboard? :p
no..that was a mistake
😂🤷🏻♀️ I thought it was just called a keyboard.
Scissor-switch keyboard
Hey thanks so much for this video. It really gave me the information I needed about what the latest update is for my own 2011 MacBook Pro (15inch). I am still using mine in 2021 (just watched your video on it) and I don't plan on retiring it any time soon. Thanks for the great review and info.
I've used one updated to 10GB of RAM and 250GB Samsung Evo SSD until 2016. Switched to 13" 2015 in 2016, and now I do use a Hackintosh beast. :)
i have a mid 2012 macbook, if u throw an SSD in it works literally perfect, i've used bootcamp to run some lightweight games aswell, it's insane how capable it is in 2020...
I bought a used MacBook Pro 13” like 2 years ago for like 200. Still working great!!
I can either get a MacBook Pro 2011 for $450 pre-owned or a brand new dell $625 laptop
TheBestContent on UA-cam
Keep looking you can get a WAY better price for both of those. I got my 2012 13” MacBook Pro for under $300! Dell has a good processor and overall a bit more powerful! Depends on what you’re planning to use it for..I would STILL continue researching better prices! Good luck
love to see so many people still rocking this beast of a machine, I never boot into mac os and get incredible boot speeds and performance in a slick all metal package with a very nice screen and great keyboard
I bought the 2011 17-inch MBP at launch with the anti-glare screen, 8 GB RAM and upgraded 2.3 GHz processor. It literally powered my journalism career and I have a spot for it. It was top of the line back then and it impressed colleagues and even my interview subjects. It cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it. All I had to do was pull it out and people instantly got the message: No more games, let's get down to business. About 5 years ago, I changed the battery, switched to a 500 GB Samsung SSD and it really helped speed up the machine. It runs a little too hot today even with the software GPU disable fix, so it needs some work. I plan to increase the RAM to 16 GB, get the hardware GPU disable, and change the CPU fans and thermal paste to reduce the heat. For now, it's a great backup machine for lower intensive tasks and the big screen still pleases.
The 13" 2011 models in recent years have started to overheat and even changing the thermal paste doesn't solve this. This is why i recommend going for the 2012 models instead... you also get USB 3.0 and HD Graphics 4000
If I use the laptop for basic tasks like making word document, powerpoints etc. do you reckon overheating will still be an issue?
I also have this 2011 early MacBook Pro at home. Even I have another 2018 MacBook Air when I work outside. More than 10 years.....OMG....I really love to use this old guy.
I just picked up one as a trade so I only have about $50 in it. For another $160 I upgraded to 16GB of RAM, 2 internal SSD drives by replacing the DVD drive and put a new battery in it. The new battery gives me about 6 hours of use and only ost $35. I have 2 newer MacBook Pros but wanted to see how fast that ould go with all the upgrades. I used a fast 240 GB SSD drive to replace the original HDD and then a slower 1TB SSD to replace the DVD/Optical drive. It worka great and all the upgrades are easy enough for jut about anyone to do.