2012 MacBook Pro in 2023 is amazing

Another year goes by and the 2012 MacBook Pro keeps on rockin'. It's time to see if we can still use a 2012 MacBook Pro in 2023.

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#macbookpro #apple #macosventura #macos

[Eevnos]

Make this little beast even better by installing Sonoma on it!
These machines are unstoppable!

[fungi]

I've just upgraded to Ventura and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I was expecting it to be slow and the cpu use to be intensive and the fan to be on the whole time. What I wasn't expecting was how well it worked, even with 4GB ram. I installed Ventura on the day an extra 8GB of ram was due to arrive and spent the morning with the original 4GB, and to be honest other than the odd slowdown here and there, it was useable. 

When I installed the 8GB in the afternoon though, it was an absolute game changer. I was shocked at how quick and smooth everything worked. I have been actively bidding on M1 MacBooks on eBay but after this, I am totally happy staying with this MacBook for another 2-3 years, that's how good I think it is. It is mental that something I bought secondhand in 2016 for $350AUD is still my main machine in 2023.

[lenm]

Also remember, while the design is 11 years old, they made this model until Oct. of 2016, so there are some out there that are much newer (show less wear, better battery etc.).

[ewanmcdonagh]

I love making old machines run new software… updated a 2013 iMac to Ventura and a 2007 Dell Optiplex 745 to Windows 11 a couple weeks ago

[thesoftparade]

My 2011 Pro almost made it to 2023. Kept up to date as long as possible and no major issues till the end. Amazing

[aadirao]

I have this!!! Boight it second hand in 2019, it was originally bought in 2015. So 4 years old when I got it. And its still going! Solid as a rock, has never given me any major problems. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[arranmc]

Just a tip if you have a pre retina Macbook Pro like the mid 2012 or older open it up and check the internal fan as you can buy newer drop in replacement fans that have more blades on them and help to keep the system running slightly cooler as the stock OEM fan has far few blades on them than all the replacement fans I ever buy now, its so cheap to replace the fan its one of the first think I change when working on old Macbooks.

[kingdave]

I picked up one of these back in 2015 or 2016, right before they went off the market, and I used it until I gave it to a friend after getting my 2021 MacBook Pro last year. I maxed out the RAM and swapped out the HDD for an SSD when we were all at home during COVID, and it ran great. The main reason I got rid of it was because the low screen resolution was making it too hard to use it for work. It was a great machine, though, and it got me through that dark period where the only MacBook Pros were the horrible 2016 models with the bad keyboards and slowed-down processors.

[jjw]

Great video. I bought a 2008 regular Macbook new before my freshman year of college and after upgrading the RAM and installing an SSD that machine lasted me until 2019. Instead of getting another new machine, I decided to find a used model of the last fully upgradable Macbook and that led me to this same 2012 model. Fully maxing out RAM and installing an SSD made it feel as snappy as a brand new machine in basically every non-graphically intensive task. It's such a shame that in the 11 years since this machine was released, Apple has completely neutered its laptops from an upgradeability standpoint; getting 11 serviceable years out of a laptop is incredible user value and a great thing for the environment when that is scaled up to hundreds of thousands of machines in the wild. I actually just recently caved and bought a different used Macbook, this time a 2020 M1 Pro, but that 2012 is still being used as a daily driver for my girlfriend in grad school. It saddens me that we'll likely never see this kind of user-upgradeability again in Apple products. People argue that soldering everything to the board allows the machines to be thinner, but I actually prefer having a thicker laptop that allows for actual i/o ports and would trade size for upgradeability any day.

[ytguy]

I have the exact same MacBook Pro. I have installed an SSD, but I'm still running 10.15. It holds up very well in 2023.

[armyvetboston]

I have 3 Macbooks, (#1)2014 Pro 13" 8 gig ram. 121gig SSD, (#2) 2014 Pro 15" 16 gig ram.512gig SSD. NVIDIA dedicated graphics, (#3) 2022 Pro from work. They are all awesome beasts. I paid Micro Center $50 each to replace batteries on the 2014's. If you get a chance to buy a 2012, 2013 or 2014 Pro cheap, jump on it. These machines are beasts and absolutely fantastic.
Fun fact: My older MacBooks are more reliable than the new one. The 2022 Pro has overheating issues.
Good job Eevnos

[danielpicon]

I have proudly held on to mine since 2012, I swapped the DVD reader for a solid state drive and added more RAM. These mods significantly extended its life. For video editing, it's ok as long as you're not going into 4K, for everything else it's perfect. The only reason why I don't use it as much now is because the keyboard is giving up. My A S and D keys are not working properly so I usually just use it with a magic keyboard, which is kind of annoying. I'd try to clean the keys but nothing :(

[rowen]

I have had this machine since launch June 2012. Still running strong Dual SSD, 8GB ram, new battery, new thermal paste, OSX, Windows 10 and Ubuntu running natively. It also served as my 24/7 Plex server from 2016 till the 2019. I have other newer pc's and apples. But the versatility of this MacBook is unmatched to this day!!!!

[rbarros]

followed your tutorial to install to go for another 3 classic machine

[stroborobo]

Wow, what a great vid, thanks a lot for the grounded perspective. It’s so hard to control the urge to buy the new and shiny ones sometimes, but since doing some maintenance like fixing up the battery and cleaning the fans my old machine is admittedly working very well. And it’s barely half as old as yours over there.

[PaulHojda]

My mom still uses her 2010 white polycarbonate MacBook. It's running High Sierra, but she only uses it for web browsing, email and some word documents. I've really impressed that a 13 year old computer can still be usable.

[SitharthanGautham]

Proud user of macbook pro mod 2012 here, I have been using it for around 8 Years already and still going on, fully upgraded the ram to 16 gigs and swapped the hdd with ssd. Instead of updating the OS I am using browser based app for documentation and things and live boot linux for retro gaming. This laptop is awesome especially when it's running on linux it's even faster than some brand new windows 💻 🥰🥰🥰

[kirsanov]

I still have this machine, it was my first macbook ever, back in the 2012. Now my niece uses it for education and it just works! I installed SSD, 16 gigs of ram, renewed battery, thermal paste, and it works just fine. This is the best laptops Apple ever made, agree!
In terms of gaming - I used to play Knights and Merchants on it, and it was good, so, depending on what kind of games you want to play, but definitely it runs some simple stuff!

I wanted one of these so bad back in the day cause it was one of the last MacBooks with an optical drive and one of the last MacBooks with substance.

[annabellekent]

Thanks so much. Learning that I an upgrade the OS using OpenCore was a real gem.