2009 Macbook Pro CPU upgrade?

[theMarble]

The A1297 17" is affected by the infamous 15/17" GPU failure, no?

Only the 2011 17" and in a lesser capacity the 2010 17". The 2009 17" (Early and Mid) are trouble-free.

That also goes for the 15", where the Late 2008, Mid 2009 and Mid 2012 machines are the best to go for if you don't want any trouble.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Only the 2011 17"

...also the 2011 15"?

...and in a lesser capacity the 2010 17". The 2009 17" (Early and Mid) are trouble-free.

That also goes for the 15", where the Late 2008, Mid 2009 and Mid 2012 machines are the best to go for if you don't want any trouble.

My 15" Mid 2012 MBP is closing in on a decade since it was purchased (Dec 2013) and I'm safe and secure in the knowledge that its GPU will never suffer from this affliction - likewise with my 2011 13".

 

[Amethyst1]

Only the 2011 17" and in a lesser capacity the 2010 17".

The 2011 15” is also affected. On the 2010s, the culprit is often just a capacitor, not the actual GPU.

 

[theMarble]

The 2011 15” is also affected.

I was only mentioning the troublesome 17" versions, but yes the E/L 2011 15" is also affected by "Radeongate".

On the 2010s, the culprit is often just a capacitor, not the actual GPU.

True, but the end result is still display glitches. So could still be classified under "graphics failure".

 

[Amethyst1]

True, but the end result is still display glitches. So could still be classified under "graphics failure".

The capacitor can be replaced to fix this. The GPU cannot, unless one fancies having another defective one. That's quite a difference.

 

[misterminibus]

Get a 2012 15" if you still want RAM and SSD upgrades. They are Ivy Bridge (3rd gen i7) machines, support up to 16GB of RAM and have Metal-supported graphics chips that are way faster than a 2009 (HD 4000 + GT 650M).

So I have bit the bullet and bought a mid 2012 2.3 ghz with 8GB ram but it has a spinning drive. So I have a question if someone would be kind enough to answer it, can I just swap the hard drives and they will both work? I intend to sell my mint 2009 model locally, I was going to put a 250gb ssd in for £20 but as the spinning drive already has an os on it I was hoping just to swap them?

 

[B S Magnet]

So I have bit the bullet and bought a mid 2012 2.3 ghz with 8GB ram but it has a spinning drive. So I have a question if someone would be kind enough to answer it, can I just swap the hard drives and they will both work? I intend to sell my mint 2009 model locally, I was going to put a 250gb ssd in for £20 but as the spinning drive already has an os on it I was hoping just to swap them?

The SSD from your 2009 will work in your 2012, though that SSD will need to have at least Lion on it to boot the system. And the HDD from the 2012 will work in the 2009, but it will need to have something at or earlier than High Sierra El Capitan to boot that system, as-is*.

* without use of OCLP or patches