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I finally upgraded to one of the new 14" M1 Pros; and am looking at trading in my 15" 2012 MacBook Pro--I have the Subtle Design card installed, and was wondering if it would be worth pulling it out prior to trading in the laptop.

My suggestion: take out the subtle design card, replace the original card and sell separately!
 
I finally upgraded to one of the new 14" M1 Pros; and am looking at trading in my 15" 2012 MacBook Pro--I have the Subtle Design card installed, and was wondering if it would be worth pulling it out prior to trading in the laptop.
And replace it with what? In both cases, I was replacing defective cards.

I went through a number of system pulls on my 2012s (I have 2) and none of them were any good. Those where the WiFi worked had ban BT and vise versa. I would advertise the upgraded WF/BT performance.

I'm thinking of selling mine, too. An M1 might be calling my name.
 
And replace it with what? In both cases, I was replacing defective cards.

I went through a number of system pulls on my 2012s (I have 2) and none of them were any good. Those where the WiFi worked had ban BT and vise versa. I would advertise the upgraded WF/BT performance.

I'm thinking of selling mine, too. An M1 might be calling my name.
I have an extra 2012 15" card that's functional you could have for free
 
Hi guys, I know it's not the subject of the thread, but is there any alternative like this for us owners of White Macbooks (Late 2009 - A1342)?
Did anyone ever try? A1342 is mentioned a couple of times on this thread but no clarity on whether the card was tested on it.
 
Did anyone ever try? A1342 is mentioned a couple of times on this thread but no clarity on whether the card was tested on it.
We just bought a late 2009 A1342 with High Sierra that came in today to test this, and the results are:

  • The card works for both Bluetooth 4.2 and AC Wi-Fi, up to a link speed of 878 Mbps.
  • To fit the card is more non-trivial, but can be done by folding the flat flex cable in addition to trimming the original plastic Wi-Fi card/speaker bracket assembly to the point where only the speaker remains.

L8xBKEE.jpg
 
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Hi! New to the website but a long time Macbook user. I have recently decided to open up my macbook 13' mid 2012 for upgrades again since my battery finally crapped out. I came across this thread and I am very interested in the upgrade but I am having trouble understanding the certain aspects of the card and don't know how to purchase one. If anyone could help that would be great!
 
Hi! New to the website but a long time Macbook user. I have recently decided to open up my macbook 13' mid 2012 for upgrades again since my battery finally crapped out. I came across this thread and I am very interested in the upgrade but I am having trouble understanding the certain aspects of the card and don't know how to purchase one. If anyone could help that would be great!
Pretty easy. You'll be taking out more than you'll be putting in and there will be one fewer connections.

The directions will make a lot more sense when you have the new unit in hand.

Other than that, it's simple: WiFi crapping out or too slow? This will fix that. Bluetooth crapping out or can't see newer devices? This will fix that, too.

This, a new battery and a 2TB Crucial MX500 will make you ask one question: "Why didn't I do this a long time ago?" I've done this to two 2012 MBPs, mine and my daughter's.
 
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Pretty easy. You'll be taking out more than you'll be putting in and there will be one fewer connections.

The directions will make a lot more sense when you have the new unit in hand.

Other than that, it's simple: WiFi crapping out or too slow? This will fix that. Bluetooth crapping out or can't see newer devices? This will fix that, too.

This, a new battery and a 2TB Crucial MX500 will make you ask one question: "Why didn't I do this a long time ago?" I've done this to two 2012 MBPs, mine and my daughter's.
Thanks for the response! For reference all I have done is replace my screen glass, ram and replaced my hard drive with an SSD. I plan to take out the CD Drive and replace it with another ssd, replace the battery and (maybe) replace the wifi and bluetooth along with some cosmetic items. How do I purchase the package with replacement?
 
Thanks for the response! For reference all I have done is replace my screen glass, ram and replaced my hard drive with an SSD. I plan to take out the CD Drive and replace it with another ssd, replace the battery and (maybe) replace the wifi and bluetooth along with some cosmetic items. How do I purchase the package with replacement?
purchase from here, its plug n play:


or make your own with this kit adapter + Wifi Card ( BCM943602CS)

 
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Thanks for the response! For reference all I have done is replace my screen glass, ram and replaced my hard drive with an SSD. I plan to take out the CD Drive and replace it with another ssd, replace the battery and (maybe) replace the wifi and bluetooth along with some cosmetic items. How do I purchase the package with replacement?
If the SuperDrive still works, I recommend keeping it in. If you ever go to sell, this increases the resale value.

You can get SSDs up to 8TB that will work in your MBP. The only reason I mentioned the 2TB Crucial MX500 earlier is that it is great bang for the buck re price/size/performance.

There is absolutely no advantage to multiple drives in a Mac after SATA and the G5 in 2002.
 
If the SuperDrive still works, I recommend keeping it in. If you ever go to sell, this increases the resale value.

You can get SSDs up to 8TB that will work in your MBP. The only reason I mentioned the 2TB Crucial MX500 earlier is that it is great bang for the buck re price/size/performance.

There is absolutely no advantage to multiple drives in a Mac after SATA and the G5 in 2002.

... In 2021 I think SuperDrive is no longer a selling point. Keep it in a box or something if you're worried about resale value. In some Macs, (mid 2012 MacBook Pro for instance because both ports are sata 3) you can run raid 0 SSDs and get close to a 2x performance benefit. So, actually yes, there CAN BE a point to running multiple SSDs. For the average person though, you're right. Agree w/mx500 findings.
 
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... In 2021 I think SuperDrive is no longer a selling point. Keep it in a box or something if you're worried about resale value. In some Macs, (mid 2012 MacBook Pro for instance because both ports are sata 3) you can run raid 0 SSDs and get close to a 2x performance benefit. So, actually yes, there CAN BE a point to running multiple SSDs.
Over a SATA bus? Yea, right. Sure you can... If it was a PCI bus, you'd be right but it's not. There will be no speed increase since SATA 3 is already maxed out. Are you suggesting 16TB storage?

2012 was the last year for Superdrives. Anyone I've talked to who's looking for these or keeping onto the old ones lists that as the reason.

I except myself as the drive does not interest me. I upgraded mine just to keep it working. It will likely be replaced by an M1 MBAir soon. A couple people have made me offers on the 2012. Mine is a 15" i7 with 16GB RAM and te 2TB MX500.
 
Over a SATA bus? Yea, right. Sure you can... If it was a PCI bus, you'd be right but it's not. There will be no speed increase since SATA 3 is already maxed out. Are you suggesting 16TB storage?

2012 was the last year for Superdrives. Anyone I've talked to who's looking for these or keeping onto the old ones lists that as the reason.

I except myself as the drive does not interest me. I upgraded mine just to keep it working. It will likely be replaced by an M1 MBAir soon. A couple people have made me offers on the 2012. Mine is a 15" i7 with 16GB RAM and te 2TB MX500.
Not to be rude, but do you know what RAID 0 means? If we were talking about a *single* SATA connection, you'd be right. Theoretical max of ~600MBps, but we're talking about *two*. Also, did you mean PCIE? Because PCI caps out at 266MBps...Couldn't find benchmarks with recent SSDs but back in 2012 people were getting near PCIE read speeds (almost 1000MBps) using two Samsung 830 SSDs. Also found a YouTube video with OCZ SSDs. Mx500 absolutely murders the 830 in sequential and random performance, I kind of want to build one now. Will have another mid 2012 to play with soon, perhaps I'll do it. Crucial to make sure your hdd cable is in good shape and has tape between it and the aluminum case or has been replaced and prophylactically taped though, they die in odd ways and cause read errors on anything you plug into that bay on these models.

Reference:
https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-830-256GB-vs-Crucial-MX500-250GB/1387vs3951
 
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Over a SATA bus? Yea, right. Sure you can... If it was a PCI bus, you'd be right but it's not. There will be no speed increase since SATA 3 is already maxed out. Are you suggesting 16TB storage?

2012 was the last year for Superdrives. Anyone I've talked to who's looking for these or keeping onto the old ones lists that as the reason.

I except myself as the drive does not interest me. I upgraded mine just to keep it working. It will likely be replaced by an M1 MBAir soon. A couple people have made me offers on the 2012. Mine is a 15" i7 with 16GB RAM and te 2TB MX500.
No issues with the dgpu? My 2012 mbp 15 went through 2 logic boards till I sold it.
 
Far better than you understand the differences between SATA, PCI, PCIe and other terms you are tossing about.

We are talking about real world upgrades to 2012 MBPs. I am fine with my recommendations.
your recommendations are fine, but they don't take the entire context into account. Some people might actually enjoy having significantly faster storage on their 2012 cMBPs! More IOPS can make everything feel snappier, despite your ~*OPINION*~. If you understand things far better than everyone else, use proper terminology. People with your attitude can give the rest of us a bad rap and make it hard for noobs to learn! We're here to share, collaborate, and nerd out, not put others down with our supposed superior knowledge (I'd love to hear your opinion of how PCI and SATA are related...) If you'd like to talk about the finer points of NVMe vs SATA vs Apple PCIE AHCI I'm your guy. Not just throwing terms about, I've got receipts.
 
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Not on a 2012 MBP you aren't. None of that is relevant—and you don't get to change that.
Your input here has been so hilariously useless it borders on inane. Hopefully you're venting because something else in your life is rough right now - I hope whatever's going on improves for you!

As for storage interfaces and protocols, my point is that Apple storage implementation is often weird and there are lots of eccentricities and niche applications, plus many ways to squeeze more performance/life out of old platforms. Nobody is trying to cram PCIE SSDs into a cMBP, (though it would be neat to imagine).

What IS relevant to this discussion on increasing cMBP performance is REAL WORLD ~2x storage bandwidth. By all means, continue to imagine you know everything about how MacBooks work and comment "witty rejoinders" if you like. My reference to Apple PCIE AHCI vs NVMe etc. etc. is an invitation to you to have an interesting discussion on the technical info, not weird grandstanding. Trash can Mac Pros have SUPER weird storage behaviour, so do 2013-2015 MacBook pros for instance. They can run commercial NVMe SSDs but with some caveats.

It's fun to talk about, because it's interesting. Just like RAID 0 MacBooks.
 
Although possible, you're left with a 2012 that is 2/3 the speed of a stock 2013– early 2015 MBP.

It is less expensive to upgrade a later machine but that's not so hot as I found out when I replaced the AHCI in our 2013 — although GB tests recorded a 3x RW increase, the overall real world performance increase was barely noticeable. Even better, buy a 2017 or later if you have the real need for speed.

As for all of the RAID 0 comments on these, how many would notice a real world performance increase over simply replacing that terrible HDD with an SSD? For the record, I've replaced hundreds over the years. The initial R/W speed boost is great but nearly doubling it adds almost nothing in real world performance. There is no YouTube video that can change my mind having upgraded as many Macs as I have over the years.

One is entitled to their opinion that the money is well spent while destroying the one thing that makes these valuable in the secondary market (a working Superdrive) but I don't believe it. The original point I was making is still the most valid.
 
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purchase from here, its plug n play:


or make your own with this kit adapter + Wifi Card ( BCM943602CS)


Quoting so I can find this later. I'm intrigued, but $75 just for 802.11ac wifi..... very tempted.
 
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