any point of upgrading?

[holtis]

Hi folks,

I have got a MacBook from 2008, doesn it make any sense to upgrade it? or am better of buying a macbookr from 2013 for around 4-550 usd?


Model Mackbook 5,1
Intel Core Duo 2Ghz,2 core
L2 2MB
Memory 2GB
150GB Fujitsu HD
3GB Nivida

Im user goodle docs, email, netflix, most chrome webbrowsing. it be creat if photoshop would run at acceptable speed.

i dont need a super fast computer, just somewhat acceptable

i need to find the cheapest way to get a somewhat usable computer.

Best regards

Magnus

 

[Mike Boreham]

Hi folks,

I have got a MacBook from 2008, doesn it make any sense to upgrade it? or am better of buying a macbookr from 2013 for around 4-550 usd?


Model Mackbook 5,1
Intel Core Duo 2Ghz,2 core
L2 2MB
Memory 2GB
150GB Fujitsu HD
3GB Nivida

Im user goodle docs, email, netflix, most chrome webbrowsing. it be creat if photoshop would run at acceptable speed.

i dont need a super fast computer, just somewhat acceptable

i need to find the cheapest way to get a somewhat usable computer.

Best regards

Magnus

My initial reaction is that if the machine is otherwise in reasonable condition, fully working and meets your needs you would transform the user experience by putting a SSD and more RAM in it for a lot less than 400/550 USD. If it was mine I would probably put a second hand small SSD in it at least.

Caveat: I have never worked on a 2008 MacBook (only 2008 MacBook Pro) so no idea about difficulty of such mods.

OTOH it is a ten year old machine so it really isn't worth spending much on.

What state is the battery in?

 

[EugW]

It's very easy to upgrade MacBook5,1. That's a good one to upgrade if it's in good working order. You just need to have the right screwdrivers. I think you need both Philips plus small Torx screwdrivers.

[EDIT]

Here we go, Philips and Torx T6:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+Hard+Drive+Replacement/816

[/EDIT]

Check my sig. I have a MacBook5,1 with 8 GB RAM (which cost me all of US$35) and an old leftover SSD in it. Works fine, and will even take Sierra or High Sierra with a patch to the installer. (There is a video bug with High Sierra, but it's rare to see it, and it's not specific to this machine. It happens too with fully supported Macs in High Sierra, so there's a chance it will get fixed with a later update. Also, some older software like old versions of Photoshop have problems with High Sierra.)

While 8 GB is ideal, 4 GB will work fine if you don't have heavy usage. 2 GB is horrible though. Even El Capitan sucks with 2 GB IMO.

---

So, update cost for MacBook5,1:

US$60 - No name 2x4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 1066 MHz SoDIMMs
US$50 - Low end 120 GB SSD

Total cost to upgrade that machine is US$110 plus tax, plus the cost of tools.

---

Note that since it's such an old machine, on websites with lots of multimedia or ads, it can bog down, but you can compensate for the latter by blocking ads, which helps a lot. Also, with some 1080p h.264 YouTube video it can also stutter at times, but the screen is 720p/800p, so you're better off using 720p anyway. Fortunately, 720p is the default on sites like YouTube when using that machine. YouTube in Safari is smart enough to know to set the resolution to 720p automatically.

---

BTW, do you have any trackpad stickiness issues? If so, your trackpad tension screw may need to be adjusted. You can do that while you're in there. It's just one screw, but it's yet a different screw head type.