Anyone running El Capitan on Mid 2010 Macbook?

[saudor]

I've got a 15" mid-2010 with 8GB RAM and the 2.8 GHz i7. I upgraded it with an SSD shortly after I bought it in 2011. A few years back I had the GPU panic problem and had Apple fix it. It's been fine ever since until recently. I started getting GPU panic reboots again sometime shortly after I upgraded to El Capitan. Last week, the panics became more frequent until I had 4 in one day. Since I'm almost always docked using external display and keyboard I didn't notice that my battery was swollen and pressing the trackpad out of the chassis. Optimistically, I hoped that replacing the battery might fix the panics. While they are less frequent now, they still occur. I've disabled automatic graphics switching and installed gfxCardStatus. Unfortunately, you can't use the integrated graphics if you use an external display. Also some apps require use of discrete graphics, so you still run the risk of panics. It's not worth paying to fix the GPU again since the machine is so old at this point. I can't be sure another OS will reduce or eliminate the panics. Also, I need to be on the same OS as the rest of my dev team, so downgrading to Yosemite or Mavericks is not an option. I was hoping to limp along until the 2016 Macbook Pros came out, but I don't think I can wait until Q4.

do you have any powered USB hubs connected to it? In my case, that made the matter worse. Anyhow, the 2010 is vintage so they cant repair it regardless (had mine repaired this past november through a warranty program) but they said they wouldnt be able to do any subsequent repeat repairs since they no longer have/make the part and the board was the last one in stock.

 

[deedubfly]

do you have any powered USB hubs connected to it? In my case, that made the matter worse. Anyhow, the 2010 is vintage so they cant repair it regardless (had mine repaired this past november through a warranty program) but they said they wouldnt be able to do any subsequent repeat repairs since they no longer have/make the part and the board was the last one in stock.

I do use a powered USB hub. It's pretty essential for my docking setup. I'll do some experimentation to see if working undocked makes a difference, but working on iOS storyboards for extended periods is rough even on a 15" screen. I'm definitely going to upgrade to a newer model soon. I read that they may announce the 2016s this month and maybe slash prices on 2015s. Anything 2013 and later would be a significant upgrade over the 2010.

 

[saudor]

I do use a powered USB hub. It's pretty essential for my docking setup. I'll do some experimentation to see if working undocked makes a difference, but working on iOS storyboards for extended periods is rough even on a 15" screen. I'm definitely going to upgrade to a newer model soon. I read that they may announce the 2016s this month and maybe slash prices on 2015s. Anything 2013 and later would be a significant upgrade over the 2010.

Yeah for sure as it's getting a bit sluggish. I think we had a pretty decent run with our 2010s. The new ones also support the addition of two external monitors which is super nice! (currently, i have a relatively slow Displaylink setup to get the 3 displays)

 

[AoxoA]

all good here, standard hard drive 8g ram.

 

[loby]

Hey guys. Wanted to ask you about your Mid 2010 Macbook and El Capitan impressions. Anyone of you have tried this config? Is it useable?

Thanks in advance.

Have a 13" MacBook Pro 2010 with SSD and 16 gigs of RAM (13" model can hold 16 gigs of RAM). Flys! On Yosemite it worked well since I had a lot of RAM. Tried El Cap and did not run as well as OS X Ysemite, but once OS X 10.11.6 El Cap came out, I installed it from scratch and it seems to running better and smoother than Yosemite now. Again, maybe having 16 gigs of RAM makes the difference, but EL Cap with 10.11.6 seemed fix a lot of the issues I had.

 

[Pich]

It feels off with my mac air late 2010 in other word it freaking destroys my mac

 

[Kohakuuu]

Excellent, thanks! I think that seals it for me.

Hi Mootalicious,
I have the same machine like you, with the same AMD Gpu issue.
Just Today I WAS planning to Install el Captain. You have done it? Can you tell me if everything 'went smoothly? Telling the truth, I am very afraid 'cause I've already had to replace two time the motherboard. However it's true that I need to make this upgrade as I should use some new apps are no longer compatible with 10.9. If you like to share your experience then you will do me a great gift.
Thanx

 

[BroCraig]

I am. The original HD died and I replaced it with an SSD and it screams. Was SO glad I did not just let it die. I have a late 2013 retina for my use. Wife uses the 2010 15". She is very happy with it.