I Finally Found My Dream Computer... Early 2009 Macbook Pro 17"

[alex_free]

I hit the ebay jackpot. I posted a thread a while ago about my Macbook Pro 15" mid 2010 which I got on ebay which had the GPU issue . I've been burned many times on specifically early Intel Macs, and I have been buying, returning, and searching for the best daily driver I can find. This has been actually difficult, as my requirements for a daily driver are:

Snow Leopard compatible
Fast
Really good condition (screen is the most important)

I have sought the 2009-2010 MacBooks as they are still very user serviceable and do not have soldered RAM or storage. I can run Snow Leopard and up, as well as Windows 7. And they have good enough GPU/CPU performance for my needs in 2021.

So I finally got what I wanted. A 17 inch early 2009 MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.66 GHz with a Geforce 9400M GPU. I can never go back to anything smaller, I've never owned anything with such a big display (and 1920x1200!). I have found my forever daily driver at last. 10/10 screen, 9/10 body. No GPU issues.

Going to throw in an SSD and max the RAM, get a new battery, then ride this thing into the sunset. I wish Apple made computers like this today...

I will be posting more on here (it's been awhile) and porting/creating more software soon!

 

[TheShortTimer]

Congrats on finally scoring the jackpot. As an adversary once conceded to me, persistence pays.

I wish Apple made computers like this today...

As much as I admire and enjoy using their products to the point where I'm now firmly a Mac convert and die-hard who went from owning one Mac following a recommendation that I pick up one and familiarise myself for at least curiosity's sake to the point where Macs are now my preference, I'm unable to escape the conclusion that Apple has lost direction.

Nowadays they're mainly pivoting their products towards the lifestyle and fashion market and it seems to be lucrative enough for them not to care about the disillusionment of their long term user base who want serious computers instead of seasonal poser pieces.

I will be posting more on here (it's been awhile) and porting/creating more software soon!

That's great news! Welcome back.

 

[Amethyst1]

Congrats on your purchase

A 17 inch early 2009 MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.66 GHz with a Geforce 9400M GPU.

It also has a discrete GeForce 9600M GT GPU but you can tell it to always use the 9400M (“System Preferences > Energy Saver > Better battery life” IIRC).

Going to throw in an SSD and max the RAM, get a new battery, then ride this thing into the sunset.

That’s the spirit. If you weren’t so in love with the big screen (which I can fully relate to: it’s a thing of its own) my suggestion would have been a 2011 13” MBP. It runs circles around any Core 2 Duo MBP, boots Snow Leopard, has no dGPU issues and features the best expansion port ever made.

I wish Apple made computers like this today...

It’s a shame the last (2011) 17” MBP is crippled due to the pesky dGPU issues. And people are still paying big bucks for it — WTF?

 

[eyoungren]

…I'm unable to escape the conclusion that Apple has lost direction.

Nowadays they're mainly pivoting their products towards the lifestyle and fashion market and it seems to be lucrative enough for them not to care about the disillusionment of their long term user base who want serious computers instead of seasonal poser pieces.

This is just my opinion.

The main user base for Apple used to be professionals, mainly in the design industry. Business was willing to pay the price premium because they got a good deal in the long run. But as with so many other things, times change.

Windows and PCs got good enough to be used dependably in the profession. And they cost less. Some of the major name animation studios are Windows/PC now and have been for a long time.

Why did Apple wait so long to update the MacPro trashcan? Because the market wasn't there and Apple was focusing on it's new consumer market. They realized that ordinary people will pay a premium for their devices. When Apple finally got around to updating the MP it came with a whopping price tag - because business can afford that. They went back to the same model.

But not too much. Apple is really pushing using the iPad as a design tool like the Mac. I was asked about that by the Apple genius recently when replacing my iPhone battery. But I don't see any way to connect six displays to my iPad. And last I checked, QuarkXPress won't run on the iPad. InDesign as well, I think.

Anyway, you can only milk so much out of an industry that has turned to Windows/PC and a market of average consumers. I heard somewhere that Apple's next market is rich people. Not just your average rich person, but the one percent. I believe that's another reason prices have increased. Apple has to keep the cash cow going and who better to do that then a market that sees the kinds of prices Apple charges like change you'd find in the street. These people have no problem with disposable devices and computers and paying the price of upgrading is less than nothing to them.

Apple has lost its direction because we are not the target anymore. They won't tell you that, because you don't want to lose customers you still depend on for the moment, but that's what I think.

 

[MajorFubar]

Congrats on your purchase

 

[MBAir2010]

I hit the ebay jackpot. I posted a thread a while ago about my Macbook Pro 15" mid 2010 which I got on ebay which had the GPU issue . I've been burned many times on specifically early Intel Macs, and I have been buying, returning, and searching for the best daily driver I can find. This has been actually difficult, as my requirements for a daily driver are:

Snow Leopard compatible
Fast
Really good condition (screen is the most important)

I have sought the 2009-2010 MacBooks as they are still very user serviceable and do not have soldered RAM or storage. I can run Snow Leopard and up, as well as Windows 7. And they have good enough GPU/CPU performance for my needs in 2021.

So I finally got what I wanted. A 17 inch early 2009 MacBook Pro Core2Duo 2.66 GHz with a Geforce 9400M GPU. I can never go back to anything smaller, I've never owned anything with such a big display (and 1920x1200!). I have found my forever daily driver at last. 10/10 screen, 9/10 body. No GPU issues.

Going to throw in an SSD and max the RAM, get a new battery, then ride this thing into the sunset. I wish Apple made computers like this today...

I will be posting more on here (it's been awhile) and porting/creating more software soon!

Does this macbook pro interactive well an ipad?
im looking for the same Laptop

 

[alex_free]

Congrats on your purchase


It also has a discrete GeForce 9600M GT GPU but you can tell it to always use the 9400M (“System Preferences > Energy Saver > Better battery life” IIRC).


That’s the spirit. If you weren’t so in love with the big screen (which I can fully relate to: it’s a thing of its own) my suggestion would have been a 2011 13” MBP. It runs circles around any Core 2 Duo MBP, boots Snow Leopard, has no dGPU issues and features the best expansion port ever made.


It’s a shame the last (2011) 17” MBP is crippled due to the pesky dGPU issues. And people are still paying big bucks for it — WTF?

From what I've read, the 09's are safe from that right? That's why I went with an 09 and not a 2010 or above.

I paid around $200 for it, totally worth it. I didn't even realize that it had 2 Nvidia GPUs, and 512MB of VRAM?!

I think I may grab that 2011 13" MBP eventually as a smaller laptop to carry around in addition, thanks for the tip!

I've always been a buy used premium products > new low end kind of a guy.

 

[Amethyst1]

I didn't even realize that it had 2 Nvidia GPUs, and 512MB of VRAM?!

Most 2008/2009 15” and 17” MBPs do. Only the low-end 15" doesn't.

I think I may grab that 2011 13" MBP eventually as a smaller laptop to carry around in addition, thanks for the tip!

You’ll be surprised at how much faster the i5/i7 is. The GPU is… not very impressive, though.

I've always been a buy used premium products > new low end kind of a guy.

Same here, especially when ‘low-end’ translates to ‘utter garbage’.

 

[bobesch]

Oh, congrats! Great book, rock-solid. 17" rules. 😊 You may add USB3 via PCExpressCard.
As for the 13" book - I'd rather go for a mid2012 13" (dual-core) MBP, cause it's got USB3.
If big screen matters, the mid2012 15" MBP with matte-high-res screen (silver-bezel) is the machine I'd look for,
since that's the sturdiest pre-retina 15" MBP and offers an i7 quad-core 2,3/2,6GHz GPU.
Both 13/15" books can handle 16GB of RAM.
They'll become the flagships of legacy late-early Intels of MacBookPro. Kind of "unkaputtbar" (indestructible) - same as the late c2duo late intel MBP, like Your new 17" book.

 

[TheShortTimer]

As for the 13" book - I'd rather go for a mid2012 13" (dual-core) MBP, cause it's got USB3.

It does but you can very easily add USB 3.0 and more besides to the 2011 13" MBP thanks to...

...the best expansion port ever made.

On that note:

You’ll be surprised at how much faster the i5/i7 is. The GPU is… not very impressive, though.

Although as has been demonstrated elsewhere in this forum by someone or the other, the best expansion port ever made provides a very effective solution to that.

 

[bobesch]

It does but you can very easily add USB 3.0 and more besides to the 2011 13" MBP thanks to...

@Amethyst1 Sorry, iForgot! 😔
So the mid2012 13"MBP might have TB-dock-USB3 + 2 inbuilt USB3 ... 💪
And USB3 on the go w/o cable-salad.

 

[Amethyst1]

@Amethyst1 Sorry, iForgot! 😔
So the mid2012 13"MBP might have TB-dock-USB3 + 2 inbuilt USB3 ... 💪
And USB3 on the go w/o cable-salad.

You can daisy-chain 6 Thunderbolt devices. So built-in USB3 plus 6 docks each with additional USB3 ports (and their power bricks)

 

[alex_free]

Oh, congrats! Great book, rock-solid. 17" rules. 😊 You may add USB3 via PCExpressCard.
As for the 13" book - I'd rather go for a mid2012 13" (dual-core) MBP, cause it's got USB3.
If big screen matters, the mid2012 15" MBP with matte-high-res screen (silver-bezel) is the machine I'd look for,
since that's the sturdiest pre-retina 15" MBP and offers an i7 quad-core 2,3/2,6GHz GPU.
Both 13/15" books can handle 16GB of RAM.
They'll become the flagships of legacy late-early Intels of MacBookPro. Kind of "unkaputtbar" (indestructible) - same as the late c2duo late intel MBP, like Your new 17" book.

When you say I may add USB3, can you elaborate? I'm not entirely sure how I'd go about that, and what is even possible with the PCIExpress port. Thankyou!

 

[TheShortTimer]

When you say I may add USB3, can you elaborate? I'm not entirely sure how I'd go about that, and what is even possible with the PCIExpress port. Thankyou!

You'd need one of these. Insert it into the ExpressCard slot on the left hand side and you've got USB 3.0 functionality.

The item that I've linked to seems a tad pricey - I'm certain that you can find it for cheaper than that but at least you know you'll need to look for.

 

[Amethyst1]

what is even possible with the PCIExpress port.

There you go.
Using an adapter like that any PCIe card can be used — and there’s lots of native ExpressCard peripherals too.

 

[bobesch]

You'd need one of these. Insert it into the ExpressCard slot on the left hand side and you've got USB 3.0 functionality.

The item that I've linked to seems a tad pricey - I'm certain that you can find it for cheaper than that but at least you know you'll need to look for.

That price is insane! Two years ago I've got mine for about a third of the costs.
Unfortunately that seller currently doesn't offer anything at all now, maybe business is down!?
What a pitty ...

 

[TheShortTimer]

That price is insane!

Yes, I wouldn't pay that. The cynical part of me suspects that the seller is angling to capitalise on the ignorance of Mac owners who wouldn't be research inclined and thus wouldn't understand how to ascertain which products are compatible and are prepared to pay a premium for an item if it's absolutely guaranteed to work with their machine.

I only cited it so that Alex would have an indication of what type of card to look for.

Two years ago I've got mine for about a third of the costs.
Unfortunately that seller currently doesn't offer anything at all now, maybe business is down!?
What a pitty ...

Let's not mourn just yet!

This one is far more appropriately priced.

Maybe I should buy it for my 2006 MBP.

 

[Amethyst1]

the ignorance of Mac owners who wouldn't be research inclined

No love from me for these, sorry. People need to do their homework before buying stuff.

 

[TheShortTimer]

No love from me for these, sorry. People need to do their homework before buying stuff.

You'll get no disagreements from me. I was trying to be polite about them.

 

[alex_free]

I couldn't resist not buying this after spotting it on ebay. The top of the line early 09. New battery, RAM, and SSD are delivered. Now just waiting for the toolkit I bought to do the upgrades.

 

[alex_free]

Yes, I wouldn't pay that. The cynical part of me suspects that the seller is angling to capitalise on the ignorance of Mac owners who wouldn't be research inclined and thus wouldn't understand how to ascertain which products are compatible and are prepared to pay a premium for an item if it's absolutely guaranteed to work with their machine.

I only cited it so that Alex would have an indication of what type of card to look for.



Let's not mourn just yet!

This one is far more appropriately priced.

Maybe I should buy it for my 2006 MBP.

Just bought one for $15, thanks!

 

[Amethyst1]

I couldn't resist not buying this after spotting it on ebay.

So did you get another 17”?

 

[Romain_H]

Just bought one for $15, thanks!

May I ask where?

 

[alex_free]

So did you get another 17”?

yes 😂.

I have a complete set of spare parts and a backup now.

 

[alex_free]

May I ask where?

eBay, searched for "PCI Express Card USB 3.0 34mm".