I just bought a unibody mid 2012 15 inch 2.6 GHz i7 in 2020. Is the laptop still worth it?

[azpMD104LL/A]

I bought it for 380 bucks including tax & shipping off eBay. Its got 1500 battery cycles. I plan to put in an SSD & 16GB of Ram. I don't plan to put in a new battery.


Would this laptop still be worth it today? and how long will it last?


I plan to use it for heavy graphic design work, and some light video editing.

 

[TheSkywalker77]

Would this laptop still be worth it today?

YES! I'm using the 2.3 GHz model and I absolutely love it. You definitely should upgrade it to an SSD and 16GB of RAM like you said you would. And if you want to take the extra step, replace the disc drive with another SSD and combine them in RAID for even more storage, just a thought.

how long will it last?

The hardware itself should last for a long time, before this machine (which I got about a year ago) I used an 08 unibody and ended up replacing it due to hard drive failure (it wasn't worth replacing the drive with the specs the machine had). Software on the other hand, I'm not so sure. I feel like Apple will officially end support for the 2012 unibody with Catalina, but I may be wrong and I hope I am. Dosdude1 usually makes patchers to put the newest version on unsupported machines though, so there's always that.

Best of luck with your machine though!

 

[azpMD104LL/A]

YES! I'm using the 2.3 GHz model and I absolutely love it. You definitely should upgrade it to an SSD and 16GB of RAM like you said you would. And if you want to take the extra step, replace the disc drive with another SSD and combine them in RAID for even more storage, just a thought.

The hardware itself should last for a long time, before this machine (which I got about a year ago) I used an 08 unibody and ended up replacing it due to hard drive failure (it wasn't worth replacing the drive with the specs the machine had). Software on the other hand, I'm not so sure. I feel like Apple will officially end support for the 2012 unibody with Catalina, but I may be wrong and I hope I am. Dosdude1 usually makes patchers to put the newest version on unsupported machines though, so there's always that.

Best of luck with your machine though!

Thank you for your kind reply! I am hoping that apple continues for software support for the 2012 unibody's a little longer since they kept selling the 13 inch unibody until late 2016.

I have 1500 battery cycles on this thing. Does MacOS throttle the CPU performance if the battery has been worn down & depleted? just like how apple does with iOS?

 

[smirking]

I have that exact model as a backup/loaner. With an SSD, it's still a quite capable machine but the cable for the wireless card has been known to be failure prone. It's not hard to replace though and only costs a few bucks for a replacement.

Yeah, don't bother with a new battery. Any battery you can get for a machine of this vintage is either way overpriced, questionable, or both. I've bought two replacement batteries for this unit in the past two years. Both failed prematurely and both appeared to be reputably sourced. It's also hardly worth it given that you only get a few hours on a full charge with this model anyway.

I have 1500 battery cycles on this thing. Does MacOS throttle the CPU performance if the battery has been worn down & depleted? just like how apple does with iOS?

No, it doesn't. You can even run it without a battery if you wish.

 

[TheSkywalker77]

I am hoping that apple continues for software support for the 2012 unibody's a little longer since they kept selling the 13 inch unibody until late 2016.

Hmm that's true, I didn't think about that.

We'll see in June!

 

[azpMD104LL/A]

I have that exact model as a backup/loaner. With an SSD, it's still a quite capable machine but the cable for the wireless card has been known to be failure prone. It's not hard to replace though and only costs a few bucks for a replacement.

Yeah, don't bother with a new battery. Any battery you can get for a machine of this vintage is either way overpriced, questionable, or both. I've bought two replacement batteries for this unit in the past two years. Both failed prematurely and both appeared to be reputably sourced. It's also hardly worth it given that you only get a few hours on a full charge with this model anyway.



No, it doesn't. You can even run it without a battery if you wish.

Thank you for letting me know about the cable for the wireless card being prone to failure.

I previously had a 13 inch unibody and I know that the hard drive/SSD cable connecting it to the motherboard was failure prone too.

Thank you for your kind response & input!

 

[makinao]

I have the exact same model as my only machine. I got it brand new in 2012. I've maxed it out with 16GB ram and 2TB SSD (DIY), is on its third battery (two Apples and the latest a NuPower), and currently running 10.15.2. I run all the common office and communication apps, use it for lots of audio recording in Logic Pro X, and occasionally for video editing in Final Cut Pro. The CD drive is wonky, although I no longer use it. The screen isn't as great as a retina, but will get the job done. Outside of that, it has never failed me. I'll use it until it either dies or can't take the newest OS. By then, I think I will have saved up enough for a new one.

EDIT: Now on 10.15.4

 

[azpMD104LL/A]

YES! I'm using the 2.3 GHz model and I absolutely love it. You definitely should upgrade it to an SSD and 16GB of RAM like you said you would. And if you want to take the extra step, replace the disc drive with another SSD and combine them in RAID for even more storage, just a thought.

The hardware itself should last for a long time, before this machine (which I got about a year ago) I used an 08 unibody and ended up replacing it due to hard drive failure (it wasn't worth replacing the drive with the specs the machine had). Software on the other hand, I'm not so sure. I feel like Apple will officially end support for the 2012 unibody with Catalina, but I may be wrong and I hope I am. Dosdude1 usually makes patchers to put the newest version on unsupported machines though, so there's always that.

Best of luck with your machine though!

You mention about Dosdude1's patcher. I'm talking about this for future use on the 2012 15 inch non retina. How reliable is the patcher to run on a laptop that is being used and abused on a daily basis for a heavy workload.

Thank you for your kind input!

 

[TheSkywalker77]

You mention about Dosdude1's patcher. I'm talking about this for future use on the 2012 15 inch non retina. How reliable is the patcher to run on a laptop that is being used and abused on a daily basis for a heavy workload.

Thank you for your kind input!

Ah. It should work fairly well with the specs you listed. I ran his High Sierra patcher on my 08 Unibody which was my daily driver at the time and it ran just fine.

You could also try it in a partition before going all in.