I love unibody MacBook Pros, my take on $40 dollars MacBook Pro

[MultiFinder17]

That's the one with the ExpressCard slot, isn't it?

Sure is! And the lovely silver trim around the audio jacks.

 

[theMarble]

Sure is! And the lovely silver trim around the audio jacks.
View attachment 2026281

You should put a USB 3 card in it! I'm not sure how common they are anymore though.

 

[BeatCrazy]

You should put a USB 3 card in it! I'm not sure how common they are anymore though.

They're still widely available. Someone else will need to confirm this is the exact one you'd need, but it's close.
PCI-E PCI Express To 2 Port USB 3.0 34 mm Expresscard Card Converter Adapter

 

[theMarble]

They're still widely available. Someone else will need to confirm this is the exact one you'd need, but it's close.
PCI-E PCI Express To 2 Port USB 3.0 34 mm Expresscard Card Converter Adapter
View attachment 2026301

I believe that is it! The MacBook Pro uses ExpressCard/34 so this would work.

 

[MultiFinder17]

You should put a USB 3 card in it! I'm not sure how common they are anymore though.

I've debated it but given that it's used to remote into other computers and occasionally look up stuff online, I haven't really bothered. All I've done are the standard quality of life upgrades (8GB RAM + SSD) and put High Sierra on it. I've had it up to Big Sur, but I find that HS runs so much cleaner on it.

Plus if I ever need anything newer or beefier, I've got a 2011 15" running Big Sur that I can swap it out with, but I do enjoy using a computer that's now older than most of my students on a daily basis

 

[Amethyst1]

[…] I do enjoy using a computer that's now older than most of my students on a daily basis

Imagine using a 1988 computer in 2002 on a daily basis… Including web browsing

 

[MultiFinder17]

Imagine using a 1988 computer in 2002 on a daily basis… Including web browsing

You know, it amazes me daily how relevant this computer still is. It's used for a few screen sharing sessions, looking things up online, and running the occasional Office and programming app, and it keeps up with these tasks just fine. Given that I use a fair few ancient Macs regularly, I'm not exactly surprised but pleased to be sure. Whenever one of the kiddos has to use it for something, they're always impressed when they ask about it and I tell them that yes, it is older than them.

 

[Aoligei]

So, I have looked at few stores that sells used MacBooks, what I found is kind shocking to be honest.

One of the seller installed MacOS Monterey installed on 2011-2014 MacBook Pro via OCLP and advertised as those machine fully compatible with macOS Monterey. I mean for someone who doesn't know computers and purchased these Macs, they will be shocked to find out macOS Monterey is not compatible when issues arises.

Some of the sellers are selling unibody MacBook Pros for shockingly expensive prices. For reference, 2011 13" MacBook Pro listed for $399CAD plus tax, while 2013 13" MacBook Pro is selling for $499 plus tax. 2016 12" MacBook for $699CAD plus tax.

 

[Amethyst1]

One of the seller installed MacOS Monterey installed on 2011-2014 MacBook Pro via OCLP and advertised as those machine fully compatible with macOS Monterey. I mean for someone who doesn't know computers and purchased these Macs, they will be shocked to find out macOS Monterey is not compatible when issues arises.

Caveat emptor, as usual.

Some of the sellers are selling unibody MacBook Pros for shockingly expensive prices. For reference, 2011 13" MacBook Pro listed for $399CAD plus tax, while 2013 13" MacBook Pro is selling for $499 plus tax. 2016 12" MacBook for $699CAD plus tax.

There's always this kind of seller. They can try, and people can vote with their wallet.

 

[MultiFinder17]

Caveat emptor, as usual.


There's always this kind of seller. They can try, and people can vote with their wallet.

There's always people that sell things for stupid high amounts - that's why there's a very small number of online stores that I actually recommend to people for their used stuff because they generally have solid pricing an quality.

 

[Amethyst1]

There's always people that sell things for stupid high amounts [...]

The only problem I see with these sellers is they might cause other sellers to believe this stuff is actually worth that much and hike their prices too.

 

[Aoligei]

There's always people that sell things for stupid high amounts - that's why there's a very small number of online stores that I actually recommend to people for their used stuff because they generally have solid pricing an quality.

This is most laughable one. 2008 MacBook for $500 and what is full unlimited adobe package?

 

[Amethyst1]

[…] what is full unlimited adobe package?

Probably the reason the seller thinks it’s worth $500.

 

[MultiFinder17]

The only problem I see with these sellers is they might cause other sellers to believe this stuff is actually worth that much and hike their prices too.

Yeah, I'm sure plenty of people just search what other people are pricing things at when looking at pricing their own items. Makes you think a bit about some of the wacko prices on things out there!

 

[Aoligei]

Yeah, I'm sure plenty of people just search what other people are pricing things at when looking at pricing their own items. Makes you think a bit about some of the wacko prices on things out there!

You could get good deal at local pawn shops or just keep looking.

 

[MultiFinder17]

You could get good deal at local pawn shops or just keep looking.

Yeah, whenever I’m in the market for a used Mac I just keep an eye out for good deals on what I’m looking for. Not being in a hurry is a huge boon, as it gives you the time to shop around and find those great deals that are out there.

 

[Aoligei]

Yeah, whenever I’m in the market for a used Mac I just keep an eye out for good deals on what I’m looking for. Not being in a hurry is a huge boon, as it gives you the time to shop around and find those great deals that are out there.

Here are few deals that I was able to get:

1. $150 for 2012 MacBook Pro 13".
2. $40 for the 2009 MacBook Pro 13"
3. $100 for the 2009 MacBook Pro 15"
4. $60 for $2010 MacBook Pro
5. $400 for mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro 13"
6. $180 for 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (I feel like that I am overpaid for this one)

I feel extremely good for the $400 dollar Retina MacBook Pro.... I also found $800 dollars for M1 MacBook Air, but I didn't purchase it, because I think I blow my budget for this year for random staffs...

 

[theMarble]

I was lucky enough to be able to get most of my collection for amazing prices, eg; I got my White MacBook, TiBook and 12" for $5 each and my iMac G4 (20" 1.25) for $60.

Yeah, whenever I’m in the market for a used Mac I just keep an eye out for good deals on what I’m looking for. Not being in a hurry is a huge boon, as it gives you the time to shop around and find those great deals that are out there.

I've actually never found much by going on sites like eBay, recyclers are great places to go!

 

[MultiFinder17]

I was lucky enough to be able to get most of my collection for amazing prices, eg; I got my White MacBook, TiBook and 12" for $5 each and my iMac G4 (20" 1.25) for $60.


I've actually never found much by going on sites like eBay, recyclers are great places to go!

Recyclers are great! I used to work at a small local computer shop and so much of my collection has come from what people dropped off for recycling!

Boxed final-gen 14” iBook G4
15”, 17”, AND 20” iMac G4s
G4 Cube with its speakers, 17” Studio Display, and most of its documentation

Plus a ton of little odds and ends. And the computers were all completely functional other than the 20”. All those above were free because people simply didn’t want them any more

 

[Aoligei]

UPDATE:

It is now about half month since I got the $40 dollar MacBook Pro and I have installed macOS Monetery. In the meantime, I decided to fire up my old iPhone 7 that I have laying around along with 7th generation iPad to create the cheapest Apple ecosystem. No, I don't have Apple Watch and I am not watch person, so I won't and will never purchase Apple Watch.

The $40 MacBook Pro is running macOS Monetery via OCLP patcher tool, iPhone 7 is running iOS 15 and iPad is running iPadOS 15. They are all running the latest version software.

To be honest, most features that requires latest hardware simply do not work. For example, there is no sidecar, there is no live text, no universal control, no spiritual audio, no airdrop (because 2009 MacBook Pro doesn't support airdrop). However, I can still have everything synced, I can still connect my AirPods, I can still benefits most Apple ecosystem has to offer.

Running cheapest, outdated Apple hardware comes with lots of limitations, but with right expectation, one can achieve lots with old hardware.

Update of Update:

I don't know if its my Bluetooth keyboard (and mouse) or the Bluetooth chip problem, my Bluetooth keyboard and is little bit laggy and bluetooth mouse jumps around sometimes.

 

[Amethyst1]

Running cheapest, outdated Apple hardware comes with lots of limitations, but with right expectation, one can achieve lots with old hardware.

That’s exactly what this subforum is dedicated to.

 

[MultiFinder17]

Running cheapest, outdated Apple hardware comes with lots of limitations, but with right expectation, one can achieve lots with old hardware.

Welcome to the Early Intel Macs forum! This is basically our tagline right here mate

There's people that will tell you that literally anyone will be happy with a C2D, which isn't true. There's people that'll tell you that a computer that's not running Apple Silicon is obsolete, which isn't true. We exist in the middle ground, helping people to understand that these old machines certainly can be fantastic for many uses, so long as you understand the limitations that certainly exist.

Myself for example, I've finally gotten to the point where most of the computers that I use at school daily (teaching) need to support Metal in order to run some of the newer software that I need. But for my personal machines, I love my even older machines for what they are and what they can do for me.

 

[DatBlueDatsun240z]

TLDR; I got a 2009 13" MacBook Pro for about $40 dollars. I upgraded to 8GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD, added 1TB HDD by replacing the SuperDrive. Installed Catalina via Catalina patcher. This machine runs macOS Catalina fine, abit little bit buggy. 2009 MacBook features outdated Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with outdated I/O Port i.e. USB 2.0, SATA 2.0. If you are able to handle slow data transfer speed and don't mind do some software patching, you can get a surprising usable laptop for $40 dollars.

I have always wondered what is absolutely lowest price for a decent usable laptops in 2022.

I have also tried $100 dollars Windows laptop, but experience is very subpar. Not only the screen looks pretty terrible, but most importantly, those machine all comes with painfully slow Intel Celeron Processor and awful 32GB eMMc storage. Windows 10 installation alone count half of available storage, which leaves less than 16GB for files and program. This isn't even counting constant Windows update. To put bluntly, those laptop is pretty much just brand new e-waste.

Then I came across a 13" inch 2009 MacBook Pro for merely $40, so I felt that I have to give it a try, even though the seller is 1 hour of driving away. So the actual cost of this machine is close to $60 dollars, if we count gas.

The Unibody MacBook Pro is the last generation of MacBook Pro that are fully upgradable. Retina MacBook Pro has upgradeable SSD, but they require special adopters and some SSD will not functioning correctly. The unibody MacBook Pros aren't have these problem. Standard DDR memory, standard SATA connectors and we can even get dual drive if we replace the SuperDrive. It is truly wonderful and it is in direct contrast of current generation of MacBook Pro where everything is soldered on.

This particular MacBook Pro is 13" mid-2009 MacBook Pro, where it comes with upgraded Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8700 clocked at 2.53Ghz, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 250GB hard drive. Since this MacBook Pro is easily upgradable, so I have installed 8GB DDR3 RAM and 128GB SSD, which made the MacBook much faster.

Why Do I love this so much?

I mean for $40 dollars worth of laptop, this laptop is holding up very well. Surprisingly, the battery is about 94% of original capacity, so it last for about 2-3 hours before it goes. Unlike the new MacBook Pro where everything is soldered on motherboard and locked down to component level, this MacBook Pro is fully upgradable and repairable. If SSD goes, i just toss a new SSD. If the RAM goes, I will just pick up used DDR3 RAM.

Intel Core 2 Duo is decade old CPU now, even Windows 11 isn't support this CPU anymore. So I am not expecting doing any heavy tasks with this laptop. But it doesn't mean it cannot do video editing or coding, it will just be slow. However, that being said, this machine is fully capable to do modern day tasks, such as web browsing, video streaming, even 4K playback is smooth. You can still run Microsoft Office 2019 and many other applications.

For what this MacBook Pro worth, it is certainly better than any new Celeron based Windows laptop. There is no questions about it, so the question is would you rather shelling out more money for not so great experience, but new laptop; or would you rather spend lesser money for better experience, but a decade old MacBook Pro. I would choose latter without hesitation.


What Do I NOT love?

Love or hate it, this is a 13 years old laptop. Even though this laptop offers more port selection than current MacBook Pro, but newer Macs offers lots better experience.

This laptop only have two USB 2.0 port, an ancient FireWire port (this maybe bonus if you need to connect FireWire devices) and Mini-Display port. USB 2.0 is slow in today's standard, file transfer will definitely take longer. The SATA 2 interface will limit SSD's performance, so please don't spend lots of money for high end SSD, it will be limited by SATA 2's 3Gbps speed anyway. DDR3 RAM can be hard to find these day for decent price.

View attachment 2024115

Black Magic speed test shows SSD write speed close to 170-190MB/s and read speed around 250MB/s.

And the screen. It is 1280x800 resolution, so it is not Retina Display. You will definitely see pixels. Viewing angle is also low, colour shifting is noticeable and colour accuracy is not great either. It is not even remotely close to some cheap Windows laptop that features FHD screen. So be prepared be disappointed by this screen.

And software. The 2009 MacBook Pro can officially upgraded to Mac OS X El Captain. It is almost 7 years old OS now. So security updates has been discontinued. If you care about running up to date macOS, then you must use Catalina patcher to install macOS Catalina. Although support for this OS will be dropped when macOS Ventura comes out this September. I have not try Big Sur on this machine and I am not intended to run. Catalina is somewhat buggy on this machine. WiFi will not automatically reconnect when wake up from sleep and it can take a while to boot even on SSD.

Intel Macs all have very ironic ending. Where as Intel Mac will be better Windows machine than being a Mac, simply because you can run Windows on pretty much any Intel Mac and run well. Where as you need hack macOS installer to get semi-recent macOS installed on this laptop.

I do not know what I will do when Apple end support for Catalina. I probably will install some Linux Distribution or Windows on this, but for now, it is macOS Catalina and I love it.

In Conclusion:

For this little $40 dollar laptop, I am very satisfied. It is can do every modern task relatively well if you don't stress it. It is still very capable to be everyday computer. Certainly better than some cheap Chromebook (or you can install ChromeOS on this machine). For $40 dollars, this is money well spent.

Here is my collection of MacBook Pros
View attachment 2023586

2009 MacBook Pro 13" for $40 dollars, 2009 MacBook Pro 15" for FREE (given by a co-worker who can't get macOS installed), 2010 MacBook Pro 13" (one with cracked trackpad, replacement ordered from Aliexpres) for $80 and 2012 MacBook Pro 13" for $200.

If you're willing for $150-$300 you can find 3.8ghz i7+Quadro Dell precision's and i5 2011 13 inch macbook pros. Both are fantastic. If you want a $100 PC Id look for old "flagship" models. Celeron is among the worst if you want a good PC. A decent PC would be for ex an ASUS K55VD with the i7 3630QM and geforce graphics and a ssd is a crazy fast web browser and light gamer for rocket league or world of tanks. Im not hating on macs this was typed on a 17 inch 09 macbook pro.

 

[Aoligei]

If you're willing for $150-$300 you can find 3.8ghz i7+Quadro Dell precision's and i5 2011 13 inch macbook pros. Both are fantastic.

$300 probably get you lot newer Windows laptop. You can probably get some Kaby Lake based Windows laptop for $300 to $400, depends on which brand you go by.

2011 MacBook Pro 13 inch is probably worth somewhere between $150- $250, depends where you look at and configuration. I am not willing to purchase ANY Unibody MacBook Pro for more than $300. Because if you look harder, you can find Retina MacBook, which is 2012 or 2013 for $300 and I got an based model 13" Retina MacBook Pro 2014 for $400CAD.

 

[Aoligei]

YET OTHER UPDATE:

I am sorry for so many updates as I am experiencing these wonderful machines. I had little comparison between these old MacBook Pro and newer MacBook Pro.

I love how old keyboard have lot longer key travels and yet it feels soft. I dislike how modern MacBook Pro's keyboard, especially the newer revision of magic keyboard. Key travel is shorter and key press feel harsh, making subpar typing experience compare with unibody and retina MacBook Pro. This is especially true when it compare with butterfly keyboard, where I never loved these keyboard.

I also order new battery for couple unibody MacBook Pros, even with new battery, battery life is kind poor compare with modern more efficient MacBook Pros, especially one with Apple Silicons. I can get 3-4 hours of usage if I am only doing web browsing, office tasks. Any media streaming will kill battery in less than 2 hours.