Swap Mid 2009 MacBook Pro 15" C2D Logic Board for i5 or i7

[Sawtooth811]

Hi there. Apple really care about this things. You have to buy a new machine.

Or... check this out: http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

Do you really think you'll make a quantum leap in speed with a 2010 upgrade?
Maybe you can swap a newest motherboard but not in every model, as far as I read... you can be succesful in a few cases.

The cheapest way to improve your speed is to buy an old Mac Pro with at least 4 cores... (i'm gonna do that...) but yes you won't get portability anymore.

Just check the benchmarks!

That's the same thing I did almost three years ago. I purchased an Early 2009 Quad-Core Mac Pro, bumped up the memory, and installed an un-flashed EVGA GTX 660 in it. I now have an identical Mac Pro with a PCS Radeon 7870 in it. I plan to take it even further once finances allow...

Want portability with a desktop-class OS? Get an old, inexpensive, secondary 13-inch unibody MacBook (Pro) with at least a GeForce 9400M in it, upgrade the RAM to 8GB, and put an SSD in it.

Done.

 

[pioneer200569]

That's the same thing I did almost three years ago. I purchased an Early 2009 Quad-Core Mac Pro, bumped up the memory, and installed an un-flashed EVGA GTX 660 in it. I now have an identical Mac Pro with a PCS Radeon 7870 in it. I plan to take it even further once finances allow...

Want portability with a desktop-class OS? Get an old, inexpensive, secondary 13-inch unibody MacBook (Pro) with at least a GeForce 9400M in it, upgrade the RAM to 8GB, and put an SSD in it.

Done.

I have a mid 2010 macbook pro a1286 will a mid 2009 3.06 logic board 820-2523-b fit my macbook pro

 

[whyteshooz]

Hello all, I'm currently an owner of a Mid-2009 17" MBP w/ a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo A1297 logic board that has died and am in need of a replacement. I absolutely love my MBP and since Apple has discontinued the 17" I'd hate opting for a brand new 15" model w/ a hefty price tag. I'm deciding whether I should buy one of the few used boards currently listed on eBay or buying another used 17" MBP that is more recent like a 2011.

I've been looking at the prices of the used 2009 17" Intel Core 2 Duo A1297 logic boards and they range between $400-450, but I've also seen 2010 and 2011 17" Intel Core i5 and i7 A1297 logic boards in the same price range or a bit higher. I guess what I'm asking is if the 2010 and/or 2011 17" A1297 board is somewhat identical or at all compatible w/ the Mid-2009 17" MBP model. I wouldn't mind upgrading if I can, but if not I'd of course stay in the Mid-2009 lane.

Any advise or anybody w/ knowledge in this area of expertise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Pencacatalogue]

Hello all, I'm currently an owner of a Mid-2009 17" MBP w/ a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo A1297 logic board that has died and am in need of a replacement. I absolutely love my MBP and since Apple has discontinued the 17" I'd hate opting for a brand new 15" model w/ a hefty price tag. I'm deciding whether I should buy one of the few used boards currently listed on eBay or buying another used 17" MBP that is more recent like a 2011.

I've been looking at the prices of the used 2009 17" Intel Core 2 Duo A1297 logic boards and they range between $400-450, but I've also seen 2010 and 2011 17" Intel Core i5 and i7 A1297 logic boards in the same price range or a bit higher. I guess what I'm asking is if the 2010 and/or 2011 17" A1297 board is somewhat identical or at all compatible w/ the Mid-2009 17" MBP model. I wouldn't mind upgrading if I can, but if not I'd of course stay in the Mid-2009 lane.

Any advise or anybody w/ knowledge in this area of expertise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

You can't upgrade from 17" 2010 macbook pro to 2011 cause it really doesn't fit into the unibody. I read deeply and noticed that some parts of the motherboard have been moved from the original(2010 model) location.

I don't know about the 2009 - 2010 situation, probably, but I don't know. Obviously the 2009 - 2011 thing appears to be impossible.

 

[Ratliffcc3]

Thanks for this, I was just curious to see if anyone following this thread had actually done a documented swap

Yep…I first upgraded an early 2011 MBP 15” to a mid-2012… Only mod was to the sides of the display cable.
Just upgraded my early 2009 MBP 15” to a mid-2012 quad-core i7…had to cut the bracket under the additional fan on the new board, adjusted the clips on the display cable and ordered the WiFi/Bluetooth radio kit, but it booted right up on the Catalina OS.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Just upgraded my early 2009 MBP 15” to a mid-2012 quad-core i7…had to cut the bracket under the additional fan on the new board, adjusted the clips on the display cable and ordered the WiFi/Bluetooth radio kit, but it booted right up on the Catalina OS.

Interesting. I've a mid 2009 MBP15" 3.06GHz C2D . Any pics of the modifications? This would then use 16GB ram also I'm guessing. Catalina showed as officially supported after the swap?

 

[Ratliffcc3]

Interesting. I've a mid 2009 MBP15" 3.06GHz C2D . Any pics of the modifications? This would then use 16GB ram also I'm guessing. Catalina showed as officially supported after the swap?

I’ll take a couple of pics when I open it up again to install the WiFi/Bluetooth kit. Note that my original 2009 (5,4) board was dual-core with a single cooling fan and the new mid-2012 (9,1) has 2 fans, but the original bracket would impede the second fan. New board supports 16GB RAM and Catalina, but I also had Catalina running on the old (5,4) board even though it’s not supported. It would be nice to get a newer bracket for the logic board screw sockets.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I’ll take a couple of pics when I open it up again to install the WiFi/Bluetooth kit. Note that my original 2009 (5,4) board was dual-core with a single cooling fan and the new mid-2012 (9,1) has 2 fans, but the original bracket would impede the second fan. New board supports 16GB RAM and Catalina, but I also had Catalina running on the old (5,4) board even though it’s not supported. It would be nice to get a newer bracket for the logic board screw sockets.

No rush just mainly curious and intrigued.

But also good to have workable options in case the Logic-board decides to opt out via a terminal meltdown of sorts.

This 5,3 of mine is dual fan already. Running patched 10.15.7

@Ratliffcc3 Edit: For reference, this is my 5,3 board

One of the multiple times recently I attempted to supplement the current Samsung 1TB Evo 850 with the addition of a 2TB Evo870. Firmware back and forth, had to return the drive due to a compatibility issues. Just mentioning in case that particular Evo is on your future shopping list.

Cheers

 

[Ratliffcc3]

Attached are pics of the old dual core 5,4 board and the WiFi/Bluetooth kit that I also swapped out since the cables were incompatible with the new board. Note that the mounting screws positions are different for the newer WiFi/Bluetooth antennae and I had to remove the screw mounts for the old antennae in order to fit the new one under the clasp cover. No screws are holding the new antennae, but it seems to be working fine once I installed a clean version of Catalina.

This old 2009 case now has 9,1 logic board with dual fans, 2012 WiFi/Bluetooth kit, new trackpad, internal speakers kit, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM and a fresh battery. It seems almost as fast as my 2017 MBP. I saved the camera cable from the WiFi kit for later installation if I have to replace the display at some point since that didn’t seem worth the time right now.

 

[Ratliffcc3]

Attached are pics of the old dual core 5,4 board and the WiFi/Bluetooth kit that I also swapped out since the cables were incompatible with the new board. Note that the mounting screws positions are different for the newer WiFi/Bluetooth antennae and I had to remove the screw mounts for the old antennae in order to fit the new one under the clasp cover. No screws are holding the new antennae, but it seems to be working fine once I installed a clean version of Catalina.

This old 2009 case now has 9,1 logic board with dual fans, 2012 WiFi/Bluetooth kit, new trackpad, internal speakers kit, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM and a fresh battery. It seems almost as fast as my 2017 MBP. I saved the camera cable from the WiFi kit for later installation if I have to replace the display at some point since that didn’t seem worth the time right now. View attachment 2083857 View attachment 2083856

 

[Ratliffcc3]

So here’s your logic board with arrows showing where I mashed the clip for the display connector to fit the 2012 board. Also one pointing to the combined WiFi/Bluetooth and camera cable which are separated on the 2012 board forcing the newer WiFi/Bluetooth and antenna kit. I had to get a little creative to fully secure the radio bracket, but everything else seems to be compatible.