Unsupported old Macbook Pro on modern OS? (Open Core)

[th0masp]

Hey, I have a late 2011 15 inch MBP here that acts as my communication hub (mail, messengers, slack, ftp and so on). It's on High Sierra and unsurprisingly with an old OS like that - its becoming less and less compatible with certain tools. It is perfectly fast enough for the job though and can easily be upgraded and the battery swapped out so I'd not want to replace the entire machine at this point.

I'm wondering how well a device like that would work if patched with Open Core to run Big Sur or Monterey. Specifically thinking of sleep/wake, Wifi and Bluetooth functionality which seem like they'd be the usual problem areas. Not too concerned with receiving updates automatically (as long as I can install them manually with a patcher).

Does anybody have any long term experience running an unsupported OS on old hardware like that?

 

[iHorseHead]

I have MacBook Pro mid 2010 13" and Big Sur just ran terribly.

 

[th0masp]

I have MacBook Pro mid 2010 13" and Big Sur just ran terribly.

I just checked and that's still using a Core 2 Duo CPU, correct? The 2011's are on i7 though which in my experience was a noticeable performance jump. We have a Core 2 Duo Macbook still in the family and everytime I have to use it it's just unbearable (running Snow Leopard).

Was it just the overall speed or was it also unstable? And did you use a HDD or SSD?

 

[iHorseHead]

I just checked and that's still using a Core 2 Duo CPU, correct? The 2011's are on i7 though which in my experience was a noticeable performance jump. We have a Core 2 Duo Macbook still in the family and everytime I have to use it it's just unbearable (running Snow Leopard).

Was it just the overall speed or was it also unstable? And did you use a HDD or SSD?

Yes, it's still Core 2 Duo CPU. 16GB of RAM and 250GB HDD (Probably that's the reason why it was slow and glitchy) and by slow and glitchy I mean there were graphical glitches and it took me around 3 minutes to open Safari. When I opened launchpad it took around 20 seconds and in general it was very slow and yes, I did a clean install.
On Mojave (also unsupported) it works fine for example.

 

[ChrisOSX]

I've so far had a good experience on my mid 2010. Granted I don't run the board that came with it. I have the i7. Only hiccup I had was trying to get the boot natively. I rushed the instructions and had to boot again from usb.

Huge thread here

 

[MBAir2010]

My feeble MacBook air 2010 runs Mojave perfectly and Catalina was nice, but boring.
you could try using Catalina and still be up to date "Tim Cook wise" on your MBP.

 

[th0masp]

Thanks guys, that sounds promising so far!

I was thinking Mojave but it would not completely solve my software compatibility issue. It's already the minimum requirement for two tools I need to run. I'd love to keep Dashboard and 32bit compatibility tho.

I know about the potential for graphical glitches with the non-Metal GPU's. My understanding is that if you turn off the transparency effects for the desktop then that should at least minimize the problem?

Huge thread here

Oh dang. Thanks, I'll check that out!

 

[MBAir2010]

Thanks guys, that sounds promising so far!

I was thinking Mojave but it would not completely solve my software compatibility issue. It's already the minimum requirement for two tools I need to run. I'd love to keep Dashboard and 32bit compatibility tho.

My Adobe CS4 runs very well on Mojave, if this helps.

 

[elbert]

I have MacBook Pro mid 2010 13" and Big Sur just ran terribly.

That's the reason why Apple prevents 10+yo hardware running on latest macOS.

User experience will suffer.

Everyone, unless you bought your Mac used I'd suggest buying any Apple silicon model once the last Security Update was released for your Intel Mac.

This is what I am doing with my 2012 iMac & what I wish I did with my 2011 Macbook Pro.

Ideally I never bought a new laptop until the 2021 Macbook Pro 16". I am thankful that I did not buy a new desktop until the 2022 iMac Pro. Using these Macs for 10 years exactly. From 32nm & 22nm chips to 5nm

If I accepted an offer for a hand me down 2013 Macbook Air and 2015 iMac then I'd wait to 2023 & 2025 to replace.

 

[th0masp]

Yes, it's still Core 2 Duo CPU. 16GB of RAM and 250GB HDD (Probably that's the reason why it was slow and glitchy) and by slow and glitchy I mean there were graphical glitches and it took me around 3 minutes to open Safari. When I opened launchpad it took around 20 seconds and in general it was very slow and yes, I did a clean install.
On Mojave (also unsupported) it works fine for example.

I wonder if the loading times might have been down to the choice of filesystem in your case. I think the newer OSes default to APFS and I once made the mistake to format a HDD with it. Incredibly, unbelievably, mind-bendingly slow. Fine with HFS, of course.

 

[th0masp]

That's the reason why Apple prevents 10+yo hardware running on latest macOS.

User experience will suffer.

Everyone, unless you bought your Mac used I'd suggest buying any Apple silicon model once the last Security Update was released for your Intel Mac.

This is what I am doing with my 2012 iMac & what I wish I did with my 2011 Macbook Pro.

Ideally I never bought a new laptop until the 2021 Macbook Pro 16". I am thankful that I did not buy a new desktop until the 2022 iMac Pro. Using these Macs for 10 years exactly. From 32nm & 22nm chips to 5nm

If I accepted an offer for a hand me down 2013 Macbook Air and 2015 iMac then I'd wait to 2023 & 2025 to replace.

Duly noted and it's certainly an option, but a really expensive one.

For me it's between updating this old machine to an unsupported macOS and crossing fingers that it works for a few years longer, trying to install Linux on it or switching to a Linux-based x86 laptop altogether. It's a rant for another day but I don't see Apple Silicon in my future.

 

[elbert]

Duly noted and it's certainly an option, but a really expensive one.

For me it's between updating this old machine to an unsupported macOS and crossing fingers that it works for a few years longer, trying to install Linux on it or switching to a Linux-based x86 laptop altogether. It's a rant for another day but I don't see Apple Silicon in my future.

If you have the time those old Macs can run Windows 10 or Linux. 10's supported until Oct 2025 and Linux... until people do not want to support it anymore for free.

So a 2011 Mac's useful life is stretched from 2011 to 2026 or even 2031?

There isnt any wrong or right answer here. Each use case is unique. Apple sees their replacement cycle to average to every 4 years while Intel see it as 5-6 years.

The max I'd go with is 10 for software support and hardware wear & tear.

I'd only consider Windows 11 by 2026 on hardware released that same year if user experience is important.