Sounds expensive to add graphic cards, RAM and possible M1 chip to my old mid 2011 MBP. Is it possible? Good online place to purchase these items? Do I need special equipment? should I just buy new or used? SSD replaced years ago.
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15
marylynn209 wrote:
Sounds expensive to add graphic cards, RAM and possible M1 chip to my old mid 2011 MBP. Is it possible? Good online place to purchase these items? Do I need special equipment? should I just buy new or used? SSD replaced years ago.
You can not add a M1 chip to an old Mac.
A 2011 Mac is obsolete/vintage and IMHO is not worth spending any money on.
marylynn209 wrote:
you are right, I have a mid 2012 15" MBP with 2 x 2 gb RAM.
Before you said "Mid 2011" – now you're saying "Mid 2012".
There were two 15" Mid 2012 MacBook Pros – a Retina model, and a non-Retina model. Since you "replaced the hard drive with a SSD", you must have the non-Retina model. (The Retina model doesn't have internal drive bays, although it does have a type of circuit board SSD for which OWC has aftermarket upgrades.)
MacTracker indicates that a 15" Mid 2012 MBP officially supports 8 GB of RAM, but actually supports 16 GB. (In other words, Apple ran an extra address line which turned out to be useful later.)
If you upgrade the memory, I would strongly suggest getting it from Other World Computing or from Crucial - as Macs can be picky about RAM. Those companies are long-term suppliers of RAM for Macs, and have guides on their site to help you pick the right type of RAM for your model.
When I looked on the Crucial site, it said that they did not have any compatible memory upgrades for your Mac. (DDR3 is by now an ancient type of RAM, so Crucial might have made a business decision not to carry it.)
Other World Computing – OWC Memory Upgrades For MacBook Pro (2012 - Late 2016) Non-Retina
I have learned that with the right OS program, I can reprogram the computer to be able to accept at minimum Monterey OS.
Catalina is the end of the line for that machine. If you're talking about running some program to patch the OS to run an unsupported version of macOS, I suspect that we can't discuss that here. If you do go through with that, and something goes wrong, Apple obviously won't be on the hook for fixing it.
A computer store where I live, says they can do it for 1.5 hours of labor which is $120 / hr. I think that if I get 3 more years out of it, it may be worth it. of course, would rather do this myself, if I can find out what I need to pull this off. Open Legacy ? I have of that but not sure. thanks
Catalina is not recent enough to run current applications from the likes of Microsoft and Adobe. If you upgrade to it, 32-bit applications will break. Still, if you upgrade to Catalina, you might be able to get more life out of the Mac. Catalina is recent enough to run current versions of
BobTheFisherman has it right.
MacBook Pro devices are purpose-built and optimized for light weight and portability.
Processors and graphics on such optimized systems have Never been upgradeable.
The RAM in the 2011 model-year is upgradeable. You can install up to two 8G DIMMs for a total of 16 GB provided they are Exactly the correct DIMMs for that model MacBook Pro. In the following year, 2012, only the non-retina models have upgradeable RAM. Then never again in ANY portable Mac.
The drive in your Mac can be upgraded to an SSD drive. if you do, be sure to replace the failure-prone cable at the same time. Users who have upgraded to SSD drive have reported major increase in performance. (But the computer is still obsolete, and can not access features in todays latest software. Batteries are no longer available from Apple, and most third-party batteries are abysmal.)
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Whether any of this makes financial sense in todays world, where a MacBook Air with Apple-silicon starts at under US$1000, and comparable iPad devices start at even less, only you can decide.
Your tag says that you have a 15" MacBook Pro running macOS 10.15 (Catalina) – but for all of the 2011 MacBook Pros, High Sierra is the end of the line.
There were 13"/15"/17" Early 2011 models and 13"/15"/17" Late 2011 models. Since you said that you have a Mid 2011 model, I am guessing that you have a Late 2011 one.
you are right, I have a mid 2012 15" MBP with 2 x 2 gb RAM. I want to up date it to 2 x 4 gb RAM, I have already replaced the hard drive with a SSD. I have learned that with the right OS program, I can reprogram the computer to be able to accept at minimum Monterey OS. A computer store where I live, says they can do it for 1.5 hours of labor which is $120 / hr. I think that if I get 3 more years out of it, it may be worth it. of course, would rather do this myself, if I can find out what I need to pull this off. Open Legacy ? I have of that but not sure. thanks
worth up grading mid 2011 MBP?
