Is my 2011 15" i7 MacBook Pro 16GB Sierra to old to replace motherboard?What are the downs to buying a newer refurbished one from apples vs. living without till finance buying the new version with more memory, faster better graphics, newer version of Microsoft office for mac?
With respect to "New", I "Strongly" suggest you go to your local Apple store and play with the new line of Macbook Pros.
Spend time typing on the keyboard. And be aware the keyboard is a bit clicky with respect to noise in a quiet environment.
Play with the touch bar.
Basically spend some real quality time playing on the new Macbook Pros, before you make your decision, so that you are making an informed decision.
I have a Late 2011 15" Macbook Pro i7 quad core w/16GB and a Samsung 540 1TB SSD (upgraded over the years with respect to RAM and SSD). It has been repurposed as a backup server running the server side of CrashPlan that backups all my family's other laptops. It also runs a home web server.
It was replaced with a Late 2016 15" Macbook Pro i7 quad core w/16GB and a 1TB Apple SSD (this is how I know about the noisy keyboard 🙂 ).
If my old Macbook Pro's discrete GPU hadn't started panicing my system _AND_ if the left shift key, option key, control keys hadn't stopped working, I might have continued using it as my primary system, since 16GB and an SSD made it a rather responsive system.
But I decided that even with the upgrades, my old system had given me sufficient benefit for the money spent, and considering at 5 years old, it was likely that Apple would somewhere in the sooner, rather than later, future stop supporting it, I decided it was time to upgrade to newer technology.
You have to make that cost vs benefit analysis for your self (I could afford the new Mac, so cost weighed a little less for me).
Except for the noisy keyboard, I like more new Macbook Pro. I even go over the fact that I had to spend extra money for USB-C to everything else adapters (I have USB-C to USB3, USB-C to Gigabit Etherent, I have USB-C to Lightning (a USB-C to USB3 could have satisfied that just as well), and I want to get a USB-C to HDMI and/or DisplayPort, but have not pulled the trigger on that yet).
If you wait long enough, more common devices might start appearing with USB-C ports or at least ship with a USB-C to whatever the device needs cable, avoiding your need for an adapter for that device).
This is not an easy decision.
If you get a refurbished that is before the Late 2016 Macbook Pros, you will have something that will stay supported longer than the 2011, and save some money. But the more recent Macs do not have many upgradable parts, so choose the configuration carefully.
Some people who do allot of typing like the old keyboards.
I refurbished MBP 13 mid-2012 loaded with 16gb. ram and 1tb SSD sells for about $700
on ebay. I good deal.
You will have to get a NEW MBP with retina display to do better. ( $1200 and up )
I like the mid-2012 because it is super easy to fix ( SSD, Battery, DVD, RAM ).
And they are built like a tank. Good keyboard for typing.
I want to Thank You Bob🙂 for good sound advise and further tips.
Here's proof; In the last 5 months and $1K (because of family pressure😠-go cheap new windows or take a used mac) I have had 2 replacement refurbished (same year) macbook pros with the last one also getting a mother board replacement. Needless to say my gut feeling and your wise judgment were spot on. I have been in and out many times in 5 months of the families favorite little repair shop with frustrating results (he thinks its great) and more time without a computer at all.
If I'd ignored family pressure, done the time at the simply mac store and waited these 5 months the 1K already spent coupled with our surprise early Christmas gift (another 1k) from Mom I could have😢 had that new laptop for the next 6 years of blissful computing.
To many window pc users don't believe apple's are real computers and they certainly believe their's are easier to use. Some even believe apple is just an expensive designer image case with windows guts inside. But for six years I have had no trouble while they've gone through 4 different laptops of different companies and been angry enough at how they work that I've seen them actual throw them on the floor. As well as them asking me to fix it, clean out the bugs and find what they've lost on it. Me the dumb 😝apple nut.
thornsnpetals
Pros/cons to replace my motherboard, buy a newer refurbished or go new?
