Replacing hard drive vs purchasing a new Mac

The 2012 MBP hard drive is very simple to install. My wife who has always made me upgrade her computers got impatient with me and did her own. If you check out the OWC Web site (macsales.com) you'll find a video which shows exactly how simple it is.

As has been noted, the 2012 model is somewhat notorious for needing the SATA cable replaced and this is also a very simple task. Some might think upgrading a 2012 MBP with an SSD to be a waste but given that this model has been a reliable workhorse (despite the SATA cable) and the keyboard is far superior to the current keyboard, I'd replace the drive with an SSD with no second thoughts. The cost will be less than 1/3 of a new computer (even if you don't do the work yourself) and that doesn't even take into consideration the additional cost of dongles and cables to make your old peripherals work with USB-C.

Installing an SSD in a computer that has a rotational hard drive is nearly life-changing and that is not hyperbole. You'll feel like you've gotten a new computer. I was just about to replace my 2009 MBP when I decided to install a small SSD I borrowed from work. Amazing! I wound up holding onto that computer for another 3 years!

Install an SSD. The 2012 is still a work horse with many port options.

The macOS Mojave 10.14 is most likely the end of the line for upgrading to the next years macOS however.

Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), macOS (10.14.1), i7 480GB SSD 16GB RAM

I'd purchase a new Mac, as personally, I can't bear the thought of forking out £320 for replacing the HDD and battery.

If your other specs (RAM and CPU) are still alright for your purposes then I'd consider an SSD like what the others are suggesting. If you're lazy to install one there are places that will do it for you for cheaper than Apple (I'm assuming you're out of warranty anyway so going to a non-approved vendor won't affect any warranty).

Allan- That may indeed be your words.

Since you posted that, so many others have tacitly agreed with that idea that I have repeated it often.

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This screen capture from a You Tube video by Brue Computing shows some of the things users have tried to beat the cable problem:

That is red electrical tape to protect against abrasion from the rough inside of the milled aluminum case.

The cable also take some "too sharp" bends, (e.g., at the top of the DVD Reader) which subjects the conductors to breakage.

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Consumer Reports suggest that when the cost of repair exceeds half the cost of a new Appliance, you should choose new.

The new models are very expensive, and using their rules, you should repair.

Readers who replace a rotating drive with a comparable-sized SSD drive report, "It's like getting a whole new computer!"

It could be another issue that is hugely cheaper to repair: the 2009-2012 non-Retina 13-inch MBPs have a hard drive cable that suffers a circuitous routing over sharp edges on the milled aluminum chassis. After 3-5 years of the vibration from normal use and transport, the metal can chafe the thin cable causing it to fail. Symptoms of a worn cable can mimic those of a failing hard drive.

The cable is cheap--you should be able to get one for about US$15--and can be installed by a novice user on that model. Video instructions are here: Hard Drive Cable Install Video

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

Readers who replace a rotating drive with a comparable-sized SSD drive report, "It's like getting a whole new computer!"

That may have been me. I replaced the slow 500GB 3GBps mechanical drive i my 2012 13-inch MBP with which the computer shipped with a same-size 6GBps SSD a year ago and dd it at home. The difference is stunning. I want to keep this computer as long as possible because of its legacy ports and optical drive. As an aside, at the same time I replaced I also replaced the hard drive cable out of an abundance of caution. I am a "belt and braces" kind of fellow. If I bought the same parts to do the conversion today it would cost about US$120, and I did the labor myself.

If you buy a new MacBook Pro, you could spend an extra US$100-400 on USB-C cabling, adaptors, docks, and other ancillary devices. They have only USB-C ports, a deal-breaker for me.