$67 Macbook Pro From eBay! Is It Obsolete?

[@Byte_Youtube]

They REALLY weren't kidding when that charger was yellow.

[@mr.technologysilva8856]

From the thumbnail image I thought it was a spray painted charger, or an aftermarket

[@Gmastergun]

😂

[@FirstnameLastname_official]

Wait.....that's not painted?!

[@mr.technologysilva8856]

@@FirstnameLastname_official that's what I thought, but it's not, probably was sitting in the same spot for years, in the sun, maybe belonged to someone who used it at a desk close to a window

[@TVids_]

It’s the limited edition sun version!

[@s9techz]

I still have one of them 2010 15 Inch MacBook pro's with a new battery. Works like a charm, over 50 fps in Minecraft! Golden era of laptop computing.

[@eddiew.4650]

As part of the shipping department of a computer company, I know much of a pain it can be sometimes with addresses, especially when ebay would claim that the address doesnt exist or wants to autocorrect to a completely different one.

[@Randomtechreviews2929]

Even after 14 years this laptop still has better performance than most laptops today that are sold with 4gb ram.

[@vincekara9446]

I haven't seen any laptop today sold wirh 4GB ram. Can you please enlighten on one that does?

[@Ordlnary_Gamer]

@@vincekara9446hp stream is a model that does.

[@tyler6602]

​​@@vincekara9446 hp 14" ultra light starts at $269 with 4gb of ram and 128gb of storage, its not hard to find a laptop being sold today with 4gb of ram since theyr'e the cheapest ones or they're chromebooks

[@0w3nn]

@@vincekara9446 To be honest, laptop innovation has slowed down so much over the last 15 years. laptops are still sold with 1366x768 screens, still stuck in 2Ghz territory, there are still dual core processors sold, storage hasn't really increased, laptops still being sold with the same amount of RAM 15 years ago, etc etc. There's a reason why a 10 year old laptop in 2010 wasn't usable, but a 14 year old laptop in 2024 is still usable.

[@brandonacevedo9574]

@@vincekara9446 Hp Stream, surface go and Lenovo ideadpad

[@craigdavidson5613]

Well, I once found a MacBook Pro, having been donated to my local disability group for a science lesson. It was with a couple of other laptops due to be disassembled for said science lesson. I looked at it, and thought, this can be fixed. I decided to take it onto myself to restore it to its former glory. It appeared to be a 2010 model with a Core2Duo processor. I opened it up, and discovered that while it lacked a battery or hard drive, it’s logic board was intact, albeit a little dusty. I got it cleaned out, installed a new battery and hard drive, and installed macOS onto it. I discovered it was an i5 processor, so that’s a bonus! I then proceeded to install 16gb RAM into it, and recently added an SSD, into it. While the keyboard was a bit faulty, I developed a workaround with a Bluetooth keyboard, and it apparently works better with the power supply attached. But those are mere trivialities. The fact I got a MacBook Pro for free is worth the effort. 😊

[@TheSpotify95]

That's one hell of a good deal you managed to get there! And IMO, the Unibody Macbooks are the best ones out there; anything after 2012 has non-removable RAM and proprietary SSDs, as well as no DVD drive and glued in batteries. Certainly not very fun. Though hey, at least someone used the patcher for a newer version of MacOS!

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

I went Mojave on my 2009 15”. It’s a little lighter and still supports 32-bit apps. So you can run older games on steam such as TF2 and Portal. The Catalina patcher is also a little buggy.

[@willm5032]

@@EvilTurkeySlices I think it's buggy dependent on machine? I ran catalina on a 2008 mac pro for a couple of years and It was pretty dang stable tbh

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

@@willm5032 on my 2010 17” certain apps crash upon opening them and then open fine on the second try. Not a big issue, but an annoying one.

[@baoquoc3710]

Holy cow, TWO Nvidia chips in a MacBook? I wonder if this is a secret SLI MacBook I've ever thought of😅

[@nomaanalwi9495]

No. The other one is an integrated GPU on the core 2 duo processor. This is before Intel started making the i series processors and before Intel and Nvidia’s beef where Intel stopped using integrated gpus from Nvidia in their chips.

[@baoquoc3710]

@nomaanalwi9495 oh, ok I guess. And Apple's relationships with Nvidia is broken anyway😅probably gone with AMD for quite a while before gone all in with ARM Apple Silicon

[@archlinuxrussian]

You think two Nvidia chips in a single machine is unexpected? Imagine an AMD Athlon desktop w/ integrated Nvidia graphics! That was my first desktop ^_^

[@Sirikiller]

All the best with the house construction, I hope it all goes smoothly 😊

[@psivewri]

With any luck the builder won't go bankrupt!

[@_Jadewolf_]

Fingers crossed! 😊🤞🏼

[@pretty_bored]

I have that generation of MacBook Pro. The 2009 13" base model is still surprisingly usable to this day, even on High Sierra.

[@ff_crafter]

Honest Guide is Eucalyptus Squad?

[@miguelmontoya1320]

I'm watching your video on my 13" 2009 Macbook Pro. I was able to install Monterey via Open Core Legacy Patcher. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to breathe new life into an aging machine.

[@usercruiserr]

I used to use the same laptop with the same macOS, but recently I upgraded to a 2016 MBP. Although, for some reason, my 2009 MBP was very slow, despite it having 8GB RAM, a completely new battery and everything needed for it to function normally.

[@sch-corp]

I know it's not your usual content but I'd love to see a video about your house building process, and why you chose to go down that route rather than buying something that already exists! Also splitting your Adelaide audience with the Port jumper! (We'll never stop stop stop...)

[@jamesdriver0317]

I have a Mid-2012 13 inch MacBook Pro that I use as my main Mac, and it has several hard drives I use. I have macOS Sierra, Catalina, OS X Mountain Lion as regular installs, and macOS Big Sur and Ventura through OpenCore Legacy Patcher

[@traviswalker8933]

The charger was carved from fifteen year aged parmeggiano reggiano.

[@Mr_INTP]

Opencore patcher is much better than DOSDude distro.

[@tecdoesstuff]

Good to see psivewri back on youtube

[@CrispyToast]

0:28 Look Gromit! It's Wensleydale!

[@roxcyn]

Wow, the owner kept good care of it!

[@jordanhaglin]

I have a 2011 15" MacBook Pro with the i7. I've removed the optical drive, and replaced the mechanical disk each with Samsung 1TB EVOs, as well as upgrading the ram to 16GB. One is dedicated to MacOS, the other is dedicated to Windows 11. Honestly, I prefer using this computer over my 2015 Retina MBP.

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

Make sure to keep up on the cleaning and thermal paste replacements. These are the models known to have flaky graphics.

[@dgurevich1]

I still have my 2011 macbook pro. I replaced the motherboard, speakers, added 8gb of memory, replaced the cd drive with a second ssd, and the battery over time. The board had to be replaced because this generation had the amd 4750 which would burn out because of overheating. My solution was to simply drill holes in the bottom cover where the fans are. Lowered temps by 15 degrees. Faulty battery on these causes slow performance, which i only found out after replacing mine. Oh and until recently, mac OS did not support trim natively on the ssd unless its model name included "apple ssd". Luckily i was able to reflash mine to display this model. Don't ask me how, it was over 8 years ago...

[@andrewk4172]

I wonder which 2011 MacBook Pro you have. I have a MacBook Pro of the same year and I have had only one major problem, which was something about the graphics chip. It’s also been a long time since that was ‘fixed’. The fix was to disable it somehow but that also disabled the brightness controls and removed the ability to use mirroring. But it was better than having a useless laptop. I’ve had none of the other issues you mentioned except my battery was replaced in the first six months, I think. Or maybe that was an earlier laptop. I don’t remember which one now. My 2011 model still chugs along in no great hurry. Nothing that a fast SSD wouldn’t fix! At least, that’s what I think.

[@dgurevich1]

@andrewk4172 the real fix for the graphics chip problem is to drill holes in the case where the fans are. That improves cooling and prevents overheating of the chip.

[@andrewk4172]

@@dgurevich1 thanks for that tip! However, it might have come about 6 years too late. When the problem occurred, I searched high and low for a solution and no one seemed to know anything. Apple's solution was to sell me a new laptop. I eventually discovered a young tech person who who knew about the problem and I hope that he just bypassed the chip. But if it failed, there's probably not much chance of finding a new one now.

[@dgurevich1]

@@andrewk4172 Yeah. I worked with these laptops in hardware development for a while and was aware of this problem at the time. Basically, the laptops with the case off didn't overheat while the ones with it bolted on constantly overheated. This was my creative solution, much to the dismay of my boss.

[@andrewk4172]

@@dgurevich1 I'm in Australia. You? When I take the bottom case off, where do I go from there? (I have some tech ability, but definitely not an expert!) Then how do I source a replacement chip?

[@williama29]

I have never seen a yellow apple charger in my life that's also the first time I've been lucky to see an almost yellowed intel imac in a recycling dumpster once in 2021

[@Scrumbloh]

i was literally considering buying that exact macbook a while back and now i found who bought it lol

[@BruisersBeaters]

I spent $20 US dollars on a early 2008 MacBook Pro, you know, the one with the nvidia 8600GT that tended to fail. I guess it was never used, its the only silver keys with a Core 2 Duo. I'm replying from it. They can still be useful, and I got the last of an era, but it still surfs the net perfectly fine

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

The 2007 models have core 2 duos as well. I also have one of these early 2008 models. The battery is completely dead though, so it’s pretty slow.

[@BruisersBeaters]

@@EvilTurkeySlices The battery on mine kinda still works. I found a NOS battery at Goodwill a few years ago and it worked great for about a month before it turned into a puffy danger pillow, luckily it didn't damage the machine.

[@TimVels]

Wow didn't know these old models had 2 graphic chips on them!

[@MatthewHarrold]

While I'm typing this on a brand new MBA 13" M2 thingy, my MBP 13" retina thingy from late 2013 is still getting used every day, perfectly adequate for video and streaming, office duties, and other goodies. I like this type of content, I appreciate the longevity of these laptops. $0.02 cheers mate.

[@simtitan1]

I just scored a complete in box Mid 2010 Macbook Pro with very similar specs at a local thrift store for only $5. I'm planning on cleaning it up and seeing how usable I can make it.

[@EthanLeitch]

Love the uploads! And hi from Tassie. I recently fixed up a Dell Studio XPS 13 1340. It has a similar GPU setup with one GeForce 9200m and one 9400m, the whole setup is named the 9500m GS. It also uses SLI between them with the right drivers on Windows Vista/7.

[@MrBopYT]

Great video Psivewri! I honestly don't think the laptop is obsolete. I don't have any Macbooks, but someone could easily install Windows or Linux if they wanted to. The design of the computer ages very well, too!

[@cherkas009]

What would be the cost of adding windows wouldn't it be more than the machines worth

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

@@cherkas009you can get legit windows keys for less than $20.

[@MrBopYT]

@@cherkas009 Good point. Maybe Linux would be a better option

[@hotrodhunk7389]

​@@cherkas009you can use windows completely for free or get a key for $10-15 dollars. Microsoft really doesn't care for personal use as long as you are using Windows.

[@nicf1555]

Running zorin os on my 2011 macbook air, works like a charm, planning to use it as my main uni pc for the next coupla years

[@vivi_7163]

awesome video, the older macbooks between 09-12 are my favorite

[@Techlevel1534.]

I’m literally commenting from the same MacBook Pro running Catalina using dosdude’s patcher. What a coincidence!

[@noahh1870]

Been watching you for a while and it made me very happy to see that jumper!

[@stage666]

The SPD chip on ram stick is just an eeprom. You can program it with an arduino and set it to lower speed. I was able to get 16GB ddr3 working on my 2009 macbook.

[@Kbyte27]

I find in the modern day the best determiner of a computer or phone's obsolescence would be software support. If it can run recent software especially new browsers, then it certainly is still not obsolete in my opinion. But once application stop being supported, and browsers can't load a website properly, that's when we have ourselves a paperweight. Of course, some may say "but you can flash Linux". Let's be honest, unless you are interest in tinkering then no one's going to buy old hardware for Linux.

[@TheSpotify95]

The maximum OS that these machines supported natively was OS 10.13, which most browsers no longer support anymore! Most people probably wouldn't go to the trouble of using a patcher for OS 10.15 or newer...

[@Kbyte27]

@@TheSpotify95 That makes sense. I've restored myself an old Thinkpad laptop running Core2Duo, and while windows 10 runs on it with drivers working, I don't think the regular user would go through the hassle of drivers hunting.

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

@@TheSpotify95actually the newest they do natively is 10.11. But they can easily run Catalina or even Sonoma. Also 10.13 still supports the newest versions of chrome, Firefox, and edge.

[@UltraCenterHQ]

0:05 "Diana, our neighbor bought a laptop again"

[@billgates3699]

“I just bought a $67 MacBook” “Me mate and I will be living in a caravan” I really feel for the state of Australia’s economy. 😢

[@jnthepassenger347]

There’s a bit missing there… “while we build our house” is that bit. Our economy IS in the toilet, but still.

[@TechnicFreakJulian]

im using an 2008 mac book as a daily driver with mac os monterey via open core patcher

[@lukedavis436]

Tbh I love this generation of Macbook, it's from a period when apple cared.

[@Askar_Birmuhammedov]

Wish all the best to you and your wife!

[@PeterShorrock]

Amazing review love your work ❤

[@MuaadElSharif]

For the price the laptop is pretty good. I can see it rocking a light weight Linux distro.

[@stevenshuffle]

Endeavoros would be great

[@blakegriplingph]

My man Nate with the endless supply of eucalyptus oil. 😂

[@rkaybeniwal12]

I was looking for this comment lmao 😂

[@ytuser1985]

Does the eucalyptus oil have a strong smell? Does it leave any on the surface?

[@snjert8406]

Sunon is a great fan brand, their stuff is fascinating, same as Delta (I have a over 25 year old Delta 90mm fan and that thing rips haha)

[@rodrigo4379]

Mac videos are the best! I´m thinking in selling my 13 inch base model from 2019 to a 15 inch pro from 2015 (because it has more ram and more storage). What do you think?

[@psivewri]

Might be good. However I've found the performance of the 2015 15" MacBooks to be pretty meh. If you need a larger screen and discrete graphics I'd say go for it. Just be sure that the battery is in good health as they are a bit of a pain to swap!

[@zaremol2779]

I have one of these MacBooks given to me by a friend, I managed to get MacOS Ventura running on it using OpenCore patcher with relatively no problems, the 3 beeps on startup are to be expected, I stuffed some DDR3 memory modules I had lying around in it hoping it would work, but it turns out the memory was just too fast, 1600MHz is too much for these.

[@mooseyexists]

how would something like linux mint work on it?

[@zaremol2779]

@@mooseyexists the same way as on any PC with EFI, you plug a flashdrive in and tell it to boot from it, OPLC is only needed because of dropped hardware support on newer MacOS releases

[@mooseyexists]

@@zaremol2779 i don't mean like that, but i reckon it could probably work quite well as a daily driver if given something lightweight

[@PeterShorrock-f7y]

Great review good to see you again love you're work true legendary man never forgotten about 💞

[@Zebra_Paw]

The 9400m iGPU is actually in the chipset, it's not an alone GPU Regarding the RAM, I often have issues when it isn't the frequency in Macs. If yours wants one slower stick, it's so the faster one also runs slower

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

Can confirm, these don’t like 1600mhz stick unless there is a slower one installed as well.

[@Zebra_Paw]

@@EvilTurkeySlices Yup, sometimes they don't like 1333 either and you actually NEED 1066. I don't even think it's the iGPU at fault here

[@willm5032]

Cool that someone patched it already. Pretty mad. Looks like that seller looked after that old mac!

[@andrewk4172]

You’ve given me renewed hope in resurrecting my 2011 MacBook Pro. I’m sure that all it is crying out for is an SSD as I had specified the top 16gb RAM when it was ordered. I don’t know if I can go any further with the RAM. Unfortunately the model had a problem with the video somewhere and the only fix was to disable the GPU, from memory. That’s also disabled the screen brightness controls and it also means that the laptop can’t be used for mirroring. If there’s a way to get the video working properly with the brightness controls etc, I would love to know how to do it. Once that’s finished, then it’ll be time to look at installing something newer than Mac OS X 10.13.6. Some of the software these days doesn’t want to work on it!

[@georgelouis6515]

I’m still using my Mac book pro. It can’t do much but I’m wondering how I can make the most of it before I have to get a new one.

[@rayirth.upside-down]

I thought it was some limited edition Aussie charger I didn't know about. 😭

[@ItzEmu]

How nice of them to include a Kraft slice cheese with the laptop! Bit odd they took a bite out of it though //:

[@alpacamale2909]

in my country people still have the audacity to sell these for 200 euros. The audacity of ignorant people that see a logo and think some people will overpay.

[@kyylikupea]

Nathan, how about restoring and reviewing a 17 inch model in the future?

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

Guess we’ll have to wait for him to find a cheaper one. They are kinda pricy.

[@Dawg_666]

i had mine from 2009 still running flawlessly till 2 years ago. Then some motherboard issues occurred and i ve been forced to buy a 2nd hand one on ebay. I ve paid attention to buy one with the exact same specifics, ram , ios, and so on, except for the HD storage which was smaller. ALSO, unfortunately in 2021 i didnt know where to retrieve all my cracked softwares, basically i ve found myself with a fully working 2009 17" macbook pro but no softwares at all. One day i had this idea to JUST replace the entire HD with my old (functioning and full of softwares) one, and with a big surprise my old macbook SOUL was back to life working in a new macbook body. but then 2 weeks after the screen started to have some issues till the point didnt work anymore and couldnt see shit. I then transplanted the screen from my old hd-amputated old macbook pro to the new body. Im typing all this from my 2009 frankenstein macbook pro, which is still goin strong! Im a vfx artist so from time to time i like to do stuff with Maya, Nuke and AE, and even if my machine is 24 years old, is still performing fine!

[@charver1]

Still have mine from 2010. Replaced battery once and was contemplating swapping the optical drive for a SSD but it just keeps going and doing what I need it too.

[@psivewri]

I’d highly recommended the optical drive swap, assuming you don’t use DVDs anymore :)

[@charver1]

I may well do it at some point. Sadly I kind of like keeping it original (except for the battery) Nerdy I know. Can’t remember last time I put a disc into a machine.

[@minerva474]

For minecraft you should consider using sodium and related mods instead of optfine as it provides better performance and mod compatiblity

[@Xorgetra]

Hey there. I follow constantly this channel and enjoy all the videos in it. Can I ask what eucalyptus oil exactly you use? Need to buy some to clean my Macbook. Thanks

[@nono-oz4gv]

i thought that was a weird yellow colored 3rd party charger from the thumbnail... nope

[@Is_kitten]

Isopropyl alcohol and eucalyptus oil are an unstoppable duo

[@modulo3664]

Tell us more about the Willard homage and your other watches!

[@bestcreate1417]

you deserve more subs. thank you for your content

[@ardas77]

I hope that builing your house means more regular updates on the chanell to rack that sweet sweet ad money.

[@robinrai4973]

Nice that it seems the previous owner took care of it

[@bombacimulayim1453]

i bought the same price as yours :) installed monterey.

[@dylanlindsay1993]

i have this exact macbook pro! i only paid 33$ usd for it but mine is in alot worse condition than yours though it still works fine though!

[@Hatsunari_Kamado]

Hope we'll see Nathan's new home.

[@clammy77485]

I thought it was a yellow skin on the charger from the thumnail 😂😂😂

[@stampydragon2739]

Both fans on the mac were replacements most likely the I fix it store was out of fans so he got the next best option

[@voltare2amstereo]

These are good for windows 10. Sad when apple disowned these. Windows is a valid upgrade

[@bitelaserkhalif]

Yellow charger limited edition

[@clickzero5488]

Is it safe to use an unsupported version of Mac OS like Catalina in 2024?

[@theRayzz]

Too bad, I have the infamous MBP 2011 with the faulty GPU. It's sitting toasted on a shelf

[@sneekz07]

I just bought a job lot that had 6 of these for £135.

[@TheResistorNetwork]

These are great old machines. Good luck with the house build.

[@mikegord]

My computer desk is a 40 year old solid timber Bank cheque sorting table.😀😀😀 Solid timber.

[@danielsgrunge]

The charger is so yellow that it actually looks kinda cool haha

[@gzgaming69]

Still a beast to this day

[@cphotos153]

yes another video i have been waiting impatiently

[@cphotos153]

Scammer

[@keesoverkamp294]

I got a MacBook Pro 2015 for 55 bucks, good deal?

[@cherkas009]

It depends on the condition

[@keesoverkamp294]

perfect, with box and charger@@cherkas009

[@bryans8656]

I really like working on the old MacBooks, they're much more upgrade friendly than the new models, and it's amazing the difference additional RAM and an SSD can make in performance.

[@DJDannyN2009]

I bought my son a £40 MacBook Pro 2012 core i5 off eBay and even though it doesn’t accept the newest Mac OS, he is still able to use it just fine for what he needs it for. Bargain

[@KrissBartlett]

Wow living in a caravan hear in Adelaide you know its going to be a hot summer as of late lots nice warm weather we have had never has a Mac computer one day i like to try the operating system im really a Windows user that was a nice laptop you fixed looked like new in the end

[@sebastianpulido2696]

I love this channel Colombia loves this channel

[@snuffytoon]

Been absolutely binging your videos. You've sparked a love for older electronics for me! Keep up the impressive work.

[@lakicar1989]

Is that Steeldive 1970 i spotted on your wrist? If so how do you like it? Anyway great video, keep up the good work mate!

[@Jbrimbelibap]

Is it timeless design, of just the same design since forever ?

[@Trusteft]

Good luck with the whole new house project.

[@Pasadeu]

Do you sell this macbooks after the cleaning and the upgrade?

[@infectionnoob]

Congarts on your new house! 😁

[@lettucemanofficial]

Wait. Is this a 2009 Macbook Pro Model A1286 or a different model?

[@Jbrimbelibap]

Oh Wow that weird text of something fishy going on 0:51 The only time I ever saw this was when trying to install windows 11 on a oneplus 6, probably just some bootloader goodness

[@patricktrakzel9657]

I have one of those, with 8 gigs. I run Zorin OS on it.

[@ReverendJasper]

6:29 what kind of eucalyptus oil cleaner is this? Are they a channel sponsor? (They should be!)

[@brianmalka821]

i thought the charging brick was just a third party one with yellow color lmao

[@nicholasaxel5459]

wow i can wait to see the new home

[@gdutfulkbhh7537]

In some ways, a better laptop than anything Apple makes today.

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

would be weird if your neighbor didn't know who you were 😂

[@asdpresents]

In 9:04 is that a upcoming video on the screen? :D

[@TrenchReynolds]

Congrats on your new home.