The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    To purchase or not?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by avenue111, Apr 6, 2016.

  1. avenue111

    avenue111 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I am being offered a MBP, late 2008 model (unibody)

    Specs
    Core 2 Duo 2,66ghz
    4gb ram
    hdd 250gb
    battery with 220 cycles so far
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB) + NVIDIA GeForce 9400 m (512 MB)

    Wifi doesnt work but i'd get a usb wifi stick for it if i got it
    It looks ok for its condition, and the price is 220 euros (around 250$)
    Currently running 10.9
    I'd like to use it for Ableton Live 9 if possible

    thanks
     
  2. avenue111

    avenue111 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Also, forgot to mention, I'd install a 120gb ssd from kingston if possible
     
  3. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

    Reputations:
    1,708
    Messages:
    5,820
    Likes Received:
    4,311
    Trophy Points:
    431
    What is the point? That machine is so archaic, a brand new 300$ PC would run circles around it.

    even a 2011 MBP13 would outrun this thing while getting battery life. There is zero point putting down so much money on such an old machine.
     
  4. zergslayer69

    zergslayer69 Liquid Hz

    Reputations:
    62
    Messages:
    1,551
    Likes Received:
    91
    Trophy Points:
    66
    I try to tell people to try and get current gen stuff because of how fast tech moves. Just last year the titan x was an amazing graphics card, and now a year later supposedly the next gen titan is going to be kicking the titan x's butt.

    But back to your question, for a laptop that's 8 years old, you better be getting it for free. Unless it's gold plated or something silly, you should not be paying $250 for it. Heck, does the latest osx even support such an old macbook?
     
  5. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    4,879
    Messages:
    8,926
    Likes Received:
    4,707
    Trophy Points:
    431
    OS X El Capitan can be installed on any MacBook Pro from 2007 onward.
     
  6. darkloki

    darkloki Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    412
    Messages:
    1,829
    Likes Received:
    182
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Quick Additional question on that because I just wasn't sure. The install file for El Capitan is like 6+ GBs, once you install the O/S can we expect to regain those 6gbs? Or does this OS consume it?

    (I only ask because I'm about to do an install for my Uncle on his 2012 Macbook Air and oddly I'm only seeing 60gb HDD on this system, which is incredibly low.

    Thanks, in advance.
     
  7. Rhodan

    Rhodan NBR Expert of Nothing

    Reputations:
    374
    Messages:
    1,222
    Likes Received:
    102
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Your free space after the upgrade should not vary greatly, you can remove the 6 GB installer file after you're done.

    You do need 8 GB free to install, on a small HDD this could be a challenge.
     
  8. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    4,879
    Messages:
    8,926
    Likes Received:
    4,707
    Trophy Points:
    431
    The install file downloaded from the App Store gets deleted after the upgrade. You don't need to manually remove it.
     
    katalin_2003 likes this.
  9. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

    Reputations:
    1,708
    Messages:
    5,820
    Likes Received:
    4,311
    Trophy Points:
    431
    I'm really afraid of how this would run...just because it's supported, doesn't mean you should run it. Ask any iphone 4S user running iOS above 7. Hell, even ios7 made it slower than ios 6. I don't think it can handle more than mavericks to be honest
     
  10. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    3,447
    Messages:
    9,069
    Likes Received:
    6,376
    Trophy Points:
    681