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Where would £300 best spent?
Probably some decent laptops out there for that, can the 6 year old Mac book run a current os?
Yupp seems ok with Yosemite.
(2010 MBP owner here).....lots of 'depends' type comments coming....
- whats the battery cycle/health rating like
- what do you want to use it for, if its anything grunty/processing a newer laptop will kick its arse (assuming its core2duo). I've been VERY impressed with macbook airs recently, try checking out geekbench to see the relative performance.
I've upgraded mine with an SSD, which is like a new lease of life, but if I were buying again I'd probably go with something newer that already has an SSD and a more modern CPU etc. MBP's are eye wateringly expensive to repair and vintage 2009 is nearing the stage where things start going wrong. If you're happy doing repairs yourself its probably fine.
PS. Cant see many benefits to a yosemite OS. mavericks seems to give more bang for buck with less aggro.
I'm still using a MacBook from 2006, and yes it's a little tatty now, but functionally it's still fine - I've been through a few batteries, and had to replace the hard drive with a SSD and upgrade the RAM units, but it's still going and more than capable of what I need it for.
I'd go with the MacBook instead of a budget Windows laptop, purely from a longevity point of view!
I took one in to do a screen on it and he's said do I want to buy. Lovely keyboard and build tempts me over a plasticky £350. Or are there any good ones?
Battery is fine
I'd go with the MacBook instead of a budget Windows laptop, purely from a longevity point of view!
Only if you're prepared to stick with Yosemite, doubt it'll be on the supported list for OS-X-Next. SSD would be a cheapish way to make it plenty fast, but you still might hit a 'requires 10.x.x.' type app issue at some point. You won't get that with Windows, but then you might equally find whilst Win 10/11/12/13 is supported, it runs so badly you'll wish you hadn't.
I still use my Core2 / 2Gb Macbook Pro on Lion - it's still a useful computer, most stuff (music authoring etc.) runs acceptably, but I have also a Mini for modern stuff when needed.
PS - get 8Gb RAM min for Yosemite. If it can't take that I wouldn't.
Blimey, does a 2009 MacBook fetch £300 !
Anyway as above more RAM and an SSD in the MacBook and it will fly but then you've spent £400 and that's approaching half the price of a new MacBook. I am still using my 2009 Mini, no real need to change it from a performance perspective.
I have exactly that macbook pro at home. Runs most things lovely but I am gradually finding I need more ram after installing office and a few other things lately. It all does depend what you want it for. Build quality and screen clarity etc are still excellent and I think it's a good Base to build on, a better one than a cheap plasticky windows laptop.
@fd3 - ram is easy to install (I am pretty sure not done a 2009 but have done 2 2012 machines - going from 4=2+2 to 10=2+8) and inexpensive. Hardest part was undoing the screws holding the back on