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What should I look out for before buying a 2011 macbook pro used from Computer Village?
I want to transition to the Apple ecosystem to learn basic video editing but I cannot afford the newer M1 chips. A vendor is offering me a 2011 macbook pro used for 120k Naira. I know this model has a built in DVD drive and is very thick. What are the common hardware failures for this specific 10 year old Apple machine? Will it still be able to install the latest versions of Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut?
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3 days agoBuying a 2011 macbook pro used from Computer Village requires extreme caution because this specific year model has a notorious and fatal hardware flaw. If the laptop is the 15 inch or 17 inch model from 2011 DO NOT BUY IT. These larger models were manufactured with a defective AMD dedicated graphics card. Over time the heat causes the solder on the graphics chip to melt leading to screen glitches vertical lines and eventually a complete system failure where the laptop refuses to boot. Apple issued a recall for this years ago but the program has expired. If you buy it the graphics card will inevitably fail leaving you with an expensive aluminum brick.
josh
3 days agoIf the 2011 macbook pro used is the 13 inch model it is safe to buy because it only uses integrated Intel graphics which do not fail. However you must manage your software expectations. The 2011 MacBook Pro can only be officially upgraded to macOS High Sierra (released in 2017). Because the operating system is so old you CANNOT install the latest versions of Adobe Premiere Pro Final Cut Pro or even modern browsers. You will have to hunt the internet for older outdated versions of these software packages to install. While it is a great cheap entry into the Apple ecosystem it is not a viable machine for modern professional video editing. Save up and buy at least a 2015 MacBook Pro retina model instead.
josh
3 days agoI bought the 13 inch 2011 model two years ago. I ripped out the DVD drive and installed a 1TB SSD in its place using a caddy. The laptop flies now. It is incredibly easy to upgrade the RAM and storage on this specific model unlike the newer ones.
josh
3 days agoThe battery on a 2011 Mac will definitely say "Service Recommended" in the system settings. Budget about 35,000 Naira to replace the battery in Computer Village otherwise it will shut down randomly at 40 percent charge.
josh
3 days agoDo not ignore the warning about the 15 inch model graphics card. I lost 150k learning that lesson the hard way. Stick strictly to the 13 inch model if you must buy a 2011 MacBook.