Is it worth buying a 2009 macbook pro?

[shaneod]

Im debating on buying a used 2009 macbook pro 13 inch (the metal unibody one) and it has 500gb of storage and 4gb of ram. I'm gonna replace the battery on it considering its at 1031 cycles. I can get it for $320. Is this a good deal, and will it run ok for web browsing, music, and transferring images from my DSLR? Or will this thing be a clapped out pos that will aggravate me because its so slow? Thanks.

 

[pigoo3]

$320 is an ok deal. It's worth close to $400…but if you add $130 for a new battery…then you're talking a total investment of $320 + $130 = $450.

It would be a better deal if the battery had less cycles on it (not requiring a new battery). Depending on your "unplugged" needs…you may still get some good runtime off of that battery even with 1000+ cycles.

I would say that it's a "coin-flip" if you must get a new battery. No new battery…and $320 is a decent deal.

As far as performance. Probably pretty good performance for $320 bucks. But if you have more cash…something newer & faster (i5 cpu and better graphics) of course will be faster (but more $$$).

- Nick

 

[shaneod]

$320 is an ok deal. It's worth close to $400…but if you add $130 for a new battery…then you're talking a total investment of $320 + $130 = $450.

It would be a better deal if the battery had less cycles on it (not requiring a new battery). Depending on your "unplugged" needs…you may still get some good runtime off of that battery even with 1000+ cycles.

I would say that it's a "coin-flip" if you must get a new battery. No new battery…and $320 is a decent deal.

- Nick

I was thinking of buying a new battery off ebay for like $40 and installing it myself because it isnt too hard

 

[pigoo3]

Except that we've not heard too many good stories from folks with those "e-Bay battery's".

The existing original Apple battery with 1000+ cycles may actually be better than most $40 e-Bay battery's.

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Give eBay battery sellers a big miss. The computer is coming up to five years of age when most consider times to move on. If money is tight by all means sticking with the current battery.

 

[chscag]

Got to disagree. Buying a 2009 MacBook Pro for $320 is a good deal but spending big bucks for an Apple battery is questionable. Like the OP I would get the eBay battery for $40. We've had some folks who have had bad luck with cheap batteries and others (one of our own moderators) who have had good luck.

 

[harryb2448]

Why buy the battery at all? Apple do say 1,000 cycles on some models is 'consumed' but seen some go several hundred more than this:-


Mac notebooks: Determining battery cycle count

 

[pigoo3]

Why buy the battery at all? Apple do say 1,000 cycles on some models is 'consumed' but seen some go several hundred more than this:-

My thoughts exactly Harry. I seem to remember that the max. cycle count determined by Apple (1000 in this case)...is the point at which the battery still has 80% of it's original capacity left.

So a battery that originally was supposed to have 7 hours of total runtime on a single charge (Apple's claim)...would still have 5.6 hours of total runtime on a single charge...and probably still get a heck of a lot more charge cycles out of it before the total runtime on a singe charge got to be too short in duration for most folks.

Of course each case will be a little different. If I was purchasing this computer...I would certainly verify the total runtime I got on a single charge before buying a new battery.

- Nick

 

[chas_m]

I have this exact model and am very happy with it -- obviously not a good choice for high-end games but does graphics and everything else very well as far as I'm concerned. Was thinking about putting a hybrid HD in it to gain some SSD-like speed, already bumped the RAM up to 8GB (the max for this machine). Runs Mavericks very well.

Naturally I would like something newer, but I keep spending my money on "frivolities" like the wife, the arts and travel. But this machine has been good to me, a nice step up from my old BlackBook and looks set to keep going for another couple of years without serious compatibility issues if I don't replace it before then.

 

[harryb2448]

Ahh chas m next you will be tossing your hard earned away on complete non-luxuries. Like clothes and food!