Early 2008 MacBook Pro updating to El Capitan,

[Tarek]

I was wondering if it would be a good decision updating this old MacBook Pro from 10.6 to the latest Mac OS X, El Capitan. I checked various websites listing the compatibility statuses and it seems like it actually can run the latest version, but I am just wondering if it would slow it down since it's really old now?

It has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz processor with 2GB of RAM.

Thanks.

 

[techiesteve]

With 2GB of memory El Capitan would install, but would take for ever to boot and launch apps. I still have the 17" version of your MBP with 4GB installed, but left it running Mavericks. Mine also runs Windows 7 OK under Boot Camp, that's all I use it for now, for ham radio use controlling an SDR transceiver. It's memory can be upgraded to 6GB, but the required 4GB DDR667 SODIMM is expensive.

You could upgrade your MBP to 4GB, cloning your hard drive first, then upgrade to El Capitan. If it runs too slow for you, clone back your original OS.

 

[Tarek]

Thanks for your info. I don't really use the laptop often so I was looking for a non-hardware solution, which is why I'm going to opt for Mavericks because 10.6 is just too old for my taste - I just miss some of the new features that came with Mavericks and even before it, like the app launcher and some of the newer gestures if I remember correctly.