2010 mbp

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I have come into possession of a 2010 7,1 MBP. The battery is dead, swollen; only 4 gig ram and 2hundred something gig drive. In the long run, is it worth it to replace battery, drive and upgrade ram?
It boots fine, I upgraded it to Yosemite and can go as high as High Sierra. I just want to know if the cost will be worth the trouble.
 

chscag

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You can probably pick up a third party or knock off battery on eBay for $50 or less. And that machine can take (according to Mactracker) 8 GB of memory. A spinner 7200 HDD can be had dirt cheap nowadays. So I would say for less than $200 you could beef up that machine and get a couple of years use out of it.

I'm not sure what the memory would cost so you might want to look around on Amazon or eBay. You would need 2 x 4GB modules:

Maximum Memory 8.0 GB
Memory Slots 2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM
 
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Hmm, according to MacTracker it can use 16gb. I'll check with MacSales on that. Being a core 2 Duo at 2Ghz. It'll still be useful?
Might just do this then.

Edit: Just got the update for MacTracker and now it says 8 gig. Hah, guess they don't want to get in hot water with Apple?
 

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Hmm, according to MacTracker it can use 16gb. I'll check with MacSales on that. Being a core 2 Duo at 2Ghz. It'll still be useful?
Might just do this then.

Unless you gave the wrong specs (7,1) my Mactracker app says that all 2010 MacBook Pro machines can only take up to 8 GB of memory. I quoted directly from Mactracker in my last reply. Your machine is listed as a 13" MacBook Pro model 1278, 7,1.

You may be able to actually load up 16 GB?
 
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It was an older database for it. Mine said 16Gb actual 8Gb Apple. Then it did an update and said just 8Gb. I haven't used it in a couple years so...
 

chscag

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Either way, 8 GB should be plenty for that machine. And like I said above, you should be able to get it in good working order fairly inexpensively. Maybe last you for a couple of years?
 

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Regarding the battery...I was going to suggest the exact same thing as Charlie. Go with a cheap battery from Amazon or eBay. I think we usually warn against the cheaper battery options. But in this case...what the heck...a cheap battery is better than none...and keeps the costs down. If you go with a less expensive battery...would love to hear how it worked out.:)

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+1 for the cheap battery. You can use the MBP on mains power most of the time just fine. You just want something not swollen.
 
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Ordered one from ebay this morning. $25. Get it in and see what's what and will see if upgrades are worth the trouble...
Running on mains now just to update system (made a high sierra stick the other day).
 

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In case you didn't know...it's probably running really really slow (if you removed the battery). My MacBook Pro has a swollen battery too...which I need to replace. I removed it temporarily because it was affecting my trackpad big time (couldn't do physical clicks). But it was so so slow.

I ran benchmarks with & without the battery. Without the battery...benchmarks were only 16-20% of what they were with the battery installed (really slow)!

- Nick
 
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Yeah, I read about that when I looked up whether I could use it without the battery. Right now it's about as fast as my old macbook was. Here's to hoping it'll speed up a bit.
 
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I have this MBP, and have been endlessly researching and deciding on upgrades. everymac.com / macsales.com says the 13 inch supports 16gb (with a few software caveats) - is it better to follow the Apple/MacTracker 8gb specs?

I've read posts (too many to remember from where) with some saying that a 7200 spinner HDD might run "too hot" for this MBP. Is that worth heeding? (SSD isn't in my budget.)

Eager to hear how you fared with the $25 battery replacement.

Thank you!
 
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I'll let you know when it gets here, supposed to be Thursday. Probably stop at 8 gigs, just to be safe. I don't need more. If i upgrade the drive I'll go SSD.
 

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I have this MBP, and have been endlessly researching and deciding on upgrades. everymac.com / macsales.com says the 13 inch supports 16gb (with a few software caveats) - is it better to follow the Apple/MacTracker 8gb specs?

The 2010 MacBook Pro 7,1 can support 16gig of RAM...as long as the caveats are adhered to (correct OS version or higher...and install EFI update).

Then the big question is...do you REALLY want to spend $157+ for a 16gig RAM upgrade for a computer that's probably only worth in the range of $200 (assuming 13" model). 8gig RAM upgrade is $75.

I've read posts (too many to remember from where) with some saying that a 7200 spinner HDD might run "too hot" for this MBP. Is that worth heeding? (SSD isn't in my budget.)

Not sure where you're reading these "too many to remember" posts. But it's a bunch of "phoney-baloney".;)

Do you know how hot your computer can get when it starts doing demanding video tasks??...the extra heat produced by a 7200rpm vs. 5400rpm HD is very minimal in comparison. Get the 7200rpm drive!:)

- Nick
 
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The 2010 MacBook Pro 7,1 can support 16gig of RAM...as long as the caveats are adhered to (correct OS version or higher...and install EFI update).

Then the big question is...do you REALLY want to spend $157+ for a 16gig RAM upgrade for a computer that's probably only worth in the range of $200 (assuming 13" model). 8gig RAM upgrade is $75.



Not sure where you're reading these "too many to remember" posts. But it's a bunch of "phoney-baloney".;)

Do you know how hot your computer can get when it starts doing demanding video tasks??...the extra heat produced by a 7200rpm vs. 5400rpm HD is very minimal in comparison. Get the 7200rpm drive!:)

- Nick

Thank you, Nick!! 8gb and 7200, it will be! That ram savings just about pays for the hard drive. Thank you!!
 
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Well, the battery seems to work just fine, but the wifi, while it works ok at the house, wont connect at work while my HP will. Need to see why that is. Next step, clearing the pram and checking various things.
 
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How old is the router at work and at home? If the work one is new and your home one is older, it could be all about what version of security they support or require.
 
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Possible. They are fairly newish at work. Home is an Airport extreme. Going to try one more time. If this is the case the MBP will pretty much be useless anywhere but home I guess.
 
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Found the problem...
Forgot our IT monkeys changed the network and the password. You'd think the dialog would say "Name or Password is incorrect" but no...
I get "Move your computer closer to the router or run diagnostics". And you cant stop those diagnostics either. Not without shutting down. Ask me how I know...
 

chscag

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Hey Craig....

Your problem is you did not pay proper homage to your IT gurus! LOL O:)
 

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