Bought another 15" Macbook Pro :D

[iggibar]

So, one of my goals has always been to buy a 2010 15"/17" MacBook Pro with the hi-res matte screen option to add to my collection. Well, I came across an opportunity to own one for a price that was too good to pass up, and condition that is near 9.5/10- which just got me hooked. Only issue is the battery has a tiny bit of bulge in it that makes the trackpad a little stiff on the left side- a typical issue with batteries from these generations as they get old.

These models are nothing crazy, but to me, I believe these are some of the best laptops Apple ever made! I would buy a brand new with updated specs if they still had them available.

I'll post a few pictures of everything:

20190720_165521.jpg
20190720_165433.jpg
20190720_164437.jpg
20190720_174257(0).jpg

[iggibar]

First thing I did was take it apart and clean it with a fine brush and vacuum.
It was actually relatively clean inside. Typical dust in vent/fan shroud, and underneath logic board.
20190719_140049.jpg
20190719_140012.jpg
20190719_140141.jpg
20190719_140200.jpg
Took the fan apart to get all the dust out. Upper fan is still dirty, bottom is cleaned out.
20190719_143953.jpg

[iggibar]

And up next is the heat-sink.

It wasn't a surprise when I took the heat-sink off and discovered that the thermal paste was pretty much dried up into solid clay.
20190719_141155.jpg
20190719_142502.jpg
20190719_142638.jpg
Nice and shiny!
20190719_142720.jpg
And back together the logic board goes!
20190719_143440.jpg
I didn't take any photos of putting it back together because there's not much to it.


I just thought this might be a good time to make a statement about heat for anyone reading this:

When it comes to these MacBook Pros, you want the thermal paste to be in good condition so that the heat gets dissipated through the heat sink properly, and also through the aluminum chassis. When the thermal paste is no longer functioning as intended, the heat radiates from one area more than intended, and greater heat can be felt on the aluminum chassis. The CPU/GPU will hold in that heat, your fan will spin higher, and the cooling efficiency drops significantly. With a properly function cooling system and thermal paste, heat get dissipated quickly, and cool down occurs quickly as well. But, with aluminum being a pretty good heat conductor, you can't simply tell if your MacBook is running hot just by the aluminum chassis being hot...it's doing its job by dissipating radiating heat! You need to pay attention to actual CPU/GPU temperature to get a more accurate assessment. A properly functioning cooling system will see CPU/GPU temperatures smoothly changing with demand, while a system with bad thermal paste will see temperatures fluctuating up and down drastically because it can't stay in a happy medium.

Take care of your computers, and they will last forever! Plus, it's fun

[chscag]

Nice work Iggy, and a great bargain at $50. I think you're trying to catch up to Nick with all those machines you have.

[pigoo3]

I think you're trying to catch up to Nick with all those machines you have.

Good lord I hope not...wouldn't wish that burden on an enemy! Lol

- Nick

[pigoo3]

Congrats Iggi...super nice unit...and terrific price!

Yeah...that thermal paste sure looks old...nice job replacing it. You gonna replace the battery? If you're noticing the trackpad not working as it should now...that battery will only swell more & make things worse.

I'd say run it without a battery (due to cost of a new battery)...but it will run extremely slow. I found my 2011 MacBook Pro runs at about only 20% of normal without a battery in place. Basically intolerably slow!

Nice purchase.

- Nick

[iggibar]

Congrats Iggi...super nice unit...and terrific price!

Yeah...that thermal paste sure looks old...nice job replacing it. You gonna replace the battery? If you're noticing the trackpad not working as it should now...that battery will only swell more & make things worse.

I'd say run it without a battery (due to cost of a new battery)...but it will run extremely slow. I found my 2011 MacBook Pro runs at about only 20% of normal without a battery in place. Basically intolerably slow!

Nice purchase.

- Nick

Yes sir! I ordered a new battery from OWC. Trackpad buttons on these MacBook Pros RARELY fail to press or click, so it wasn't something I worried about when buying it. And even if I was wrong, they are super cheap to replace. When I took the bottom case off, and unscrewed the battery to release the pressure underneath, the trackpad worked perfect. One weird thing though, which I've never noticed before in all my battery/cell building years, is how the battery contracts and expands depending on charge level. Once the charge exceeds ~80%, the trackpad is rock solid. If you deplete that battery, the trackpad works perfect again. THAT'S ONE DANGEROUS BATTERY!! Took it to the city disposal facility because I was too uncomfortable taking it to Best Buy

[pigoo3]

When I took the bottom case off, and unscrewed the battery to release the pressure underneath, the trackpad worked perfect.

Same thing on my 17" 2011 MacBook Pro when it's battery was bulging. Since I was slow to purchase a replacement battery...and because the battery was so swollen...I actually removed some of the bottom cover screws to make some extra space so the trackpad would function. I have a Speck hardshell case on it...so this bottom cover not being fully attached wasn't an issue. Of course when I installed the replacement battery...the bottom case was fully attached once more.

One weird thing though, which I've never noticed before in all my battery/cell building years, is how the battery contracts and expands depending on charge level. Once the charge exceeds ~80%, the trackpad is rock solid. If you deplete that battery, the trackpad works perfect again. THAT'S ONE DANGEROUS BATTERY!!

Might be temperature related too (expanded more when used & temp of computer increased).

Gonna be a nice low cost computer still capable of doing a lot of day to day stuff (8gig of RAM nice too). If it doesn't already have an SSD installed...could pop in a low cost SSD ($25) as well.

- Nick

[iggibar]

Gonna be a nice low cost computer still capable of doing a lot of day to day stuff (8gig of RAM nice too). If it doesn't already have an SSD installed...could pop in a low cost SSD ($25) as well.

- Nick

It came with the original SSD upgrade from Apple. The SSD is old, but I'm not too worried yet since it's really not going to get a lot of use. We'll see how it goes though.

[pigoo3]

It came with the original SSD upgrade from Apple. The SSD is old, but I'm not too worried yet since it's really not going to get a lot of use. We'll see how it goes though.

In one of the photos above...I thought I saw what looked like an SSD...but wasn't 100%.

If the original owner configured it with an SSD...they must have really wanted it! Not sure if it was mentioned how much internal storage this MBP has...but the original prices for the SSD upgrades for a 2010 15" MacBook Pro were:

* 128gig SSD = $200
* 256gig SSD = $650
* 512gig SSD = $1300

- Nick