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| Click here to select a new forum. | | 2008 macbook pro any good? | Posted by: Macintoshguy1984 on 2018-03-16 20:27:07
I need a macbook to just watch youtube and use the web. I was looking around and i think this whould be the right choice (https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.6-15-early-2008-penryn-specs.html) But i want to hear form people that use it. Do you recommend a macbook like this for youtube and browsing the web? I also want to know if the fans will run fast when watching youtube because thats the problem i have with my older macbook. The only computer i have that runs more loud is my xserve!!
| Posted by: beachycove on 2018-03-16 20:39:55
The 2009 15" MBP is a better machine.
| Posted by: MOS8_030 on 2018-03-16 20:48:55
Something to consider is Apple has discontinued OS updates for almost everything prior to mid-2010.
| Posted by: CC_333 on 2018-03-16 21:16:42
For what its worth, I use an early 2007 MacBook Pro for precisely this task (watching videos from Youtube and other miscellaneous places), and it works wonderfully, although internal WiFi died for some reason I have been unable to ascertain (I just use a Linksys WiFi card in the ExpressCard34 slot, which nicely solves the problem, and OS X sees it as a native card, so I don't need any extra software).
I agree that a 2009 would be better, one of which I have, if only because they're significantly more reliable, from what I've read. However, I happened to have this 2007, it worked (it works better now, though, since I rebuilt it a couple years ago), and my '09 was in use elsewhere, so I figured why not. If it dies, I'll just go get another (they're getting cheap enough that this is within reason).
Also, have you redone the thermal paste on your MacBook's heatsink recently? Doing so might help it run a bit cooler, and thus not spin up the fans quite as much.
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| Posted by: Macintoshguy1984 on 2018-03-16 21:43:18
Yes, i reapplied thermal paste a week ago, it got a bit better. For some reason i never looked at activity monitor till now and it said youtube is eating my cpu. Also is the fan loud on the macbook pro?
| Posted by: Macintoshguy1984 on 2018-03-16 21:45:21
And how is the battery life?
| Posted by: Byrd on 2018-03-16 22:49:58
You can pick up 2009 - 2010 unibody MBPs cheaply these days, as they do not run High Sierra, however the dosdude patch makes them run it without issue. I’d consider an SSD drive a must for any laptop, and max out the RAM; both upgrades will significantly boost performance.
The main issue with 2008 MBPs are faulty 8600GT GPUs, reliability is not a strong point. However the battery is removable as one benefit over unibody models. Don’t expect any have good battery life.
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