2012 Macbook Pro in 2017 (5 years later)

[minervx]

 

 

Operating System: I love Mac OS's convenient transparent interface, lack of malware/driver issues/other problems and some of its exclusive software.  I believe it comes with El Capitan but it is immediately upgradable to Sierra.

Price: ~$500 used and plus ~$100 with upgrades.  Pricy for an older laptop.  However, for Mac standards, its the best value you will find for a Mac computer.

Size/Weight: I have the 13" model.  It's very compact in width/length.  Average in height.  The weight is light by 2012's standards, but average by today's standards.  Overall portable.

Resolution: 800p display is really outdated.  My biggest gripe.  But as a partial fix, with an HDMI/Thunderbolt adapter, it can be displayed on a television in 1080p.

Chassis: The aluminum on the top accrues light scratches over time, but the interior aluminum is flawless (and feels premium).  Since, we only interact with the interior, it's a positive overall.

Battery: For basic tasks, it lasts 5-7 hours.  However, with turbo boost, the power drains quick (about under 3 hours).  Ration carefully.

Processing: It handles almost all everyday tasks with ease such as MS Office, browsing and so on.  It starts to chug if browsing 10+ tabs and other apps, but at least it can.  It can run Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro well enough for light to medium editing/mixing.  Not to a professional degree, but at least it can run them.

Gaming: Skyrim is barely playable at absolute lowest settings.  It can handle older games and emulation of classic consoles, but it's not for gaming.

Storage: Comes with 500 GB HDD and a DVD player.  However, you can upgrade either to an SSD, which is the best way to boost this machine's performance.

RAM: Only comes with 4GB but can be upgraded.  16 GB is possible perhaps, but 8GB is plenty for a laptop.

Ports: 2 USB3's, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, SD card reader.  A good option for those who disagreed with Apple's removal of ports in recent years.

Keyboard: Excellent.   Backlighting is a plus.  Keys are raised but thin.  Smooth.  Firmly adhered, easy to press but offers a perfect amount of tactile feedback.

Trackpad: The soft aluminum texture, firm always responsive click.  I never thought I'd like a trackpad better than an external mouse, but I love this trackpad.

 

As a 5 year old laptop, it is very dated in some aspects.  However, at the end of the day, in spite of the flaws, it's been one of the best laptops I've ever owned.  It's great for school/work, browsing and some creative applications, with great notebook-like qualities and capability to perform more powerful tasks when needed.  The keyboard, trackpad, UI and build quality all make my experience for reading/typing and using a wide variety of applications enjoyable and hassle free.

 

8/10

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, minervx said:

 

 

Operating System: I love Mac OS's convenient transparent interface, lack of malware/driver issues/other problems and some of its exclusive software.  I believe it comes with El Capitan but it is immediately upgradable to Sierra.

Price: ~$500 used and plus ~$100 with upgrades.  Pricy for an older laptop.  However, for Mac standards, its the best value you will find for a Mac computer.

Size/Weight: I have the 13" model.  It's very compact in width/length.  Average in height.  The weight is light by 2012's standards, but average by today's standards.  Overall portable.

Resolution: 800p display is really outdated.  My biggest gripe.  But as a partial fix, with an HDMI/Thunderbolt adapter, it can be displayed on a television in 1080p.

Chassis: The aluminum on the top accrues light scratches over time, but the interior aluminum is flawless (and feels premium).  Since, we only interact with the interior, it's a positive overall.

Battery: For basic tasks, it lasts 5-7 hours.  However, with turbo boost, the power drains quick (about under 3 hours).  Ration carefully.

Processing: It handles almost all everyday tasks with ease such as MS Office, browsing and so on.  It starts to chug if browsing 10+ tabs and other apps, but at least it can.  It can run Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro well enough for light to medium editing/mixing.  Not to a professional degree, but at least it can run them.

Gaming: Skyrim is barely playable at absolute lowest settings.  It can handle older games and emulation of classic consoles, but it's not for gaming.

Storage: Comes with 500 GB HDD and a DVD player.  However, you can upgrade either to an SSD, which is the best way to boost this machine's performance.

RAM: Only comes with 4GB but can be upgraded.  16 GB is possible perhaps, but 8GB is plenty for a laptop.

Ports: 2 USB3's, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, SD card reader.  A good option for those who disagreed with Apple's removal of ports in recent years.

Keyboard: Excellent.   Backlighting is a plus.  Keys are raised but thin.  Smooth.  Firmly adhered, easy to press but offers a perfect amount of tactile feedback.

Trackpad: The soft aluminum texture, firm always responsive click.  I never thought I'd like a trackpad better than an external mouse, but I love this trackpad.

 

As a 5 year old laptop, it is very dated in some aspects.  However, at the end of the day, in spite of the flaws, it's been one of the best laptops I've ever owned.  It's great for school/work, browsing and some creative applications, with great notebook-like qualities and capability to perform more powerful tasks when needed.  The keyboard, trackpad, UI and build quality all make my experience for reading/typing and using a wide variety of applications enjoyable and hassle free.

 

8/10

True...

[Eclypseon]

Spoiler

On 9/13/2017 at 12:39 AM, minervx said:

 

 

Operating System: I love Mac OS's convenient transparent interface, lack of malware/driver issues/other problems and some of its exclusive software.  I believe it comes with El Capitan but it is immediately upgradable to Sierra.

Price: ~$500 used and plus ~$100 with upgrades.  Pricy for an older laptop.  However, for Mac standards, its the best value you will find for a Mac computer.

Size/Weight: I have the 13" model.  It's very compact in width/length.  Average in height.  The weight is light by 2012's standards, but average by today's standards.  Overall portable.

Resolution: 800p display is really outdated.  My biggest gripe.  But as a partial fix, with an HDMI/Thunderbolt adapter, it can be displayed on a television in 1080p.

Chassis: The aluminum on the top accrues light scratches over time, but the interior aluminum is flawless (and feels premium).  Since, we only interact with the interior, it's a positive overall.

Battery: For basic tasks, it lasts 5-7 hours.  However, with turbo boost, the power drains quick (about under 3 hours).  Ration carefully.

Processing: It handles almost all everyday tasks with ease such as MS Office, browsing and so on.  It starts to chug if browsing 10+ tabs and other apps, but at least it can.  It can run Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro well enough for light to medium editing/mixing.  Not to a professional degree, but at least it can run them.

Gaming: Skyrim is barely playable at absolute lowest settings.  It can handle older games and emulation of classic consoles, but it's not for gaming.

Storage: Comes with 500 GB HDD and a DVD player.  However, you can upgrade either to an SSD, which is the best way to boost this machine's performance.

RAM: Only comes with 4GB but can be upgraded.  16 GB is possible perhaps, but 8GB is plenty for a laptop.

Ports: 2 USB3's, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, SD card reader.  A good option for those who disagreed with Apple's removal of ports in recent years.

Keyboard: Excellent.   Backlighting is a plus.  Keys are raised but thin.  Smooth.  Firmly adhered, easy to press but offers a perfect amount of tactile feedback.

Trackpad: The soft aluminum texture, firm always responsive click.  I never thought I'd like a trackpad better than an external mouse, but I love this trackpad.

 

As a 5 year old laptop, it is very dated in some aspects.  However, at the end of the day, in spite of the flaws, it's been one of the best laptops I've ever owned.  It's great for school/work, browsing and some creative applications, with great notebook-like qualities and capability to perform more powerful tasks when needed.  The keyboard, trackpad, UI and build quality all make my experience for reading/typing and using a wide variety of applications enjoyable and hassle free.

 

8/10

 

My 2012 MacBook Pro approves of this message. 

 

She's getting a little long in the tooth, but still surprisingly capable for the light work and school loads. 

 

One addendum: my battery needs to be replaced... the laptop alerted me to the issue before it was really very noticeable... I'm just a procrastinator and haven't taken it in. Apparently it can be fixed same day. 

[minervx]

Yes the battery is wearing through.  If youre using wifi, bluetooth, bright screen and turbo boost, its nearly dead in 2 hours.  Unfortunately it costs more to replace it than I feel its worth so I will wait until absolutely necessary.

[Fahim Foysal]

That was some fast ass review man