If you've got an old Mac, you can give it a new lease on life by upgrading some of its aging hardware. I recently upgraded the battery in an old MacBook Pro, which restored its running life back to how it was when it was new. The Mac parts store is well stocked and easy to navigate.
The Early 2008 iMac ships with Mac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard and iLife '08. The Early 2008 iMacs support OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Although it is not officially supported, the Early 2008 iMac can run macOS Sierra using Colin Mistr's Sierra Patch Tool.
Unibody MacBook Pro Q&A
| MacBook Pro | Original Mac OS X | Maximum Mac OS X |
|---|
| "Late 2008" | OS X 10.5.5 "Leopard" | OS X 10.11.x "El Capitan" |
| "Early 2009" | OS X 10.5.6 "Leopard" | OS X 10.11.x "El Capitan" |
| "Mid-2009" | OS X 10.5.7 "Leopard" | OS X 10.11.x "El Capitan" |
| "Mid-2010" | OS X 10.6.3 "Snow Leopard" | Current |
Officially, the hard drive or SSD in the original, "Late 2008" and "Mid-2009" MacBook Air models is not designed to be replaced or upgraded by the end user. However, for those with some experience replacing the hard drive in similar notebooks, the upgrade is quite feasible.
Depending on your budget, I'd recommend a 2014 or 2015 MacBook Pro or -- if you have the budget, a 2019 or 2020 machine with Apple's renewed keyboard design. Avoid 2016 to 2018 machines, which have had notorious keyboard reliability problems, and you won't save that much on a purchase.
According to MacWorld, the average MacBook Pro lasts from five to eight years. Based on OS updates alone, you can see that a Mac typically lasts between eight and 11 years, depending on the model.
If the Mac is no longer functional, or if it's too old, you can recycle it. Apple's recycling program will take any of your devices and recycle them. They may even give you a gift card if the computer still has some value. You won't get a lot, and lately Apple's prices for Mac trade-ins have been very low.
It's a good idea to not invest in a used Mac that is more than three years old, because Apple tends to support its computers for about six years. As Macs with Intel chips are phased out in favor of Apple's own silicon, your used Intel-based Mac may start to encounter obsolescence sooner than you expect.
Apple has discontinued all hardware service for obsolete products with no exceptions. On Tuesday, Apple added certain Mac models to its obsolete and vintage lists with the Late 2009 iMac, Mid 2009 MacBook Air, Early 2009 Mac Pro being designated “vintage†and Early 2008 MacBook and MacBook Pro designated “obsoleteâ€.
MacBook Pros: Both 13†and 15†models 2015 and older can be upgraded. Non-Retina MacBook Pro units up to late 2016 may also have an option, but most units from 2016 on are very limited on both upgrades and replacement options.
Where to Buy Refurbished MacBooks: The 4 Best Sites
- Apple Certified Refurbished. As the manufacturer of Mac laptops, Apple is best-suited to refurbish them.
- Mac of All Trades. There are many benefits to purchasing through Apple's Certified Refurbished store, but you won't find significant savings there.
- OWC.
- Amazon Renewed.
As of this writing (2011), on average I'd say most old Macs are worth about $100. An original 128k Mac, truly rare items and prototypes can command hundreds to thousands of dollars. For most systems, sentimental values tend to be higher than resale prices.
MacBook discounts, compared
| Model w/ CPU (and storage capacity) | List price | Best price (all-time) |
|---|
| New MacBook Air w/ M1 chip (512GB) | $1,249 | $1,000 |
| New MacBook Pro w/ M1 chip (256GB) | $1,299 | $1,050 |
| New MacBook Pro w/ M1 chip (512GB) | $1,499 | $1,250 |
| 16-inch MacBook Pro w/ 9th-gen Core i7 (512GB) | $2,399 | $2,000 |
