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MacBook Pro mid 2012 - what macOS do you use?
Assuming some Mac users are here... I need to use High Sierra or higher on my Mac. As i use this MBP mainly for djaying it still runs on El Capitan (10.11) because i am a bit afraid to change that winning team and maybe end up loosing stability.
OK, anyone around who uses such an old MacBook Pro with some hints on the best and reliable macOS for me?
Comments
What I can say is that each successive macOS update made my Mac Mini (not Macbook Pro) 2012 increasingly slower. Unfortunately, I need to always run the very latest macOS and Xcode for app development, so there's no way I can't update.
With the last few updates, especially "Mojave", the Mac is essentially bricked -- it is so slow that it is completely unusable. Every single mouse click, popup menu etc. produces a beachball for several seconds, and launching applications, even simple ones like "Settings", takes minutes. A reinstall didn't help a lot.
So, if the Macbook Pro has specs that are similar to my Mac Mini (Core i5 2.5GHz, 4 GB RAM, mechanical hard drive), then I cannot recommend updating at all.
I assume you have already checked to see if your computer can update to High Sierra. I have a unibody MacBook (not Pro) from 2012 and the hardware will only allow El Capitan to be installed. The App store still pops up a window asking me to upgrade to High Sierra but when I try it says the hardware won't allow. I have updated a MacBook Air to High Sierra (not Mojave yet) without issue but I don't use DJ software so I can't vouch for that.
I can’t remember what I’m running on my mid 2012 MBP main drive, I’ll check next time I boot in. I tend to run it from an external SSD now, and that’s on High Sierra. It runs ok, though not as fast as it did with El Capitan.
To be honest, the only reason I upgrade my Mac is because I need to to run a certain application (usually something from Apple). I haven't seen a compelling feature in years.
I'd probably still be at 10.6.8 if I could, but I've been fine running what I need to run up to Sierra (10.12). And unlike running newer iOS versions on old hardware, I haven't seen a degradation in performance with newer OSs. To be clear here: I have a late-2013 MPB, so performance will be different.
What I would suggest is looking at the apps you need to run and see if there are issues with any of these newer OS versions.
Note that with High Sierra Apple changed the underlying filesystem, so some apps (notably Apple's older Pro Apps; Logic Pro 9, Final Cut Pro 7, etc.) don't work.
Mojave wasn't a major change from High Sierra so most things that work with 10.13 should work with 10.14, however, in some cases there won't be guarantees (e.g. Ableton says Live 9 is "not fully compatible" with 10.14; it seems to work, but....)
Catalina is a big change in that 32 bit apps have been killed, so if you've got any legacy software you might want to hold off.
I upgraded my mid 2012 MBP to Mojave recently - I've not noticed any speed differences from High Sierra.
Just before that I replaced my ageing HD with a new SSD and the performance improved so dramatically I felt like I've got a brand new computer!
It's only on large Logic and Ableton live projects where I feel like I'd want a newer machine - for regular use it's awesome
I also just upgraded my late 2012 i7 MacMini to Catalina and it seems to be running just as snappily as Mojave.
I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I went up to high Sierra (from el cap) in the summer and all good. I updated reluctantly for Adobe reasons (premiere pro and media encoder), but all my music apps are fine. I use Ableton live 9, bitwig 3, reason 10 and MainStage 3. Crucial for me and a couple of my controllers is that Novation automap is still hanging in there.
Can’t say i’ve noticed any slow down. I’m refusing to think of it as an ‘old’ laptop just yet...
@Pummelfee if you have not yet put in a SSD that should be your first task. It will make a huge difference in performance and might offset the slow/ stability problems.
You wouldn't happen to know if Snow Leopard will run on a 2012? I have 2011 that just died. It was super stable under Snow Leopard. The 2011 MBPros (the quad i7) have a known logic board problem so I am hesitant to get another 2011. The 2013 MPBs can't run Snow Leopard. I can get a 2012 at a decent price but haven't been able to find out if the 2012 will run Snow Leopard.
I don’t have an SSD in mine and I don’t have any particular slowness or stability issues with High Sierra. That’s not to say it wouldn’t be an improvement.
If it ain’t broke...
Trust me, it will feel like it had always been broke before the SSD. It is soooo worth it.
+1. I’ve got an external SSD hooked up via USB, I’ve timed a few things and it running around 8-10 times faster than my internal HD.
If you have a big enough hard drive to lose ~60gb, you can partition the drive and install a new os on the partition, and keep your old system. Then you can keep a system that runs reliably with older programs and hardware- something especially interesting to musicians that don’t want to buy all new stuff every couple years.
Eventually you’ll have problems getting a web browser to work right, on an old os, but I usually use the newer os for internet stuff, and use the old os to remain productive with older programs. Planned obsolescence is a screw, hardware has outpaced many people’s need for better systems, the only way to get them to buy new stuff is to get the old stuff to work worse and worse with each update.
My Mac Mini 2012 is actually running really great I have one partition on Mojave and another on Catalina, plus a third I don’t use on Mountain Lion. I got it earlier this year and putting the SSD in it was the best thing I’ve done to it. You need to do that one way or another. I upgraded the RAM from 8GB to 16GB, but probably didn’t really need to.
2 things.
1. Flipping it over, twisting off the back, and putting in more RAM is needed immediately. It’s almost as easy as resetting NVRAM. It takes up to 16GB but you can get 8GB pretty cheap there are only two slots so get them in a pair
2. You should get an SSD. 2012 Mac Minis are currently not listed as Vintage, so you might be able to get an Apple Store/Authorized Service Provider to upgrade to an SSD though the apple one looks like 256GB. I did an unauthorized modification easily it’s just SATA and easy to put in yourself. You need a couple torx screwdrivers, something non conductive to take out a ribbon cable, and an anti static wristband. My Apple Hardware Test doesn’t run after doing that.
2.5. Maybe you can just find a Thunderbolt SSD drive and install your MacOS on that, it should be fast enough.
Just make sure to do a Time Machine backup so you can roll it back or even make two partitions. Also, El Capitan is no longer available for anyone who can update past it. So, unless you make your time machine backup, or have a bootable installer for it, you won’t get it back.
Go to About this Mac and then System Report to get into System Information. Go down to Software and choose Applications. Check the 32 bit app category, none of these will work on 10.15 Catalina. If you are on Mojave already it’s under Legacy Software as well below Applications.
I'm running Catalina on my Late 2012 Mac Mini w/o any problems. It has 16GB of RAM (max amount for this model) and an SSD drive, which makes a big difference. Of course, it's not as fast as the latest mac models but fast enough for everyday use
Adding more memory is super easy. Swapping the drive is harder but still not very hard if you know how to do it or have a good manual.
I bought the following kit for adding one more internal drive (I kept the original HDD and just added an SSD drive): https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/ I highly recommend it. They also offer similar upgrade options for other models
With my MacBook Pro 13" (Mid 2012, i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD) I made the best experiences under High Sierra. I still regret my update to Mojave till today (because of regular Bluetooth problems, which Apple hasn't fixed yet).
@yug, yes, of course I considered those upgrades as well. But before I do that and void my warranty, and the whole Mac probably will be "deprecated" next year anyway (I'm already getting warnings about it when starting Xcode etc.), I'll probably just try to somehow justify the expense of $700 for the cheapest current Mac Mini with my inner self
(it must also be said that my Windows 7 laptop from 2012, which has roughly the same hardware, still runs at light speed and an upgrade to Windows 10 would probably make it actually faster instead of slower, so maybe Apple needs to do some optimization there in general
)
I would vote High Sierra for the on topic question. I believe it is still getting security patches and the newer features aren’t killer unless you are deep into the Apple ecosystem with multiple devices.
@SevenSystems You should look into an OWC (or equivalent in your market) SSD upgrade. I still get good service out of a MacBook Pro 2011 with 512 ssd and 16gb memory upgrades that I did myself. That was an easier upgrade than yours, but if you are careful it is mid difficulty. Check the videos out and be careful with the connectors.
(No one should run a spinning disc Mac, imho.)
My development machine is now a 2015 13inch MacBook Pro. 2015 was a good year before the butterfly switch dark times if you are looking on the used market. Those prices should come down as the new 16inch and next years laptops roll out. 2015 MacBooks storage can even be upgraded to 2TB (but stick to 16gb models since that can’t be changed) so a nice vintage. 🙂