MacBook Pro 17-Inch A1297 2010-Model, Decent Condition, Great Screen

I absolutely love this screen! However, I bought it for Zoom meetings, with perhaps 40 participants. As a warning, the Intel i5 can only display 25 screens. Watching videos, the little bit of extra height and width just draws you in. You don't see the screen borders so clearly in your peripheral vision and instead absorb the image far more.

That said, I hate the complication of having more than one computer, so this o e has to go. I carried out some upgrades when I got this some months ago. HDD - The hard drive was swapped for a 1TB hybrid drive, also known as an SSHD.

OS - I managed to get Catalina on it, a big improvement over the High Sierra it started with. RAM - I found a tech issue with the machine that caused random crashes. It turned out to be a dodgy RAM stick. I made a few efforts to double the RAM from 4 to 8GB but never got that to stick, if youll excuse the pun. One shop thought that a single 8GB stick would play nice with the 4GB that was already in there, but it only led to more crashes.

Took that out and managed with just the original 4GB. CASE - I wanted to tidy up the appearance of the machine too, so I bought some stick-on feet.

They are now in place and the bottom view is now presentable. Comes with an original mains charger only (no boxes), which has its issues but is still working if you bend the tip the right way. So, why do you want an A1297? For the up-to-date hardware, the beguiling colour or the portability?

NONE OF THE ABOVE, RIGHT? That screen is a marvel, the machine is enormously upgradeable, and it can be had for three figures, not four. Most of all, if you look after it, it will look after you and retain its value, so you can sell it on in a few years for more or less what you paid for it! The 3 USB ports combine with the other ports to make this a marvel of interconnection options (the PC Card slot adds yet more options too). Most most of all is that screen. The touchpad is a little unreliable, failing sometimes to respond to clicks. I got round this by setting up the touchpad to respond to taps, so I had no need to activate the switch. It seems this is a problem that shows up sometimes and comes down to old touchpads getting a bit clogged up. Easy to fix, it seems (your mileage may vary) - take the back of the case off (8 screws), then remove the battery (3 screws and a connector) and the touchpad is right there in front of you.

Take it off, clean it, replace everything, and Bobs your uncle. It is very easy to work on these things. So, either do what I did or get it sorted, in all likelihood, for free. One last thing - if you want raw grunt, you will see many people choosing the 2011 Macbooks.

Yes they have faster processors and more RAM, but they go toes-up fairly regularly and need specialised help to stop the whole machine from ending up on the scrapheap. I had a 2011 machine for a few years, and it had to go off to the menders about every year. A design fault related to the AMD graphics cards sink them and there is no easy cure, so I suggest you avoid the 2011 machines unless you cannot live without the extra oomph. 2010 machines, like this one, are immune.

OK, that tells you more or less everything you need to know, and a bit more besides. Ask any questions you need to. The MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.53 17-Inch (Mid-2010) is powered by a 32 nm, dual-core 2.53 GHz Intel "Core i5" I5-540M (Arrandale) processor, with dedicated 256k level 2 cache for each core and an 3 MB shared level 3 cache.

This system also supports "Turbo Boost" -- which "automatically boosts the processor speed based on workload" up to 3.06 GHz for this model -- and "Hyper Threading" -- which allows the system to recognise four "virtual cores" or threads. By default, it is configured with 4 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500) installed in pairs (two 2 GB modules), a 500 GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM) hard drive, an 8X DL "SuperDrive", and dual graphics processors -- a NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory and Intel HD Graphics with 256 MB of RAM shared with the system -- that Mac OS X automatically switches between for better graphics performance and better battery life, respectively, depending on application use.

Connectivity includes AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a Firewire "800" port, three USB 2.0 ports, optical digital/analog audio in/out, a "Mini DisplayPort" that supports an external display at 2560x1600 (it also passes an audio signal), and an ExpressCard/34 slot. Lacks an SD card slot.

This model uses a "Unibody" aluminum case design -- milled from a single piece of aluminum -- and has a backlit keyboard, a new "no button" glass "inertial" multi-touch trackpad, and a non-swappable battery design that provides up to 8-9 hours of battery life. This model has a very similar external enclosure, but an enhanced trackpad, and the same connectivity, except for the enhanced audio passing Mini DisplayPort.

Internally, however, it has a substantially different architecture with a faster "Core i5" processor and faster graphics as well, although it shares the same memory. Battery life is improved too. The item "MacBook Pro 17-Inch A1297 2010-Model, Decent Condition, Great Screen" is in sale since Monday, November 2, 2020. This item is in the category "Computers/Tablets & Networking\Laptops & Netbooks\Apple Laptops". The seller is "ken6392" and is located in Neasden, London. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Antigua and barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Bahrain, Canada, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Dominica, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Kuwait, Philippines, Qatar, Uruguay.

Screen Size: 17 in
Release Year: 2010
Item Height: 0.98"
Brand: Apple
Model: MacBook Pro (Unibody)
Type: Laptop
Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet
Unit Type: Unit
Colour: Silver
Unit Quantity: 1
Manufacturer Warranty: None
Storage Type: SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive)
Processor: Intel Core i5 1st Gen.
Operating System: Mac OSX Catalina
Item Width: 10.51"
Maximum Resolution: 1920 x 1200
RAM Size: 4 GB
Country/Region of Manufacture: China
SSD Capacity: 8 GB
Features: Bluetooth
Hard Drive Capacity: 1 TB
Custom Bundle: No
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Item Length: 15.47"
Most Suitable For: Casual Computing
Series: MacBook Pro
Manufacturer Colour: Silver
Graphics Processing Type: Integrated/On-Board Graphics
Item Weight: 6.6lbs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
MPN: MC024LL/A