CheckMag | Age before beauty: Why a decade-old laptop is more than enough
As a tech reviewer and writer, the lion's share of my job is to stay on top of the latest technology and equipment, particularly in the laptop/notebook computer space. It surprises many to learn, then, that my primary personal laptop is over 10 years old. Not only that, but my other notebooks are almost as old, but they all serve my needs as well as any modern machine. While it is mighty tempting to snag the shiniest new machine once it leaves the show floor at CES, I've found that even a decade-old computer works just fine for me. I would also bet good money that an older laptop can work for you as well. Hear me out.
New is not always better
Over the past 15 or so years, laptop design has dramatically shifted. As chip technology improves, notebook computers have become thinner, lighter, and more powerful. However, there have been quite a few cuts along the way. Compare the latest MacBook Air to the now 11-year-old Dell Latitude E6430 (which is my personal machine). At first glance, the MacBook Air blows the Latitude out of the water. It's significantly more powerful while using a fraction of the power the Latitude drains, it's thinner and lighter than Dell's clunky dinosaur, it has a better display, and it lasts ages and ages on a single charge. But there are some drawbacks when we look past the MacBook Air's adonic surface.
The MacBook Air has only two ports. They are Thunderbolt 3 ports (USB4 on newer MacBook Airs), but you only get two. On the (admittedly rare) occasion you need to charge Apple's prince, your port options are cut in half and severely limited. Unless you don't mind living that dongle life (and Apple has conditioned many of us to this new paradigm), the MacBook Air mimics a narcissistic ex-boyfriend: it just isn't made for connection.
Compare that to the Dell Latitude E6430. Despite it being 11 years old, it still supports modern interfaces with two USB-A 3.0 (5 Gbps) ports, an extra USB 2.0 port (best paired with an external mouse), and an eSATA port (which can serve as a fourth USB port). Additionally, the Latitude has an ExpressCard slot which can be fit with a card stuffed with more ports for less than the price of a dongle. There's also a VGA port (outmoded, sure, but still useful for the odd projector in a hotel conference room) and HDMI port, allowing the Latitude to connect to two external displays while still allowing the use of the internal screen. Lastly, an embedded Gigabit LAN port connects to the Internet with more stability than WiFi, which the Latitude also has. All this comes at a price less than a quarter of the MacBook Air's (we'll talk about pricing later on).
I'm not naive; I understand that the MacBook Air's Thunderbolt 3 ports are extremely fast, versatile, and (in most ways) the superior option. But how often does the average person need the full bandwidth of Thunderbolt 3 or USB4? It's likely the Latitude E6430 can connect to the same or similar peripherals (e.g., a FHD monitor, external hard drives, a mouse) that most people use with the MacBook Air. My point is not that the Latitude is superior in this regard (although, in some situations, it is); rather, my argument is that the Latitude can easily offer a similar experience to the MacBook Air, and likely at a lower cost.
Other benefits of older laptops
The benefits continue in other areas: the Latitude E6430's components can be fully upgraded, including the CPU. In fact, I swapped out the dual-core Core i5-3340M to a quad-core Core i7-3740QM, dramatically boosting its performance, for about $35. Both RAM SODIMMs, the hard drive, the wireless card, and more are all upgradeable. Better year, other parts like the keyboard, display, battery, and case are all easily swappable. For example, I changed out the standard keyboard for a backlit one, and all it cost me was about $15 and 7 minutes. When the battery dies, I have a spare I bought for $20 that takes seconds to swap in. For comparison, nothing on the MacBook Air can be upgraded by end users (so you might be stuck with that paltry 8 GB of RAM forever, even though Apple claims it's enough), and items like the keyboard, screen, or battery are difficult and expensive to replace. Accessories for older machines, particularly docks for business machines, are plentiful and cheap on sites like Amazon and eBay.
There are a fair few other benefits to older laptops. The build quality of older business-class laptops, like Dell's Latitude line or Lenovo's ThinkPads, is typically significantly higher than a new laptop at a similar price point. This goes for team Mac as well; older MacBook Pros (like the 2012 MacBook Pro 15) and MacBook Airs are beautifully constructed machines, and non-Retina MacBook Pros have easily upgradeable RAM, storage, batteries, and adapters for the disc drive.
There is a hidden benefit as well (that is admittedly of varying value to different people). Damaging a brand new $1000+ laptop is a point of stress I never want to know, but it's a real risk. However, should something happen to a used $200 laptop, there's less to worry about. Not only are repairs cheaper, but scrapping the entire machine and buying a "new" old laptop is an easier pill to swallow.
Lastly, the most environmentally-conscious laptop one can buy is a computer that already exists. Giving an older laptop a second life saves that machine from the landfill and has none of the carbon cost of manufacturing a new notebook.
Downsides to older laptops
I feel that I need to balance the scales a bit. I've waxed poetic about older laptops for hundreds of words, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There are obviously some downsides to using older notebooks, and some of them may be dealbreakers.
The primary problem with older laptops is one that plagues all old tech: support. Older laptops may not be able to run the latest software, and this can be a major road block for some. For example, my Dell Latitude E6430 is stuck on Windows 10, which Microsoft intends to sunset soon. My MacBook Pro 2012 stopped getting updates after macOS 10.14, and my 2014 MacBook Air won't see anything past macOS 11 (at least, not without some tinkering I detail below).
Secondly, while older hardware may offer similar everyday performance to new silicon, it is nowhere near as efficient. This affects not only power draw, but heat output and battery life. My Latitude E6430 runs for roughly 5-6 hours under light load, even with an extended battery. It's a similar story with my 2012 MacBook Pro. While this can get me through an afternoon, it's anemic compared to the M3 MacBook Air's 15-hour+ runtime. While the displays in my laptops are usable, they are low resolution and comparatively low quality. Gaming is practically a no-go outside of light 2D games or 3D games that are far older than the laptops.
Despite these setbacks, the low cost of an older laptop is still an attractive draw. Also, there are some tweaks and tricks that make older machines significantly more useful.
* ... smaller is better
| Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1, M1 7-Core GPU, 49.9 Wh | Dell Latitude E6430 3320M, HD Graphics 4000, 62 Wh | Apple MacBook Pro 13 Mid 2012 3210M, HD Graphics 4000, 64 Wh | Apple MacBook Air 13 MD761D/B 2014-06 4260U, HD Graphics 5000, 54 Wh | Average of class Subnotebook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery runtime | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 (h) | 16 | 13.2 ? | |||
| WiFi (h) | 5.6 | 6.1 | 8.6 |
Breathing life into dead software: Linux and OpenCore Legacy Patcher for Mac
As mentioned, the thing that kills old tech is the loss of support. Most of my old laptops have fallen victim to this; my Latitude E6430 is stuck on Windows 10, my 2012 MacBook Pro is stuck on macOS 10.14, and my 2014 MacBook Air is stuck on macOS 11. However, there are some workarounds for those willing to get their digital hands dirty.
For Windows machines (like my Dell), there are scripts and tools that can install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware relatively easily. Considering the Latitude E6430's reasonably powerful 8-threaded CPU and upgradeable RAM (I currently have 8 GB installed), the experience is smooth and a fair bit better than newer budget laptops. This option will keep the Latitude up to date and on the latest versions of software (like web browsers) for years to come.
For older MacBooks, the OpenCore Legacy Patcher supports machines as old as the 2008 MacBook. It's a simple Mac-style app that patches the macOS installer and allows users to install up to macOS 14 (as of this writing). There are some issues; MacBooks that don't support Metal need an additional patch to work properly, and some tools (like Continuity Camera) may never work. In my experience, both my 2012 MacBook Pro 15 and 2014 MacBook Air are running macOS 14 smoothly with almost all features intact. Safari is up to date, iMessage and FaceTime work flawlessly, and they can install any current macOS app.
The best option in my experience, and the one I would recommend, is Linux. This is particularly pertinent for older Windows computers (and even modern Windows machines), as Windows 11 is particularly resource heavy. The software freedom discussion aside, most Linux distros tend to be noticeably lighter than either Windows 10 or 11 and can run on ancient or weak hardware. Most laptops with a dual-core processor and 4 or more GB of RAM can easily run the latest versions of Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Arch, Manjaro, or Fedora quite well. There are lighter options available as well, including Void Linux (which runs on my Latitude E6430), Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Lite, and so on down to the insanely small Puppy Linux (which has a total install size of around 500 MB, making it possible to run the entire system in RAM).
Linux is not the complicated boogeyman it once was; most distros are simple and straightforward to run. For example, Linux Mint includes a software center similar to macOS's App Store and the Microsoft Store on Windows. Desktop environments like Cinnamon (typically showcased in Mint) and Gnome (installed with Fedora and Ubuntu) are highly customizable and feature well-designed user interfaces that rival Windows 11 and macOS 14. Finally, there is an app on Linux to replace almost every piece of software on Windows and macOS. The best part is that you can try Linux out by creating a live USB and see if it's a good fit for your needs.
Conclusion: Don't discredit older laptops
Obviously, there are major advantages to buying a brand-new laptop. You'll have the latest hardware and software, and it will be supported by manufacturers and developers for years to come. However, don't count old laptops out. That aging notebook stuffed in your closet may have some nice features (and may fit your workflow better than a new machine), and with an afternoon's worth of work, an old laptop can be up and running the latest software and browsing the web securely.
A time is coming soon when I will finally have to sunset my 11-year-old Dell Latitude E6430, but today is not that day. Even my less powerful older laptops (namely my HP Stream 14 and Lenovo Chromebook 3) are competent machines I can work on quite comfortably. I should know; this review was written across all of my older laptops, and each one handled writing, photo editing, and communication without any issues.
Dust off that old laptop. It may be time to bring it out of retirement.
