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Hi there, What kind of upgrade i can do to my macbook pro late 2011 17’? I understand: Ssd, 16gb ram; Ssd instead of dvd; Bluetooth from 2.1 to 4.0 ? Other? It s very hot the transformer and the macbook base. Could you suggesting something to don’t have this problem? It s ok to force the upgrade to catalina?
You should stick with Sierra 10.12.x on this system. High Sierra and newer uses a newer file system APFS which has issues with SATA based systems like yours. Don’t even go with Catalina! Yes, you can upgrade to a SSD MacBook Pro 17" Unibody Hard Drive Replacement as well as upgrade the RAM to 16 GB MacBook Pro 17" Unibody RAM Replacement. I don’t recommend replacing the optical drive with a drive. SSD’s are much cheaper today than what we had back in 2011 and are much larger! Best to just get the size you need. Given the age of your system you should replace the battery as well [linked product missing or disabled: IF162-035-2] that should help keep the MagSafe charger from running as long. I would recommend making sure your charger is in good shape and the MagSafe connector is clean. Sadly, both your WiFi and Bluetooth services can’t be internally upgraded, you’ll need external dongles to offer newer services.
Tell us more about this heat issue. If you have not replaced the thermal paste do so. Also look for an oily type of stain on the logic board at the crimped end of the heat sink to posssibly diagnose a leaking heat sink. MacBook Pro 17" Unibody Heat Sink Replacement
How about using DOS-Dude patcher! I have 17” MacBook Pro early 2011 model, I disabled the GPU and installed Catalina, it runs really well. 32-bit apps are a problem though
There is a way to upgrade the WiFi to 802.11ac and Bluetooth to 4.2 on the unibody generation MacBook Pro’s! Check out this airport card upgrade if you are interested; it’s a one-man R&D project (hence the price), and currently out of stock due to high demand. I just wanted to share this so you know it is an option. He has a full page of documentation on the system requirements and the install process as well.
