Hi everyone,

First time back on Ubuntu Forums in quite awhile. Have tried posting this question to macrumors, and done a bit of googling, to no avail. Hoping someone on these forums is knowledgeable in this area.

I have a Mid-2009 Macbook Pro 13" with an Intel Core2 Duo processor. Early on, I upgraded from 4 to 8 GB of DDR3, and the SSD is stock. It's the best computer I've ever had, and everything still works great.

If possible, I would like to upgrade the logic board on my computer, with the goal of getting a modern processor (ivy bridge if possible) and graphics card installed on my otherwise-modern computer (ok I still won't have USB 3.0 or thunerbolt, but that's ok).

This idea was put into my head by iFixit, who offer logic board replacements for unibody MBPs. I have done a fair amount of reading, and while many people say no, and some people say yes, I have no found detailed or definitive answers. I have also searched these forums to no avail.

Many have pointed out that the model number on 13" MBPs wasn't changed for several years (until the new retina display model I believe), as a way of saying compatibility is very close. The negative side of the argument usually mentions the prohibitive cost, complexity of labor, and convenience of just buying a new laptop.

When new this computer was over $2,400, and now is worth about $500. If I could spend $6-800 on a new logic board from iFixit or similar, I believe it would be well worth it and I would save money over a similarly-spec'd new model MBP (about $2,000).

If this is not possible: why?

If this is possible: has anyone done this before? what is the newest logic board which is compatible, and which processors/graphics cards are available?