I recommend using it as a last resort because hardware compatibility issues can be a headache to deal with. The supported models page shows that there are issues with the model you mentioned. If there were no issues i'd recommend trying it. (someone on youtube did try it with a 2009 model: youtu.be/ZBJympwkheM but it doesn't really seem to be usable imo)

If you never tried linux it might not be a fit then. A new machine is by far the easiest option.