Buying a Used Macbook

JayMaster said:
3 years ago, I got a Mid 2012 MBP for like 7k on gumtree.
I took out the HDD that came with it and put 1tb Crucial SSD and also took out the 6gb rams sticks and put in two crucial 8GB = Total Ram 16GB.

Let me tell you that thing is fast!!! I have no problems whats so ever. Upgraded the MacOS to the latest still its a beast.
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thats awesome about MBP that you can do that
my Air is non upgradable with RAM so im stuck on 4GB and the cost of a SSD upgrade makes me cry as it uses the expensive thin long drives and not a standard 2.5" drive

On the plus side my laptop is still as fast and reliable as the day i bought it 7 years ago. Thats why i love MAC
 
greg0205 said:
Indeed.

But you know what works for me 'tho?

After all of these years, my mind is mapped in MacOS and IOS. Everything in it's place... Keystrokes, gestures on my trackpad, spotlight, handoff, syncing, Siri, and I absolutely love the Touch Bar, 'tho I'll admit it was a... novelty... at first.

I find Windows machines clunky. I find them slow. The OS is disjointed. Their screens are dull, and why with the off-set from centre trackpads? Why?
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As I said in a previous post, I'm not saying the novelty wears off for everyone. I do see it though within the circles of people I know.
I'm fine with any good technology.
My personal working experience has mainly been Windows and Linux systems so far.
I did a Teamviewer session yesterday to a MBP and it was quite a mission to get the session up and running (clean Teamviewer install).
I'm not happy with Apples decisions on some things as well, like iTunes Music on a phone, android or IOS that can only be cancelled by the actual iTunes software on a PC/Mac device.
I know someone that has been paying over 6 months for iTunes and the person couldn't cancel the subscription (due to technical knowledge about it.).
Spotify and GPM makes it possible to cancel within App.
It's just little things of Apple devices that get me going.
Yes, I agree. Windows gave me my share of headaches. I still would be without work and my knowledge in general IT without Microsoft.
I'm derailing at this stage, apologies.
I just wanted to mention my opinion on the novelty. I didn't intend on creating any hostility in the thread.
 
Papa Smurf said:
thats awesome about MBP that you can do that
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The very old MBP's yes. Anything 2013 and newer have their RAM soldered to the motherboard. From 2015 they soldered the SSD's as well. There's no DIY upgrade path with the MBP anymore.

I had to wait 2 months for mine, as I ordered my MBP with 32GB of RAM. The most you can buy at the iStore and the likes is 16GB.
 
|tera| said:
As I said in a previous post, I'm not saying the novelty wears off for everyone. I do see it though within the circles of people I know.
I'm fine with any good technology.
My personal working experience has mainly been Windows and Linux systems so far.
I did a Teamviewer session yesterday to a MBP and it was quite a mission to get the session up and running (clean Teamviewer install).
I'm not happy with Apples decisions on some things as well, like iTunes Music on a phone, android or IOS that can only be cancelled by the actual iTunes software on a PC/Mac device.
I know someone that has been paying over 6 months for iTunes and the person couldn't cancel the subscription (due to technical knowledge about it.).
Spotify and GPM makes it possible to cancel within App.
It's just little things of Apple devices that get me going.
Yes, I agree. Windows gave me my share of headaches. I still would be without work and my knowledge in general IT without Microsoft.
I'm derailing at this stage, apologies.
I just wanted to mention my opinion on the novelty. I didn't intend on creating any hostility in the thread.
Click to expand...

Did OP even mention "novelty" or is this just you going off on one? I personally am not looking for novelty in a computer, I want a workhorse. OP mentioned lectures coding and video editing, Mac is a good choice.
 
genetic said:
The very old MBP's yes. Anything 2013 and newer have their RAM soldered to the motherboard. From 2015 they soldered the SSD's as well. There's no DIY upgrade path with the MBP anymore.

I had to wait 2 months for mine, as I ordered my MBP with 32GB of RAM. The most you can buy at the iStore and the likes is 16GB.
Click to expand...

Crying shame this tbh. The new systems cannot be called "Pro" due to this IMO.
 
Shahil said:
Ideally I would like to pick up a second hand MBA for around 10k. I don't think my use case requires a feature heavy machine. This being said, I don't mind spending double that if its worth it.
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I got a second hand one in December (Air). Absolutely no issues with it. It is an awesome work horse and the battery life is just insane. I would suggest getting a spare magsafe and battery if you can. Also, watch out with the speakers. Using VLC at 200% volume can blow them quite easily.
 
SlinkyMike said:
Did OP even mention "novelty" or is this just you going off on one? I personally am not looking for novelty in a computer, I want a workhorse. OP mentioned lectures coding and video editing, Mac is a good choice.
Click to expand...
Did the OP mention choking on an Apple?. Nope, but it could happen.
Since when does every sentence in a thread or opinions given need to conform to the style of the OP? Are we robots? Don't we have opinions?
Anyway. I don't want an emotional Apple conversation.
 
Your use case doesn't favour OSX over Windows, but it's worth considering that the repairability of Macbooks are typically lower than that of Windows laptops. The reliability isn't really better and they have their own problems.

That said, the repairability of any decent MBA competitor will also be very low.

I personally wouldn't buy a used laptop with soldered on components.

Also remember that it is insincere to compare a cheap 2011 windows laptop to a more expensive 2011 MBP. MBPs only seem to "last longer" because they are compared to much cheaper machines.
My 2010 Dell is still very capable today, and I still use it for light photoshop work. It was cheaper and considerably faster than a 2011 MBP.

For any used laptop, I would google for common issues with that model, like does it have a butterfly keyboard for example.
 
SlinkyMike said:
Crying shame this tbh. The new systems cannot be called "Pro" due to this IMO.
Click to expand...

There are other reasons why the MBP's aren't what they used to be.

Let me just spit it right out: two of the three allegedly “Pro” 13” MacBook models that Apple just updated have a grand total of two ports. You read that right: two ports. But it gets even better: one of them is for power. Which basically means that Apple’s new MacBook “Pro” has essentially one port.
Click to expand...

www.forbes.com

The Unforgivable Sin Apple Committed with The 2020 MacBook Pro

This one's getting returned.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
My 2011 MBP (bought new in 2011) lasted me 7 years. (Upgraded the RAM twice, added a 512GB, then a 1TB SSD...)

Got the 2018 MBP in 2018 (with the mistake of only choosing 16GB of RAM) and got rid of it last year.

Now I'm on the 2019 MBP, and doubt this will last me longer than 3 years or so, because there is no option to upgrade.

Planned obsolescence.
 
greg0205 said:
Indeed.

But you know what works for me 'tho?

After all of these years, my mind is mapped in MacOS and IOS. Everything in it's place... Keystrokes, gestures on my trackpad, spotlight, handoff, syncing, Siri, and I absolutely love the Touch Bar, 'tho I'll admit it was a... novelty... at first.

I find Windows machines clunky. I find them slow. The OS is disjointed. Their screens are dull, and why with the off-set from centre trackpads? Why?
Click to expand...

It is difficult to compare Macbooks to "Windows machines" as there are so many varieties.

For example, comparing the similarly priced new Dell XPS 13 to the MBA, the current MBA just looks outdated and chunky, and the two are closely matched in all aspects except for audio, which the MBA wins. The Dell display is also HDR and matches oor exceeds the brightness of the MBA.

The off-center trackpads are usually for machines with numpads, not my preference, but at least "Windows machines" have options.

So yeah, blanket statements such as Macs are better than windows machines are just silly.
 
I'd just say do not buy anything with a butterfly keyboard - sure you get replacements for 4 years as of last year i think but once that's done you're stuck with something that nobody will touch

So basically that limits you to 2015 or below or 2019 16" or 2020+ as far as I'm aware.

I've got a 16" pro 2019 and the keyboard isnt as responsive as my old 2015 but nothings died yet.
 
Barbarian Conan said:
It is difficult to compare Macbooks to "Windows machines" as there are so many varieties.

For example, comparing the similarly priced new Dell XPS 13 to the MBA, the current MBA just looks outdated and chunky, and the two are closely matched in all aspects except for audio, which the MBA wins. The Dell display is also HDR and matches oor exceeds the brightness of the MBA.

The off-center trackpads are usually for machines with numpads, not my preference, but at least "Windows machines" have options.

So yeah, blanket statements such as Macs are better than windows machines are just silly.
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I imagine you read my post, which was specific to my own experience and starts with, 'But you know what works for me 'tho?', as a blanket statement.

I also imagine you think comparisons to Windows machines in a thread called, "Buying a Used Macbook", that the OP starts with the sentence, "I am in the market for a Macbook" are on-topic.
 
|tera| said:
Did the OP mention choking on an Apple?. Nope, but it could happen.
Since when does every sentence in a thread or opinions given need to conform to the style of the OP? Are we robots? Don't we have opinions?
Anyway. I don't want an emotional Apple conversation.
Click to expand...

I really think you need to get some fresh air. Take a little walk or something, you are creating issues that do not exist. Take it easy.
 
Shahil said:
I am in the market for a Macbook. When speaking to people that use these, they love the longevity and simplicity of these.

Instead of getting a new one, I was contemplating buying a used one. There are some good suppliers (including the iStore itself) and these come tested and with limited warranties. It may be a great way to save thousands.

Do you have any suggestions what to look at when considering this purchase?

I guess the most important thing to consider is how old the laptop is. It would seem a good idea to stick to an 8th Gen processor and upwards. However, I have heard that the older processors and STILL going strong even though it's a decade old.

So what are the actual important things to consider?
What should I look for in terms of features?
What is an essential to consider with Macbooks?
What model year should be the furthest back I look at? Is this different for the MBA and MBP?

USE CASE: Will be used for watching lectures, doing assignments primarily in Word/Excel, simple video editing, and doing some simple coding.
Click to expand...

I cannot speak for the new Macbooks as it has been mentioned over and over how non upgradable they are. I used to use windows machines till my favourite Dell died on me. So I opted to try a Macbook and never looked back. I could only get a 2nd hand early 2011 macbook pro so sadly non retina but its plugged into an external screen so i survive and the pluses far outweigh the negatives. Replaced slow HD with a 512GB SSD and upgraded ram to 16GB shortly after I got this machine. Best upgrade ever. It has lasted me the past 3 to 4yrs and only downside now is the battery needs replacing. Yet to find a decent 2nd hand battery "seller".

It's upgradability is what also has me not even bothering at newer Macs and given a choice between windows and Macs i'd go Mac OS anyday. I'm not as young as before to have the energy to chase viruses down.

Advice: If you buy new invest abit more into a big HD - Unless you can manage the cloud life. Also make sure the ram is sufficient as upgrading later is not an option. If you buy 2nd hand look at the battery and cycle count when looking at its condition. Take a look at the Retina ones around 2012 i.e Mid 2012. Screen is important as you'll be looking at it if not plugged to an external monitor. The old models also give you more ports that newer ones don't have.

Plus: you can also run windows alongside Mac OS either via parallels as a VM or even boot into a windows partition on the same machine if you like. Works perfect on my end when I need to use Windows 10 for some odd reason.
 
Datura said:
I got a second hand one in December (Air). Absolutely no issues with it. It is an awesome work horse and the battery life is just insane. I would suggest getting a spare magsafe and battery if you can. Also, watch out with the speakers. Using VLC at 200% volume can blow them quite easily.
Click to expand...

You can't swap the battery out on any recent Air.
 
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