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daniel raine
Courses Plus Student 2,215 Pointsadvice on buying a mac?
hey there everyone, a little advice needed
I am looking to buy a macbook pro but don't fancy forking out for a brand new one at this point in time. ive found a refurbished one from a third party shop which still comes with a year warranty. The thing is its a 2011 model and still £900 but the specs look good to me. is it worth getting a 3 year old model or will it be obsolete before i get my moneys worth.
Product Specification
Processor Type: Intel Core i7 Quad Core
Processor Speed: 2.2GHz
RAM Size: 16GB
Hard Drive Size: 750GB
Hard Drive Type: SATA
Optical Drive: SuperDrive DVD+/-RW
Operating System: Mac OS X
Card Reader: SD Card Slot
Display Type: LED Backlit Anti Glare Screen
Display Size: 15.4"
Display Resolution: 1440 x 900
Graphics Memory: AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5
Ports: USB 2.0 x 2, Firewire x 1
Webcam: Integrated FaceTime Webcam
Wired Networking: Ethernet
Wireless Networking: WLAN 802.11bg
Other Features: Bluetooth 1 year warranty, US Keyboard
thanks in advance Dan
daniel raine
Courses Plus Student 2,215 Pointsi haved looked buying new and they only do a 13' MBP now which is a bit small, i feel once, that just leaves RMBP machines and once you get it to a decent spec its way out of my budget! ive read most people have nothing but good things about refurbished macs. Thanks for your advice its very much appreciated
3 Answers
Zachary Dalzell
3,236 PointsThe last MBP (non-retina) that was released was the mid-2012. (this may only apply to 13', not 100% sure about 15') You'll be solid with the 2011. My last MB last me for 5 years (2008-2013). I picked my current one up this year. You'll get your moneys worth, don't worry. A 15' at that size with 16gb of ram and that processor is a sick deal. Take it.
You can also pull out your optical bay super easily and throw in a SSD if you like the speed of those. I did it to add more room to and to boot from it.
daniel raine
Courses Plus Student 2,215 PointsThanks man, appreciated.
Wayne Priestley
19,579 PointsHi Daniel,
You'll have no worries at all with a 3 yr old macbook pro with regards it being obsolete, I've got a 7yr old macbook pro thats still running sweet with all the latest software. Take Zachary's advice about the ssd and you'll enjoy a lightning fast machine for many years, especially with 16gb ram, id grab it if i were you.
Sergio Slansky
22,291 PointsDan -
Given the specs this macbook pro is not bad, the only worry would be the graphics card and staying away from video editing. For Adobe, Photoshop is the hog and you might see some delay running it but not from Illustrator or Indesign.
In reality $900 is still quite a lot of money for a 3 year old laptop that you would have to worry what has been done on it, how was it treated, etc.
Like Wayne and Zachary said, if you decide this is the machine for you at the time an ssd is a must. I just upgraded from a 2012 "13 MBP to a new "15 MBP Retina and wow I highly recommend! My bank account took a 3k hit but worth it.
Invest in yourself - best of luck!
agreatdaytocode
24,757 Pointsagreatdaytocode
24,757 PointsDan. I always buy new, but I have looked into refurbished MacBooks, which are a good deal too. However, buying any computer 3 years old is not worth it in my opinion. I say do yourself a favor and get a new one.