Worth buying a referb 2012 MacBook Pro 13”?

[g335]

Hello is it worth buying a 13” MacBook Pro refurbished for 327.00 dollars?

It has 2.5 i5 processor and intel HD 4000 graphics.

 

know it’s not powerful enough for gaming or video editing but wondering if still good for music recording, guitar etc. 

[The Sloth]

nope, it will loose support OS update soon and the performance is passable at best.  You can get a used thinkpad like x260 or a Chromebook. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

On 1/8/2020 at 1:43 AM, nerdslayer1 said:

nope, it will loose support OS update soon and the performance is passable at best.  You can get a used thinkpad like x260 or a Chromebook. 

you cannot possibly know if it's gonna lose support, the new OS hasn't been announced yet. 

 

a Chromebook isn't useful for the OP. 

 

facepalm

 

 

On 1/8/2020 at 1:34 AM, g335 said:

Hello is it worth buying a 13” MacBook Pro refurbished for 327.00 dollars?

It has 2.5 i5 processor and intel HD 4000 graphics.

 

know it’s not powerful enough for gaming or video editing but wondering if still good for music recording, guitar etc. 

I have one, and they are great little machines. 

 

you can upgrade the ram (I recommend doing that, put 8gb in, it will feel a lot faster than the stock 4gb) and the hdd, I recommend putting a cheap ssd in it. 

 

you can actually edit 1080p video just fine in iMovie. only rendering is a bit slow. 

music recording should be fine too. I don't now about guitar but I mess around with software instruments in GarageBand sometimes using a Yamaha keyboard as a midi-controller and that works fine. 

 

US$327 is actually a great price if it's in good condition. 

[rx590overclocker]

I would get a newer laptop with an i5 and an ssd

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

9 minutes ago, rx590overclocker said:

I would get a newer laptop with an i5 and an ssd

ugh, if the OP is asking about buying a specific model of MacBook they are obviously not looking for a Windows machine. 

[rx590overclocker]

2 minutes ago, Twilight said:

ugh, if the OP is asking about buying a specific model of MacBook they are obviously not looking for a Windows machine. 

I apologize, but I am a loyal windows user, and therfore, I am physically incapable of recommending an apple machine.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

Just now, rx590overclocker said:

I apologize, but I am a loyal windows user, and therfore, I am physically incapable of recommending an apple machine.

then don't reply. you aren't helping the OP who is obviously looking for some kind of Mac. otherwise they would have phrased their question in a different way. 

[rx590overclocker]

On 1/7/2020 at 7:43 PM, nerdslayer1 said:

nope, it will loose support OS update soon and the performance is passable at best.  You can get a used thinkpad like x260 or a Chromebook. 

I'm not the only one

[Zando_]

For that much... eeeeh. Should be closer to $250 or so now. They're solid machines if you don't mind the lower screen res, and don't need more than a dual core can offer. Mine has been damned reliable, only ever had issues trying to run it with a 1080p ultrawide (2560x1080 is not a resolution that really existed at the time they were made so the thing gets really bamboozled if I use software to force it to run that). With an SSD and 8-16GB RAM they're quite snappy, and like @Twilight pointed out, they can edit video as well. Even full on big stuff if you use FCP X, which is damn well optimized. Render times will be slow but it is able to do it (even 1st gen MacBooks with Core M CPUs can edit 4K in FCP X). 

Also they have actual ports, main ones being a full on ethernet jack, SD card reader, and 2 Type A USBs. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

13 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

For that much... eeeeh. Should be closer to $250 or so now.

Looking at the used market where i live you can’t get a working one for that price, nevermind a professionally refurbished one... i guess USA is just cheaper with used apple stuff. 

[Zando_]

6 minutes ago, Twilight said:

Looking at the used market where i live you can’t get a working one for that price, nevermind a professionally refurbished one... i guess USA is just cheaper with used apple stuff. 

Usually is. They've been going on eBay for around $220-270, average closer to $235-250 or so. Mid-2012 13" MBPs, a lot of them with a 1TB drive and 16GB RAM swapped in. 

[Sousuke]

The current version of OSX (Catalina) supports 2012 MacBook Pro's and higher which they've put as the minimum since Mojave so I would say that it will probably be dropped when 10.16 in released however, I still have a system I use on 10.11 (El Capitan) and software support for that is still quite good regarding this, Apple usually supports an OS for around 3 years after release so security isn't bad either (Not usually a major concern for Unix based machines). 

 

To be 100% honest with you if this is going to be a second machine then go for it, but if its going to be your main computer, I'd get something a bit more modern such as a 2015 model (Pre-Butterfly Keyboard Models). 

[The Sloth]

10 hours ago, Twilight said:

you cannot possibly know if it's gonna lose support, the new OS hasn't been announced yet. 

 

Considering apple has shit software support in the mac end, 2011 macs lost support so its logical to assume 2012/ 2013 macs will soon, in a few years. 

 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Twilight said:

a Chromebook isn't useful for the OP. 

 

Android apps can record/ make music, i am assuming OP is not a pro. 

 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Twilight said:

I have one, and they are great little machines. 

 

 

facepalm

 

 

They work decently at best, i wouldn't call it passable, especially for something over 300$. My old X230 preforms better than a 15 inch 2013 pro( 16 gb, 750m, 512gb ssd) in window than the mac does on OSX. Each OS version will slow it down even more, apple also don't have a good track record for long OSX support. 2012 Macs are not worth getting unless you can find one for 150- 200$ or less especially in 2019. a t460/ x260 will destroy it in performance, build quality and longevity for a similar price.  

 

 

 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

Considering apple has shit software support in the mac end, 2011 macs lost support so its logical to assume 2012/ 2013 macs will soon, in a few years. 

the 2011's lost support for a technical reason. the AMD gpu's in the 15" models didn't support the Metal API, which was used for rendering the desktop in Mojave. the 2012 and forward gpu's do support it, so it's unlikely that they will lose support due to such technical limitations. please do research instead of assuming. 

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

Android apps can record/ make music, i am assuming OP is not a pro. 

facepalm

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

My old X230 preforms better than a 15 inch 2013 pro( 16 gb, 750m, 512gb ssd) in window than the mac does on OSX. 

have you ran benchmarks to prove that?

 

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

Each OS version will slow it down even more

hasn't happened for me. again provide proof for your claims

 

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

apple also don't have a good track record for long OSX support.

see my first reply

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

a t460/ x260 will destroy it in performance

that doesn't matter if the OP doesn't like Windows. it doesn't matter how powerful a computer is, if you don't know how to/don't enjoy using it it's pointless. 

 

like, if I took your Thinkpad and installed MS-DOS on it, it would still be a good laptop, but you wouldn't be able to do the things on it that you wanted to do. in that situation the Thinkpad is useless even though it is a good machine. 

 

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

build quality

have you ever used a 2012 MacBook Pro? the build quality is amazing. I work with a lot of think pads at my internship and none of them come close. 

 

 

4 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

longevity

false. IF Apple were to drop support for the 2012's you can still install Windows/Linux on them and use them as a normal PC if you must. so in terms of longevity it's exactly the same software wise. 

 

in terms of hardware it's pointless to compare. thinkpads and 2012 MacBook Pro's are both well known for being extremely reliable. by the time either one of those will die you would have already upgraded. 

[The Sloth]

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

the 2011's lost support for a technical reason. the AMD gpu's in the 15" models didn't support the Metal API, which was used for rendering the desktop in Mojave. the 2012 and forward gpu's do support it, so it's unlikely that they will lose support due to such technical limitations. please do research instead of assuming. 

BS, apple could have patched it. Can you provide a technician breakdow, also why Intel HD were also dropped? 

 

 

Patchers exists that allows Catalina to run on older macs 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

facepalm

 

FYI, reusing old machines is good for the environment. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

have you ran benchmarks to prove that?

 

I was more talking about general UI, benchmarks don't tell the whole stories. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

see my first reply

 

I was taking more about history, for example knowing how far iPhone 5S got, its safe to assume my 10 will get similar or better treatment from apple in terms of software,. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

that doesn't matter if the OP doesn't like Windows. it doesn't matter how powerful a computer is, if you don't know how to/don't enjoy using it it's pointless. 

 

Please read OPs post before jumping to that conclusion, re read it a few time's and point to the place where OP said, they don't like windows. 

 

Quote

Hello is it worth buying a 13” MacBook Pro refurbished for 327.00 dollars?

It has 2.5 i5 processor and intel HD 4000 graphics.

 

know it’s not powerful enough for gaming or video editing but wondering if still good for music recording, guitar etc. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

like, if I took your Thinkpad and installed MS-DOS on it, it would still be a good laptop, but you wouldn't be able to do the things on it that you wanted to do. in that situation the Thinkpad is useless even though it is a good machine. 

 

Unlike DOS, Ipads and Android tables are used to make music. It was more of a throwaway comment than anything serious. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

Thinkpad is useless even though it is a good machine. 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

facepalm

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

have you ever used a 2012 MacBook Pro? the build quality is amazing. I work with a lot of think pads at my internship and none of them come close. 

 

Nope, had the 2013 15 inch retina, sold  it a weeks ago. 

 

after 

 

screen fell apart- stain gate- lawsuit  

 

GPU failure due to overheating - lawsuit 

 

Kernel panic- PSU issue 

 

 

 speaker fell apart

 

 

i would say it was a bad experience. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

I work with a lot of think pads at my internship and none of them come close. 

I am assuming your not an engineer, aluminium is not always more durable than plastic, a galaxy s3 will survive a drop test a lot better than an iphone 10 due to its ability to disperse energy of the impact. Feel in the hand and BS marking is not it. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

so in terms of longevity it's exactly the same software wise. 

Not really, apples drivers make it a inferior windows pc experience. 

 

1 hour ago, Twilight said:

by the time either one of those will die you would have already upgraded. 

Yeah, i know. still keep my X230 for old times sake, its really cute. 

 

 

 

IMO a thinkpad will serve a lot better experience due to the thick design that has better cooling, better upgradability( 1080p screen mod is easy to do) and repairability, better driver support/ longer support, bigger linux community for it, battery can be swapped out easily, you can even get OSX on it. 

 

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Twilight said:

then don't reply. you aren't helping the OP who is obviously looking for some kind of Mac. otherwise they would have phrased their question in a different way. 

 

 

 

i love how you read into it, maybe OP saw a good deal or simply asking a question. when someone is buying Used, they are looking for value, if a PC is a better value than its best to recommend a PC, even if your a "Apple FanPony"

 

Quote

Apple FanPony