Is buying an Old Macbook Pro worth it?

[Jacob Canale]

My school has recently decided that students must have Tablets/laptops during class. I was wondering if it would be worth it to buy and old Macbook Pro and use Bootcamp to run windows on it. My other option is to wait for black Friday to see if anything decent comes around, but judging by the deals my local best buy currently has, it isn't looking too good for my less than 400 dollar price range.

 

Here is the Macbook I was looking at (I don't mind the dents): https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/sys/d/macbook-pro-15-midghz-320gb/6382240641.html

[Electronic Nation]

Windows laptop are better plus this one is kind of old.

[DrMacintosh]

I would say no. That thing is too old. Even if you throw a SSD in it its still rocking sub 2010 Hardware. 

 

Buy a PC with modern hardware please. 

[Jacob Canale]

Just now, Electronic Nation said:

Windows laptop are better.

Would you mind linking me one for under 400 CAD thats slightly decent

 

[GDRRiley]

no. 

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, Electronic Nation said:

Windows laptop are better.

This is the only time I would agree with that statement. 

 

Imo Windows is inferior for everything other than gaming. 

[minervx]

I have the Macbook Pro 2012.  I love the keyboard, trackpad and Mac OS overall.  

 

However, there are many cons with laptops from 5+ years ago:

• dvd players add bulk
• very short battery life when working in medium-heavy loads
• battery capacity slowly degrades over time
• <1080p resolutions are a noticeable eyesore
• the brightness is too low for comfortable daytime outdoor use
• speakers are meh-ish

However, for a school laptop, it would be fine.  You just need to do office, web browsing, skype, some emails.  It'll do that.  For $400, an early 2010's Macbook Pro is better than most options in the craptop price range.

[Light-Yagami]

No, this one isn't worth it. To make it viable, you'd have to get the SSD in, more ram and hope that the battery is somewhat decent. You're looking for more than 600USD end price, if you want this to be any sort of decent. Not to mention it fell on the ground hard multiple times and some internalt might have reduced lifespam because of that.Laptop probably doesn't even close properly..

 

Don't buy it

[Himommies]

1 minute ago, Electronic Nation said:

Windows laptop are better.

Mac's have their uses.Especially in school

 

Is battery life a concern?

[Electronic Nation]

Just now, Himommies said:

Mac's have their uses.Especially in school

 

Is battery life a concern?

I bare see a mac gamer.

[Himommies]

Just now, Electronic Nation said:

I bare see a mac gamer.

This isn't for gaming is it

[Light-Yagami]

1 minute ago, Himommies said:

Mac's have their uses.Especially in school

 

Is battery life a concern?

Macs are great for school. I always said that I'll buy one for myself when I go on college.. those 13 inch without touchbar are very good for productivity, even if overpriced..

Thought XPS lineup from windows is equaly awesome, and much better if you do some heavier work on it..

[minervx]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

This is the only time I would agree with that statement. 

 

Imo Windows is inferior for everything other than gaming. 

Depends on which.  I bought a Macbook simply because I was tired of Windows errors, broken keyboards, broken power supplies and other bullshit from cheap manufacturers at Dell/HP/etc.  Most Windows laptops have mediocre keyboards and trackpads.  Considering that typing and browsing are what I do on it on it the most, that's a dealbreaker to me.  I think the Macbook's ability to zoom in and scroll with a simple touch gesture alone makes me enjoy my purchase.

 

Yes, you could say "you should've bought X laptop or Y laptop instead".  But I just stopped caring at that point.  I really don't want to have to play russian roulette with craptops anymore.

[Himommies]

Just now, Light-Yagami said:

Macs are great for school. I always said that I'll buy one for myself when I go on college.. those 13 inch without touchbar are very good for productivity, even if overpriced..

Thought XPS lineup from windows is equaly awesome, and much better if you do some heavier work on it..

those aren't 400 though

If battery isn't a issue you can get a used thinkpad

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, minervx said:

Depends on which.  I bought a Macbook simply because I was tired of Windows errors, broken keyboards, broken power supplies and other bullshit from cheap manufacturers at Dell/HP/etc.  Most Windows laptops have mediocre keyboards and trackpads.  Considering that typing and browsing are what I do on it on it the most, that's a dealbreaker to me.  I think the Macbook's ability to zoom in and scroll with a simple touch gesture alone makes me enjoy my purchase.

 

Yes, you could say "you should've bought X laptop or Y laptop instead".  But I just stopped caring at that point.  I really don't want to have to play russian roulette with craptops anymore.

Exactly 

[Light-Yagami]

Just now, Himommies said:

those aren't 400 though

If battery isn't a issue you can get a used thinkpad

Some workstations with gen 4 core i7/i5 from 2013/2014 can be really cheap while offering a lot more than his mac, but won't look as good. 

I might be the only, one, but I really like the robust construction of some HP workstations.. Those things are tanks.

[DrMacintosh]

6 minutes ago, Light-Yagami said:

Thought XPS lineup from windows is equaly awesome, and much better if you do some heavier work on it..

Not really. 

 

In graphics sure, but in workloads like video editing with FinalCut, a 13" MacBook would obliterate even the highest spec machine in the XPS line.

 

Beyond pure graphics performance, real world performance is going to be pretty similar if not better on the MacBooks. 

[Light-Yagami]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Not really. 

 

In graphics sure, but in workloads like video editing with FinalCut, a 13" MacBook would obliterate even the highest spec machine in the XPS line.

 

Beyond pure graphics performance, performance is going to be pretty similar if not better on the MacBooks. 

how many people for you think edit videos on 13inch macbooks? That's right, fu*ckin nobody.

Who buys their FinalCut shit? That's right. Fu*ckin nobody.

 

Everybody I know who owns a mac have it because of battery life and design. And because of the insane sync eco system.

The minority who edits on macs  is the vlogging section of youtubers. Any sort of profesional will edit in Premiere.

 

Just stop.. okay? Not to mention every god damn CPU overheats on that 2mm copper foil apple calls heatsink. We're done here

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Light-Yagami said:

how many people for you think edit videos on 13inch macbooks? That's right, fu*ckin nobody.

Who buys their FinalCut shit? That's right. Fu*ckin nobody.

You really need a reality check. 

 

 

[minervx]

Honestly, as someone that actually owns an old Macbook pro which I bought recently.  The only two major complaints I have are the short battery life and the 800p display.  If it weren't for those things, I would not care about the lack of the other 20-30 features seen in modern Macbooks at all.

[minervx]

Final Cut, Photoshop and Logic Pro work on my 2012 MBPro.  There are some small stutters and loading times.  They're not ideal for workflow or workspace but they're doable if you are dedicated and patient.

 

I use my 2012 MBP as something to sketch a concept beat on, and lay down some vocals ,etc.  Then, I go on my PC and mix it, play with plugins, record more vocal channels, etc

[Ryujin2003]

16 minutes ago, Light-Yagami said:

No, this one isn't worth it. To make it viable, you'd have to get the SSD in, more ram and hope that the battery is somewhat decent. You're looking for more than 600USD end price, if you want this to be any sort of decent. Not to mention it fell on the ground hard multiple times and some internalt might have reduced lifespam because of that.Laptop probably doesn't even close properly..

 

Don't buy it

Also, its legacy to Apple since its greater than 5 years old. Which means Apple store won't help for anything. So if you installed an SSD and needed help getting the default OS to install, Apple Store won't help you. You'll run into the issue when you attempt to do the online recovery/install, that it cannot find the OS on the server. You can purchase it online, but that is kind of stupid.

 

And yes, the hardware is old enough that its served its purpose. Anything that's been dropped, shocked, or otherwise neglected isn't going to last through much more.

 

35 minutes ago, Jacob Canale said:

My school has recently decided that students must have Tablets/laptops during class. I was wondering if it would be worth it to buy and old Macbook Pro and use Bootcamp to run windows on it. My other option is to wait for black Friday to see if anything decent comes around, but judging by the deals my local best buy currently has, it isn't looking too good for my less than 400 dollar price range.

 

Here is the Macbook I was looking at (I don't mind the dents): https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/sys/d/macbook-pro-15-midghz-320gb/6382240641.html

Good job marking @Light-Yagami the solution.

 

Are you in a highschool or university? If University, you can always check out a tech loan. Some schools will loan out laptops and such to students for classes. Something to look at.

 

Otherwise, if it's a highschool, they should be providing this with taxes since it's a "school" requirement. Otherwise, they shouldn't be forcing anything onto anyone.

 

For the same price, you can get a low to mid tier laptop and go with that.

 

As they say in the subway, "Mind the dent".... or gap. either way. Let us know if you see something else you like. But good call, don't get this one.

[Light-Yagami]

4 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

You really need a reality check. 

 

 

Apple has 2 million FinalCut users.

That means 2 million copies sold. In the spam of company's existence.

Do you think 2 million people who bought Final Cut use it? No

How many then? 50k? 1 out of 20 people who bought a macbook?

 

1 out of 100 who bought the program? And how many of these purchases were made on a 13inch? 1 our of 1000? 

You see what I'm sayin here? 

 

Saying "FinalCut Pro is Macbook 13inch selling feature" is plan stupidity. 

Is it nice to have? Yes. How many people will make a living with this program to justify the price? Very few. 

 

It's not even a real argument against XPS lineup. It's no a feature that outweighs the cons of "worse performance in certain cases" when deciding between the two.

 

I need a reality check? Yeah right. It's all facts

[Himommies]

12 minutes ago, Light-Yagami said:

how many people for you think edit videos on 13inch macbooks? That's right, fu*ckin nobody.

Who buys their FinalCut shit? That's right. Fu*ckin nobody.

 

Everybody I know who owns a mac have it because of battery life and design. And because of the insane sync eco system.

The minority who edits on macs  is the vlogging section of youtubers. Any sort of profesional will edit in Premiere.

 

Just stop.. okay? Not to mention every god damn CPU overheats on that 2mm copper foil apple calls heatsink. We're done here

theres also other things like logic pro

 

edit:No one cares about that do they

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, Light-Yagami said:

Apple has 2 million FinalCut users.

That means 2 million copies sold. In the spam of company's existence.

Do you think 2 million people who bought Final Cut use it? No

How many then? 50k? 1 out of 20 people who bought a macbook?

 

1 out of 100 who bought the program? And how many of these purchases were made on a 13inch? 1 our of 1000? 

You see what I'm sayin here? 

I see what you are saying. You have the total sales of FinalCut and have decided that nobody uses it despite millions of people owning it. 

 

You have no data, only what you want to think. So yes, you do need a reality check.