2019 16” MacBook Pro in 2024

[cdames00]

I see a lot of hate for the 2019 Macbook Pro 16“ around the internet. It mostly seems to be coming from users needing an editing beast; and compared to Apple Silicon; having had an M1 Max, I get that! For my use though which is standard tasks in MacOS and gaming from a competent but older Steam library, it’s perfect! the ability to natively run windows in Bootcamp combined with a discrete gpu and then switch back to macOS all on the same device is WAY underrated in my book. As long as I’m a realist and except relatively rotten thermals and less that optimal battery life (I’m a charging nut anyway), hopefully it’ll serve me for a few years until Mac gaming catches up some.

 

[redheeler]

I'm also on this model, despite the disadvantages compared to Apple Silicon I've been able to run Linux and Windows VMs stably in Virtualbox which is nice. x86-64 emulation in Docker is pretty decent on Apple Silicon though, I've an M1 for work and that handles it all fine. And some images even run native on ARM now.

None of this is related to the Bootcamp / gaming use case in the OP but thought I'd share anyway.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I loved mine when I had it. Windows with BootCamp was hard to beat.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I see a lot of hate for the 2019 Macbook Pro 16“ around the internet. It mostly seems to be coming from users needing an editing beast; and compared to Apple Silicon; having had an M1 Max, I get that! For my use though which is standard tasks in MacOS and gaming from a competent but older Steam library, it’s perfect! the ability to natively run windows in Bootcamp combined with a discrete gpu and then switch back to macOS all on the same device is WAY underrated in my book. As long as I’m a realist and except relatively rotten thermals and less that optimal battery life (I’m a charging nut anyway), hopefully it’ll serve me for a few years until Mac gaming catches up some.

Honestly, it's the only Intel Mac portable that makes any sense to keep around if what you need is a portable Intel Mac. Everything else from the Intel Mac portable hall of fame is either way outdated, way underpowered, or has a butterfly keyboard.

I'd add that, as far as Intel Mac desktops go, the 2020 27-inch iMac and the 2019 Mac Pro are the only Intel Macs one ought to consider the utility of. Arguments can be made for the 2019 iMacs as well. But for anything else? Time to to ditch it in favor of an Apple Silicon Mac.

 

[TAJones99]

I still have mine ever though I upgraded to a M1 Max, I think I will Bootcamp Windows on it and just use for whatever, it still runs great with no slow down. Just the fan noice really gets to me now that I have a M1 Max lol

 

[dukebound85]

still have mine

works great for what I do

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I use maxed out i9's for windows VM's and Boot Camp to run huge CAD models. I do use that Korean gamer guys cooling mod on all of them and it makes a huge performance difference. Mac users on here who compare them to new Apple Silicon models to use for less demanding use cases have exaggerated their problems to the point of absurdity, but compared to any other windows laptop, they're incredibly powerful, and oh boy are they nicer to use than any other clunky creaky plastic pile of junk I've yet seen. They may not have a huge appeal among mac nerds but they're the bees knees as far as windows notebooks go.

 

[cdames00]

I use maxed out i9's for windows VM's and Boot Camp to run huge CAD models. I do use that Korean gamer guys cooling mod on all of them and it makes a huge performance difference. Mac users on here who compare them to new Apple Silicon models to use for less demanding use cases have exaggerated their problems to the point of absurdity, but compared to any other windows laptop, they're incredibly powerful, and oh boy are they nicer to use than any other clunky creaky plastic pile of junk I've yet seen. They may not have a huge appeal among mac nerds but they're the bees knees as far as windows notebooks go.

I'm going to have to investigate the cooling mod!

 

[dolphin2421]

Honestly, I’ve never been happy with the performance of my 2019 16” I9, even with 64 GB and discrete graphics card. I use it primarily for video/photo editing and it has never met my performance expectations: always seemed sort of sluggish. Maybe I just got a lemon? The only Apple hardware I’ve ever had that broke - replaced a failed logic board last year, and now the internal display has gone dark. Time to retire it in favor of a new 14” MBP M3 pro - should be here on Tuesday and I shall not shed a tear.

 

[dinobear]

Still using my 2019 MBP 8hrs daily for work (web dev, photography, video stuff). I have the 2020 $800 upgraded version with the 5600M GPU which fixes the fan issues that the original ones had. The 64GB ram also helps it last thing long. I'm having no issues at all and still love this computer. I think I will upgrade to the next MBP when it gets a design refresh. Will be in the market to buy 2025 for sure.

 

[JosepPont]

Here a 2019 16" owner very happy using it too!

 

[Daventry]

I have one and use it with two external monitors connected via a Dell TB-19 dock station. I think it's performing worse with latest macOS updates. By worse I mean I can hear the fan and see the WindowServer process using a lot of CPU just by browsing the internet while using two monitors.

OTOH I've tried my partner's MBP M1 Pro also in clamshell mode with two displays and both CPU usage and fan noise seem okay - the caveat is I couldn't get both external displays working through the dock station, I had to plug one of them directly to the M1 Pro.

So I'm considering upgrading. I live in Europe but will be in the US on holidays next month. Should look at buying a new MBP there as it'll be a lot cheaper but now I have FOMO a great upgrade in the upcoming M4 Pro!