Advice on Purchasing Used MacBook Pro

[incs84]

Hi all,

I currently own an iMac 27" Late 2013 24gb Ram but looking to sell it and replace it with a MacBook Pro. The question is what MBP can I get at a similar price point to the sale of the iMac? I'm expecting it to be £900-£1000.

I've looked on eBay to get an idea of what I can afford and I can get a 2015 MBP with 8gb Ram and 128gb SSD for under £1000. However, I'm concerned that it's got a lot less RAM than my iMac not and upgrading it not really possible, or at least very difficult.

I can get an older MBP such as 2013 with 16gb RAM and a bigger SSD. What would just recommend? Are there any other significant differences I should be aware of between a 2013 and 2015 MBP?

For reference, I'll be mainly using it for photo editing.

Thanks,

 

[Joe Rossignol]

Hi all,

I currently own an iMac 27" Late 2013 24gb Ram but looking to sell it and replace it with a MacBook Pro. The question is what MBP can I get at a similar price point to the sale of the iMac? I'm expecting it to be £900-£1000.

I've looked on eBay to get an idea of what I can afford and I can get a 2015 MBP with 8gb Ram and 128gb SSD for under £1000. However, I'm concerned that it's got a lot less RAM than my iMac not and upgrading it not really possible, or at least very difficult.

I can get an older MBP such as 2013 with 16gb RAM and a bigger SSD. What would just recommend? Are there any other significant differences I should be aware of between a 2013 and 2015 MBP?

For reference, I'll be mainly using it for photo editing.

Thanks,

One difference between a 2013 and 2015 MacBook Pro is 4K and 5K display connectivity. The 2013 is more limited.

See:
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/4k-5k-displays-buyers-guide-mac/
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

Just one thing to consider among many.

 

[incs84]

One difference between a 2013 and 2015 MacBook Pro is 4K and 5K display connectivity. The 2013 is more limited.

See:
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/4k-5k-displays-buyers-guide-mac/
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

Just one thing to consider among many.

This is very useful thanks I've just been reading the links you've provided.

 

[ZapNZs]

I am guessing you are looking at the 13-inch size? If so, depending on the work you do on your iMac (which I assume has a quad-core CPU), you might miss having the quad core. With the work you currently do, what does your RAM usage look like through Activity Monitor?

I'm not sure if this will be helpful or not, but do you check this site very often?
http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

It might be a good guideline in getting an idea of how much you would want to spend on used (since the refurbs come with the same warranty as the new ones, and are eligible for AppleCare, and are sometimes priced similar to used models without such a warranty.)

 

[incs84]

I am guessing you are looking at the 13-inch size? If so, depending on the work you do on your iMac (which I assume has a quad-core CPU), you might miss having the quad core. With the work you currently do, what does your RAM usage look like through Activity Monitor?

I'm not sure if this will be helpful or not, but do you check this site very often?
http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

It might be a good guideline in getting an idea of how much you would want to spend on used (since the refurbs come with the same warranty as the new ones, and are eligible for AppleCare, and are sometimes priced similar to used models without such a warranty.)

I've not yet looked at my usage in Activity Monitor but my iMac does have an i5 3.2 quad-core processor so I'm guessing I can expect a drop in performance.

A refurbished MBP is definitely an option, but for the extra I pay for it (with warranty), I'm sacrificing in spec. I really can't stretch my budget beyond the sale price of my iMac so it's simply a matter of weighing up my options and trying to get the most bang for my buck.

Thanks