Hi guys, update. I went to Micro Center in Tustin yesterday and purchased a 2021 16inch MBP M1 Max with 32GB ram and 1TB of memory for almost $2300 after tax. So far so good. Cosmetically the Mac is very clean. There are a few minor scratches around the corners of the bottom but you really have to look for them. I bought this because my old 2012 MBP (which is still, amazingly running fine) was struggling to run my intense Logic Pro sessions and very laggy with Photoshop and Lightroom. I still need to pull all of my Audio Plug-Ins and Logic sessions into the new computer before I can determine if it's running these apps smoothly. If not, I will return.
The bad:
(1) They put the wrong charger in the box!!! They gave me an older incompatible charger that doesn't fit into the charging port. Just got off the phone with Micro Center and they said the manager will call me back. I live in hour away, and I don't want to make another drive... Hopefully they will mail it to me. Meanwhile, charging off of USB.
(2) This was not an Apple refurb. The Refurb was done by some company called Diamond. I tried looking online for info on this company but couldn't find any reviews. Because it's not an Apple refurb, it doesn't come with apple care and I'll need to buy Micro Center's extended warranty (an extra $300-400 depending on the duration).
(3) The battery has 280 cycles on it. Seems like a lot.
The questions:
(1) Did I get a good deal?
(2) Is 280 battery cycles too much for a used MBP? It says that the condition is "Normal" and Maximum capacity is "90%".
(3) Do you recommend I shell out for the extended warranty from Micro Center? They seemed to have a large repair staff in the store. It looked legit, I guess.
(4) I'm realizing that, like everyone, I could use more hard drive space. Ideally I'd get a computer with 2 TB. My last computer lasted 12 years and could've lasted longer. This was the top end of my budget but over the course of a decade, another $1000 dollars to get exactly what works for you won't make that much difference. I can afford paying more for a computer right now but I'm not rich. Maybe return this and hold out for something else?
Ok, thanks for reading and sorry for the long-ass post.
