Buying Used MacBook Pro. Can 2020 Work For My Needs?

[Christopher11]

Hey guys. I am looking to upgrade my 2015 MB Pro, and had a machine like this in mind. https://www.ebay.com/itm/185822090932 I want at least 32 GB of RAM, 2 TB SSD, and as fast a machine as I can get.

The only thing is I need to be able to install Mojave 10.14.6, as it's the latest that support the plug-ins I use in Logic Pro X. Could a 2020 machine work? Or am I looking at 2019 as the latest year?

Thanks for any suggestions on desktops or mac minis... I agree, it's just that I've really come to love being so mobile with my music production, so likely aiming for another MacBook.

 

[petsk]

I have a 16” intel and the logic board broke the other day, probably because of how poorly this thing is constructed in terms of power managment, insufficient cooling etc. Cost of logic board replacment is more than the machine is worth, which is ridiculous!

It seems lots of 16” intel machines suffer from this design flaw. So take that in mind.

 

[Christopher11]

Gosh, sorry to hear that!

 

[Christopher11]

I have a 16” intel and the logic board broke the other day, probably because of how poorly this thing is constructed in terms of power managment, insufficient cooling etc. Cost of logic board replacment is more than the machine is worth, which is ridiculous!

It seems lots of 16” intel machines suffer from this design flaw. So take that in mind.

If you make sure to be careful about cooling, not overheat due to RAM being taxed with lots of apps open, does that help preclude this issue?

how much RAM did you have?

 

[petsk]

If you buy a used one, how would you know how it’s been used?

I have the base line, 512/16. Mine was not pushed really, tho the technician said there was a lot of dust inside it after 3 years used in bed 😅

 

[Christopher11]

If you buy a used one, how would you know how it’s been used?

I have the base line, 512/16. Mine was not pushed really, tho the technician said there was a lot of dust inside it after 3 years used in bed 😅

The one I'm looking at has 32 battery cycles, so perhaps that's been replaced. Tell me please, how much RAM do you have? 16 or 32GB?

 

[Aoligei]

The one I'm looking at has 32 battery cycles, so perhaps that's been replaced. Tell me please, how much RAM do you have? 16 or 32GB?

Not necessarily. I have a 2013 MacBook Air currently is on 44 battery cycles. I have not used this thing on battery much, it is mostly plugged in whenever I can find power sources. Library, work, home, hotels etc they all have power sources to be plugged in.

 

[petsk]

The one I'm looking at has 32 battery cycles, so perhaps that's been replaced. Tell me please, how much RAM do you have? 16 or 32GB?

16GB. Yeah, the battery is probably replaced if there’s only 32 cycles on it.

 

[Christopher11]

Not necessarily. I have a 2013 MacBook Air currently is on 44 battery cycles. I have not used this thing on battery much, it is mostly plugged in whenever I can find power sources. Library, work, home, hotels etc they all have power sources to be plugged in.

Ah, good point.

 

[Aoligei]

If you make sure to be careful about cooling, not overheat due to RAM being taxed with lots of apps open, does that help preclude this issue?

how much RAM did you have?

One thing I don't understand is that Apple has never ever produced a laptop that have good cooling solution. There are so many cases which overheat MacBooks suffers graphical problem, such as infamous Nvidia graphic

Apple seems to value quite operation more than anything else, even it means shorter lifespan on their laptops. This is particular bad for MacBook Air design, especially Intel one.

 

[Nbd1790]

What plug ins are you using? As someone who deals with music production regularly, I would avoid the Intel MacBooks at all costs. The M series processors are a HUGE leap in performance when dealing with hefty projects and never hiccups. Sooner or later, you're going to want / need to update the OS.

I was in the same boat you were in for a while and picked up an M series MBP and it's been the greatest thing that has happened for my workflow.

As someone mentioned earlier, as soon as you plug them into an external monitor or even start running a decent project, the fans kick in. (the intel models). My fans to this day have never turned on.

 

[Christopher11]

What plug ins are you using? As someone who deals with music production regularly, I would avoid the Intel MacBooks at all costs. The M series processors are a HUGE leap in performance when dealing with hefty projects and never hiccups. Sooner or later, you're going to want / need to update the OS.

I was in the same boat you were in for a while and picked up an M series MBP and it's been the greatest thing that has happened for my workflow.

As someone mentioned earlier, as soon as you plug them into an external monitor or even start running a decent project, the fans kick in. (the intel models). My fans to this day have never turned on.

Yeah, a friend of mine has an M1 and he says the same. Well, I've got a ton of plugins that might not work on the M1 machine, or anything past Mojave. I believe some are still 32 bit? Native Instruments. Plus just a whole bunch that I use regularly that aren't well known but that I use regularly, not always current version and I don't care. I'm sure you are right. But I also like the idea of swapping out computers for 1300 bucks, and being up and running fast.

 

[Christopher11]

But perhaps you are right, perhaps the gain in processing power is so fantastic I would be willing to live without any VSTs I'm attached to now. I use the Korg Legacy plugins quite a lot by the way, and Reason Studios, although I'm sure those are compatible with M1.

I may just transfer to the 2019 machine, then get an M1 machine later this year. I will have more money then. Might sound clunky but that would work for me.

 

[HDFan]

There have been a number of posts from people who lost their money on Apple ebay purchases. If you can afford it best to go with a reputable source such as Apple refurbished.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Even if it means giving up some plug-ins, I would absolutely not use Mojave on a main machine.
It hasn’t been supported by security updates in almost 2 years.
Also, if you’re looking at a 16 inch MacBook Pro from 2019, it’s not relevant because that computer came booted with Catalina so… You’re not getting it back to Mojave and you’re certainly not getting it to run 32 bit applications or plug-ins.
Sad to say but in 2023 it’s really time to move on.

 

[Fishrrman]

2019 MacBook Pro CANNOT RUN Mojave (OS 10.14).
Must be OS 10.15 or later. That means NO 32-bit software.

I would NOT buy one of the late Intel-based 16" MBP's.
They just run TOO HOT.

The proper way for you to "move forward" will be to get an Apple-refurbished 2021 release MBP 14" or 16".

Then, assess your software needs and upgrade if required.

 

[Christopher11]

2019 MacBook Pro CANNOT RUN Mojave (OS 10.14).
Must be OS 10.15 or later. That means NO 32-bit software.

I would NOT buy one of the late Intel-based 16" MBP's.
They just run TOO HOT.

The proper way for you to "move forward" will be to get an Apple-refurbished 2021 release MBP 14" or 16".

Then, assess your software needs and upgrade if required.

I'm sure you are right, but you don't use daily the plug ins and VSTs I use. There are enough headaches in life without finding myself unable to use the instruments and plugins I have come to love and rely on. I'm sure you are right. But for 1350. I can be up and running in an hour with profile transfer... and buy an M1 machine later this summer when i score some more cash.

 

[Christopher11]

The seller I found, a Mac dealer on Ebay with 100% positive feedback, says he will install Mojave before it ships for me. If he can do that, does this mean 32 bit plugins will work?

 

[Fishrrman]

Once again -- you CANNOT install Mojave on a 2019 MBP.

It requires OS 15 (Catalina) as "the minimum OS".
See for yourself here:

MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 16" 2019 Specs (2019 16", MVVL2LL/A*, MacBookPro16,1, A2141, 3347): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 16" 2019. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

The seller I found, a Mac dealer on Ebay with 100% positive feedback, says he will install Mojave before it ships for me. If he can do that, does this mean 32 bit plugins will work?

No.
I just got ripped off because of someone who was installing versions of macOS on unsupported machines, if they tell you they can do this DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
The 16 inch MacBook Pro shipped with 10.15.1 Catalina when it was first released in November 2019, there is no officially supported and stable way to run Mojave as its main OS.
You *might* be able to get Mojave to run in a virtual environment, but that comes with its own set of headaches.
And again, Mojave hasn’t gotten security updates for several years, and At this point it’s an operating system from going on five years ago.
Usually the recommendation is, if you’re going to stay behind, only stay one or two versions behind so you’re still getting security updates.
Mojave is four versions behind.

 

[izzy0242mr]

No.
I just got ripped off because of someone who was installing versions of macOS on unsupported machines, if they tell you they can do this DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
The 16 inch MacBook Pro shipped with 10.15.1 Catalina when it was first released in November 2019, there is no officially supported and stable way to run Mojave as its main OS.
You *might* be able to get Mojave to run in a virtual environment, but that comes with its own set of headaches.
And again, Mojave hasn’t gotten security updates for several years, and At this point it’s an operating system from going on five years ago.
Usually the recommendation is, if you’re going to stay behind, only stay one or two versions behind so you’re still getting security updates.
Mojave is four versions behind.

@Christopher11 this guy is correct. Someone tried putting Mojave on a 16" 2019 Mac and…it didn't go well. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-mojave-on-mbp-16-exploration-thread.2309714/

 

[Christopher11]

@Christopher11 this guy is correct. Someone tried putting Mojave on a 16" 2019 Mac and…it didn't go well. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-mojave-on-mbp-16-exploration-thread.2309714/

I'm sure you are right, and I appreciate you alerting me on this. The seller however has thousands of transactions / MacBook sales, and 100% feedback. He also has a return policy, so I would have 30 days to discover if everything works smoothly or not. If it didn't I would just return the machine.

 

[izzy0242mr]

I'm sure you are right, and I appreciate you alerting me on this. The seller however has thousands of transactions / MacBook sales, and 100% feedback. He also has a return policy, so I would have 30 days to discover if everything works smoothly or not. If it didn't I would just return the machine.

A valid point on the return policy. I'd advise you to print/save as PDF a copy of the ebay listing so you can check everything is exactly as it appears after you buy, and then obviously not only check the OS but also check the System Report to make sure the model number of the Mac matches up with what you think you're getting.

Personally, my guess is that the seller may not understand what you're asking and isn't going to ship it with 10.14 installed, thinks he can but hasn't looked into it and will tell you accordingly after you buy, or has a model that's different from what you think you're getting which will be revealed upon receipt

I'd personally be curious to hear how this goes. Obviously if this person has figured out a way to get 10.14 running on this model, that'll be a huge technological achievement that many on this forum will be interested in learning about from you. So please keep us posted after you get it!

 

[Christopher11]

Absolutely, if I buy it I will be happy to share the results. I explained to him several times what version I use, that I intend to use Profile Migration to be up and running with his machine, and that I need to run Mojave... and he said he'd done this several times, no issue. It's definitely an experienced and reputable seller, in fact I don't know how anyone can possibly have 100% feedback with thousands of transactions! There's always someone who complains. So that coupled with the return policy gives me some assurance. Thanks again, really appreciate your concern.

 

[chrfr]

Absolutely, if I buy it I will be happy to share the results. I explained to him several times what version I use, that I intend to use Profile Migration to be up and running with his machine, and that I need to run Mojave... and he said he'd done this several times, no issue.

It does not work. You cannot run Mojave on the 2019 16". This seller has no magic solution for the problem, and if you're trying to use audio apps and plugins which are notoriously problematic with regard to compatibility, you do not want to be trying to make some unsupported configuration run your apps.
The 2019 15" MBP can run Mojave but it has the defective butterfly keyboard so it must be avoided.